SAINTS midfielder Steven Davis came agonisingly close to captaining Northern Ireland to a famous World Cup win in Portugal last night.

But the Irish still managed to ruin Cristiano Ronaldo’s 100th international appearance, securing a magnificent 1-1 draw in Porto.

For most of the night they threatened to leave with all three points.

The visitors took a shock 30th-minute lead through Niall McGinn and held it until the 79th minute, when Helder Postiga finally broke Irish hearts following Nani’s pass.

Davis nearly netted a spectacular own goal as the Portugese dominated the second half, slicing an attempted clearance just over Roy Carroll’s crossbar.

But for the most part he was excellent, leading his side's heroic resistance after McGinn’s excellent finish from a sublime Kyle Lafferty pass had stunned the Portugese.

Portugal’s dominance was eventually rewarded with Postiga’s equaliser, but the Irish were understandably delighted with a point