Northern Ireland vs Georgia ends goalless after late penalty save

Northern Ireland stayed top of Group B2 after a 0-0 draw with Georgia, and the decisive moment came in the 84th minute when Isaac Price saw his penalty saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili at Windsor Park. The match belonged to the goalkeepers. Mamardashvili’s 8.51 rating and Pierce Charles’s clean sheet framed a night that never found a breakthrough.

Northern Ireland's defensive run

Northern Ireland’s point still left them top of Group B2 by a single point from Hungary, and they have now made it four competitive clean sheets in a row for the first time since 2017. Charles has seven clean sheets in nine competitive appearances, which goes a long way to explaining why [Michael O'Neill](coach: michael-o-neill) trusts him in tight games. His 7.37 rating was second only to Mamardashvili among the players who mattered most here.

Patrick Kelly had the first clear opening in the first half but hesitated and could not finish the move, while Ruairi McConville hit the crossbar in the final 10 minutes before the penalty drama. Those chances were enough to make the draw feel live, but not enough to break a game shaped by two sharp goalkeepers.

Georgia still chasing a first goal

Georgia are still yet to score in this season’s Nations League, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia could not turn his flashes of quality into a breakthrough in Belfast. That left Mamardashvili as the outstanding figure, with his save from Price preserving Georgia’s first clean result of the campaign.

The result keeps Northern Ireland in control of Group B2 after a frustrating night, while Georgia leave Belfast still searching for their first goal in the competition.