Wales and Northern Ireland played out a 1-1 friendly draw at Cardiff City Stadium as they tried to get World Cup heartbreak out of their system.

Jamie Donley raised hopes of a first Northern Ireland victory in this fixture since Noel Brotherston's winner at Ninian Park 46 years ago.

But Sorba Thomas secured a share of the spoils with an equaliser straight after the interval, extending Wales' unbeaten run against their visitors to 10 games - five wins and five draws.

UEFA had insisted Thursday's beaten playoff semi-finalists -- Wales had lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland to Italy -- met each other in a match ridiculed by many as a waste of time.

Unsurprisingly, there were empty seats for a fixture that had been officially declared a sell-out weeks ago.

In the event, it was a decent contest but one that inevitably lacked the edge and jeopardy of a more meaningful affair.