t was a historic night at Windsor Park, and Cristiano Ronaldo has
always had a strong sense of history. As Northern Ireland prepared to
get the bulldozers in and revamp their national stadium, Portugal's
captain was aiming to equal Eusebio's record of 41 international goals
-- as the country's second highest all-time scorer -- at the very ground
where A Pantera Negra scored his final goal for his country in March
1973.
Ronaldo got his metaphorical garlands -- and his matchball -- in the end, with his hat-trick pulling his team out of a dangerous situation. This was, however, no mere procession. As has been the way of things in this qualifying campaign, Portugal did this with an acute sado-masochism. Arriving in Belfast, they had been through the wringer since October's game between the two, when they had been a shambles under torrential rain and against a steadfast green rearguard at the Dragao.
Late avoidance of defeat in Israel and a laboured win in Azerbaijan gave way to victory over Russia and Lisbon, and a surprise defeat in Belfast for Fabio Capello's men which gave a glimmer of opportunity for Paulo Bento's side. Portugal still had work to do here. By the time we were underway, Russia had already got back on track -- as foreseen -- with a routine 4-1 win over Luxembourg in Moscow.
There is resourcefulness in this Portugal as much as there is chaos, but they shouldn't have had to dig deep even at an appropriately noisy Windsor Park. Even at their nadir in Porto back in autumn, they had pulled a point from the bottom of a deep hole. Here, after a steady start, Bento's men managed to dig themselves a fresh one from scratch.
In a steady start, it looked as if Ronaldo might not need to be at full pelt for Portugal to get the win necessary to keep the pressure on Russia. He was a mere distraction for the home defence at Joao Moutinho's 21st minute corner, allowing the lurking Bruno Alves to finish deftly from the edge of the area and finished when a limp clearance came out to him.
Some sort of rhythm followed, and Vieirinha almost put the finishing touch to a flowing move from the left, with Roy Carroll down sharply to save. It was a cause for optimism, with Portugal never guaranteed to flow. In terms of selection, Bento is extremely loyal -- or unadventurous, depending on your point of view -- meaning he is often a hostage of fate. Yet his chosen ones were in good nick going into this, with his front three a particular case in point. Ronaldo had sharpened his shooting boots against Athletic last weekend, Vierinha continues to be influential for Wolfsburg and Helder Postiga put a pair past Barcelona last weekend to take his tally to three in three for new club Valencia. There was strength on the bench too, though Bento's hand had been forced a little through injuries, meaning the in-form Lica (Porto), Nelson Oliveira (Rennes) and Adrien Silva (Sporting) were drafted in after the initial list was released.
There were, however, questions at the other end. Fabio Coentrao's aborted late move to Manchester United had brought him back into the headlines after a spell on the periphery. He may well have proved an asset to David Moyes, as he habitually provides Portugal with an extra attacking dimension, but his lack of match sharpness began to show here when the home side attacked, as he was slipped a feint or two by an increasingly confident Niall McGinn.
The
goals either side of half-time which put Portugal into a losing
position were predictable in their origin, with the excellent Gareth
McAuley heading in Shane Ferguson's in-swinging corner and Rui Patricio
then unable to hold onto a Jonny Evans header from another Ferguson
delivery and (an admittedly offside) Jamie Ward bundling it into the
net. Some might say that McAuley made a potentially crucial contribution
between times as the protagonist in Postiga's red card, just before
half-time, but the West Bromwich Albion man did his best to save the
Portuguese, staying on his feet after the forward foolishly nodded his
head into the defender's face.
At 2-1 down and a man down, Portugal were in real trouble. There were given a lifeline thanks to a moment of madness by Chris Brunt, whose lunging tackle on Joao Pereira earned him a second yellow right on the hour making in ten-a-side, but Ronaldo still emerged to make a difference on a night which seemed destined to be inauspicious. He had seemed close to losing it himself in the first half, taking a booking for his protests in the immediate aftermath of the Postiga sending-off and then unwisely hanging around to complain to the fourth official as the teams left the pitch for the interval, pointing to his calf conspiratorially as he complained of rough treatment.
He had been under the cosh in Belfast before, as a 20-year-old in a November 2005 friendly -- a 1-1 draw during which he was frequently whistled. He got the same treatment here from his very first touch here, drawing a hail of boos from the off, follow by a few rounds of 'Messi' before the Windsor stands swelled to a chorus of 'You're just a cheap Gareth Bale.' Being Cristiano, he wasn't disposed to turn the other cheek, pulling out his best flicks and drag backs like a footballing version of Eminem in '8 Mile'.
