Charles stars in Northern Ireland win
Shea Charles put in a Player of the Match performance for Northern Ireland on Friday night, as several Saints were in international action over the weekend.
Charles played the full 90 minutes as the Green and White Army beat Slovakia 2-0 in their World Cup qualifier, thanks to a Patrik Hrošovský own goal and late Trai Hume strike.
The Saints midfielder won the fan vote for his performance in Belfast and will look for a repeat performance when Germany come to town on Monday night (7.45pm BST).
Also in World Cup qualifying action, Ryan Manning featured throughout as the Republic of Ireland suffered a heartbreaking late defeat to Portugal in Lisbon.
Ryan Manning completed 90 minutes against Portugal
Playing at left wing-back, Manning put in a strong performance as Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side looked to have secured a well-earned point, especially when Cristiano Ronaldo’s 75th-minute penalty was saved by Brentford’s Caoimhín Keller, only for Rúben Neves to net a stoppage time winner to leave the Republic of Ireland bottom of Group F.
Fellow Saints Gavin Bazunu and Finn Azaz were unused substitutes but will hope to be involved in Dublin against Armenia on Tuesday night (7.45pm BST).
Also among the substitutes was Mads Roerslev, as Denmark comfortably beat Greece 3-1 in World Cup qualifying on Sunday.
Rounding off the weekend’s action, Jay Robinson started for England Under-19s in their 4-1 friendly win over Belgium on Saturday.
The first of two friendlies in Spain, Saints’ Academy graduate played 67 minutes and will now look to earn another cap against Wales on Tuesday (11am BST).
