Ireland let lead slip against Bulgaria
Ireland again failed to win when it came to credible opposition and tonight let an early lead slip to draw 1-1 with Bulgaria at Croke Park. A lack of creativity and direction saw Ireland surrender despite getting as good a start as could have been expected. Bulgaria in truth will probably be a little disappointed to leave Ireland with just one point.
Republic of Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria (Dunne 1 – Kilbane 74 og)
Ireland got the perfect start when Richard Dunne headed in after just forty-five seconds as John O’Shea flicked on Stephen Hunt’s free kick. Dunne stooped in at the back post to force the ball home and give Ireland a perfect start at Croke Park. Hunt himself had won the free kick after only seconds as his surging left wing run drew the foul.
Shay Given pushed away Stiliyan Petrov’s fourth minute shot as Bulgaria aimed for an instant reply and for a while Ireland struggled to retain possession.
Irish hearts were given a scare on 15 minutes when Zhivko Milanov went down in the box but Keith Andrews was innocent and referee Ivan Bebek agreed – booking the fallen Bulgarian. The visiting defender was forced off by the injury he picked up in the incident midway through the half.
On 27 minutes, Given got down low to save on the line as Georgiev attempted to drill home a powerful low shot after great work down the right from Manolev.
Glenn Whelan dragged a shot wide from Hunt’s knock-down just after the half hour. Bulgaria continued to cause Ireland problems and Angelov found Rangelov who fired over from a good position when he really should at least have hit the target.
Popov fired wide in injury time as Bulgaria finished the first half on a high.
Ten minutes into the second period Kishishev hit a low shot which would have caused more problems for the home side had it not deflected wide off one of his team-mates.
An improvement for Ireland created a bit more around the mid point of the second half and the first chance saw Robbie Keane get in on the end of Kevin Doyle’s knock on after an hour but the angle of Keane’s eventual shot made the save easier for Ivankov. The Bulgarian keeper did well again on 66 minutes to block from Aiden McGeady after the keeper had initially flapped at Hunt’s cross-shot.
However, an inability to hold onto the ball and then do anything much creatively cost Ireland – highlighted when Hunt and McGeady made a hash of trying a far too elaborate corner kick. Although the quick Bulgarian counter attack broke down thanks mainly to the intervention of Kevin Kilbane, the danger signs were growing.
Bulgaria made Ireland pay on 74 minutes when Kilbane scored an own goal to level at 1-1. Bulgaria got on the scoresheet as Petrov fired across goal from Kishishev’s deep cross and the veteran defender flicked a foot at the ball, levelling it up as he turned past Given.
On 84 minutes Robbie Keane curled wide past the back post after wriggling free in the box. Keane again played across goal moments later but no-one was waiting in the middle as Irish frustration grew.
The introduction of Andy Keogh as a ninetieth minute substitute seemed pointless and poorly timed although Doyle almost snatched a late late winner but headed tamely at goal from Andrews’ cross.
Rep of Ireland : Shay Given, Paul McShane, John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Kevin Kilbane, Aiden McGeady, Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews, Stephen Hunt, Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle.
Substitutes: Andy Keogh for McGeady 90, Dean Kiely, Damien Delaney, Stephen Kelly, Noel Hunt, Darron Gibson, Caleb Folan.
Att: 60,002
Also in Ireland’s qualifying group, Cyprus beat Georgia 2-1 earlier in the day and Italy beat Montenegro 2-0.
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