Bulgaria V Republic of Ireland - Friday, 6th June 2009 - World Cup 2010 Q

[centre mid]

Dunne is a national hero

spot on

[DotTV]

Great result. Great defending. Bulgaria resorted to long shots for most of the second half. I think the team were just forced back second half. I don't think Trap wanted them to sit back as much hence bringing on McGeady.
All roads still lead to SA. Lots of talk of Italy in Croker but Cyprus away is banana skin.

[cudsy1]

[QUOTE=SunnySweeney;1173383]Thanks to whoever posted the ATDHE.net feed.

QUOTE]


amen to that


best stream ever.


starting to think about playoffs.....

[amaccann]

Good result, but am I the only one who thinks that was 2 points dropped? We played well up to our goal, and Bulgarians were there for the taking. Disappointed overall.

[conlonn]

cyprus away should be ok
1-0 there
play offs should be made

[conlonn]

i was more disappointed after Bulgaria home
Bulgaria have Italy away left
now play off is a probability

[Rovers fan]

Good result in the end.

I thought duff had a good game, battled hard as did hunt. O'shea, Dunne and st.ledger all defended well. While folan and keane did as much as they could up front, the service was non-existent.

We just couldn't keep possession and ended hoofing it aimlessly. We sat back too much aswell. There was nobody supporting the strikers so there was little they could do.

For all their possession, Bulgaria didn't have many clear cut chances. Berbatov should have scored when he tried to control the ball as opposed to heading it.

Great atmosphere created by the Bulgarians. There was a good Irish following too.

[stiffler]

Happy as a pig in ****e :D


You'l never beat the irish !!!!

[Wexford Delboy]

First half very positive attacking display
second half very good defensive performance especially dunne absolutely unreal display duff was very positive which was good to see,folan has nice touch and held it up well but id still start doyle
kilbane was very poor for the goal and the centre mids were annoynomous imo..overall good result poor attacking performance in second half

[jbyrne]

Whelan useless as usual.

very harsh assessment

[tricky_colour]

Nice touch Trap bringing his wife to the RTE interview :)

[stiffler]

Nice touch Trap bringing his wife to the RTE interview :)


lol its not his wife, its his bit of work ;)

[conlonn]

thats his interpretor or am i drinking too much!

[johnnyc]

Haha, did anyone else hear what I just heard on the live aftermatch chat thingy on the RTE website????

It seems the boys in the studio didn't know their audio was still live....

[Colbert Report]

Haha, did anyone else hear what I just heard on the live aftermatch chat thingy on the RTE website????

It seems the boys in the studio didn't know their audio was still live....

What did they say?

[carloz]

st. ledger was talismanic... for his first competitive game in a hostile environment under constant pressure... class alongside dunne

Exactly. Yes Dunne stood out but he had a terrific partner beside him. This was St Ledgers competitive debut, in a very hostile atmosphere. Think he has nailed down that position.
Him and Folan should be very very proud of their full competitive debut

[centre mid]

What did they say?

Gilesy said to Eamo "That Colbert Report on foot.ie is only a bo_ox!"

Then Ronnie said "Calm down lads"

to which Bill said "Lads, yer still Live!!!"

[johnnyc]

They were talking about Catanaccio and stuff and Traps superb CV... but they said that even great managers make mistakes. This somehow led to them discussing Ireland losing 1-0 to Italy in 1990 where, as Dunphy put it, "Ronnie was left sat on the ****in' bench!!"

Priceless.

Eamo was also banging on about how Carsley and Ireland should be back.

[irishfan86]

I'll start us off with my match ratings. Feel free to add your own, criticize mine, or post your own thoughts on the match and the performance.

Given- 7- Solid as ever between the sticks.

O'Shea- 7.5- Kept Petrov quiet and was instrumental in creating space for Dunne for the goal by blocking off Berbatov.

Dunne- 10- Composure, determination, strength, desire- you'd run out of adjectives trying to describe his performance tonight. I'm gonna stick with immense.

St. Ledger- 7.5- Didn't look out of place at the back. Excellent competitive debut in a pressure cooker situation.

