Michael O'Neill gleaned plenty of positives as his young guns earned a 1-1 draw with Switzerland at Windsor Park.
The average age of Northern Ireland's team at the final whistle was just 22, highlighting O'Neill's faith in youth on the international stage.
He handed senior debuts to Jamie Donley and Terry Devlin in the second half, while it was 21-year-old Isaac Price who netted the home side's goal on the night.
West Bromwich Albion midfielder Price curled home a superb opener in the 16th minute, his fifth goal in four games for Northern Ireland.
The Swiss responded 13 minutes later when Vincent Sierro headed home unmarked from a Ricardo Rodriguez corner.
"It was what we wanted from the game. We had to be good without the ball," O'Neill said afterwards.
"Pierce Charles had one save to make in the game. We scored a good goal and conceded a poor goal, and we had the best chance other than that from Isaac's chance in the second half.
"It was a funny game. The ref disrupted it a bit and it was stop start at times.
"But look at the age of our team against a really strong side. Yes, they are missing some important players, but so are we.
"The team that finished the game, the front six were 21 or under. Throw Terry Devlin into that and our goalkeeper, we are essentially fielding a team which is under 21 or 22.
"So it is a positive performance. It shows a lot of progress in the team that we feel it was a game we could have won, and equally lost. But we weren't overawed by the opposition.
"Their front three are a handful and we dealt with them well. At times we maybe had to go longer a little bit because their pressure was good and we didn't play through it.
"They are things we'll work on. But when you play a Pot One team you have to be good without the ball and go through long periods without the ball."
O'Neill hailed Price's performance, which was full of energy and endeavour, and quality in the finish.
He said: "Isaac is a brilliant young player. There is a big requirement to run in football these days. Are you a player who can press and recover quickly?
"If you can do that it's a huge thing. But if you have the ability to play, and score goals, then that's even better. He has seven goals now and he is a brilliant boy.
"There were some very good performances tonight. Isaac, Shea Charles, and I thought Ethan Galbraith was brilliant. He looks very comfortable playing international football because he is so good technically as well."
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