Lee Hodson and Northern Ireland suffered a shock defeat to minnows Luxembourg on Tuesday night and slipped to within a point of last place.
Hodson, who collected his 11th international cap last night, and his Northern Irish teammates came into the game full of confidence after their encouraging performance against group favourites Portugal and, last month, Russia.
Northern Ireland made a strong start, taking the lead inside the first quarter courtesy of Martin Paterson but goals from Aurelien Joachim and Stefano Bensi put the hosts in front heading into the final 10 minutes.
Gareth McAuley equalised for the Northern Irish on 82 minutes and looked to save their blushes, however a Mathias Janisch strike three minutes from time secured the shock result.
Elsewhere, Under-16s starlet Kevin Danso featured in Austria Under-16s’ 4-2 defeat to Poland yesterday evening.
The young midfielder, who earned his first call-up to the national side last season, won a penalty for his side during the game but failed to convert from the spot as the Austrian youngsters lost the first of two meetings between the two sides. The second takes place this Thursday.
