SUNDERLAND’S Dan Ballard believes he’s on the right track and has put his injury frustrations behind him after getting some crucial match minutes under his belt for Northern Ireland.
Having played just 11 minutes for Sunderland since mid-September, Ballard clocked up more than 70 against Belarus on Friday night – scoring the goal that set Michael O’Neill’s side on their way to a crucial 2-0 victory.
With Trai Hume suspended and Regis Le Bris set to have to tinker with his defence at Millwall next weekend, Ballard could be in line to make his first start in more than two months.
And he’s set to get more minutes in preparation for his Sunderland return when Northern Ireland take on Luxembourg on Monday night.
Ballard said: “I think it’s nice to be back in from the start.
“I’ve not played much football this season so it was really important for me and I think the gaffer just wanted to manage my minutes.
“It was really positive and everything’s in the right direction now. Hopefully I can build on that and play more minutes.”
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Ballard is not interested in settling for a draw in Luxembourg as Northern Ireland look to finish off their Nations League promotion push in style.
After Friday’s win left them two points clear of Bulgaria at the top of League C Group 3, a point in Luxembourg would be enough for O’Neill’s side to secure a return to the second tier of international football.
But Ballard wants what would be a third win on the bounce as Northern Ireland look ahead to next year’s World Cup qualifiers.
“I think it’s important we get used to that winning feeling,” Ballard said. “We’ve not experienced that as a group. This is a new group so it’s great for confidence.”
Ballard broke the deadlock in Friday’s game, heading in from Shea Charles’ corner in the 50th minute. Belarus failed to deal with the ball at the near post, and left the Sunderland defender with a simple finish.
“It was probably one of my easier ones,” Ballard said. “I didn’t really see the ball until late and it was just a bit of a natural reaction but it’s really nice to score in front of the fans.”
The goal was Ballard’s third in his last five internationals, and his fifth overall for Northern Ireland.
“I feel like I’ve got a natural sort of aggression to attack the ball, especially at the back and that’s something that can be really useful, especially in games like this where it’s hard to break teams down,” Ballard said.
“A set-piece can be so important, so it’s always something I’ve been working on and I enjoy doing it.”
If Northern Ireland can finish the job on Monday, it will be the first time they have topped a group in any competition since qualifying for Euro 2016. The last 12 months have brought a string of encouraging results, giving the side a platform going into World Cup qualifying.
“I think it’s nice just having that confidence going into a game,” Ballard added. “We believed we would win this game.
“Initially when I first came into the team (back in 2020) we’d lost a lot of confidence and it felt like we were going in the wrong direction, but I think that’s flipped now.
“It’s still a really young team, a lot of learning for everyone to do but it’s nice just to enjoy these moments in isolation – it’s always nice to win at Windsor.”
