Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland - Thursday 20th March 2025 - UEFA Nations League

[Razors left peg]

Well its not the team any of us would have picked, hopefully he has something interesting in mind

[elatedscum]

Being reported as:

Doherty-O'Shea-Collins-Manning

Cullen-Knight

Johnston-Azaz-Brady

Parrott


(i'd personally flip Brady and Johnston probably)

[SkStu]

With the squad selected (and the anomaly P-Stu points out)… it’s a head scratcher and a few round pegs in square holes… not impressed but ready to be proven very wrong.

[Razors left peg]

Big game for Azaz, he's been in great form but we've not seen it in a green shirt yet. Hopefully this is his breakout game

[elatedscum]

With the squad selected (and the anomaly P-Stu points out)… it’s a head scratcher and a few round pegs in square holes… not impressed but ready to be proven very wrong.

i do think it's mad that Manning goes from not being in the squad on Monday to starting on Thursday. If you like him, just call up 24 players.

I'd like, arguments sake, if Taylor comes off the bench and picks up a knock, Molumby gets called up and starts ahead of Knight - but if Taylor doesn't get the injury then they don't call Molumby up for Game 2

[Eirambler]

Being reported as:

Doherty-O'Shea-Collins-Manning

Cullen-Knight

Johnston-Azaz-Brady

Parrott



This seems to be what it is, judging by HH's pre match comments ("left footers on the left, right footers on the right").

Parrott as the lone striker, albeit backed up by Azaz. A big challenge for him, he's the form pick but is he a lone striker? Huge opportunity for Manning as well.

Will Azaz drop back enough out of possession, will Brady drop into centre mid?

A lot to unpack there, but it's different and at least (hopefully) it's not 3-4-3 with only two centre mids. I'll take anything that isn't that in truth.

[pineapple stu]

i do think it's mad that Manning goes from not being in the squad on Monday to starting on Thursday. If you like him, just call up 24 players.
HH saying the plan had been to play two left-footers anyway - O'Dowda and Brady - but that begs the question as to why you wouldn't have Manning in the squad from the start in case, to pick something mad, O'Dowda got injured?

[Eirambler]

Will be interesting also to see if it's Manning at left back with Brady in front of him, or the other way around. Could play it either way I guess.

It reads like the way HH was known for setting his Iceland teams up (I think, can't say I watched a huge amount of them). Flat back four, wingers and crosses.

Except the man in the middle is Parrott. Surely if you were going for balls getting flung into the box you'd start Ferguson or Idah? Azaz firing in shots off second balls or something? Not sure.

[tetsujin1979]

Team stats
https://www.instagram.com/p/DHbp-Ibu0yi

[rebelmusic]

Had a similar shock reaction to the lineup announcement but happy he hasn't gone 5 at the back and very interested to see if this works. I think they'd be eaten alive against tougher opposition though.

In positive news I watched the Turkey Hungary game and Hungary were woeful. My hope/belief for the world cup qualifiers is cautiously increasing

[Eirambler]

Brady left back, Manning further forward according to Dan McD. Manning can maybe help out in midfield at times too.

[pineapple stu]

Neither RTÉ pundit impressed with the line-up. Given things we should be putting out a more attacking team - but in fairness I don't think the team we have is exactly defensive, with Parrott, Johnston, Azaz and even Brady and Manning on the wings. Hamann saying Azaz, Johnston, Manning and so on aren't going to get us to the World Cup and we need Ferguson in there - but Ferguson can only take one place in fairness! We're still going to need most of Azaz, Johnston, Manning, etc.

[osarusan]

If anybody has a stream, that's be great.

[tetsujin1979]

If anybody has a stream, that's be great.
It's on the rte player, or Amazon prime

[pineapple stu]

If anybody has a stream, that's be great.
Yeah, I'm not convinced you want to watch a stream...

First chance for Bulgaria, another unchallenged shot from outside the box sent in off our post.

The more things change...

[osarusan]

Yeah, I'm not convinced you want to watch a stream...

First chance for Bulgaria, another unchallenged shot from outside the box sent in off our post.

The more things change...
I'd still like to watch!

[seanfhear]

Play Ireland ~ ~ Tactic ~ ~ Shooting practice.

[Insidetherock]

They look absolutely muck.. and we hand them a goal.. they'd break your heart

[joey B]

Awful awful goal to give away,so meek in and around our own box ….

[pineapple stu]

I'd still like to watch!

You have been warned!

(We'd started lively and all - every Ireland cliche over the past few years repeated ad nauseum. Literally until you were sick of it)

Edit - you can add doing feck all since the goal to the bingo sheet. Still early days, but hard to shake the feeling I've seen this game before

[SkStu]

Very poor goal to concede. Thought O’She should have got closer to the guy who laid it off. Had been a promising start.

[rebelmusic]

Manning has missed two big opportunities and was primarily at fault for the goal. What a disaster

[pineapple stu]

There we go - Parrott sets Azaz up, and the keeper goes walkabout.

Onwards from here!

[Eirambler]

Lovely composed one touch ball from Parrott there.

[SkStu]

Good goal. Lovely from Parrott. Well done lads.

