Dale Gorman stepped off the bench to help Northern Ireland’s Under-21s claim a famous 2-1 victory over Spain, boosting their chances of qualifying for the European Championships next summer.

The Leyton Orient midfielder, who captained the Under-21s in their friendly against Luxembourg last week, replaced Jake Dunwoody with 15 minutes remaining, as first half strikes from Shayne Lavery and Liam Donnelly secured Northern Ireland the victory.

Lavery put Ian Baraclough’s side in front inside four minutes as he nicked the ball off of a Spanish defender on the halfway line, before driving towards goal and drilling a low effort into the back of the net.

Four minutes later and Northern Ireland were in dreamland, as Donnelly doubled their advantage from the spot after QPR’s Paul Smyth was brought down inside the area.

Gorman entered the frame with 15 minutes remaining and Rafael Mir set up a nervy finish when he pulled one back in second half stoppage time.

But Baraclough’s side hung on to secure a crucial three points, in a result which moves them up to third place in Group 2, just a point behind second place Slovakia.

Gorman will now return to East London and could be included in the O’s squad for this weekend’s National League fixture against Barnet if deemed fully fit.