Kyle Lafferty spared Northern Ireland a humiliating defeat by the Faeroe Islands on Tuesday when he struck a 76th minute equalizer to earn a 1-1 draw in their European Championship qualifier.
Lafferty finally broke the Faeroes resistance after exchanging passes with Chris Brunt.
Christian Lamhauge Holst gave the home side a shock lead in the 60th minute, when he shot past goalkeeper Maik Taylor after turning Aaron Hughes in the penalty area.
Northern Ireland, which held 2006 World Cup winner Italy to a 0-0 draw last Friday, missed several chances to beat an opponent which had conceded 15 goals in its first four matches.
The draw gives the Faeroes - made up of a group of islands in the north Atlantic - its first point in qualifying.
Though he found the net in the closing stages, Lafferty had a number of scoring chances in the first half, while Jonny Evans missed the target with a header shortly before the break.
Faeroes goalkeeper Jakup Mikkelsen produced a good save to deny Lafferty with a header, shortly before Holst's goal.
In their next qualifiers, Northern Ireland faces Serbia on March 25 and the Faeroe Islands plays Slovenia on June 3.
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Lineups:
Faeroe Islands: Jakup Mikkelsen, Jonas Tor Naes, Erling Jacobsen, Johan Davidsen, Atli Gregersen, Daniel Udsen (Jann Ingi Petersen, 68) , Frodji Benjaminsen, Simun Samuelsen (Arnbjorn Hansen, 78), Christian Lamhauge Holst (Justinus Hansen, 85), Joan Edmundsson, Hjalgrom Elttor.
Northern Ireland: Maik Taylor, Gareth McAuley, Jonny Evans, Stephen Craigan, Chris Baird, Steven Davis, Niall McGinn (Corry Evans, 83), Kyle Lafferty, Warren Feeney (David Healy, 50), Chris Brunt, Aaron Hughes.
