Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has admitted his delight at seeing Ciaron Brown make his debut for Northern Ireland last night.

The defender delivered an assured performance for his country in their friendly against Luxembourg at Windsor Park.

Despite dominating vast sways of possession during the clash, Northern Ireland's only goal of the game was rather fortuitous.

After Jordan Thompson whipped in a corner for the hosts, Kevin Malget inexplicably headed the ball into his own net.

With Luxembourg unable to deliver a response to this setback, Northern Ireland managed to extend their current winning run to five games.

For Brown, the call-up to the senior side would have been unexpected due to the fact that he has yet to make any major inroads for Cardiff since joining the club from Wealdstone in 2018.

Whilst the 21-year-old did produce a number of encouraging displays for Livingston earlier this year during a brief loan spell, his only appearance for the Bluebirds this season came in the Carabao Cup against Luton Town last month.

Speaking to WalesOnline about Brown, Warnock said: "Going away on loan to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership last season helped him.

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"I decided to let Greg Cunningham go [on loan to Blackburn] because I thought Ciaron could give us some back up until Christmas at least.

"He's developed really well over the last few weeks and I'm delighted for him to have gotten the accolade [of starting for Northern Ireland] straight away."

Brown could be in line to earn his second cap for Northern Ireland when they face Germany in a crucial Euro 2020 qualifier on Monday.

A win for Michael O'Neill's side will see them extend their lead at the top of Group C to six points.

The Verdict

Having made his bow for Northern Ireland, Brown will now be determined to establish himself as a regular in Warnock's starting eleven.

Unquestionably talented, it would not be at all surprising if the former Wealdstone man ends up becoming a key player for Cardiff in the not too distant future.

Considering that the Bluebirds have only managed to keep one clean sheet this season, Warnock may find it beneficial to start Brown in the club's clash with Derby County on September 13th.