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Northern Ireland were stunned by two late goals in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying Group 3 defeat at Slovenia.

Both strikes came from counter-attacks, and both came within one minute.

Milivoje Novakovic - whose night ended in agony after he was stretchered off following a horror-challenge from Jonny Evans - snuck between Gareth McAuley and Aaron Hughes to poke home on 84 minutes.

Zlatan Ljubijankic made sure of the three points when he latched onto fellow substitute Valter Birsa's long pass, out-muscled Evans and finished under Maik Taylor.

Overall, though, the match was disappointing.

Neither goalkeeper was tested in the first half, and the second period only opened up when defenders tired and lapsed in concentration.

The opening 45 minutes started promisingly but finished lamely with neither side taking too many risks, perhaps with the strictness of card-happy referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzelez in mind.

The Spaniard booked Steven Davis, Kyle Lafferty and Bostjan Cesar for minor infringements in an opening 45 minutes that saw a smart volley from Rangers striker Lafferty as the only meaningful opportunity.

Novakovic had an early chance to open the scoring, but his initial good control was followed by a hesitance that allowed Evans and Hughes back in position.

Before the match, Nigel Worthington's men were ranked 34 places above a Slovenia side who have fallen from grace since their European Championships qualification eight years ago.

But they did not take the game to their hosts, who in turn were more mindful of conceding than creating.

The second half initially fared little better. Both sides were content to let the ball do their running, pumping it long through the middle and waiting for mistakes.

But as both sides tired, mistakes crept in and chances were created.

Northern Ireland deserved better when a clever free-kick routine saw David Healy turn Miso Brecko (pictured right) on the edge of the box and lob Samir Handanovic, but the effort landed on the roof of the net.

Lafferty then came close to netting a wonder-goal when he nutmegged Bostjan Cesar and sped away from Marko Suler to go one-on-one, but Handanovic narrowed the angle and saved well.

Mirnes Sisic was lucky to stay on the pitch after a late tackle on Chris Baird was followed by a verbal exchange and push, but he only saw yellow while Baird was booked for alleged provocation.

Despite the occasional drama, Lafferty and Healy were left isolated, feeding off the scraps of long balls.

Lafferty went on another mazy run with 15 minutes left, but Keith Gillespie's shot was deflected wide and his subsequent corner was terrible.

Evans then missed a sitter when he was found unmarked at the far post by a Gillespie free-kick, shanking a point-blank finish away from goal, while Healy got a rare sniff at goal but found his route blocked by Slovenia's backline.

Slovenia then scored twice in quick succession to put the game beyond their guests, who lost their cool and were lucky not to go down to 10 men when Evans hacked at Novakovic in frustration.

The young Manchester United defender's transgression earned him a yellow and a suspension for the must-win match in San Marino.

The result puts Matjaz Kek's side joint top of their group with seven points with Poland, who beat the Czech Republic 2-1.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, stay second-bottom with one point.

Poland 2-1 Czech Republic

Jakob Blaszczykowski steered Poland to a 2-1 victory over Czech Republic.

The Borussia Dortmund player was involved in the opening goal scored by Pawel Brozek before adding the second himself in the 52nd minute.

The Czechs pulled one back with three minutes left when Vaclav Sverkos set up fellow substitute Martin Fenin.

Poland lead Group 3 with seven points from three games while the Czechs, who have one point from two matches, are fourth.

San Marino 1-3 Slovakia

Slovakia moved third with six points in the group after beating San Marino 3-1 away.

Stanislav Sestak put Slovakia ahead on 33 minutes and Jan Kozak doubled the lead six minutes later before striker Andy Selva netted a rare San Marino goal just ahead of the interval.

Half-time substitute Miroslav Karhan took just five minutes to extend the away side's lead in Serravalle and seal a second win from three group games.

Defender Roman Kratochvil was sent off for the visitors in the second half for picking up two bookings.

Reda Maher / Eurosport