Burton Albion midfielder Matty Lund watched on as Northern Ireland fell to a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland at Windsor Park in the first leg of their World Cup play-off.

The Brewers midfielder, as expected, was named among the substitutes and failed to get off the bench for what would have been his fourth cap.

Tom Flanagan, also named in the squad for the tie - with the second leg to be played at Basel's St Jakob-Park at 5pm on Sunday - didn't make the 23-man squad for last night's defeat.

The match was shrouded in controversy when Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan awarded the Swiss a second-half penalty for handball against Corry Evans, with TV replays confirming that Xherdan Shaqiri's effort had in fact hit the midfielder's back and not his arm.

Northern Ireland surround referee Ovidiu Hategan after he awards a penalty to Switzerland
Northern Ireland surround referee Ovidiu Hategan after he awards a penalty to Switzerland

AC Milan's Ricardo Rodriguez converted the spot-kick, with the hosts' manager Michael O'Neill blasting the decision post-match, saying it was the worst decision he had seen at international level.

To compound Northern Ireland's misery, Swiss defender Fabian Schar could have been sent off just five minutes in when he scythed down Stuart Dallas - with the winger going on to struggle throughout before eventually being replaced by former Brewer Jamie Ward just after half-time.

Despite those decisions, the Swiss dominated with Denis Zakaria and Granit Xhaka controlling the midfield and Shaqiri and Steven Zuber providing a threat throughout and on the balance of play, they were deserving of their win.

But the decision certainly altered the mood inside Windsor Park, but O'Neill is determined to turn that negative energy into a positive come Sunday evening in Basel in which Lund and Flanagan could yet feature.

"Certainly not in any of the games that I have been involved in, particularly at this level, no. It is staggering," O'Neil replied when asked if he had seen a worse decision at international level.

"The ball clearly strikes Corry on the back and the referee has a clear view of the incident."

"Corry's arm is not above his head or in an unnatural position, it's not away from his body and the ball didn't even hit him in the arm. It doesn't qualify for any of the criteria for handball in the box.tonight. "