Paul Smyth marked his first start for Northern Ireland with a goal and an assist as they saw off San Marino 3-0, but although Michael O’Neill’s side ended a five-game losing streak it was a largely drab affair at Windsor Park.

QPR striker Smyth, earning a sixth cap, got his first competitive goal for his country just five minutes in and then teed up Josh Magennis to get the second moments later, but it took until the 81st minute for Northern Ireland to get a third as substitute Conor McMenamin got his maiden strike.

Victory over a side ranked 207th and last in the world will do nothing to solve the bigger problems that have plagued Northern Ireland throughout a miserable Euro 2024 qualifying campaign and beyond, but it does at least change the narrative as they recorded a first home win in over a year.

Looking to mix things up, O’Neill brought a number of fresh faces into his starting line-up, with Conor Hazard making his first competitive appearance in goal and first starts for Smyth and Dale Taylor.

Almost immediately the two forwards combined as Taylor met Smyth’s low cross at the near post, but he was unable to keep his shot down from a difficult angle.

No matter, because two minutes later Smyth scored, arriving on cue to volley in Jamal Lewis’ dinked cross from the left.

And only six minutes later, Magennis doubled the advantage as Smyth turned provider, driving a low cross in from the right which Magennis turned in at the near post – his first goal since the winner against Kosovo in September 2022, Northern Ireland’s last Windsor Park victory before this.

Any fears that San Marino might upset a struggling Northern Ireland side dissipated and they continued to drive forward against their part-time opponents, with Daniel Ballard heading narrowly wide and Trai Hume sending a shot over from distance after being encouraged to try his luck by the crowd.

Smyth thought he had a second in the 31st minute when Jonny Evans sent forward a long ball and he arrived to lift it over the goalkeeper with another volleyed finish, but it was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check.

But despite the scoreline the atmosphere inside Windsor Park felt flat, to the extent that at one point in the first half chanting was even played on the PA system, and it was not helped when a torrential downpour before half-time sent those in the family stand scrambling for cover.

The 19-year-old Taylor had chances to emulate Smyth’s achievement on his first start after the break, but headed over from Paddy McNair’s free-kick and then squandered a better opportunity just before the hour, poking a shot wide after being played in by Magennis.

O’Neill then brought on another exciting teenager in West Ham striker Callum Marshall, one of three changes as Conor Washington and Isaac Price also came on with Smyth, Magennis and Evans departing and Ballard taking the captain’s armband.

Washington was fortunate to avoid an almost immediate red card when he connected heavily with the ankle of Lorenzo Lazzari, but referee Bram Van Driessche decided a yellow card was sufficient after being advised to check the replay.

San Marino goalkeeper Elia Benedettini made a double save to deny Price and then Marshall but Northern Ireland were struggling to carve out clear chances as the visitors defended deep.

But McMenamin came on along with Brodie Spencer with a little over 10 minutes left, and the St Mirren winger was on the scoresheet moments later.

Benedettini got a hand to a powerful strike from Washington, but could only push it into the centre of goal, where McMenamin was waiting to wrap up the win for Northern Ireland.

Josh Magennis is determined to keep proving his worth to Northern Ireland for as long as possible.

When manager Michael O’Neill said after last month’s defeat to Kazakhstan he needed to evaluate some of the older players in his squad and whether they could still deliver for the team, the 33-year-old Magennis recognised he was among those under the spotlight.

But a player who has 73 caps for Northern Ireland, having made his debut against Turkey in May 2010, still savours every opportunity to represent his country.

“It’s up to me to stay fit, perform at club level and when I get a chance in matches here or in training show I’m still worth having around,” Magennis told the PA news agency.

“I know I’m getting on but to me that’s just an excuse, whether people say it for you or you say it yourself. If you still play with intent, with the sports science that’s available now you can play endlessly. It’s up to you to prove you are worth your place in the squad.”

Magennis went as far as telling fans at a meet-and-greet event in Belfast this week that he would fancy playing at Euro 2028 when it is hosted by the UK and Ireland in four and a half years’ time, when he would be just shy of 37.

“Playing for your country is the biggest accolade you’ve ever had,” Magennis said. “I’m never going to retire and nor will I ever say I’ve retired.

“If Michael decides, or anyone else decides, they don’t want me to come any more that’s up to them but I can never retire on my country. That’s not how I will be going out.”

His love of playing shines through as he discusses his season so far with League One Wigan and “riding the wave” of being back after an injury lay-off.