Kilbane-5- Made a terrible error for Bulgaria's goal, and was an obvious weak link at the back all game.

Duff-7- Had a strong first half, and worked hard the entire match.

Whelan/Andrews-6-Once again Bulgaria were allowed to boss midfield, and these two as a partnership were average at best tonight.

Hunt-7-Great running, and some fantastic delivery from set pieces.

Keane-6-Clearly carrying an injury, he wasn't able to be at his best.

Folan-7-Fantastic hold up play, especially in the first half. Some poor decision making at times, but in fairness this was mostly later in the game as his energy levels dropped, and he became increasingly isolated as Ireland dropped deeper and deeper.

Subs:

Kelly-6.5- It's hard to come on as a defender late in a game, but he did what he had to, and made a crucial clearing header at one point. Poor in possession however, giving away the ball a couple of times unnecessarily.

McGeady-6.5-Nearly scored the winner, and looked dangerous.

Best-6-Some good running, but didn't have much to work with after coming on.


In terms of the result, obviously most of us would have taken it before the game, and I'm no different; however, in the first 30 minutes we looked like a superior team, and I wish that could have translated to a full 90 minute performance. I'm not sure what changed our mentality- scoring our goal, or conceding shortly after? Perhaps a combination of both.

Anyway, our team seems to be improving as we go along, and for the most part I agree with Trap's tactics and selections.

He is slowly filling the holes, and tonight the only glaring weak spot was at left-full.

With the emergence of St. Ledger, when/if Finnan returns to full fitness, I would like to see O'Shea moved over to the left, with Finnan slotting in at right back.

With Stephen Reid coming in for one of Whelan or Andrews, our midfield may cease to be a worry area as well.

It's a good result, and we can be excited about the final leg of the qualifying journey after the summer.

[centre mid]

I'd echo most of that and just add that Folan had a good game and is looking like an excellent option.

[The Midget Gem]

I was very impressed with Folan. The first 30mins he was unreal, every time he got the ball he created something.
Central midfield was an obvious problem in the second half. Is Kilbane over the hill? Honestly i haven't seen him play in a while because i don't watch Wigan matches regularily, but he has been off the pace the last few times for Ireland.

St. Ledger i knew would be a good addition for the side. I seen him play for Preston a few times this season and he was superb every time. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few Premiership clubs looking to get hold of his services.
Dunne = Legend


One thing pointed out by the panel. We are the 8th place 2nd placed team in at the groups. If we drop to 9th we will not qualify even if we finish second. Note this.

[irishultra]

I couldn't believe it at the start, we were actually comfortable, went 1-0 up and I was like this is it, lets go and get a few more goals and top this group.

However the second half midfield performance was a disgrace, I mean did we pass the ball at all? 'A great result for Irish football'? not a chance!!!

We need to beat Cyprus and Montenegro and get a point against Italy now, or we face being the worst runner up. Disgusted really, although Dunne and St.Ledger were excellent, as were Folan and O'Shea.

[carloz]

Yeah for the first 30 minutes Folan won everything that came his way. Got tired last(expected when he somehow gets little football at Hull) on but still gave everything. Very very good option for us to have and one that we have lacked in recent years

[WexCar]

Is Kilbane over the hill? Honestly i haven't seen him play in a while because i don't watch Wigan matches regularily, but he has been off the pace the last few times for Ireland.



he plays for Hull now:)

[carloz]

One thing pointed out by the panel. We are the 8th place 2nd placed team in at the groups. If we drop to 9th we will not qualify even if we finish second. Note this
Hopefully we will be ok. Scotlands group is woeful(they are second with negative goal difference:confused:)
Also Portugal are struggling in their group with Sweden, Denmark and Hungary. There will be many points dropped in that group
Likewise the group containing Serbia, France and Romania

Fingers crossed. Realy really stupid that FIFA allowed this

[The Midget Gem]

he plays for Hull now:)
Haha no wonder i hadn't seen him play for them! Jeesh this leaving Cert has really taken over my soccer priorities. Usually i'd never make a rookie mistake like that.:o

[Colbert Report]

I'll tell you what, I'd love to see us win the group and Italy fail to qualify for the playoffs despite finishing second. That'd teach 'em, the defending world champions out on this stupid rule. Montenegro are a brand new country and shouldn't have been seeded sixth. Our group should have gotten an exemption because of this.

[bobloblaw]

Well tonight proved we can play when we go out with the right mindset, and not one of simply to defend, which is predictably exactly what happened when we went ahead. You could set your watch by it.

Folan looks useful....if we bothered to get anyone in and around him for any of the countless hoof ball he won. He looked a frustrated figure out there, wouldn't blame him either, ran his ******** out, won what was there to be one, but could no support for most of the game.

Was disappointed inthe fullbacks too, absolutely no courage at all to take the ball and simply more a couple of yards with it, but then there's no one form the mid-field showing any willingness, or even intelligence in wanting to receive the ball.

Only ones who showed any real quality going forward were Duff, and McGeady when he was on. Folan and Dunne were class too.

[Brendan 82]

The difference between this campaign and the last one is unbelievable. With the same, or aguably an even worse, team. Well done Trapp!

[elroy]

I couldn't believe it at the start, we were actually comfortable, went 1-0 up and I was like this is it, lets go and get a few more goals and top this group.

However the second half midfield performance was a disgrace, I mean did we pass the ball at all? 'A great result for Irish football'? not a chance!!!

We need to beat Cyprus and Montenegro and get a point against Italy now, or we face being the worst runner up. Disgusted really, although Dunne and St.Ledger were excellent, as were Folan and O'Shea.

No pleasing some people!! It is a good result, keeps us on track and the group is still in our hands. The first 30 mins Ireland played very well, scored a good goal. From the time we conceded the goal onwards, we were defending so much deeper and gave very little support to the two up front. Its a dangerous tactic but we got the result. In a sense I think if we had been a bit more ambitious then maybe we wouldve got the win. The fact that they scored so quickly after our goal was a killer for us because it gave them spirit and confidence that was already starting to wane at that stage. The first 30 mins tonight and second half in Bari is the best this team has played in a long time.

Dunne was excellent and Ledger did very well alongside, JOSH was also very impressive. KK had a poor game although improved in the second half, the goal was very soft and disappointingly very similar to that conceded against Georgia at home. Folan and Hunt worked their socks off as did Duff. Keane didnt have his best game and think the injury affected him. Disappointed with the two lads in the middle again, they did quite well for the first half hour, particularly Andrews but once the mindset/tactic set in to defend so deep they very rarely strung a few passes together which was essential to support the front two and take pressure off the back four.

I didnt think McGeady did an awful lot when he came on and unfortunately our options are limited on the bench, may be long wouldve came on if JOSH hadnt got injured.

Yet another good night under Trap and further progress, some people may not like the system/tactics but it is working and if we can now win in Cyprus it will leave us with two home games to pretty much decide if we can win the group or get second. :cool:

[Sheridan]

I'll tell you what, I'd love to see us win the group and Italy fail to qualify for the playoffs despite finishing second. That'd teach 'em, the defending world champions out on this stupid rule. Montenegro are a brand new country and shouldn't have been seeded sixth. Our group should have gotten an exemption because of this.
I think :rolleyes: sums it up pretty well.

It's not a stupid rule, it's dictated by mathematics. Seedings are based on past results and ranking points. You can't pluck them out of thin air. Montenegro had none, therefore they were seeded sixth. That has always been the case.

[Crosby87]

With Stephen Reid coming in for one of Whelan or Andrews, our midfield may cease to be a worry area as well.


Is Reid even coming back? Its been suggested he needs to concentrate on a club career to make some money, and most clubs want to urge him to not risk injury with Ireland...Cant blame them.....

So Duff gets kudos "for working hard?" Has it really come to that? I mean they all work hard. Its not the Russian team. Why are grades always being improved for actually trying when you...should try?
Just asking.

[MeathDrog]

Was disappointed that we allowed ourselves to be pinned back by what was an extremely mediocre Bulgaria who were very much overhyped going into this game.

[irishfan86]

Is Reid even coming back? Its been suggested he needs to concentrate on a club career to make some money, and most clubs want to urge him to not risk injury with Ireland...Cant blame them.....

So Duff gets kudos "for working hard?" Has it really come to that? I mean they all work hard. Its not the Russian team. Why are grades always being improved for actually trying when you...should try?
Just asking.

I'm sure Stephen Reid is okay financially, but if he wanted to retire from Ireland to prolong his career, I wouldn't begrudge him.

However, I've heard from people who have talked to him that he loves playing for Ireland, and I'm sure he would love to represent us in a World Cup.

As for the Duff comment, yes I raise my ratings when I see players going above and beyond what is expected. Lunging in for a 40/60 ball and winning it. Taking on 3 players (and the ref), to ease pressure after being pinned. That's hard work. He could just sit on the wing and hope for a pass, but no, he was back in there doing just as much defensive work as anybody.

Duff elevates his game when he puts on the green jersey, and I appreciate that, and you're damned right I'm going to raise the score I give him when he puts in that kind of effort and performance in a pressure-cooker game like tonight.

[carloz]

I couldn't believe it at the start, we were actually comfortable, went 1-0 up and I was like this is it, lets go and get a few more goals and top this group.

However the second half midfield performance was a disgrace, I mean did we pass the ball at all? 'A great result for Irish football'? not a chance!!!

We need to beat Cyprus and Montenegro and get a point against Italy now, or we face being the worst runner up. Disgusted really, although Dunne and St.Ledger were excellent, as were Folan and O'Shea.

Jesus the glass wouldnt be half empty with you would it. We are 6th out of the 9 runner ups. Some of those groups, particularly 1 and 7 are very tight with about 4 teams fighting for first and second. Our group is not like that. id say that there is about a 10-15% chance we will be the worst runner up.

[shakermaker1982]

Given - 6. Didn't have much to do except yell at his cental midfielders to close down the man with the ball.

O'Shea - 8. Solid, kept Petrov quiet + loved how even though he had a huge strapping on his leg he still dived up off his dugout seat when McGeady nearly scored! Quality.

Dunne - 10. Rock.

St Ledger - 7. Losing Berbatov in the 2nd half wasn't too clever but he played well on the whole.

Kilbane - 4. Too many crosses got in from his side and he didn't look at the races. If Finnan ever recovers from his never ending list of injuries then he can go in at RB and O'Shea moves to LB. Sorry Killer.

Hunt & Duff - 6.5 Worked hard defensively but didn't see too much of the ball from an attacking perspective. Duff started off well but as the Bulgarians dominated possession he was having to track back. Good cross from Hunt for the goal. Yet again proves his critics than he can take a set piece.

Whelan & Andrews - 5. Didn't do much with the ball and I'm guessing they are instructed to just run back when without the ball to stand in front of Dunne/St Ledger when Bulgaria have possession? Why not go out to meet the player with the ball instead of letting him run freely for 30 yards? It only needed one of them. One can sit and the other can press. I don't know what game Dolan was watching if they thought they played well.

Keane - 5. Hardly had a touch.

Folan - 8. Won lots of headers but probably needed a bit more support for us to make it really count. His effort and work rate was also fantastic. Chasing back and harrying like a mad man.

Subs

S Kelly - 8. For that header alone right at the end.

Best - 5. Like Keane he didn't get a kick.

McGeady - 6. One good shot but other than that he didn't have much impact. I would have liked him on the right so Duff (better at tracking back) could have helped out Kilbane.

The first 25 minutes we were outstanding. Looked calm and composed and made the game look easy. They score and it was like Bulgaria at home all over again. I didn't expect us to achieve parity in possession but our central midfield pairing need to hold on to it when we have the ball.

It's a very good result but we need S Reid back fit and healthy. The Trap's regime is not good for the heart neither but he always seems to grind out a result. God those last 20 minutes were excruciating.....

[mypost]

I mean did we pass the ball at all? 'A great result for Irish football'? not a chance!!!

We need to beat Cyprus and Montenegro and get a point against Italy now, or we face being the worst runner up. Disgusted really, although Dunne and St.Ledger were excellent, as were Folan and O'Shea.

We went there for a point, and we got it.

If you had asked me 12 months ago, that we'd go unbeaten over the three games (Bulgaria x2, and Italy away), I'd take it.

Tonight is the first time we've got a point in Sofia, and we're in a very good position, for both 1st, and 2nd. We haven't seen Bulgaria off yet, but we are 80% of the way there, and we can stuff the Italians, like we stuffed the Dutch all those years ago.

[Stuttgart88]

Does anyone who laughed at my suggestions that Arsenal could do worse than look at Dunne still think it's a dumb idea?

I think a neutral looking at this would have said Bulgaria didn't do enough to win. I was anxious but not as anxious as I have been watching Ireland away.

The negatives are clear: our defence has a crucial error in every game and midfield struggles to get a hold of any game when it counts. There were positives too: Folan is a reallly credible altyernative to Doyle, SSL is a good player to have, the shape of the tyeam without the ball is good, Duff can still beat a man, draw fouls and generally relieve pressure and we have better players that can come in.

I reckon I'm a bit happier than I am disappointed. The group table still looks good though it could look better, but it could also look worse. I think this is our best ever result in Bulgaria & I'd prefer our position to Bulgaria's.

I think we'll be a far tougher opponent for Cyprus than we were last time. We'll win that one I reckon.

[tricky_colour]

OK this is the dropped points table

==played==dropped points
Italy ---6-----4
ROI.----7-----8
Bul-----6-----10
Cyp......6-----13
Mon----6-----14
Geo----7-----18

So if we beat Italy we wil have still dropped one more point than Italy (8-7)
Bulgaria have only dropped 2 more points than us.

Anyway Scotland must be the worst second placed team, they have lost two and drawn one, surely we will stay ahead of them?

[papa-j]

I couldn't believe it at the start, we were actually comfortable, went 1-0 up and I was like this is it, lets go and get a few more goals and top this group.

However the second half midfield performance was a disgrace, I mean did we pass the ball at all? 'A great result for Irish football'? not a chance!!!

We need to beat Cyprus and Montenegro and get a point against Italy now, or we face being the worst runner up. Disgusted really, although Dunne and St.Ledger were excellent, as were Folan and O'Shea.

Great result and I dont care how we get there, once we get there.Remember switzerland away,Cyprus away, san marino away, slovakia away plus so may more disapointments?? This is a massive turnaround in fortune and we are getting results away against our main rivals now. Look at our squad tonight and considering injuries etc its a fantastic result.

Fcuk Dunphy, Whelan etc - football for Ireland has always been about effort, workrate, strength, character, making the most of what weve got, teamwork and getting a result. Shoot me down if you like but I am abolutely delighted with the campaign so far.

[Crosby87]

We went there for a point, and we got it.

If you had asked me 12 months ago, that we'd go unbeaten over the three games (Bulgaria x2, and Italy away), I'd take it.

Tonight is the first time we've got a point in Sofia, and we're in a very good position, for both 1st, and 2nd. We haven't seen Bulgaria off yet, but we are 80% of the way there, and we can stuff the Italians, like we stuffed the Dutch all those years ago.

What I dont understand is, and it seems the media from what I saw/listened to today (and it was alot) agrees with you is, that we can take points off Italy at home.
We played the game in Bari up a man, and still could not win.
BUT my point is, after today, getting outplayed against a team that is very mediocre, certainly not the freaking Azzuri, how is everyone so confident we will beat Italy just B.C. the game is at home?!!
I do not get that. I think the Italians, the way things are going, will win handidly. People think Italy is not playing well now...well that is not a good thing!!!!
Someone posted something that said our last quality home win was Holland in 2001, so even if that is debatable, there is absolutely nothing to suggest we would beat Italy in a few months. And after today I feel worse frankly!!!!!
No one agrees with me here?

[TerryPhelan]

I'm sure Stephen Reid is okay financially, but if he wanted to retire from Ireland to prolong his career, I wouldn't begrudge him.

