Hail forces halt to Northern Ireland v Ukraine

Huge hailstones in Lyon caused havoc for Northern Ireland and Ukraine as their Euro 2016 clash was temporarily halted on Thursday.

The Irish were 1-0 up in their Group C encounter when the heavens opened at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, forcing the referee to suspend the action.

Hailstones battered the players as they ran down the tunnel for respite just short of the hour mark, although the break proved brief as they were back on the pitch two minutes later.

Gareth McAuley gave Michael O’Neill’s side – who lost their opening game 1-0 to Poland – the lead with a powerful header after a lacklustre first 45 minutes.

Players coming off as huge hail stones rain down in Lyon #UKRNIR #EURO2016

— Iain Strachan (@IainStrachan) June 16, 2016