Conor Bradley ‘absolutely buzzing’ after scoring Northern Ireland winner

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Conor Bradley was thrilled after scoring his first goal for Northern Ireland, which led Michael O’Neill's team to a 1-0 victory over Scotland in a friendly held at Hampden Park. Scotland's performance fell short of expectations.

In the 32nd minute, Bradley took a shot that was redirected and resulted in Northern Ireland gaining the lead despite being outplayed. Scotland had control of the ball for more than 80% of the game, but were unable to recover from Northern Ireland's goal. This loss marks Scotland's seventh consecutive winless match and raises concerns over their readiness for Euro 2024.

Bradley experienced a significant moment in his successful season. The Green and White Army achieved their first victory at Hampden Park in half a century, and the 20-year-old made history as the first Liverpool player to score for Northern Ireland in more than a century.

"I'm so excited," Bradley expressed to BBC Sport. "I couldn't have even imagined that it would go as well as it did. Winning 1-0 is amazing and it's been an excellent night altogether."

"I had hoped the ball would score and my excitement was through the roof when I saw it go into the uppermost corner. I do not remember what happened next."

Bradley made history by becoming the first Liverpool player from Northern Ireland to play since Sammy Smith in 1954. He also made headlines by being the first Red to score for the country since Billy Lacey way back in 1914.

Bradley exclaimed, "That's insane. I was aware that I am the only Northern Ireland player from Liverpool in nearly 70 years, and that's even more unbelievable."

The victory achieved and Bradley's scored goal shows that Northern Ireland is creating a fresh team for the upcoming times.

They entered the match with a positive outlook, having secured a good 1-1 tie against Romania in a previous away game on Friday. They have managed to perform well against two teams who are participating in the Euros later this year.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome," expressed O'Neill.

The team played exceptionally well and displayed great strength throughout the performance. Our defense was outstanding and we should be proud of the current state of our team. This result is a testament to the team's growth and development, and the players should feel positive about their achievement.

We have faced two top-notch teams who will participate in Germany later this year. This sets a goal for us to strive for. Though we won't be a part of that competition, these matches have helped boost the confidence and belief in our players. This was the whole point of scheduling these games.

Scotland is anticipated to encounter dissimilar games during the finals, wherein they may not possess a considerable amount of ball possession, which could benefit them.

Scotland will have much to consider as they head into the summer, following a sobering week in which they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday.

Leeds defender Liam Cooper expressed his disappointment with the team's training camp, stating that it didn't meet their expectations. Cooper wishes they could enter the months of May and June after a productive stint, but that didn't happen. The team needs to revert to their regular form as soon as possible.

When we left the camp, we didn't become overly pleased with ourselves. Therefore, it is not appropriate for us to start confronting and criticizing one another. Instead, our focus should be on getting back to our true selves and putting in the necessary effort to become the strong team we are capable of being.

Today, the Northern Ireland team played defensively, so we need to have some patience and strategy to score goals. We might have become nervous during the game and could have waited for better opportunities to score in the final part of the game.

There were moments when we had to put in extra effort. However, there is always room for improvement, and I have no doubt that our manager is aware of what needs to be done before the Euros in May. Therefore, we need to focus and work diligently on our tasks ahead.