Bulgaria – Fortunebets

Evan Ferguson scored his first goal since November as the Republic of Ireland preserved their Nations League B status with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Bulgaria.

Ferguson, currently on loan at West Ham from Brighton, claimed his fifth senior international goal with 27 minutes remaining before substitute Adam Idah struck after coming off the bench to secure a 2-1 play-off second-leg win at the Aviva Stadium to go with the one which Ireland returned from Plovdiv with on Thursday.

Just as they had done on home soil, the Bulgarians took a first-half lead, this time through midfielder Valentin Antov, and again they were unable to defend it on a night when, contrary to Republic boss Heimir Hallgrimsson’s prediction of a no-holds-barred physical battle, they played some fluent and compact football.

Defender Jake O’Brien might have marked his first competitive start in style when he met Robbie Brady’s fourth-minute corner with a firm downward header, but saw keeper Plamen Iliev make a good reaction save.

With winger Mikey Johnston terrorising the Bulgarians down the right and linking well with Ferguson, Troy Parrott and Finn Azaz – defender Simeon Petrov had earlier had to make a timely block to prevent Johnston from finishing off a flowing move he had started – Ireland were firmly in the ascendancy.

Parrott turned a 24th-minute Brady cross on to the foot of the post as Ireland responded, but it was the visitors who took the lead on the half-hour when, after Georgi Milanov’s volley from Kiril Despodov’s corner had been block by Nathan Collins, Antov stabbed the loose ball past Caoimhin Kelleher, his side’s first attempt on goal.

Parrott flicked a Brady cross on to the roof of Iliev’s net and full-back Fabian Nurnberger cleared another O’Brien header off the line as the hosts fought for a way back into the game, but they went in at the break frustrated.

Johnston should have done better after being played into space by Parrott with 49 minutes gone, but screwed his right-foot shot well wide, and the West Brom midfielder saw another attempt smothered at source three minutes later after linking well with Parrott and Ferguson.

Azaz fired wide after O’Brien had headed down a Brady free-kick and Iliev clawed Ferguson’s 55th-minute strike out of his bottom corner after Parrott had robbed Petrov with chances – or at least half-chances – coming thick and fast.

Kelleher made his first save of the night when he plucked Nurnberger’s shot out of the air two minutes later, and his side was back in it after 63 minutes when Ferguson played a beautifully executed one-two with Azaz before lashing the ball into the roof of the net.

Ireland wrapped up victory with six minutes remaining when Azaz set Mark Sykes away down the left and he turned back inside before clipping the ball to the far post for fellow substitute Idah to volley home.

A bad week for Northern Ireland got worse on Tuesday night as two crisp Todor Nedelev strikes saw Bulgaria come from behind to win 2-1 in Sofia.

Conor Washington’s sixth international goal had given Ian Baraclough’s side a half-time lead as they looked to have responded well to Saturday’s controversial 2-0 defeat in Switzerland which effectively ended World Cup qualifying hopes, but it all went wrong after the break.

Bulgarian boss Yasen Petrov shuffled his pack at half-time and got the rewards, although Nedelev took the credit as he beat Bailey Peacock-Farrell in fine fashion twice in 11 minutes to turn things around just after the hour.

It made for more frustration for Baraclough, who had finally built some positive momentum last month but has seen things unravel quickly in the last week, the Qatar dream now definitively dead.

The aim after Saturday’s demoralising defeat in Geneva, shaped by the contentious first-half red card for Jamal Lewis, was to try to preserve seeding and look to the future – and to that end Liverpool’s 18-year-old full-back Conor Bradley was handed a first international start as one of four changes.

The early signs were all good – Bradley was one of Northern Ireland’s brightest performers as they quickly pegged Bulgaria back in a dominant first-half performance.

Jordan Thompson was the first to test goalkeeper Ivan Karadzhov as he nicked the ball just inside the Northern Ireland half, driving at goal before shooting from just outside the area.

Baraclough’s men were pressing high, pushing Bulgaria on to the back foot, and creating chances as a result.

Paddy McNair should have done better than head straight at Karadzhov when Shane Ferguson’s cross found him at the far post, and the 32-year-old goalkeeper, making only his second international appearance, then kept out a snapshot from Washington from the resulting corner.

Bradley set up chances for Thompson and Josh Magennis, while weaving into the box and taking on two defenders to win a corner.

The breakthrough came 10 minutes before the break as Washington poked home when the goalkeeper pushed Magennis’ header in his direction, although Northern Ireland had to wait through a long VAR check before celebrating.

But Petrov sent on Ilian Iliev at the break, getting quick rewards as Northern Ireland struggled to deal with a revitalised Bulgaria.

The equaliser came in the 53rd minute as Iliev’s cross was deflected into the path of Nedelev, who got clear of Ferguson to fire a low shot into the net.

Northern Ireland could not stem the tide and, 10 minutes after conceding the first, they found themselves behind.

Nedelev’s second was even better than the first as Ivaylo Chochev laid off a curling cross from Kiril Despedov and Nedelev bent a shot into the top right corner of Peacock-Farrell’s net.

Baraclough sought inspiration from the bench. Stuart Dallas was left out of the starting line-up due to a minor knock, but came on along with Jordan Jones as Bradley and Magennis took a seat.

But the composure and control they had shown in the first half was gone. A significant weakness for Northern Ireland under Baraclough has been their inability to come from behind and they rarely looked like finding an equaliser here.

Thompson sent a free-kick wastefully high and wide with six minutes to go, but Karadzhov was otherwise a spectator as Bulgaria moved above the visitors into third place in Group C – in which Italy and Switzerland are now the only teams still alive.