Rep Ireland 1 Bulgaria 1:WHAT WITH Liam Brady and Bulgaria being involved, there was much talk of Euro'88 in the build-up to this game and there was a hint, too, of the nation's first major championships in the match itself. A little like Germany, where it was generally felt that none of the Republic of Ireland's three outings turned out the way they should have, the current side drew a game on Saturday evening by way of winning a half they should have lost and losing one they'd really had the better of.
All told, the result was fair enough for while the Irish created enough chances late on to take all three points, they couldn’t convert them and anything less than a point would have been harsh on technically superior visitors who came from a goal down and then declined to settle for the draw.
On the face of it, Kevin Kilbane’s own goal cost the Irish their opportunity to go to Bari on level terms with the Italians, but the reality is the home side’s failures were rather more wide-ranging.
Far from pressing home their advantage after Richard Dunne have given the hosts the lead with a close range header just 35 seconds in, Giovanni Trapattoni’s men looked second best for the rest of the opening period with Kilbane and fellow full-back Paul McShane looking vulnerable, midfield pairing Keith Andrews and Glenn Whelan finding Bulgarian skipper Stiliyan Petrov a major handful and the Irish wingers proving largely ineffective in terms of the creation of an attacking threat.
As the game wore on, Andrews improved and Aiden McGeady threatened once or twice to produce something out of the ordinary but even as the locals began to assert themselves another difficulty raised its head in the finishing department with Robbie Keane, but particularly McGeady and Kevin Doyle, passing up outstanding chances to get a second Irish goal.
Keane’s opportunity was not unlike the one seven years ago when he turned sharply to score a late equaliser against Germany in Japan but on his occasion Dimitar Ivankov was quick to get off his line and smother the Dubliner’s shot.
McGeady’s was the best chance of the lot with Ivankov parrying a Stephen Hunt cross into the path of the Celtic winger who coolly took his time before rather poorly picking his spot.
Then, in the dying moments, Andrews did particularly well to hook in a cross on the turn and Doyle seemed set to head home a last-gasp winner.
There was little enough pace on the ball and perhaps the striker had to pull up slightly in order to make contact but the attempt on goal was a disappointment with its lack of power and poor placement again allowing Ivankov to gather easily.
The goalkeeper, however, had no chance l when Ireland opened the scoring through Dunne in the first minute. Hunt was perhaps lucky to win a free rather than a throw down the left given that Iliyan Stoyanov’s challenge had looked fair, but the Reading midfelder picked himself up to send in a curling cross that John O’Shea flicked on for his team-mate Dunne to turn home at the far post.
After the early goals conceded against Poland and Georgia it seemed like the perfect start but the initiative was quickly surrendered and the Bulgarians enjoyed 60 per cent of first-half possession due largely to a combination of Petrov’s industry and Ireland’s general inability to string three passes together.
For a while you found yourself wondering as you watched the Aston Villa midfielder pull all the strings in the game’s central area why he is not considered a much bigger star within the world of the Premier League. As the game unfolded it was impossible to avoid the conclusion that it is because on an average Saturday in England he is up against significantly better players.
Here, though, the 29-year-old was in his element, popping up almost everywhere and tormenting the Irish midfielders charged with the task of containing him. He was not, though, centrally involved in either of his side’s best chances during what was for them a good first period.
The first stemmed from a neat exchange of passes between Stanislav Manolev and Ivelin Popov before the former crossed low for Blagoy Georgiev who, like McGeady later on, should have buried his shot but instead allowed Shay Given the opportunity to save.
The second involved a long cross-field ball from Radostin Kishishev for Stanislav Angelov who quickly fed Dimitr Rangelov whose first time strike flew just over.
Kilbane had given away possession by hoofing the ball out of play on the first occasion before getting caught badly out by the high ball on the second and he was similarly culpable for the goal. With ample time in midfield to pick his spot, Kishishev again floated the ball over the left back to the far post where Petrov lurked this time.
The midfielder got to the line before turning a fiercely struck low ball towards the six-yard box and the Irish defender, scurrying back in a desperate attempt to rescue the situation, could do little to prevent the ball careering off his legs, past the wrong-footed Given and in.
During what remained of the game, the Irish showed an urgency that had largely been lacking during the first hour or so but while the players’ instinct was clearly to pursue the additional two points their manager had different ideas as was apparent when Given urged O’Shea to push up for a free late on and Trapattoni bounded out to the edge of the technical area in order to countermand the instruction.
Despite his side’s lack of cutting edge and McGeady’s fitness problems, the Italian waited until injury-time before intervening for the first time to replace the winger and it remains bewildering how he does not feel that the availability of a more creative option on the bench for central midfield would not be beneficial.
Afterwards, though, Trapattoni made it abundantly clear that he is still committed to the path he has chosen and, as it happens, even Andy Reid fans might admit that a lack of midfield sparkle is likely to be well down Ireland’s list of problems in Bari on Wednesday night.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Manchester City); McShane (Sunderland), O’Shea (Manchester Utd), Dunne (Manchester City), Kilbane (Hull City); McGeady (Celtic), Whelan (Stoke City), Andrews (Blackburn Rovers), Hunt (Reading); Doyle (Reading), Keane (Tottenham). Sub: Keogh (Wolves) for McGeady (90 mins).
BULGARIA: Ivankov (Bursaspor); Manolev (Levski Sofia), Stoyanov (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Tomashich (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Milnov (Litex Lovech); Telkiyski (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Angelov (Energie Cottbus), Petrov (Aston Villa), Georgiev (Terek Grozni); Popov (Litex Lovech); Rangelov (Energie Cottbus). Subs: Kishishev (Litex Lovech) for Milanov (24 mins), Dimitrov (Metalurg Donetsk) for Popov (half-time), Makriev (Ashdod) for Georgiev (66 mins).
Referee: I Bebek (Croatia)
