Vedat Muriqi got his 19th and 20th goals for KosovoThere seems to be no end to Northern Ireland's Nations League misery as a 3-2 defeat by Kosovo means they have now gone 13 games without a win in the competition.
Striker Vedat Muriqi scored an early penalty for the hosts in Pristina, with Zymer Bytyqi doubling the lead moments later.
Shayne Lavery headed home for the visitors on the stroke of half-time before Muriqi grabbed his second soon after the break.
A header seven minutes from time by Daniel Ballard, Northern Ireland's best player on the night, produced a late flurry from the visitors, with Conor McMenamin failing to connect with a great chance to snatch an equaliser.
The defeat continues a hugely disappointing start to Nations League Group C2 for Ian Baraclough's much-changed side after they opened with an abject 1-0 loss at home to Greece and followed that with a flat 0-0 draw in Cyprus on Sunday.
It leaves the former Under-21 manager's record in charge of the senior international team standing at just three wins and 10 defeats in 19 competitive outings.
They went into this opening Nations League quadruple-header with Baraclough calling for four wins from four, but he and his young squad now welcome the Cypriots to Windsor Park on Sunday under pressure from supporters and desperate for a much-needed victory.
The manager said in the build-up to the match that he was still the best man to lead Northern Ireland and there were signs in the second half that his team were displaying more energy than they had in their previous matches, but they were still very-much second best against a team ranked 53 places below them in the world rankings.
Kosovo's opener came in the ninth minute when a rare moment of recklessness from experienced Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis saw him needlessly lunge in and bring down Milot Rashica just inside the penalty area.
Jakob Kehlet pointed to the spot and up stepped Muriqi who showed no nerves as he calmly slotted a low left-foot strike into the bottom corner and beyond the reach of the outstretched Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Bytyqi made it 2-0 on 19 minutes when he made the most of teenage full-back Brodie Spencer, making his first NI start, switching off and not tracking his run, allowing the forward to get inside him and volley home an excellent cross by Milot Rashica.
Lavery, who had failed to get into the game while playing on the right of a front three, offered Northern Ireland hope when he got on the end of an excellent Spencer right-wing cross to head home from a yard out in first-half injury-time.
That hope faded again seven minutes into the second half when Muriqi bundled home a volley from close range after a cross from Lirim Kastrati took a deflection off Ciaran Brown and fell invitingly into his path.
The second half saw little goalmouth action as the hosts looked comfortable until the 83rd minute when Ballard rose highest in the box to meet an excellent free-kick from Jordan Thompson and plant a well-directed header into the top corner.
It breathed life into the visitors and McMenamin's big chance to equalise came two minutes later from another low Spencer cross, but the Glentoran winger failed to get a proper connection on his shot and Betim Fazliji slid in with a great block.
More to follow.
Line-ups
Kosovo
Formation 4-3-3
1Ujkani
2Kastrati13Rrahmani4Kryeziu11Rrudhani
14Berisha20Dresevic8Muslija
7Rashica18Muriqi23Bytyqi
1Ujkani2KastratiBooked at 90mins13Rrahmani4Kryeziu11RrudhaniSubstituted forFazlijiat 75'minutesBooked at 90mins14BerishaSubstituted forDomgjoniat 79'minutes20DresevicBooked at 89mins8Muslija7RashicaSubstituted forSahitiat 89'minutes18Muriqi23BytyqiSubstitutes
6Fazliji10Zeneli15Sahiti16Bekaj17Kololli19Loshaj21Idrizi22DomgjoniNorthern Ireland
Formation 4-4-1-1
1Peacock-Farrell
21Spencer4Ballard5Evans22Brown
9Lavery8Davis6Saville17McMenamin
16McCann
10Lafferty
1Peacock-Farrell21SpencerSubstituted forBradleyat 86'minutes4Ballard5Evans22Brown9LaveryBooked at 28minsSubstituted forWhyteat 68'minutes8Davis6SavilleSubstituted forThompsonat 73'minutesBooked at 88mins17McMenamin16McCannSubstituted forCharlesat 68'minutes10LaffertySubstituted forCharlesat 68'minutesSubstitutes
2Bradley3Lane7McGinn11Charles12Southwood13Boyd-Munce14McCalmont15Thompson18Whyte19Donnelly20Charles23CarsonLive Text
Match ends, Kosovo 3, Northern Ireland 2.
Second Half ends, Kosovo 3, Northern Ireland 2.
Attempt missed. Conor Bradley (Northern Ireland) left footed shot from outside the box is too high following a set piece situation.
Betim Fazliji (Kosovo) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Betim Fazliji (Kosovo).
Ciaron Brown (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt blocked. Danny Ballard (Northern Ireland) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jordan Thompson with a cross.
Lirim Kastrati (Kosovo) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
Hand ball by Lirim Kastrati (Kosovo).
Toni Domgjoni (Kosovo) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Ciaron Brown (Northern Ireland).
Ibrahim Dresevic (Kosovo) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ibrahim Dresevic (Kosovo).
Conor Bradley (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Kosovo. Emir Sahiti replaces Milot Rashica.
Jordan Thompson (Northern Ireland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Milot Rashica (Kosovo) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jordan Thompson (Northern Ireland).
Offside, Northern Ireland. Shea Charles tries a through ball, but Gavin Whyte is caught offside.
Foul by Vedat Muriqi (Kosovo).
