Sunderland star awarded Man of the Match after goal-scoring international display

Sunderland defender Dan Ballard opened the scoring and was awarded Man of the Match in Northern Ireland’s 2-0 win over Belarus on Friday evening.

The centre-back has now registered three strikes in his last five international caps, and completed 76 minutes of last night’s contest before being substituted. The clash at Windsor Park was the first start that he has made for club or country since Sunderland’s 3-2 defeat to Plymouth Argyle in mid-September.

Lining up alongside fellow Black Cat Trai Hume in a three-man defence, Ballard broke the deadlock in the 50th minute with a towering header from a Shea Charles corner. Shortly after, Michael O’Neill’s side were awarded a penalty following a handball by Kirill Pechenin, which Dion Charles coolly dispatched to wrap up a comfortable 2-0 win. Northern Ireland now find themselves on the cusp of promotion from their UEFA Nations League group, and could seal it with a positive result against Luxembourg on Monday.

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Addressing Ballard’s goal in his post-match press conference, O’Neill said: "He'll be pleased with that. We need a presence in the box, we haven't really replaced that since big Gareth [McAuley] left. Jonny [Evans] gave us a physical presence, and you need to have a centre-half who can really have an impact in both boxes."

Ballard and Hume were not the only Sunderland players in international action on Friday. Midfielder Jobe Bellingham made his England U21s debut in a 0-0 draw against Spain, with the teenager registering 68 minutes before being replaced by Newcastle United starlet Lewis Miley. Bellingham came close to notching an assist partway through the first half, but his smart through ball into the box was ultimately put wide by Aston Villa winger Jaden Philogene.

Meanwhile, Black Cats defender Leo Hjelde was on the wrong end of a heavy defeat as Norway U21s sank to a 5-1 loss at the hands of Finland in the first leg of their European Championship play-off double header. The 21-year-old picked up a booking and fell two goals behind inside the first four minutes as he and his teammates gave themselves a mountain to climb in Tuesday’s reverse fixture.