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International round-up: Back-to-back wins for Lewis and Northern Ireland
Jamal Lewis was on the winning side once again on Sunday, as he helped Northern Ireland earn a 1-0 friendly win over Estonia in Tallinn.
The Newcastle United full back started for Ian Baraclough’s men three days on from their convincing 4-1 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania in Vilnius.
And the 23-year-old, who played the entirety of that victory on Thursday, was one of only two players to keep their place in the line-up for the trip to the A. Le Coq Arena.
With the score at 0-0, former Norwich defender Lewis made way for ex-Magpie Shane Ferguson, and he turned out to be the matchwinner for the visitors as he fired home from distance with quarter of an hour remaining.
That winner from Ferguson on the night of his 50th cap means Lewis and his side will now look to make it three wins from three games when they take on Fabian Schär’s Switzerland in a qualifier on Wednesday night (7:45pm kick-off).
Schär, meanwhile, didn’t make it off the bench during his side’s 0-0 draw at home to European champions Italy on Sunday, as Switzerland earned a creditable point.
It was a similar story for a number of other United players, as Ryan Fraser was an unused substitute in Scotland’s 1-0 win over Moldova at Hampden Park.
Jeff Hendrick, meanwhile, remained on the bench during the Republic of Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
And defender Emil Krafth, who helped Sweden inflict a first World Cup qualifying defeat in 66 games on Spain last week, wasn’t part of the matchday squad for his nation’s 2-1 friendly win over Uzbekistan.
Last Friday, meanwhile, young centre back Oisin McEntee got 90 minutes under his belt, as he helped the Republic of Ireland’s youngsters earn a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in an Under-21 European Championship qualifier in Zenica.