Magennis saw his 2022-23 campaign cut short by a bad knee injury in April, forcing him to miss Northern Ireland’s June fixtures as he went through a lengthy rehabilitation process.

Although Magennis got himself back to fitness by August, the early season form of Charlie Wyke, who has scored six in 11 for Wigan, has meant all but two of his 10 club appearances have been from the bench, but one of them saw him score a hat-trick in an EFL Trophy win over Leicester Under-21s.

“Charlie has been on fire and I’ve just had to wait for my chance,” Magennis said. “At any level scoring goals is massive. The goals don’t move. I’m just feeling good to be back and ready.”

Goals would certainly not go amiss for a Northern Ireland side who have only scored four in their six Euro 2024 qualifiers to date, suffering four 1-0 defeats along the way.

Qualification is beyond them but there is a clear opportunity to end a five-game losing streak when San Marino, the only team O’Neill’s side have beaten so far, visit Windsor Park on Saturday.

But while they can change the mood with victory, Magennis said the team does not need a reset.

“It’s not about trying to change our mentality,” he said. “Michael is working towards something.

“I don’t want to say we’re rebuilding but there’s been an influx of new players, a lot of players Michael’s not been around before and a lot of players who are experiencing international football for the first time.

“It’s just about trying to keep going, keep grafting and trying to implement what Michael wants us to do. It’s been tough not winning. This is a results-based business and everyone wants to win but there’s a process and Michael has proved this process has worked before. We’ve got to trust in it.”

Michael O’Neill admitted poor defending cost Northern Ireland dear in a damaging 4-2 defeat to Slovenia but it was another game of fine margins in Ljubljana.

Northern Ireland ended the night having created more chances than their hosts but on the wrong end of the scoreline as they struggled to contain Slovenia’s strike pairing of Benjamin Sesko and Andraz Sporar.

Isaac Price’s first international goal had cancelled out Sporar’s third-minute strike but all too quickly Northern Ireland were behind again when Petar Stojanovic’s strike deflected off Jonny Evans in the 17th minute, with Sesko giving Slovenia breathing space before the break.

Although Evans got O’Neill’s side back into it in the 53rd minute, almost immediately Sporar settled it to deliver what is surely a fatal blow to Northern Ireland’s hopes of progressing from Group H as they lost for a fourth straight match.

But although they conceded four, O’Neill could be happy with the attacking intent showed by his side, with Conor McMenamin carrying the threat after getting the nod on the right wing.

“It was a game full of incident clearly, six goals,” O’Neill said. “I thought we played very well in the game. We defended poorly at times, we struggled to deal with Sesko and Sporar who we knew would be the biggest threat and they proved to be that.

“But we did a lot of good things in the game. Some of the attacking play was very very good, we created a lot of chances and that was the best attacking play we’ve had in the campaign so far. Playing with two wingers helped us with the chances we created.

“The most disappointing thing in the game is how we managed the period in the game from 1-1 to 2-1, I think that was the period where we needed to be stable and we weren’t. Also from 3-2 to 4-2, we conceded too early after the game went to 3-2.

“We were trying to find a way back in the last 15 minutes and asked some questions and again the goalkeeper makes two or three good saves. It was an open game. I was disappointed to lose the game but pleased with a lot of aspects, some of the younger players were terrific.”

There were late chances for McMenamin and substitutes Josh Magennis and Paul Smyth, but although Northern Ireland had more possession and more chances than their hosts, they lacked the sort of firepower offered by RB Leipzig’s Sesko and Sporar of Panathinaikos.

After coming out on the wrong end of three consecutive 1-0 defeats, this was a very different result, but a similar story of Northern Ireland not being outplayed.

“The biggest difference in the game was probably the front two,” O’Neill said. “It’s a big part of the team. I don’t think we saw a lot between the teams on the night but they were clinical.

“Both Sorpar and Sesko were a threat all night. Some of our players were excellent as well and the chances we created, we’re probably disappointed we only scored twice in the game. We have to accept the defeat and move on.”

McMenamin was the brightest spark, with the 28-year-old showing the confidence gained from his summer move from Glentoran to St Mirren.

“Conor had a great game, he was very, very positive from the outset,” O’Neill said. “He’s a player who has come late to international football, late to professional football.

“In the summer he got his first move into the Scottish Premiership and I think he’s made great strides in the space of six to eight weeks he’s been in the there so there’s a lot more in Conor.”