Nations League playoff, second leg: Republic of Ireland 2 [Ferguson 63, Idah 84] Bulgaria 1 [Antov 30] [Ireland win 4-2 on agg]
The Republic of Ireland strikers are all right.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men will compete in the Nations League B at least until 2028. That’s the reward for beating Bulgaria 4-2 on aggregate as goals from Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah settled this relegation playoff after Valentin Antov initially levelled the contest.
For good measure, Troy Parrott was named man of the match for a selfless, non-stop 66-minute shift.
Parrott could have scored a hat-trick but it was Ferguson who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with a show of star power that bodes well for the rest of his season on loan to West Ham.
Joey Barton found guilty of assaulting wife by kicking her in the head at their home
Real Madrid close to deal to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini cleared in corruption case
Chloe Mustaki and Saoirse Noonan called up to Ireland squad to face Greece
Hallgrímsson is trying to inspire enough good habits to take Ireland to the 2026 World Cup in North America. He inherited a maturing squad from John O’Shea last year and even got to keep O’Shea as his assistant coach, before learning that the group’s collective confidence was shot to pieces.
This has been the state of Irish football for several years. Before Hallgrímsson. Before Stephen Kenny too.
The Icelander would be aware by now that he is overseeing a willing group, with Premier League players or just below that standard. What he is also figuring out, after six months in charge, is how quickly his defenders can lose concentration and allow lesser opponents into a game that they appeared to be controlling.
As usual, at home, Ireland began with intent to score early and kill off Bulgaria before they could catch them cold.
Finn Azaz picked up where he left off last Thursday in Plovdiv, even making space for Ferguson behind Parrott and with Mikey Johnston full of running down the right, it was the attack-minded approach that an attendance of 40,156 paid to see.
Inside three minutes, Johnston slipped a ball towards Parrott that the AZ Alkmaar forward stepped over to invite Azaz pop a pass in behind the Bulgarians. Simeon Petkov read the attack and cleared for a corner that Robbie Brady spun on to the head of Jake O’Brien, which forced a smart save from Plamen Iliev. Both Nathan Collins and Ferguson were close to scoring from the rebound.
Flash forward 20 minutes to see Azaz connect with Brady that prompted an early cross for Parrott who hit the post.
It seemed only a matter of time before Ireland made it 3-1 on aggregate.
All they had to do was defend the odd set piece, like Kiril Despodov’s corner on the half-hour. Bulgaria manager Ilian Iliev appeared to have designed a move to score from distance; Despodov picked out the unmarked Georgi Milanov on the edge of the box and he struck a clean volley that glanced off Collins and then O’Brien before the ball fell kindly for Antov to level the tie.
It was a relegation playoff for Ireland, to Nations League C, but promotion suddenly beckoned for Bulgaria. So did the prospect of a penalty shoot-out.
Ireland came flooding down field with Brady finding Parrott but the header landed on the roof of Iliev’s net.
O’Brien made contact with another Brady delivery before half-time. This time his header lacked punch and was easily cleared off the goal line.
Ireland had played positive football and created five chances, three from play and two off Brady corners, yet they trailed 1-0 as people flocked out for refreshments with a familiar feeling.
At half-time, an RTÉ pitch side interview with Niall Quinn was cut short after one question. No need to remind people of the good old days. Not in the middle of a messy relegation playoff.
The second half was delayed due to Turkish referee Umut Meler picking up an injury and needing to be replaced by the fourth official, Mehmet Türkmen, who Fenerbahçe manager José Mourinho recently commended for “keeping control” of a Turkish league game.
“Yellow cards don’t count in this game,” Hallgrímsson warned RTÉ prematch, “so we expect more of them.”
There were eight in Bulgaria and three flashed by Meler by the break.
When the action resumed, Ferguson was pushed up alongside Parrott but the strikers showed their frustration when Johnston blazed a shot into the stand rather than sending it across the six-yard box.
A similar half-chance was curled wide by Azaz when Ferguson nodded down another Brady free.
Ferguson had a great chance to equalise after an error by Petrov prompted Parrott to roll a pass for the 20-year-old to sprint clear. Struggling for minutes, and goals, since Brighton loaned him to West Ham in January, his early shot was palmed to safety by Iliev.
Then, in the 63rd minute, it happened: Ferguson went into superhero mode, storming down the right and picking out Azaz, who rewarded his run into the box where he blasted a fifth international goal.
Hallgrímsson had already decided to make three changes and despite the goal he replaced Parrott with Idah, Mark Sykes for Johnston and Ryan Manning for Brady.
They were like for like but Jimmy Dunne’s arrival on debut for Ferguson was a clear statement by Ireland: batten down the hatches.
In fact, it was the same 4-4-1-1 formation that secured a 2-1 in Plovdiv.
It worked. With six minutes remaining Azaz sent Sykes haring downfield but when the Bristol City winger stalled and turned it seemed like the momentum was gone. Instead, he was waiting for Idah to arrive at the back post where the Celtic forward finished a neat lob.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Kelleher, Doherty, O’Brien, Collins, Brady (Manning 66); Johnston (Idah 65), Cullen, Knight (Taylor 81), Azaz; Parrott (Sykes 66), Ferguson (Dunne 74).
BULGARIA: P Iliev; N Minkov, S Petrov, Nedyalkov, Nuernberger (I Iliev 90); Antov, Gruev (Shopov 90); Despodov, Milanov (F Krastev 75), M Petrov (Kililov 75); B Kraev (Nikolov 59).
Referee: Umut Meler (Tur) replaced by Mehmet Türkmen (Tur) at half-time..
