Match ends, Netherlands 3, Northern Ireland 1.
Northern Ireland's hopes of Euro 2020 qualification suffered a major blow as they went down to an agonising last-gasp 3-1 defeat by the Netherlands.
Josh Magennis's 75th-minute header gave NI the lead but Memphis Depay toe-poked home the equaliser five minutes later.
Luuk de Jong's hooked effort in the first minute of injury time gave the hosts the lead and Depay slid the ball into the net for his second soon after.
The Dutch move top of the group, ahead of Germany and NI on goal difference.
European giants Netherlands and Germany both have a game in hand over Northern Ireland and are now in pole position to secure the two automatic qualification spots from Group C.
NI remain in contention however with a home game against Ronald Koeman's side and an away fixture against Germany to come in November, but it looks a very uphill task.
Michael O'Neill's team began their campaign with double victories over both Estonia and Belarus but a 2-0 home defeat by Germany last month, allied to this heartbreaking reverse in Rotterdam, have dealt a serious setback to their hopes of progressing.
- O'Neill devastated after 'harsh' defeat
- Netherlands v Northern Ireland - how did you rate the players?
- How NI's loss to Dutch unfolded
NI frustrate the Dutch
Northern Ireland frustrated their illustrious opponents for all of the first half and much of the second with a determined rearguard action, keeping their shape, getting men behind the ball and closing down quickly.
A cagey first opening 45 minutes was played at a pedestrian pace, the home side enjoying most of the possession but unable to penetrate the disciplined and organised defensive wall set up by the visitors.
The beaten Nations League finalists posed little by way of attacking threat until Georginio Wijnaldum saw his well-struck drive blocked by the excellent Stuart Dallas.
The Netherlands' inability to create clear-cut chances kept the majority of the 51,000 crowd inside the Feyenoord Stadium quiet and it was the visiting 4,000-strong NI contingent who made more noise for the majority of the match.
The Dutch showed more urgency after the break, injecting more tempo into their play but still struggled to fashion scoring opportunities, Bailey Peacock-Farrell making a straightforward save from Donyell Malen and Jonny Evans clearing Wijnaldum's effort off the line.
Super-sub Magennis on target again
Having scored late on as a substitute in the home win over Belarus in March and the away victory over Estonia in June, Magennis popped up with another goal after being introduced from the bench against the Dutch.
The Hull City forward out-jumped Matthijs de Ligt inside the area to head into the corner after Dallas had taken advantage of uncertainty in the Dutch defence to deliver an inch-perfect cross from the right.
The strike was the sixth of NI's eight goals in this qualification series to be scored in the 75th minute or after.
With 15 minutes remaining NI looked to be on the verge of one of the greatest results in their history - and they could have taken another step towards a famous triumph and a third away win for their first time ever, but Magennis was just unable to get a touch on another inviting Dallas delivery.
As it stands, they must now start looking to a possible place in the Nations League play-offs in March 2020 as a potential backdoor route to qualification.
Late, late show from Netherlands
The Netherlands, European Championship winners in 1988, failed to reach the Euro 2016 tournament and the 2018 World Cup finals, but are now on course to make next year's finals, held across Europe.
Trailing 1-0 and with time running out, Koeman's men looked like they would fail to score for just the third time in 17 games but with 10 minutes left Depay ran onto Malen's through ball and took one touch before firing into the net.
Malen then headed wastefully wide but in the first minute of added time De Jong had the easy task of tapping into an empty net after a cross was flicked on in the box and Peacock-Farrell dived past the ball after the Sevilla forward lobbed his initial effort into the air.
Frenkie de Jong supplied the slide-rule pass for Depay to slot home with an angled finish three minutes later, his sixth goal of the campaign.
The free-scoring hosts have now found the net 17 times in their first five qualifying fixtures, having extended their winning sequence at the De Kuip Stadium to 17 matches.
Line-ups
Netherlands
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Cillessen
- 22DumfriesSubstituted forL de Jongat 78'minutes
- 3de Ligt
- 4van Dijk
- 17Blind
- 15de RoonSubstituted forvan de Beekat 66'minutes
- 21F de Jong
- 7Bergwijn
- 8Wijnaldum
- 9BabelSubstituted forMalenat 66'minutes
- 10DepayBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 2Veltman
- 5Aké
- 6van de Beek
- 11Promes
- 12van Aanholt
- 13Vermeer
- 14de Vrij
- 16Strootman
- 18Berghuis
- 19L de Jong
- 20Malen
- 23Bizot
Northern Ireland
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Peacock-FarrellBooked at 53mins
- 3SmithBooked at 67mins
- 20Cathcart
- 5EvansBooked at 60mins
- 11Ferguson
- 13EvansSubstituted forFlanaganat 87'minutes
- 14Dallas
- 17McNair
- 8Davis
- 6SavilleSubstituted forThompsonat 83'minutes
- 10LaffertySubstituted forMagennisat 66'minutes
Substitutes
- 2McLaughlin
- 4Flanagan
- 7McGinn
- 9Boyce
- 12McGovern
- 15Thompson
- 16Kennedy
- 18Whyte
- 19Donnelly
- 21Magennis
- 22Lavery
- 23Carson
- Referee:
- Benoît Bastien
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home77%
- Away23%
- Shots
- Home23
- Away2
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away1
- Corners
- Home3
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home13
- Away13
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Netherlands 3, Northern Ireland 1.
Booking
Memphis Depay (Netherlands) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
Goal!
Goal! Netherlands 3, Northern Ireland 1. Memphis Depay (Netherlands) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Frenkie de Jong.
Post update
Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Craig Cathcart (Northern Ireland).
Goal!
Goal! Netherlands 2, Northern Ireland 1. Luuk de Jong (Netherlands) right footed shot from very close range to the top right corner.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Donyell Malen (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Steven Bergwijn with a cross.
Post update
Attempt missed. Memphis Depay (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Georginio Wijnaldum.
Post update
Attempt missed. Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Daley Blind with a cross.
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Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Jonny Evans.
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Attempt blocked. Luuk de Jong (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Frenkie de Jong.
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Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Josh Magennis (Northern Ireland).
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Tom Flanagan replaces Corry Evans.
Post update
Memphis Depay (Netherlands) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Stuart Dallas (Northern Ireland).
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Attempt missed. Donyell Malen (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Memphis Depay with a cross.
Substitution
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Jordan Thompson replaces George Saville.
Post update
Offside, Northern Ireland. Bailey Peacock-Farrell tries a through ball, but Josh Magennis is caught offside.
Comments
Join the conversation
You are so bitter and negative. This was a brave display from a mixed Northern Irish team. Keep politics and bigotry out of sport.
Posted by
rugbai gold
on
10 Oct 2019 22:51
Until the NI team represents the whole community we will always be second-rate.
the NI team represents the whole community.....the fact is some of the community don't support the team.
Yet you fail to condemn those that made those threats, worse still you appear to make excuses for them and condone it.
10 Oct 2019 21:49
How come the Benelux area can produce so many wonderful players and we (England) can't?
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Because premier league clubs have too much money and simply buy all their players. In Belgium and Holland you need a proper youth academy to be competitive AND to be profitable. Most teams need transfer profits in order to survive.
at least they showed heart, desire and fight unlike Scotland
Scotland take note