Northern Ireland media reacts to West Brom defender Paddy McNair display in terrible result
West Brom ace Paddy McNair put in a “resilient” display in the 0-0 draw between Northern Ireland and Belarus on 12 October.
The Nations League game was held away from home for McNair and now has Northern Ireland sitting third in the table.
The defender hasn’t had much game time for the Baggies this term as he’s only been given a 61-minute Carabao Cup cameo so far, however, he’s been a regular feature for his country.
Indeed, even though Northern Ireland only managed to come away from the clash with one point, McNair’s performance seemed to benefit the team with the Belfast Telegraph (12 October) rating him a 7/10 and sharing he was “keen” to get forward.
“Keen to get forward from normal defensive duties, the stalwart could have done better with a 14th-minute header. Resilient up against Belarus forward Nikita Korzun,” the Northern Irish outlet wrote.
The Belfast Telegraph (12 October) also added to their comments in their match report and shared his performance in front of Belarus’ goal could have been better.
“Five minutes later McNair, unmarked in the area, nodded Saville’s free-kick delivery wide knowing he ought to have hit the target”.
Belfast Live shared the same opinion and also rated the defender a 7/10, hailing the performance he managed to put in.
“Led by example and helped his young goalkeeper”.
West Brom ace Paddy McNair solid for Northern Ireland
The Baggies have found themselves in stellar form this season, granted, their more recent games have left a lot to be desired but their form at the start of the season can’t be forgotten about.
Carlos Corberan has turned the fortunes of West Brom around and has no doubt helped the team massively.
Their summer window was also rather intriguing, many players were brought in across the board to help bolster the Baggies’ ranks and while McNair’s arrival was something of a surprise, it was a move that made sense.
The Northern Ireland international brought with him a wealth of experience and, his versatility to play in centre-back and defensive midfield no doubt had a role to play in the transfer.
However, his stint with the Baggies is only set to be short as he’s lined up to return to his parent club San Diego FC in January after penning a three-year deal with the MLS side before his Hawthorns arrival.
That leaves the 29-year-old just two and a half months to prove his worth to Corberan and there’s no doubt that his consistently strong performances for his country will help in that regard.
In other West Brom news, an injury update has been shared on Daryl Dike.
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