However, I've heard from people who have talked to him that he loves playing for Ireland, and I'm sure he would love to represent us in a World Cup.


I have actually been in touch with the man a few times over the last few months and he has always been very fired up about playing for Ireland. He has been told that he'll be back playing in September, so that should have him fit for our last three games. As has been mentioned already, we'll have Finnan, Reid and Doyle back for those three games - and (who knows?) maybe even Stephen Ireland as well! If you take a positive spin on those Radio 5 reports, that is...

Can't even begin to comment on tonight's match as I am still in a state of high stress and anxiety from watching it. How can the simple act of watching a sports team have such a massive effect on a person?! I was literally shaking with the nerves throughout (I should add that I am only 25 and not a geriatric for whom such bouts of the shakes would be an ordinary occurrence!). Will take me a long time to return to normal. Draw a better result than I thought we'd achieve, even if the performance for the last hour was extremely risky and an invitation to defeat. But... we're still hanging in there.

[shakermaker1982]

we'll draw 1 all at home to the Italians. WE just love that result. If we win the other two games we should be in the play off lottery. Having a glance through the tables there are a few big sides in contention for the play offs but the one team that would put the fear of God into everybody is SWITZERLAND!

[shakermaker1982]

Does anyone who laughed at my suggestions that Arsenal could do worse than look at Dunne still think it's a dumb idea?


Manchester Evening News are reporting that Stoke are putting a bid together for Dunne :eek:

[mypost]

BUT my point is, after today, getting outplayed against a team that is very mediocre, certainly not the freaking Azzuri, how is everyone so confident we will beat Italy just B.C. the game is at home?!!
I do not get that. I think the Italians, the way things are going, will win handidly. People think Italy is not playing well now...well that is not a good thing!!!!

It was very hot out there, our players are jaded tired after a 10 month English season, playing in a very hostile atmosphere, looking to get a point, at a place where we never have before. Of course I expected to be outplayed, but don't think we were. How many clear chances did Bulgaria have? Apart from the goal, everything was defended extremely well.

We finished 10 points off the qualifiers 18 months ago, tonight we sit 1 point behind the leaders. If people are "disgusted" after tonight's result, I wonder how disgusted the Bulgars are.

Italy are an ageing side, and are due a beating by someone. No reason why we can't do it, when we have them back at our place, in our conditions.

[Supreme feet]

As always in a game like this, it was very even, and it took two bad mistakes to affect the scoreline. Dunne was left completely unmarked for our goal, and Kilbane... well, he's not a left-back, is he? Steve Heighway once said; 'It's always the little things that make the difference between qualifying and not qualifying.' We could have lost this game; at times, the Bulgarians seemed to be playing with an extra man, such was the superiority of their movement when in possession. However, if McGeady's shot had been 6 inches to the right...

t seemed like the atmosphere got to Whelan and Andrews, but bear in mind their lack of big-game experience. I remember ten years ago, when we played Croatia away with a 5-man midfield, and reputed, experienced players like Carsley, McLoughlin and Kinsella were utterly anonymous. Also, Russia in 2002, when we lost 4-2 with Holland and Kinsella in midfield. I think we can be happy getting away with 1-1 - Andrews and Whelan will be better for tonight's experience too.

[zenokelly]

No need for me to repeat what's already been said.

Just on the 2nd placed issue, as long as we at least match Scotland in our last 3 games, that'll be enough.
jus for the record, they have Norway (A), Holland (H), Macedonia(H).
Another factor that helps is that that group finishes in september, so we'll know what we'll have to do in our final 2 games.

I believ that 5 points will be enough, but hoping for 7 to be sure:ball:

[conlonn]

switzweland i would love
they us owe one

[Paddy Garcia]

Reasonable result - I do though get a little frustrated at the limits of our ambition.

Thought Dunne was immense & O'Shea very very good. St Ledger did pretty well also. Folan put in a decent stint in far from easy conditions. We do struggle in the middle. It would be well worth testing McCann for the Autumn games if possible.

Hopefully it will keep the numptys who keep insisting that McShane should have a place quiet for a while!

[conlonn]

supreme feet good post