Ireland had to come from behind once again to beat Bulgaria in tonight's UEFA Nations League play-off at Aviva Stadium.
Bulgaria made things difficult for Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side, as they did in Plovdiv on Thursday, by opening the scoring with Valentin Antov stroking home from close range.
A shell-shocked Ireland side had been in control for the opening 30 minutes before the concession and they had to wait until the second half to stage the comeback.
It eventually arrived in the 63rd minute as Evan Ferguson slammed the ball into the roof of the net, before Adam Idah, on off the bench, wrapped up the victory and cemented Ireland’s League B status to complete the 4-2 aggregate victory.
It was an interesting start to the game as Ireland the tip went straight to Caoimhin Kelleher as A string of players lined out on the left and charged up the flank – a rugby-style manoeuvrer, which in oval ball parlance would go down as a work on.
Otherwise, it was a very bright start for Ireland, and Jake O’Brien hit the target in the fourth minute, as he connected with a corner, forcing a very good stop from Plamen Iliev.
Adam Idah cushions home Ireland's second
Nathan Collins was unable to connect with the rebound, however, as Bulgaria survived the early effort. Moments later Ireland were back in range as Finn Azaz had space to shoot from the edge of the box but it flew wide.
In the tenth minute, Bulgaria went to sleep from a throw-in, leaving Robbie Brady in acres of space and plenty of time to deliver a dangerous ball into the box. It only needed redirecting on goal, but perhaps fell to the wrong man as Mikey Johnston’s headed effort was well off target.
What followed was a throwback to the second half in Plovdiv as the game turned sloppy with both sides contributing to the stop-start nature of the ten-minute period.
Someone needed to step up and get the team going, and it was Azaz who made something happen by dropping deep to take the ball off the keeper and drive forward.
A probing pass forward into the feet of Ferguson and suddenly Ireland were back threatening. It fell apart on this occasion, but it was an encouraging moment from Azaz.
Azaz again the creator in the 23rd minute as he cut inside before playing an incredible reverse pass into the path of Brady flying up the wing.
His low, drilled cross towards the near post was met first time by Parrott, whose shot crashed off the woodwork – the offside flag would eventually be raised but it was a real moment of quality to appreciate.
Bulgaria’s first chance to attack the Ireland goal came after half an hour after the visitors won a corner on the right.
How It Happened: Ireland v Bulgaria recap
Drilled back to the edge of the box by Kiril Despodov, Georgi Milanov caught it first time and while his effort was blocked, it was not cleared, allowing Valentin Antov turn and slide the ball into the back of the net to stun the home crowd, who had been enjoying the dominant performance up to that point.
Ireland looked for a response and five minutes later Parrott almost restored parity with a flicked header from Brady’s ball in from the left, however, it just wouldn’t come down in time and crept over the crossbar.
The momentum was starting to build but then lost again; this time the referee needing a bit of attention to his calf muscle, the magic spray called for from the on-call doctor’s black medical bag.
Time for one more chance before the break as O’Brien’s header was cleared off the line by Simeon Petrov. Another corner, another header on target from O’Brien, who was justifying his inclusion for his attacking prowess alone.
There was a ten-minute delay to the start of the second half as the magic remedy appeared to wear off as Mr Meler from Turkey was forced to sit out the rest of the game – the fourth official taking over whistling duties.
It took just three minutes after the restart for Ireland to threaten as Johnston blasted wide from close range.
Brilliant build-up play involving Parrott, twice, Azaz and Ferguson to create the opening, but it was sliced wide when the keeper really had to be tested, especially with three inside him ready to pounce.
Two more chances followed in quick succession as Parrott and Ferguson worked the ball into a shooting position inside the box but this time Johnston’s effort was blocked
Then in the 55th minute, Petrov was caught in possession allowing Parrott to send Ferguson racing through. The striker opted to shoot early and drilled a low effort into the corner, but the keeper got down well to his right to turn it around the post.
But for all Ireland’s attacking intent, Bulgaria looked dangerous moving the ball forward and sent a warning shot at the Ireland goal two minutes later, but this time Kelleher was well placed to deal with Fabian Nurnberger’s effort.
Finn Azaz has had a great week in the green shirt
In the 63rd minute, Ireland drew level to retake the advantage in the play-off.
Enjoying the lion’s share of possession without really probing, Ferguson opted to drop deep and collect before bursting into the space in front of him, intent on making something happen.
The big striker rolled the ball inside and kept moving, allowing Azaz to play it perfectly back into his path, and this time, closer to goal, there was no mistake, as Ferguson blasted the ball into the roof of the net.
The bench was emptied for the final 20 minutes as Ireland loaded the midfield leaving Adam Idah lead the attack on his own, and it had the desired effect as the tempo completely dropped.
But it lifted again in the 84th minute as Azaz sent Mark Sykes racing deep into the Bulgaria half, the winger then checking his run on the left side of the penalty area.
Time to look up at what was arriving in the box, as Sykes picked out Idah at the back post – a deflection helping the ball find the Ireland striker – and the Celtic man’s first touch was clinical to put the tie beyond doubt.
The comeback complete as the game moved slowly past the 90-minute mark and into six minutes of added time as Ireland wrapped up their Nations League campaign with another win to keep the momentum building towards the important World Cup qualifying campaign later this year.
Republic of Ireland: Caoimhin Kelleher; Matt Doherty, Jake O'Brien, Nathan Collins, Robbie Brady (Ryan Manning 66); Josh Cullen, Finn Azaz, Jason Knight, Mikey Johnston (Adam Idah 65), Evan Ferguson (Jimmy Dunne 74), Troy Parrott (Mark Sykes 66)
Bulgaria: 23 Plamen Iliev; 2 Nikolay Minkov, 5 Fabian Nurnberger (Ilian Iliev 89), 14 Anton Nedyalkov 15 Simeon Petrov; 4 Ilia Gruev (Stanislav Shopov 89), 6 Valentin Antov, 11 Kiril Despodov (capt), 16 Marin Petkov (Radoslav Kirilov 75), 17 Georgi Milanov (Filip Krastev 75); 10 Bozhidar Kraev (Vladimir Nikolov 60)
Referee: Umut Meler (TUR)