Cyprus v Northern Ireland: Pressure on after slow start

On Wednesday the manager had set his side a points target of 12 for their four fixtures this month, but this is a result that leaves Northern Ireland already facing an uphill task in their goal of promotion out of League C.

Victory in Cyprus is vital and they are 20/21 favourites to claim three points, with the draw 21/10 and Cyprus 17/5.

No joy for Cyprus

Cyprus also got off to a slow start as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Kosovo in their opening match.

They fell behind in the 65th minute to Valon Berisha’s opener before Edon Zhegrova doubled Kosovo’s lead in the 78th minute.

It means the pressure is on both teams to get back on track here and could lead to an open game, with 6/5 available for both teams to score while over 2.5 goals is 31/20.

Both teams look short of confidence though and a 0-0 draw is a short price at 11/2, while Northern Ireland are 7/4 to win to nil.

Looking at the #YourCall options for Cyprus v Northern Ireland betting tips, the best option may be under 1.5 goals in the first half, under 2.5 goals in the second half and either team to win at 11/10 given that a draw is not of much use to either team.

Golden oldies can show the way

Baraclough blamed rustiness for Northern Ireland’s performance against Greece and will hope his players look sharper in their second match of the international window.

With a squad of players drawn from different leagues, many of whom have not played a competitive match in several weeks, Baraclough said the fitness levels of his side played a role.

“I thought in the first half you could see a team of players that haven’t played for a little while,” he said.

“Not everybody, but there was rustiness, we couldn’t get the first pass away, couldn’t find the through ball, the cohesion and the timing of runs.

“The intensity looked a little low. Some were holding back, not sure if they could make the 90 minutes. In the second half we had more intensity and that gets the crowd going a bit more and it takes us forward more.

“I’d have liked more crossing. I think we turned down crossing, and certainly when you bring a guy like Laff on who thrives on crosses, Dion Charles as well, that’s the impact of the substitutes that you’re looking for.”

"We need to learn how to win football matches…" 😬

Northern Ireland midfielder George Saville speaking after their defeat to Greece in the Nations League, as their winless run in the competition continues 🔊🔛 pic.twitter.com/ugyDuibvIk

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 3, 2022

Manchester City’s Shea Charles came on to make his debut with 10 minutes to go, the 11th player to be handed his first cap by Baraclough, but though there were several youngsters on at the end, it was Lafferty and McGinn who had offered hope of finding an equaliser.

They could be handed starts here and Lafferty looks a good shout to be the first goalscorer at 7/2 for our Cyprus v Northern Ireland betting tips, while McGinn is available at 13/2.

“Sometimes you do need that experience,” Baraclough added. “Sometimes you give kids a chance and we will do – I thought Shea Charles looked very assured and that’s a credit to him – but some of the younger ones were panicking at times, not wanting to give the ball away.

“You are going to make those mistakes but you need to learn from it.”

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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication