Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria (15/10/2024)

There were many positives to take from our game in Hungary on Saturday. I was pleased with a lot of things.

Yes, it was frustrating to come away from the game at the ZTE Arena with only a single point. However, I have to look at the bigger picture, and I feel the performance against Belarus represented another progressive step for the team. I thought our first half performance in particular was very good. We dominated the ball and created plenty of chances. We played some great football. Of course, we must learn to convert opportunities, but I can’t fault our build-up play and the players’ willingness to get on the ball and make things happen. Clearly we should have scored on more than one occasion but we did not manage to do that due to a combination of our profligacy in front of goal, the Belarusians riding their luck and their keeper making some excellent saves. We did create chances in the second half, but by that stage Belarus had adapted their game to disrupt our rhythm. And they were delighted to get out of the game with a draw. Their celebrations at the final whistle reflected that. I thought we never looked like conceding and the clean sheet in Hungary was another positive. I thought Pierce Charles did really well on his debut. He was calm and assured, and his distribution was first class. Lee Bonis also did well when he made his debut in the second half. He is, of course, new to international football but I feel he has attributes that could be beneficial to us going forward. Looking at tonight’s game, a win would give us seven points in League C Group 3. That may or may not take us to the top of the group depending on the result in the Belarus-Luxembourg game at the ZTE Arena in Zalaegerszeg tonight.

People will, of course, look at results, but I tend to delve a bit deeper than that. The most important thing for me is that we keep progressing as a team and I believe we are doing that. Bulgaria were aggressive and physical in Plovdiv last month and I expect more of the same from them in tonight’s game. Unlike Belarus, who are very much focused on the team collective, the Bulgarians have individuals who can hurt you, and we will have to keep an eye on them. Attacking midfielder Kiril Despodov is one such player. He is an excellent passer of the ball and he produces pinpoint crosses. His set-piece delivery is first class. However, we also have individual players who have the ability to put the opposition under pressure. I believe if we play as we did in the first half in Hungary then we will get the desired result tonight. It was surreal not having fans in the stadium on Saturday. Playing behind closed doors is certainly not an ideal situation. I have said many times before that the players are energised by the support of our fans. Not surprisingly, given the lack of atmosphere in Saturday’s game, they are looking forward to playing in front of a packed home stadium and I have no doubt you will cheer them on as only you can.

Enjoy the game! MICHAEL O’NEILL NORTHERN IRELAND MANAGER

IRISHFA.COM

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