Kyle Lafferty scored six minutes into his 50th worldwide appearance, Conor Washington claimed his second in three games just before halftime and substitute Will Grigg netted two minutes from time as the Irish claimed a sixth win in 11 games.
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O’Neill’s men open up their Euro 2016 campaign in 15 days time, when they take on Poland in Nice.
Grigg had missed out on the March friendlies, with O’Neill insisting he was better suited staying with Wigan, whom he led to the Sky Bet League One title with a tally of 25 goals.
In-form Wigan forward Grigg, whose viral chant was the song of choice on the Windsor Park terraces throughout, then got the goal the crowd had been begging for as he lashed in his first Northern Ireland strike late on.
Forwards: Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic), Kyle Lafferty (Norwich City), Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock), Conor Washington (Queen’s Park Rangers). I felt it would have been unfair to prolong it and they would have had a fair idea if they were not in the 23 for the Belarus game, so I spoke to them individually and in private.
“I don’t think it would be fair to do it after the game, it was something that had to be managed throughout the week”.
Grigg’s popularity was epitomised by his reception when he came on on the hour mark for Lafferty, whose seven goals in qualification fired Northern Ireland to their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup.
“Meanwhile, Will just kept on scoring – 28 goals for his team and helping them to promotion”.
“If they hadn’t been in the 23 players stripped last night they would have had a fairer idea”.
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A quick look at what Northern Ireland fans thought of McNair’s performance tells you he put in a great shift, with some going as far as to compare his style and performance to that of Yaya Toure.
