BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Corry Evans helped Northern Ireland secure a place at a European Championship for the first time in the country’s history on a landmark night in Belfast.

Michael O’Neill’s giant-killers beat Greece 3-1 at an emotion-charged Windsor Park to seal their place at the Euro 2016 finals in France next summer.

Evans, who is playing some of the best football of his Rovers career, played a massive part in the opening goal of the night.

He played a superb defence-splitting pass through to Stuart Dallas who crossed for captain Steven Davis to score.

Southampton midfielder Davis later netted his second, with a long-range header, after Kilmarnock striker Josh Magennis, who started his career as a goalkeeper, doubled the advantage when he headed in a corner from Reading’s Burnley-born midfielder Oliver Norwood.

Christos Aravidis reduced the deficit late on for the rock-bottom Greeks but it mattered little as table-topping Northern Ireland confirmed their place at a major finals for the first time in 30 years.

And they will definitely win Group F if they take a point from their final fixture in Finland tomorrow.

But there was heartbreak for Rovers captain Grant Hanley and Scotland.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Gordon Strachan’s side seemed set to take their qualification fight to the last round of matches when they came from behind to lead 2-1 against Poland at Hampden Park.

But in injury-time Robert Lewandowski netted his second goal of the game, after a free kick deflected off Hanley’s hand and came back off the post, to earn his country a point which means they will fight it out with Republic of Ireland, who stunned world champions Germany 1-0 in Dublin, for the final automatic qualifying place in Group D.

Had Scotland, who kept Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes on the bench, been able to hold on to the victory, that would have given them a chance of claiming a play-off place with a win in Gibraltar on Sunday.

That now, however, will be a dead rubber.