Rangers pair lift NIreland to win over San Marino

Northern Ireland cruised to a 4-0 victory over San Marino at Windsor Park on Wednesday, after Rangers pair Kyle Lafferty and Steven Davis ensured the team got a crucial boost in World Cup qualifying Group Three.

Grant McCann and Keith Gillespie came close in the opening minutes as Northen Ireland pressed from the off.

David Healy broke the deadlock on the half hour mark after a pass from George McCartney set up the Sunderland star with a golden opportunity to slip the ball under Federico Valentini from close range.

Following excellent build-up play, Healy turned provider, cutely cushioning the ball off for McCann, who slotted home Ireland's second on 43 minutes.

The home side were in the ascendency, confidently pushing on in a bid to finish off the group's bottom team.

Nigel Worthington's team have claimed only one point from their opening three games, and the players wanted to avoid a repeat of last weekend when two late goals from Slovenia denied them a deserved draw.

That cushion came in the 56th minute when Rangers star Lafferty followed up a blocked Healy effort to tuck the ball into an empty net for the home side's third.

San Marino's frustration was summed up by Mauro Marani's sending-off seven minutes later for lashing out at Crewe midfielder Michael O'Connor after a collision.

It was another Rangers player Davis who sealed the morale-boosting win for the Irish, when the man from Ballymena linked with team-mate Lafferty in the 74th minute to make it four.