Niall wins 50th cap

Aberdeen winger Niall McGinn won his 50th cap this evening for Northern Ireland and his country marked the occasion by handing him the captains armband for the International friendly at Windsor Park.

Northern Ireland lost the game 3-0 to Croatia but it was still a very proud night for Niall. Only a handful of players have made over 50 appearances for their country and played for the Dons.

Niall has had a few memorable moments whilst on international duty.

He came off the bench and scored during the 2-0 win over Ukraine at Euro 2016 – the first Aberdeen player to ever have scored at a European Championships. In qualifying for that tournament, McGinn also came off the bench to score and set up a winner in a vital victory in Hungary.

It was back in November 2008 when Niall received his first call-up to the Northern Ireland senior squad by the then manager Nigel Worthington. The winger gained his first cap coming on as a substitute against Hungary on 19 November 2008. He was the first Derry City player to play for the senior Northern Ireland team in 19 years. McGinn scored his first international goal in a draw against Portugal in a FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifier on 16 October 2012. His second goal was that winning goal in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Hungry, at the time it was Northern Ireland's first competitive away victory since September 2010. And his third goal was against the Ukraine.

Before the game Manager and former Don Michael O’Neill added:

“Niall's been great, he's probably the one player who suffers from a tactical aspect in our team more than others. If we play with three at the back, it's hard for him to find a place in the starting line-up.

“There is competition but the one thing he does is always gives you something, maybe he's given us more off the bench. He's unfortunate that we're based in Scotland and he's watched a lot – he's never going to play well every week. He's found a little niche, you know you're going to get something from him. He has an ability to get you back in the game.

“It’s great that a player like Niall is now on 50 caps and joins a great bunch of players.”

Congratulations Niall on winning your 50th cap from everyone at Pittodrie.