Evans dismissed as Norn Iron beaten in Baku

Jonny Evans was shown a red card as Northern Ireland suffered another bitterly disappointing World Cup qualification defeat – losing 2-0 to Azerbaijan in Baku. 

With his country already trailing 1-0, the Manchester United centre-back was dismissed after kicking out at Rauf Aliyev in the closing moments of the Group F qualifier.

From the resulting free-kick, Mahir Shukurov curled the ball beyond the reach of ex-Red Devil Roy Carroll. That sealed the home win following Rufat Dadasov’s 58th-minute opener.

Despite controlling the game for long periods, the Ulstermen failed to find a way past Azerbaijan ‘keeper Kamran Agayev.

Norn Iron have endured a bizarre and largely grim qualifying campaign. Despite a fine point in Portugal and a home win over Russia, they have also failed on two occasions to beat Azerbaijan and Luxembourg.

Evans will now be suspended for his country’s final World Cup qualifier in Israel.