Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria (15/10/2024)

was touched by the Northern Ireland keeper as he lay on the ground. Ciaron Brown then cleared the ball off the line and it cannoned off Bulgaria defender Alex Petkov and hit the post before the keeper gathered the ball in. Isaac Price had a chance for the visitors before Bulgaria captain Kiril Despodov was unlucky to see his curling free-kick slam off the post as the home side continued to press.

Bulgaria took the lead just before half-time when Peacock-Farrell’s clearance towards Daniel Ballard fell short and Kolev nipped in to slip the ball to the back post where Despodov tucked it away from four yards. After the break Northern Ireland upped the tempo. Dion Charles had an effort blocked, Shayne Lavery had a half-chance and Ballard put a header wide, however they could not find a way through.

AT WINDSOR PARK 2-0

PLOVDIV, BULGARIA 1-0

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE GROUP C3 05-09-2024 NATIONAL FOOTBALL STADIUM

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE GROUP C3 08-09-2024 STADION HRISTO BOTEV,

Northern Ireland: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Conor Bradley, Trai Hume (captain), Daniel Ballard, Paddy McNair, Ciaron Brown, George Saville, Shea Charles, Dion Charles, Callum Marshall, Isaac Price. Substitutes: (used) Josh Magennis, Jamal Lewis, Ross McCausland, Ali McCann, Paul Smyth; (unused) Luke Southwood (GK), Josh Clarke (GK), Shayne Lavery, Corry Evans, Brad Lyons, Carl Johnston, Ethan Galbraith. Luxembourg : Anthony Moris, Enes Mahmutovic, Lars Gerson, Dirk Carlson, Florian Bohnhert, Laurent Jans (captain), Leandro Barreiro, Christopher Martins, Mathias Olesen, Gerson Rodrigues, Eric Veiga. Substitutes: (used) Michael Pinto, Eldin Dzogovic, Christophe Andrade Brites, Sebastien Thill, Edvin Muratovic; (unused) Ralph Schon (GK), Tiago Pereira (GK), Sofiane Ikene, Kevin D’Anzico, Jayson Videira, Timothe Rupil, Fabio Lohei.

Bulgaria: Dimitar Mitov, Viktor Popov, Fabian Nuernberger, Zhivko Atanasov, Alex Petkov, Radoslav Kirilov, Georgi Kostadinov, Ilia Gruev, Aleksandar Kolev, Kiril Despodov (captain), Martin Minchev. Substitutes: (used) Ahmed Ahmedov, Zdravko Dimitrov, Vasil Panayotov, Stanislav Ivanov, Simeon Petrov; (unused) Svetoslav Vutsov (GK), Ivan Dyulgerov (GK), Ertan Tombak, Valentin Antov, Georgi Minchev, Ivan Minchev, Georgi Rusev. Northern Ireland: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Trai Hume (captain), Ciaron Brown, Daniel Ballard, Paddy McNair, Jamal Lewis, Shea Charles, George Saville, Dion Charles, Conor Bradley, Isaac Price. Substitutes: (used) Shayne Lavery, Paul Smyth, Callum Marshall, Ross McCausland, Ali McCann: (unused) Luke Southwood (GK), Josh Clarke (GK), Corry Evans, Brad Lyons, Eoin Toal, Ethan Galbraith, Josh Magennis.

52

NIR V BUL