Matt Doherty winner gives Ireland edge for home leg
RETURN LEG IN LEAD: Ireland's Matt Doherty celebrates scoring his sides second goal with Mikey Johnston and Troy Parrott. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Uefa Nations League Play-offs, first leg: Bulgaria 1 (Plamenov Petkov 6’) Rep of Ireland 2 (Azaz 21’, Doherty 42’)
Away wins have been a rarity for Irish fans to celebrate in recent years but Heimir Hallgrímsson has now overseen two in six months.
This was only half-time but, similar to his first against Finland in October, there’s encouragement to savour by coming from behind to win on the road.
World Cup qualifiers, starting in September, are the main business of 2025.
Furthermore, that Matt Doherty nestled the goal to clinch victory underlined how the manager isn’t afraid to change his mind on the charges he has at his disposal. The matchwinner had been dropped completely from the squad following the manager’s first pair of games.
If Hallgrímsson is truly seeking to establish a settled side, he’s going about it by testing personnel and formations seven games into his reign.
Only four of the team that started the last outing against England four months ago were retained for this trip to Bulgaria, with Ryan Manning abseiled from not making the original squad to starter.
There was an element of surprise too about his position, advanced from his usual defensive role as a support to sole striker Troy Parrott, who got the nod ahead of Evan Ferguson.
Given this was the midfield of Bulgaria rather than England that Ireland had to stifle, Nathan Collins was restored to his customary defensive berth and figured in both boxes during a lively first half.
Robbie Brady was sorely missed during that November window and his return from injury afforded the Icelander with armoury of a player he deems the most consistent of his tenure.
Notionally a defender, Brady doubles as an attacking prop through his sumptuous deliveries and clever passing.
Within two minutes, he combined with Manning down the left to expose the hosts and a better cross from the latter would have produced a tap-in for Mikey Johnston.
When Doherty moments later whipped in a cross from the right to the far post for Manning to test goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov with a header, Hallgrímsson was entitled to believe his side were gaining a foothold.
Still, this is Ireland and logic soon dissolved as they conceded from the first Bulgarian foray into the final third after just six minutes.
Long gone are the days of Hristo Stoichkov lording it for Bulgaria but the closest the current bunch possess to the legend sitting in the crowd is Kiril Despodov.
Feted this week as the country’s player of the year for the fourth year in a row, the PAOK winger flashed his star quality by dinking a pass over the heads of Finn Azaz and Doherty to leave Ireland scrambling.
There was still scope to clear but Filip Krastev was gifted the space to backheel a pass to Marin Petkov on the edge of the area.
It wasn’t one of his cleaner efforts but the low shot was sufficiently accurate to beat Caoimhin Kelleher, strike the post and bobble across the line.
Kelleher stood firm shortly afterwards when sloppiness by Collins resulted in Despodov dropping his shoulder before curling a shot at the Liverpool stopper.
Only through rectifying the errors and upping the tempo at the other end would Ireland avoid another setback and Manning’s 17th-minute flying header which zipped over presented hope.
Four minutes later and they were level. Leeds United’s Illia Gruev reacted to being nutmegged by Mikey Johnston by fouling the winger and the Bulgars were still complaining when Doherty slung a quick crossfield free-kick to his opposite full-back Brady.
His deft control preceded the Preston North End veteran lofting a cross that hung in the air for the unmarked Parrott to connect with at the back post.
Instead of having a crack himself, he sensibly fed Azaz dashing into the centre with a cushioned cross to plant his header into the empty net.
Neat interplay between Azaz, Johnston and Parrott often perished from a stray final pass but the spaces were there for Ireland to exploit.
They could also punish mental lapses too, such as another free-kick on 33 minutes. While the home side expected a punt into the box, Johnston rolled his free-kick around the wall for Parrott to swivel. If the move was rehearsed, the striker’s low delivery across the six-yard box was a millisecond too fast for Collins to get the necessary close-range touch.
Once again, Ireland threatened to undo their dominance by Collins inexplicably clearing only as far as Anton Nedyalkov inside his own box.
Kelleher not only dealt with the resultant shot but got Ireland up the pitch to complete their swift turnaround five minutes before the interval.
Bulgaria’s generosity in nodding off played into Ireland’s hands as Josh Cullen, from the centre-circle, noticed Doherty angling his run from full-back through the middle and so timed his pass over the time to chime with his arrival.
Mitov was most culpable, delaying his dart from goal to be beaten in the chase by Doherty’s header.
Ireland’s goalscorer shipped a blow for his troubles but not to the extent of the Aberdeen custodian. Perhaps more wounded in pride than physique, he failed to reappear for the second half.
Hallgrímsson’s briefing to Rocco Vata at the break indicated the Watford dynamo was being prepped for his debut and it was a pity his contribution during a second half that dipped in pace was restricted to the final 10 minutes.
Bulgaria’s plan to curb the influence of Brady revolved around inflicting a bloody nose yet he persevered and remained on despite five substitutions.
Try as Ilian Iliev did to fashion a comeback, Bulgaria simply didn’t possess the guile nor quality to trouble Ireland. Kelleher enjoyed a relatively relaxed second half, something that ought to be replicated in Sunday’s second leg on the basis of this evidence.
BULGARIA: D Mitov (P Illiev 46); A Nedyalkov, A Petkov, Z Atanasov, F Nuernberger (B Kraev 72); A Kraev, F Krastev, I Gruev; M Petkov, L Petkov (N Minkov 72), K Despodov.
IRELAND: C Kelleher; M Doherty, N Collins, D O'Shea, R Brady; J Cullen, J Knight (R Vata 80); M Johnston (J Taylor 75), F Azaz (M Sykes 75), R Manning (J O’Brien 80); T Parrott (E Ferguson 75).
Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)
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