Northern Ireland 0 Wales 0:When England and Spain meet tonight at Old Trafford it will be as two sides who have been thumped in Belfast, so Wales can take some comfort from this result.
Then again, Northern Ireland were without the injured David Healy, and given that the Leeds United striker has scored all four goals that have left the Irish in a promising position in their European championship group, Lawrie Sanchez's team was not expected to be prolific.
Healy broke his elbow for Leeds last week but will be fit for next month's fixtures against Liechtenstein and Sweden.
The Irish will need him.
Some joked this was the perfect warm-up for Liechtenstein. Wales are not doing so well in their group but they wanted this friendly as they face the Republic of Ireland next month in Dublin. They will have to play better than this at Croke Park.
With Northern Ireland standing 47 in the FIFA world rankings, 27 places above their opponents, there were also bragging rights at stake. But the first half especially was poor and there was little to keep the crowd warm in sub-zero temperatures.
Even without Healy the Irish were better, Barnsley's Grant McCann going closest to scoring with a 63rd minute shot that hit the bar. For the Irish Healy's absence always had the possibility to dominate conclusions about this game but Wales, too, were shaped by those not in John Toshack's starting XI.
Ryan Giggs chose to spend the afternoon across town at Glentoran watching the under-21s' meeting and was not even among the substitutes here. That meant the captain's armband went to Craig Bellamy for the third time.
Bellamy was a predictably lively presence in a match that was open and brisk early on. Behind him, roaming in midfield, was Jason Koumas and as usual his touch was cool and inventive.
Northern Ireland, meanwhile, had Keith Gillespie confirming his aggressive Sheffield United form on the right while Kyle Lafferty, the Burnley striker coveted by Celtic, had a glimpse of a chance but could produce no power in his shot.
Not until the 28th minute was there a meaningful save to be made, Chris Brunt drilling in a shot from 20 yards that Danny Coyne tipped away for a corner.
The night needed something and Sammy Clingan, the midfielder from Nottingham Forest, almost provided it, his mis-hit 30-yard cross sending Coyne back-pedalling to tip the ball away from under his crossbar.
The home side were pushing on and when McCann came on for Clingan his first act was to collect possession just outside the Wales area and beat Coyne with a scooped shot that came back off the crossbar and Gillespie saw his cross find the side-netting in the 73rd minute. The crowd kept willing Northern Ireland on but they have now failed to defeat Wales in their last three games.
Guardian Service
NORTHERN IRELAND: Taylor (Ingham 46), Duff, Craigan (Webb 79), Hughes, Capaldi, Gillespie, Davis, Clingan (McCann 60), Brunt, Lafferty (Thompson 68), Sproule (Shiels 67).
WALES: Coyne, Duffy, Evans, Collins, Nyatanga, Davies, Koumas, Robinson, Parry (Crofts 80), Vaughan (Cotterill 46), Bellamy, Cotterill (Easter 70). Subs Not Used: Jones, Bale, Morgan, Ricketts, Valentine, Llewellyn. Booked: Koumas.
Referee: C Richmond (Scotland).
