Before the match, the Northern Ireland boss called for his side to play his style of football and they came up trumps in front of the watching UEFA president Michel Platini.

Platini was in Belfast to present David Healy will an award to mark his record-breaking 13 goals in the Euro 2008 qualifiers and he added his 34th international strike for good measure, either side of Lafferty's first-half double.

Healy's own goal was a slight blip but Peter Thompson completed the scoring with his first strike in a Northern Ireland shirt.

"I was delighted for Kyle Lafferty to get a couple of goals and he knows he has to keep doing that" said Worthington.

STEPHEN McManus is glad he was not among the Old Firm stars who withdrew from the Scotland squad before last night's 1-1 draw with Croatia at Hampden Park.

The lead-up to George Burley's first game in charge of the national side was dominated by seven call-offs, including the Rangers quartet of Barry Ferguson, Christian Dailly, Lee McCulloch and Allan McGregor and Celtic midfielder Barry Robson.

In the absence of Ferguson, Celtic captain McManus was handed the armband for the game, in which Niko Kranjcar's 10th-minute opener was cancelled out by Kenny Miller on the half-hour mark.

McManus, 25, said: "I would have missed out on a big opportunity for myself so I am pleased to have played in it.

FREDDY Eastwood "grasped his opportunity" to make a point to Wolves boss Mick McCarthy.

The Wolves striker, frozen out a Molineux, scored both Wales goals in last night's 2-0 friendly win against a limited, if competitive, Luxembourg.

Wales boss John Toshack said of the out-of-favour striker: "Some players don't take the opportunity when it comes along, but Freddy really grasped the chance to show what he can do."