Despite ending the match on top, he spent much of the night here as the heaving-in-the-bathroom hopeful of the film's opening scenes, rather than the dextrous, strutting freestyler on a Detroit dive's stage in the climax. Yet he found a way, firstly with an imperious near-post header from a Moutinho corner, then with another from a central position from a Coentrao cross - with an overworked defence distracted by the significant presence of the impressive substitute Nelson Oliveira. The hat-trick followed with a driven free-kick through a flimsy defensive wall.
So Portugal continue to thrill under Bento, and Ronaldo continues to save. But for how long can they keep getting out of these scrapes?
Ronaldo got his metaphorical garlands -- and his matchball -- in the end, with his hat-trick pulling his team out of a dangerous situation. This was, however, no mere procession. As has been the way of things in this qualifying campaign, Portugal did this with an acute sado-masochism. Arriving in Belfast, they had been through the wringer since October's game between the two, when they had been a shambles under torrential rain and against a steadfast green rearguard at the Dragao.
Late avoidance of defeat in Israel and a laboured win in Azerbaijan gave way to victory over Russia and Lisbon, and a surprise defeat in Belfast for Fabio Capello's men which gave a glimmer of opportunity for Paulo Bento's side. Portugal still had work to do here. By the time we were underway, Russia had already got back on track -- as foreseen -- with a routine 4-1 win over Luxembourg in Moscow.
There is resourcefulness in this Portugal as much as there is chaos, but they shouldn't have had to dig deep even at an appropriately noisy Windsor Park. Even at their nadir in Porto back in autumn, they had pulled a point from the bottom of a deep hole. Here, after a steady start, Bento's men managed to dig themselves a fresh one from scratch.
In a steady start, it looked as if Ronaldo might not need to be at full pelt for Portugal to get the win necessary to keep the pressure on Russia. He was a mere distraction for the home defence at Joao Moutinho's 21st minute corner, allowing the lurking Bruno Alves to finish deftly from the edge of the area and finished when a limp clearance came out to him.
Some sort of rhythm followed, and Vieirinha almost put the finishing touch to a flowing move from the left, with Roy Carroll down sharply to save. It was a cause for optimism, with Portugal never guaranteed to flow. In terms of selection, Bento is extremely loyal -- or unadventurous, depending on your point of view -- meaning he is often a hostage of fate. Yet his chosen ones were in good nick going into this, with his front three a particular case in point. Ronaldo had sharpened his shooting boots against Athletic last weekend, Vierinha continues to be influential for Wolfsburg and Helder Postiga put a pair past Barcelona last weekend to take his tally to three in three for new club Valencia. There was strength on the bench too, though Bento's hand had been forced a little through injuries, meaning the in-form Lica (Porto), Nelson Oliveira (Rennes) and Adrien Silva (Sporting) were drafted in after the initial list was released.
There were, however, questions at the other end. Fabio Coentrao's aborted late move to Manchester United had brought him back into the headlines after a spell on the periphery. He may well have proved an asset to David Moyes, as he habitually provides Portugal with an extra attacking dimension, but his lack of match sharpness began to show here when the home side attacked, as he was slipped a feint or two by an increasingly confident Niall McGinn.
PA PhotosCristiano Ronaldo celebrates after netting his second goal against Northern Ireland.
At 2-1 down and a man down, Portugal were in real trouble. There were given a lifeline thanks to a moment of madness by Chris Brunt, whose lunging tackle on Joao Pereira earned him a second yellow right on the hour making in ten-a-side, but Ronaldo still emerged to make a difference on a night which seemed destined to be inauspicious. He had seemed close to losing it himself in the first half, taking a booking for his protests in the immediate aftermath of the Postiga sending-off and then unwisely hanging around to complain to the fourth official as the teams left the pitch for the interval, pointing to his calf conspiratorially as he complained of rough treatment.
He had been under the cosh in Belfast before, as a 20-year-old in a November 2005 friendly -- a 1-1 draw during which he was frequently whistled. He got the same treatment here from his very first touch here, drawing a hail of boos from the off, follow by a few rounds of 'Messi' before the Windsor stands swelled to a chorus of 'You're just a cheap Gareth Bale.' Being Cristiano, he wasn't disposed to turn the other cheek, pulling out his best flicks and drag backs like a footballing version of Eminem in '8 Mile'.
Despite ending the match on top, he spent much of the night here as the heaving-in-the-bathroom hopeful of the film's opening scenes, rather than the dextrous, strutting freestyler on a Detroit dive's stage in the climax. Yet he found a way, firstly with an imperious near-post header from a Moutinho corner, then with another from a central position from a Coentrao cross - with an overworked defence distracted by the significant presence of the impressive substitute Nelson Oliveira. The hat-trick followed with a driven free-kick through a flimsy defensive wall.
So Portugal continue to thrill under Bento, and Ronaldo continues to save. But for how long can they keep getting out of these scrapes?
