HEIMIR Hallgrimsson’s Republic of Ireland side thrilled at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin last night after coming from behind to beat Bulgaria 2-1. Evan Ferguson made sure that his return into the starting line-up counted as he secured an Irish win by scoring in the 63rd minute.
In a nail-biting repeat of what happened in Plovdiv on Thursday night, Bulgaria were the first to break deadlock. Ireland came alive in the second half of the game, with Evan Ferguson scoring and Adam Idah putting things beyond doubt with a close-range volley in the 84th minute.
Ireland’s overall aggregate victory means that they retain their UEFA Nations League second-tier status.
Chances also came from Jake O’Brien, Finn Azaz and Mikey Johnston, in a performance which looked confident even as the Irish side came from behind. Bulgaria secured their first chance after half an hour from a corner kick.
They took a surprising lead in the 30th minute after taking their chances against an otherwise solid Irish defence. Georgi Milanov volleyed the ball toward the net which was initially blocked, before Nathan Collins and Jake O’Brien fumbled with the loose ball and gave Valentin Antov an opportunity to seize the day.
O’Brien redeemed himself with a header which was cleared off the line. Despite a slow start from Evan Ferguson, he came to life in the 55th minute with a shot from distance.
Assistant head coach John O’Shea described Ferguson’s return into the starting line-up as ‘an educated risk’, after questions were raised about his recent run of form for West Ham United. Hallgrimsson has been adamant that the striker deserved his place, saying that the different dynamic within the international squad led to a different level of performance.
“That was the balance,” O’Shea said. “When we saw first-hand the freshness he had when he came on [in Bulgaria], the problems he caused the Bulgarian centre-backs, we felt that it was an educated risk in that sense to know that he was going to cause them problems.
“We were aware… whether we assess at half-time and after that then see how he reacts in the second half, and you could see that the tank was running empty when we did take him off.
“The most important thing is that we have a healthy Evan Ferguson, a fitter Evan Ferguson each camp that goes by, and hopefully that will be the case.
“West Ham know him, the manager knows him very well, so hopefully they’re getting a much fitter and happier Evan Ferguson in that sense going back with minutes in the tank and a goal as well.”
