Hughes praises Wales as McIlroy earns offer

Mark Hughes, the manager of Wales, celebrated Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Ukraine as his country's best-ever performance. It certainly broke the hearts of the hosts, the result sparking a battle between riot police and local supporters.

Wales have no chance of qualifying for the World Cup but the draw salvaged plenty of pride and dealt Ukraine a big blow to their hopes of making it to the 2002 finals.

Hughes said: "I said to the lads that they had just produced the best Welsh performance ever. They showed great self-control, self-discipline and were determined to get a good result after a long, hard season."

Northern Ireland may not have taken any points against the Czech Republic but, on the field at least, they did regain some pride. Five members of their squad were detained in jail following an incident in a Prague nightclub. But, on the pitch, they were minutes from gaining a point before two late goals condemned them to a 3-1 defeat.

There was more good news for Sammy McIlroy after the Irish Football Association's president, Jim Boyce, confirmed that the IFA was hoping to offer the manager a new two-year deal when his present one expires in October.