Football - Northern Ireland 1 Latvia 0 report

Steven Davis celebrates Northern Ireland's goal against Latvia.

Steven Davis' goal-scoring form continued as the midfielder's strike secured Northern Ireland's first friendly victory since 2008 in a 1-0 win over Latvia at Windsor Park.

A sell-out Windsor Park was in the mood to celebrate Euro 2016 qualification, but despite their recent good form Northern Ireland had not won a friendly since their 4-1 victory over Georgia seven years ago.

The home side, experimenting with a 3-5-2 formation, were frustrated early as Latvia, managed by former Southampton striker Marian Pahars, worked hard to deny Lafferty and Jamie Ward space. The hosts enjoyed 68 per cent of the possession in the first half, but created just one clear cut opportunity.

Lafferty has only played 13 minutes of Premier League football this season, and the Norwich City striker put the hosts' best chance wide of Vanins' far post on 32 minutes. Davis picked out his team-mate with a through ball, and had Lafferty looked up, he may have slotted in an unmarked Ward for a tap-in, but the Canaries forward dragged his effort from 10 yards.

Latvia had drawn their previous four away games, and it was easy to see why as they doggedly defended throughout the opening 45 minutes. Stuart Dallas caused problems down the left-hand side, twice cutting onto his right foot before striking over, while Latvia's only effort on target came on the half-hour mark, when Olegs Laizans tested Michael McGovern from 30 yards.

Jonny Evans, returning to the starting line-up after missing the previous two internationals, headed narrowly wide from Oliver Norwood's set-piece three minutes before the break. Davis broke the deadlock 10 minutes into the second half, latching onto Craig Cathcart's cross-field pass and tapping home after his initial header was saved by the Latvia goalkeeper.

The plan had been for Lafferty to play the 90 minutes, but just prior to the goal the striker was replaced by Josh Magennis. After the game O'Neill revealed the forward had been suffering with illness prior to the match, and at one point late in the first half Lafferty clutched his stomach. Latvia finished bottom of their qualification group after five losses and five defeats in 10 games. But they earned impressive away draws against Iceland, Turkey and Ukraine, and the visitors were unbeaten in their last four matches away from home before heading to Belfast.

Their solid shape meant chances were at a premium despite Northern Ireland's domination, and Davis' strike preceded a flurry of changes as the home side pushed for a second, with Shane Ferguson in particular looking bright in a 20-minute cameo.

Roy Carroll, a replacement for Michael McGovern at half-time, flapped at one Latvia corner, but Pahars' side did not seriously trouble the Northern Ireland defence until the final moments. Rudnevs, after returning to the team for the first time in almost a year, had Carroll scrambling as his opportunistic volley flashed inches wide of the goalkeeper's far post. Northern Ireland were forced to play out the final minutes with 10 men after Chris Baird picked up a late knock and with O'Neill having made all six changes allowed.

But the positives were plenty for the Northern Ireland manager as he builds towards a first major tournament berth for his country since 1986, with Friday night's win extending the squad's current unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions.