Northern Ireland weathered a first-half storm in Plovdiv only to gift Bulgaria the decisive goal as they fell to a 1-0 Nations League defeat.
Michael O’Neill’s side repelled attack after attack in a tough opening 40 minutes before a poor mistake from goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell allowed Bulgaria captain Kiril Despodov to grab the only goal of the night.
Northern Ireland improved considerably after the break but Bulgaria, draw specialists who began the night with only one win in their last 16, rarely looked troubled on a frustrating night for the Green and White Army.
40’ | Goal for Bulgaria. Kiril Despodov gets the home side in the lead. #GAWA 1-0 pic.twitter.com/0fY8lxu36O
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) September 8, 2024
O’Neill made only one change to the side that beat Luxembourg 2-0 at home on Thursday as Jamal Lewis stepped in for Callum Marshall and Trai Hume retained the captaincy.
But it was a very different first-half performance as Northern Ireland struggled in an intimidating atmosphere in the small but noisy Hristo Botev Stadium.
Bulgaria looked stronger and sharper, and O’Neill’s team struggled to get out of their own half on an awful pitch, which cut up badly in this recently renovated ground.
Bulgaria could not believe they had not scored only three minutes in. Peacock-Farrell saved Georgi Kostadinov’s glancing header from Despodov’s corner, but pushed it only as far as Aleksandar Kolev.
He put the ball back in and it struck Alex Petkov, bouncing goalwards before Ciaron Brown cleared it off the line, onto a post and into the hands of a grateful Peacock-Farrell.
The onslaught continued and after Shea Charles gave the ball away in midfield, the young midfielder chased back and did just enough to prevent Despodov from getting his shot on target.
Despodov then struck the outside of the left post with a free-kick from the edge of the area as Peacock-Farrell could only watch.
When Northern Ireland did get up the other end, Bulgaria broke quickly from Brown’s long throw, and a great ball over the top from Leeds midfielder Ilia Gruev put Kolev through on goal, only to hit a tame shot at Peacock-Farrell.
Northern Ireland had a chance out of nowhere when Bulgaria failed to deal with a simple ball over the top, but Isaac Price sent his shot wide and moments later Bulgaria were celebrating.
Having survived an onslaught, Northern Ireland gave the goal away.
Bradley is battling hard for the equaliser in Bulgaria 🙌🏻🟢⚪️ #GAWA pic.twitter.com/DcqHToRrM9
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) September 8, 2024
Brown shepherded the ball back to Peacock-Farrell in an awkward spot but the goalkeeper made a poor decision to play it sideways to Daniel Ballard, and Kolev stepped in, squaring the ball for Despodov to tap in at the back post for his fifth goal in his last eight internationals.
Northern Ireland belatedly woke up as Conor Bradley began coming in search of the ball more centrally, but he could not get the better of Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov as the pair challenged for a Charles cross before Ballard headed over.
Northern Ireland were better at the start of the second half too as Charles and Bradley got the ball moving, yet chances were hard to come by, and O’Neill sent on Shayne Lavery for Dion Charles just before the hour in a bid to mix things up.
Bulgaria were still holding Northern Ireland at arm’s length. Although they had managed to move the game into Bulgaria’s half, Northern Ireland were actually creating fewer chances than they managed on the break in the first half.
Lavery headed over from a Lewis cross and Ballard missed the target late on as Bulgaria saw the game out.
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Big GabrielSporting 1-5 Arsenal Who will win this month's Manager of the Month award? What happens when you come up against Saliba and Gabriel... Wayne Rooney, a true legend on and off the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white and gold jersey brings back so many unforgettable memories! Throwback to THIS Beautiful Moment when Lionel Messi scored his 50th ca...
Bellingham admits 'vibrations' were key to Liverpool snubJude Bellingham has revealed how close he came to joining Liverpool, and the "vibrations" he felt when Real Madrid came calling."It wasn't as close as it was said," Bellingham said ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Liverpool. "There were conversations. There was Dortmund and I did it with several clubs. When Real Madrid call you, t...
Manchester City's Champions League match on Tuesday night was marred by crowd trouble, with Feyenoord fans causing chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The Dutch supporters, escorted by police from the city centre to the stadium, filled all three tiers of the South Stand.After City scored three goals, Feyenoord managed to net one with about 15 minutes left, leading to riot police stepping in to prevent cl...
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Mohamed Salah isn't unsettled over his contract situation.After scoring twice in victory at Southampton on Sunday, Salah revealed he had not heard from management about a new deal. His current contract expires in June."The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out," said Slot."I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen that...
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he doesn't fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-Jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches."I don't look at the table...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. The reason why Man City lost 5 matches in a row Erling Haaland lol Cucuruku Cook that thing… This The Man United cycle. This Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, originaltrollfootball, FootballLaughss, PL__OOC)...
The Portuguese has promised to not sign any Sporting CP stars in the winter window.However, all bets are off in the summer, with A Bola stating that Geovany Quenda is the main target.United are said to be preparing an offer of £50M plus bonuses to secure the young winger.Amorim can use Quenda in either wing-back position, while he is also capable of playing in the front three.Another player U...
The Algerian's contract expires in the summer of 2026 and he is believed to be eyeing a move away from Molineux.Rayan Ait-Nouri is wanted by Man UtdThat has put United are on red alert for a player as Amorim has made signing a left-back a priority.He wants to boost his options give Luke Shaw's injury record.Shaw could also eventually move into the back-three once the former Sporting Lisbon manager...
Mohamed Salah has said he is yet to receive a formal contract offer from Liverpool, adding that he is "more out than in" regarding whether he will stay at the club next season.Salah, whose contract is set to expire next summer, has enjoyed an impressive individual campaign, having scored 12 goals in all competitions this term, including a brace in Liverpool's 3-2 comeback win over Southampton on S...
Real Madrid monitoring Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite🚨👀 #Branthwaite is attracting the attention of 🇪🇺 top clubs.📃 #RealMadrid included the CB in their list of potential January targets, while 🏴 teams continue to monitor him ahead of June.💰 #Everton would like to keep him but are also open to evaluating bids >€70m. 🐓⚽ pic.twitter.com/5lpoomMdyp— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) Novem...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Chelsea make Nkunku sale call amid ManUtd interest
- 3 Ex-Prem ace asked Liverpool star for his sister's phone number
- 4 €60-70m could bring star to Liverpool or Man Utd
- 5 Mascherano nears Miami; Martino exits
- 6 Chloe Kelly sends fans wild in daring outfit at GQ Men of the Year
- 7 Former Premier League star saved his wife and baby from house fire
- 8 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 9 The secret and very normal jobs of England’s WAGs
- 10 Thierry Henry poses with rarely-seen partner Andrea on red carpet