The Birmingham goalkeeper frustrated Ukraine time and again as Northern Ireland found themselves under siege late in the game.

This was a gritty performance by Sammy McIlroy’s young side, who secured only their second point in Group Six.

On the downside they have now gone 1,062 minutes without scoring.

McIlroy decide to pack the centre of the pitch, playing Preston’s David Healy as a lone striker in front of five in midfield.

McIlroy fielded a young side with only Taylor and midfielder Michael Hughes over 30; Hughes was back in the starting line-up after missing the 0-0 draw against Spain following a season-long exile from club football.

However, he will miss the match against Armenia after collecting a booking.

Leicester winger Keith Gillespie also returned following a one-match suspension.

The atmosphere in the Shaktar Donetsk stadium was fiercely partisan as the game got underway and although the Northern Ireland supporters were vastly outnumbered but they made themselves heard in this corner of south east Ukraine.

The home side were the first to show and Andriy Vorobey made space down the right, only for Danny Griffin to divert his cross to safety.

Northern Ireland were again forced on the back foot after 13 minutes when Sergei Rebrov cut into the penalty area.

It was a dangerous situation but Aaron Hughes stood his ground to get in a timely challenge.

There was another scare for Northern Ireland when Taylor spilled a powerful shot from Gennadiy Zubov but the Birmingham shot-stopper recovered just in time to collect the ball from on-rushing substitute Oleg Gusev.

Northern Ireland chalked up an unwanted milestone in the 28th minute – it brought up 1,000 minutes of play without a goal.

Ukraine pushed forward in the 35th minute but Taylor got down quickly to take the ball off the toes of Andriy Vorobey.

Michael Hughes was certainly fired up and marked his comeback with a yellow card in the 38th minute following a challenge on Voronin.

That booking means he will now miss the match against Armenia on Wednesday.

Northern Ireland came within inches of going behind a minute before half time when a shot from Voronin rattled the post.

Northern Ireland manager McIlory decided to keep things as they were at the start of the second half.

It was hardly surprising considering the team’s work ethic in the opening 45 minutes.

Tommy Doherty followed Michael Hughes by picking up a booking two minutes into the half for dissent.

Taylor showed good reflexes in the 50th minute to make a comfortable save when Antoliy Tymoschuk rattled in a shot from distance.

Ukraine were having the majority of possession but their finishing had frustrated their fans.

Vorobey hit a shot hopelessly wide from a good position after 53 minutes.

Taylor came to Northern Ireland’s rescue after 59 minutes, making a marvellous save from Vorobey’s in-swinging effort from 20 yards to keep the scores level.

Healy had worked hard up front and was replaced in the 62nd minute by Glentoran’s Andy Smith.

There was a scare for Northern Ireland after 66 minutes when Andriy Nesmchniy broke forward down the left.

He delivered a deep cross to Vorobey but luckily for Sammy McIlroy’s men the header was weak.

Smith was soon putting himself about as Northern Ireland went in search of that elusive goal.

Northern Ireland found themselves under siege in the closing stages with Oleksandr Melaschenko and Voronin sending shots over the top from inside the area.

But they managed to hold out and frustrate Ukraine just as they had done against Spain previously.