Since Jonny Evans made his international debut against Spain five games ago, he and his team have yet to taste defeat. The superb young talent is starting to become a bit of a good luck charm in Ulster with his record at: played five, won 4 and drew one. Evans had this to say: “I don't want to tempt fate but it is fantastic to be unbeaten so far. We just have to keep it going. Confidence is high and everyone loves joining up with the squad and playing in the games. I'm happy to play wherever I'm asked to for my country. I'm proud to be part of this team. We have a great bunch of lads who work incredibly hard for each other and of course we have the main man up front in David Healy. He really is unbelievable. He scores from everywhere on the park. Against Sweden his two goals were top class. When you have someone like that up front for you, it is a huge boost because you know that if he gets a chance, it is likely that we will get a goal. Once again our supporters were outstanding. They really can inspire you. Windsor Park is a special place on nights like that.”
Evans will be back in the Northern Ireland squad in August for the home game with Liechtenstein, but before then he hopes to help Sunderland into the Premiership. He said: “I've really enjoyed my spell at Sunderland. Roy Keane is an excellent manager and it has been a great learning experience for me to work with him and the rest of the coaching staff. We are hoping to win promotion so there are a lot of big games coming up between now and the end of the season. That suits me because I want to be involved in matches like that as much as possible. I've really enjoyed this season with club and country but I know you have to keep working at this game and that's exactly what I intend to do.”
Finally, David Healy admits that Northern Ireland’s expectations have risen ‘remarkably’ following their Euro 2008 qualifying exploits. With the team now top of the group Healy realises that with it comes a new sense of expectation amongst everyone associated with the team. Healy’s goals have been a key factor to the teams great form with the striker netting nine already in the campaign. He said: “They were important goals not just for me, but the team. It puts us top of the group with a massive win. We expected not just a win, but a result tonight. We dug in, ground it out and ground them to a halt, and we got a deserved win. I think everybody is starting to expect them (wins). With the results, expectation has risen remarkably over the past couple of years, so long may it continue.” |
