Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria (15/10/2024)

WORDS : NIGEL TILSON NORTHERN IRELAND BEGIN UNL CAMPAIGN WITH A WIN AND A DEFEAT

Michael O’Neill was looking for a solid start to Northern Ireland’s

back post was met by Isaac Price, who dragged this shot wide of the target. Not long after Hume scooped a shot wide of the target. On 66 minutes Bradley sprung the offside trap and bore down on goal, however his low shot went wide of the post. Four minutes later goalkeeper Bailey Peacock Farrell clawed out a flicked header from Luxembourg striker Gelson Rodrigues, who was rarely given a sight of goal by Ballard and McNair. Saville whipped another free-kick towards the near post where it appeared to hit Ballard’s shoulder and dropped past the post. In the closing stages Northern Ireland substitute Ross McCausland had a couple of efforts, forcing saves out of Luxembourg keeper Anthony Moris. Northern Ireland slipped to a 1-0 defeat away to Bulgaria in game two of their latest UEFA Nations League campaign. In sticky conditions on a lumpy pitch at Stadion Hristo Botev in Plovdiv they were left frustrated after Bulgaria scored in the 40th minute and defended strongly from then on to claim all three points. A physically strong and rugged Bulgaria bossed the first half, hitting the woodwork twice, while Northern Ireland had plenty of the ball in the second half, although they could not fashion a clear goalscoring opportunity. The home side, who drew with Belarus away in their opening C3 game, started on the front foot and they almost opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Bailey Peacock-Farrell superbly clawed out a header from midfielder Georgi Kostadinov at the near post. The loose ball fell to striker Aleksandar Kolev and his pass back across goal

fourth UEFA Nations League campaign – and he got one.

Northern Ireland defeated top seeds Luxembourg in League C Group 3 in front of 17,213 fans at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park last month. However, in game two a few days later, they lost out narrowly by a goal to nil against C3 second seeds Bulgaria in Plovdiv. First half goals from defenders Paddy McNair and Daniel Ballard secured a comfortable 2-0 victory in the home match against Luxembourg. Michael O’Neill’s side opened the scoring on 11 minutes. Defender Ciaron Brown’s long throw put the Luxembourg defence under pressure. The clearance fell to McNair and he made no mistake, guiding the ball home from 10 yards with the outside of his foot. It was a composed finish. In the 17th minute it was 2-0 to Northern Ireland. Midfielder Conor Bradley was hauled down as he approached the penalty area down the right flank. Fellow midfielder George Saville fired the free kick towards the near post where Ballard was on hand to clip the ball into the net. As half-time approached Northern Ireland captain Trai Hume, donning the armband for the first time, curled an effort just inches past the post. Luxembourg’s best chance of the half came when McNair and Ballard failed to deal with a long ball and Leandro Barreiro nipped in, however his shot flew over the top. Right at the start of the second half Bradley, who was full of running throughout, sped forward and fed Hume. The defender’s lofted cross to the

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