Northern Ireland recorded their first away win in four years on matchday one, as a comeback victory in Budapest saw Michael O'Neill's men beat Hungary 2-1. The take on the Faroe Islands in Belfast, as they try to cement top spot.

The opening day win was a somewhat historic one for the men in green, with their last away victory coming against Slovenia in 2010.  Hungary are no pushover's, with players like Balázs Dzsudzsák available to their dosposal, this victory on the road has got spirits high in the Northern Irish camp. They face Faroe Islands at Windsor Park on Saturday at 7:45pm, in front of a slim-line crowd due to Windsor Park's ongoing development, but with a 10500 sell out, the renowned "12th man" remains. At International level, a "walkover" is a thing of the past. Team's are more tactically developed so this will remain a tough task for the hosts, and one they will need to win considering they travel to Athens to take on Euro 2004 winners Greece the following Tuesday.

Northern Ireland and Faroe Island's have met before, the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign saw the sides draw 1-1 in Torshavn, with Northern Ireland convincingly winning in Belfast, 4-0. Pat McCourt scored two in that game, which prompted the nickname "The Derry Pele" from the home fans. Since that night, McCourt has been struggling. After being left out of the Hungary squad due to the fact he was a costless agent, he has joined Brighton, meaning O'Neill has recalled the 30 year old for the squad to face the Faroes and Greece. Manchester United duo Jonny Evans and Paddy McNair have both withdrawn from the squad due to injuries meaning the backline will remain similar to the one in Budapest.

Northern Ireland squad:

Goalkeepers: Roy Carroll (Notts County), Alan Mannus (St Johnstone), Michael McGovern (Hamilton Academical).

Defenders: Aaron Hughes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Chris Baird (West Bromwich Albion), Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion), Ryan McGivern (Port Vale), Craig Cathcart (Watford), Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town), Luke McCullough (Doncaster Rovers), Ryan McLaughlin (Liverpool).

Midfielders: Steven Davis (Southampton), Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion), Sammy Clingan (Kilmarnock), Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Oliver Norwood (Reading), Shane Ferguson (Newcastle United), Paul Paton (Dundee United), Ben Reeves (MK Dons), Pat McCourt (Brighton & Hove Albion).

Forwards: Kyle Lafferty (Norwich City), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Jamie Ward (Derby County), Billy McKay (Inverness C.T.), Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock), Will Grigg (MK Dons).

The visitors, Faroe Islands, are a bit of an unknown quantity. At club level, Faroese opposition are a regular event for Linfield FC, with Linfield facing opposition from the Island four out of the last five years in European qualifiers at club level. On matchday one, Faroe Island's lost 3-1 at home to Finland, although, the home side did lead for a long spell of the game. Christian Holst, who scored the Faroes' goal against Finland, who also scored the last time his country and Northern Ireland met in Torshavn, is likely to be the main threat in front of goal for Lars Olsen's men. 18 year old FC Copenhagen midfielder Brandur Olsen could get his first cap for the visitors, as could defender Bardur Hansen.

Northern Ireland will be hoping for a clean sheet and a significant positive goal difference, but O'Neill will be happy with just the 3 points ahead of the massive trip to face Greece next Tuesday.

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About the author
Josh  Smith
Radio co host. Football coach for Ajax at their Northern Irish Academy (Balon AOA). Will probably find me writing on most sites. Email - [email protected]