Slovakia 0-0 Northern Ireland: Kyle Lafferty in injury scare after Aaron Hughes comes on for 100th cap

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Northern Ireland suffered an injury scare in their final warm-up game for Euro 2016 as England’s Group B opponents Slovakia served warning that they will be a physical force in France.

A 0-0 draw in Trnava saw Michael O’Neill’s side extend their unbeaten run to 12 games as they prepare to fly to their base in Lyon on Sunday.

But top scorer Kyle Lafferty and defender Craig Cathcart limped off either side of half-time, the victims of some rough treatment from Slovakia.

Northern Ireland striker Lafferty limped off in the second half of the friendly on Saturday night

O’Neill insisted that both players were taken off as a precaution ahead of Northern Ireland’s Group C opener against Poland in Nice next Sunday.

But he said: ‘I felt that some of the challenges under normal circumstances would have been punished with a yellow card but weren’t. 

'The referee was lenient in favour of the home side at times.

‘Cathcart got a bad challenge, I thought. Obviously it was let go, like many.

‘Kyle just had a little bit of a tight calf from a kick. He wanted to stay on but there was no sense in it, and the same with Craig. If it was Poland in that situation and we needed them, they wouldn’t have come off.’

Slovakia face England in St Etienne on June 20, and Wales play in their opening game, and O’Neill added: ‘They will be a tough match in the group with England and Wales. It’s going to be a tough game for both those countries, they’re a very strong team.’

Cathcart was replaced by Aaron Hughes as the 36-year-old former Fulham and Newcastle defender became the first outfield player to reach 100 caps for Northern Ireland, 18 years after making his international debut against Slovakia.

Northern Ireland striker Lafferty exchanges words with Slovakia defender Martin Skrtel during running battle

‘He didn’t want the caps given to him and he certainly wasn’t given one tonight,’ said O’Neill. ‘ It was important we know he’s till ready, and he certainly showed that.’

Having beaten Germany in Augsburg last weekend, Slovakia once again showed their quality as they applied pressure throughout. But they could not break down a stubborn Northern Ireland ahead of their first ever appearance in the European Championship finals.

With Stuart Dallas given permission to miss the game because he was getting married back home, Shane Ferguson was handed an opportunity to impress on left and Paddy McNair replaced Conor McLaughlin on the right, while Jamie Ward partnered Lafferty in attack.

Defender Aaron Hughes won his 100th cap against Slovakia, the same team he made his debut against

Lafferty became embroiled in a running battle with Martin Skrtel, at one point squaring up to the Liverpool defender who was lucky to escape a booking when he clipped Ward towards the end of the half.

Slovakia had clearly identified the Norwich striker as the main threat, and rightly so after his seven goals in qualifying. It couldn’t prevent Lafferty from having two efforts on goal in the first half, but the first was blocked by Peter Pekarik, with referee Marian Radu Peterscu rejecting Northern Ireland’s appeals for handball, and the second flew well over after he chested down a long diagonal ball from Cathcart and held off the challenge of Pekarik.

In fact, O’Neill’s side had to wait until added time at the end of the half for their first shot on target when Chris Baird’s freekick squeezed through the wall and caught goalkeeper Matus Kozacik by surprise. He fumbled it but made amends by denying Steven Davis a simple tap-in.

Northern Ireland goalkeeper Michael McGovern was in fine form and kept a clean sheet

It was Slovakia who had the better of the exchanges, though, as you might expect from a team who have enjoyed recent wins over both Spain and Germany, with the impressive Marek Hamsik pulling the strings in midfield.

Vladimir Weiss fired into the side-netting after Dusan Svento burst past Paddy McNair and cut the ball back to the former Manchester City winger, while Baird twice read the danger to step in and clear to safety.

The best chance arrived in the 40th minute following a rather poor clearance by goalkeeper Michael McGovern. The ball was headed back into midfield to Michal Duris and he took one touch before releasing Robert Mak who was just onside. Mak raced clear on goal but McGovern came out to make a fine block.

Northern Ireland will head to the European Championship in France on back of 12-match unbeaten run

The hosts had another great chance just two minutes after the restart when Patrik Hrosovsky played in Weiss with an exquisite pass but he miscued his finish past the upright.

Northern Ireland still posed a threat on the break and Conor Washington, who replaced Lafferty in the 55th minute, almost snatched a goal two minutes later when he charged down the left and forced Kozacik to stretch out a boot and prevent his low effort creeping inside the post. The Viktoria Plzen keeper also grabbed another close-range effort from Washington at the second attempt.

As the second half wore on, Northern Ireland were forced to defend deeper towards their own box but would still not crack. It’s a quality that was crucial in getting them to France, and will be just as crucial in giving them a fighting chance in Group C against Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

Manchester United midfielder Patrick McNair greets Northern Ireland fans after the final whistle

After Slovakia became the 12th opponent in a row to fail to beat O’Neill’s side, no-one will underestimate them at Euro 2016.

O’Neill added: ‘It was a very tough game but that’s why we took it. Slovakia are an excellent team and proved that in Germany last week and in qualification.

‘We knew we would come under a lot of pressure but there were a lot of positives. It was a physical game at times but I thought we stood up to the test well.

‘The most important thing is that the confidence and belief is there in the squad. That wouldn’t have been damaged if we’d lost the game narrowly, but by going 12 games unbeaten and not conceding goals will be the key to having some level of success in the tournament. We recognise that. We’re not going to beat Germany 4-3.

‘To come here and draw 0-0 and be 12 games undefeated is a fantastic place for us to be going into the tournament. If we don’t have belief and confidence now we never will have.’