Georgia 0

Northern Ireland 1

SHEA CHARLES SCORED a last-gasp winner after his brother Pierce saved Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s penalty as Northern Ireland began their Nations League campaign with a dramatic 1-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi.

Ceadach O’Neill came off the bench to win his third international cap in the closing minutes. Before this international window there had been some speculation that O’Neill, a nephew of former Derry GAA forward Eoin Bradley, could have switched his international allegiance to Ireland.

Pierce Charles guessed right to keep out a poor penalty from Paris St Germain’s Ballon d’Or contender in the 65th minute, having already made an excellent save to keep out Georges Mikautadze’s close-range shot earlier in the second half.

Northern Ireland's Ceadach O’Neill during the warm up ahead of the match. William Cherry / INPHO William Cherry / INPHO / INPHO

At the other end, Shea Charles had spurned the visitors’ best chances to score but, in the ninth minute of time added on, scrambled home from Trai Hume’s cross, securing a first ever away win for Northern Ireland in this competition.

There was a nervous VAR check for offside but eventually Shea Charles, who this summer became the most expensive Northern Ireland player in history with a £30million (€34.9m) move to Fulham from Southampton, could celebrate only his second international goal.

Michael O’Neill had been frustrated with several decisions from referee Orel Grinfeeld – not least the penalty, which came after Dan Ballard and Luka Locoshvili tussled in the box and Grinfeeld was sent to the monitor for a lengthy look at the replay.

But although Northern Ireland left the pitch celebrating, there was a major blow in stoppage time as Ballard pulled up clutching his hamstring.

A slow start to the match might have been influenced by an odd atmosphere inside the 54,000-capacity Boris Paichadze National Stadium.

Officially behind closed doors due to sanctions on the Georgian FA following crowd trouble last year, more than 6,000 schoolchildren were allowed in.

With many brandishing vuvuzelas, it was no surprise they successfully drowned out the 60 or so Northern Ireland fans given special dispensation to attend after booking their travel before being made aware of the stadium ban.

Northern Ireland’s Trai Hume with Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. William Cherry / INPHO William Cherry / INPHO / INPHO

Hume made an early statement with a sliding tackle on Kvaratskhelia, and gradually Northern Ireland grew into the game as Shea Charles and Isaac Price threatened.

Georgia did not have a single attempt at goal until the 38th minute but were a whisker away from taking the lead when they did, with Hume hacking off the line after Kvaratskhelia’s corner found Giorgi Kvernadze unmarked at the back post.

Northern Ireland were quick to threaten at the start of the first half. Pierce Charles punted a long free-kick into the Georgia box, and Mamardashvili punched it into the path of Shea Charles whose first-time shot was blocked by Lasha Dvali with the goalkeeper out of position.

Mikautadze then found space too easily on the edge of the six-yard box, but Pierce Charles adjusted superbly to turn the ball over, and 12 minutes later he was celebrating denying Kvaratskhelia from the spot.

The Georgia captain staggered his run-up but did not get enough power on the strike and Pierce Charles pushed it away.

Mamardashvili smothered one effort from Shea Charles at the end of a counter before the Fulham midfielder dragged wide when well-placed, but he made the difference at the death after Georgia failed to deal with a long throw into the box.