Conor Bradley was speaking after he captained Northern Ireland in their Nations League 0-0 draw in Belarus

Conor Bradley captained Northern Ireland for the first time against Belarus(Image: Getty Images)

Conor Bradley was left mystified as to how Northern Ireland failed to score in Saturday's goalless Nations League draw with Belarus as he reflected on a proud night captaining his country for the first time.

The Liverpool right-back had the ball in the net just nine minutes into the match in Zalaegerszeg but saw it ruled out for an offside.

And it turned into a frustrating night at the ZTE Arena as Belarus withstood a first-half onslaught to grind out a point.

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But for the scoreline, it was another encouraging display from a young Northern Ireland side as a new attacking identity emerges.

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"I thought the performance was really good, we played some really good stuff, especially in the first half," Bradley said.

"Some of the patterns of play we've been working on came to fruition out there, it's just really disappointing not to get the three points.

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"I think it's one of the best performances we've had for a while but the ball would not go in the back of the net.

"I think if we'd have got one we could have got three or four.

I thought we did really well to keep a clean sheet and we go again on Tuesday (against Bulgaria).

"I think we know how good we are, and we know how good we can be.

We're still a young team, we're still learning.

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"Definitely the potential is there and if we all get clicking together we can be a good team.

"It was pretty surreal walking out with the boys behind me and having the armband on during the game was pretty special.

"I think it will be a bit nicer if fans are there, but we'll leave that down to Michael to see who he thinks should be the captain on Tuesday."


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