Blackburn's Atcheson features in dramatic Northern Ireland victory

Blackburn Rovers midfielder Tom Atcheson played 85 minutes as Northern Ireland secured a dramatic 1-0 away win over Georgia in the Nations League, with manager Michael O'Neill praising his side's resilience.

Tom Atcheson continued his impressive season with a key role in Northern Ireland's dramatic late victory in the Nations League. The 20-year-old Blackburn Rovers midfielder started and played 85 minutes as his country beat Georgia 1-0 away on Friday night.

Atcheson's performance in Tbilisi highlights his growing importance for Michael O'Neill's side and reflects his continued development at Ewood Park. He has already contributed an assist for Oladapo Afolayan's goal in Blackburn's 3-1 win over Millwall earlier this month. The young midfielder is part of a Rovers squad currently sitting 16th in the Championship with nine points from eight games, a position they will look to improve when they host Cardiff City next month.

Dramatic finish in Tbilisi

The match was decided in the 99th minute by a goal from Fulham's Shea Charles. His winner came after a tense second half where Northern Ireland had to withstand significant pressure. Georgia's star forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw a controversial penalty saved by goalkeeper Pierce Charles, Shea's brother, which kept the visitors level.

Manager Michael O'Neill pointed to his team's resilience after the final whistle. "In the second half we had to show a lot of resilience," O'Neill said. He added that this was required "not only against the opposition, who were very good in the second half when they got Kvaratskhelia in the game a lot more, but some of the decisions that went against us."

International round-up

Other Blackburn players were also in action during the international break. Goalkeeper Balazs Toth collected another cap for Hungary, who were beaten 1-0 at home by Ukraine. Danylo Sikan scored the only goal in the 42nd minute before Ukraine finished the match with ten men after Oleksandr Nazarenko's late red card.

Forward Andri Gudjohnsen could feature for Iceland against Estonia, while Kristi Montgomery is with the Scotland squad hoping to make his senior debut away at Slovenia. The international contributions underline the growing profile of players within the Blackburn Rovers squad, which fans can explore in detail on the club's squad page.

Atcheson will now return to club duty with Rovers, who are looking to build on a recent run of form that reads one win, two draws and two defeats from their last five Championship outings. Their next match is at home to Cardiff City on 10 October.