[joey B]

Lovely touch from Troy Parrot,these are a poor side ,hopefully we can push on …

[Insidetherock]

Their defence is brutal.. get at that keeper, mon the lads

[Eirambler]

Very poor goal to concede. Thought O’She should have got closer to the guy who laid it off. Had been a promising start.

O'Shea wasn't the issue there, the runner off the right wasn't picked up by either Brady or Manning.

[passinginterest]

Waiting in a flight back to Dublin. Realised I could watch on sky go. Got it started 10 seconds before Bulgaria goal (very soft defending). Had to stop to board, sat down and started stream again and we scored (lovely assist from Troy and ball from Brady). Match will be over by the time we get to Dublin son unless there’s another goal before we take off you can assume there won’t be anymore :)

[SkStu]

Manning has missed two big opportunities and was primarily at fault for the goal. What a disaster

I’m fine with Manning. High energy, intense, making stuff happen all a marked difference from previous appearances. First goal chance he should’ve done better, the second was a lot tougher and I think the fault for the goal could be spread to O’Shea and Brady as much as Manning. He won the fk that we scored from too. I think he’s offering us something positive overall here.

[SkStu]

O'Shea wasn't the issue there, the runner off the right wasn't picked up by either Brady or Manning.

Yeah - fair. I just think O’Shea being closer to his man doesn’t allow the time for that lay off.

[pineapple stu]

That Bulgaria keeper is ****e

(McGrath's teammate at Aberdeen actually - SPL really ain't a great level outside the top two)

[SkStu]

We’re so much better than these. Lovely again.

Keeper is class.

[SkStu]

The forum tech gremlins are really acting up again tonight.

[joey B]

Great response after the early setback,nothing to fear against these …

[Insidetherock]

They should clatter these lads in the 2nd half, and go at them hard again Sunday in front of the home fans.. it'll be criminal if we don't win this

Remember, winning this play off likely gives us about 80% chance of getting a spot in 2028 as a "home nation"

[Razors left peg]

Weird half. Still think we are set up wrong and I don't think right players were picked, but we are the better team and deserve to be ahead.

Troy is best footballer on the pitch, would love to see him on ball more, maybe in Manning position with Ferguson or Idah ahead.

[pineapple stu]

We’re so much better than these. Lovely again.
Ironically that first half almost made me want to see us relegated, even just for one campaign. Not a brilliant game of ball, but still more enjoyable than most of the stuff we've seen in League B.

Sadly (?) don't see us going down now with another game and a half against this lot to go.

Greece 0-1 Scotland at halftime maybe gives a bit of perspective on where we are overall. But feck it. Another goal or two in this tonight touch wood

[texidub]

Not a great game. Not a great pitch. They had me worried conceding so early. Fair play on coming back into it. Parrott's assist was very good. Azaz good. Johnston needs longer studs. Cullen a bit sloppy.

[SkStu]

Weird half. Still think we are set up wrong and I don't think right players were picked, but we are the better team and deserve to be ahead.

Troy is best footballer on the pitch, would love to see him on ball more, maybe in Manning position with Ferguson or Idah ahead.

That triangle of MJ, Parrott and Azaz is working very well. Manning is playing hard and fast, stepping up in a new position - and I like it. Selection feels strange alright but it’s working well so far.

[SkStu]

Keeper off at h/t… jebus

[joey B]

Didn’t realise how alike Azaz and Johnston look !

[rebelmusic]

I take it back, Manning has been excellent in the 2nd half. Maybe the occasion got to him in the first 10. Battling performance this half although very scrappy

[osarusan]

Did Vata just join what is probably a very select group of international footballers who picked up a booking before ever touching the football?

[SkStu]

I take it back, Manning has been excellent in the 2nd half. Maybe the occasion got to him in the first 10. Battling performance this half although very scrappy

I just said it was the type of performance that would be so fcking annoying to play against. :D

[pineapple stu]

Should have been a red for Minkov there. Can't go in studs up these days. Ref has been card happy throughout the second half, but not when it counts.

That second half was fairly poor stuff though; tempers the enthusiasm I had at half-time. Pitch didn't help with players slipping everywhere. We should still see this out comfortably enough on Sunday, but I think we have to take it we're really poor League B standard (or half-decent League C standard); don't think this result changes that view.

[Eirambler]

Was there no VAR tonight? That was a clear straight red.

[backstothewall]

Awful game of football. 2 poor teams, though we are clearly superior to Bulgaria.

[pineapple stu]

Was there no VAR tonight? That was a clear straight red.
RTÉ said early on in the game that there was anyway.

[osarusan]

Missed the first 20 minutes or so, but finally did find a stream, and from what I saw, we were comfortably the better team for the rest of the game. Beautiful touch from Parrott for the equaliser, and many thanks to their diabolical keeper for the second.

Yeah, Bulgaria were woeful, but that's their problem. We've faced woeful teams over the past few years and looked just as woeful ourselves, if not worse.

Tonight we not just looked better, but like we felt like/knew like we were better.

They offered nothing, and we controlled the game all over the pitch. I literally cannot remember Kelleher even touching the ball in the second half, apart from goal kicks. I mean, he must have, but I cannot recall him even collecting a cross or something like that.