Fulham defender Aaron Hughes helped keep Northern Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2012 finals alive on Wednesday night, scoring the first goal in a four-nil victory over the Faroe Islands. It was Hughes' first international goal after 13 years of action for Northern Ireland.
After dropping two points to the Faroe Islands earlier in their qualifying campaign, Hughes and company made no mistake on Wednesday night and the Northern Ireland captain was delighted to secure three points from what was a must-win game.
"I'm delighted for everyone tonight,” said Hughes after the game. “We thought it would be a tough game and that they [Faroe Islands] would make it difficult for us and they did.
"They were very defensive. They didn’t really occupy our centre halves and that gave us a bit more freedom to go and attack them.
"We had to be patient and we had to build up. To come away with a 4-0 win, we have to be happy with that. This puts us in a fantastic position in the group. The way other results were going meant we were always in it.”
Hughes paid tribute to teammate Paddy McCourt after seeing the Celtic midfielder score two wonder goals during a commanding performance that has boosted Northern Ireland’s chances of qualifying for the Euro 2012 finals. Hughes and company will now face Serbia and Estonia in early September.
"I'm always impressed with Paddy,” said Hughes. "He makes things look so easy. It's a big comparison but you look at players like George Best and (Lionel) Messi and then you look at Paddy and for some reason he makes it look that easy.
"He's so laid back too - it's his manner. He can go from walking pace to exploding past someone in a second and that's a very good skill to have.
"His feet and his ball control are fantastic. He certainly brings some quality to our side and hopefully if we have him in the team then we can win."
