Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories The Irish team line up ahead of tonight's game.Ryan Byrne/INPHO Player ratings: How the Boys in Green fared against Bulgaria Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men impressed in Plodiv. 10.16pm, 20 Mar 2025 Share options Caoimhín Kelleher: Couldn’t be faulted for the Bulgaria goal and didn’t have much to do otherwise, but the Liverpool star’s distribution was good and he performed the basics well. 7 Nathan Collins: Was a little sloppy in possession more than once, but defended well for the most part and almost scored down the other end, missing Troy Parrott’s cross-shot by inches. 7 Dara O’Shea: Was unlucky not to win a penalty in the second half when the Bulgaria defender clattered into him. Down the other, he was as defensively solid as ever. 7 Matt Doherty: There were some doubts about whether Doherty would start, largely owing to Jake O’Brien’s excellent form for Everton. But the Wolves man more than justified his place in the team with a brave header that turned out to be the winning goal. 7 Robbie Brady: Was particularly influential in the first half down the left and his cross led to the opening goal. Got a nasty-looking knock in the second half but carried on to complete the 90 minutes. 7 Advertisement Josh Cullen: Tidy as ever in the holding midfield role and made a couple of important interceptions. The range of the Burnley man’s passing is sometimes underappreciated, as he reminded people with a terrific cross-field ball for the second Ireland goal. 7 Jason Knight: Had a couple a couple of bright moments but struggled to impose himself on the game at times before picking up a harsh booking. 6 Ryan Manning: The biggest surprise in the starting XI, but another player who ended up vindicating Heimir Hallgrímsson’s selection. The Southampton man linked up well with Brady down the left and won Ireland several free kicks to take the pressure off the defence in the second period. 7 Mikey Johnston: Didn’t quite happen for him in an attacking sense more often than not, but the West Brom man still worked really hard off the ball and gave the team some much-needed width down the right in the absence of the likes of Chiedozie Ogbene and Festy Ebosele. 6 Finn Azaz: Showed good movement to score Ireland’s equaliser and provided the type of creativity that Ireland have been sorely lacking in the team, arguably since Wes Hoolahan’s retirement. If the 24-year-old Middlesbrough star can maintain that level of performance, he can become a regular presence in the starting XI for years to come. 8 Troy Parrott: Didn’t score but looked bright and inventive in the first half, and did really well for the first goal, with his volley from Brady’s cross putting it on a plate for Azaz to score. He faded a little after the break, but you could say the same about Ireland’s other attacking players. 7 Substitutes: The subs didn’t have much time to make an impact, but Evan Ferguson and Mark Sykes helped see the game out with some smart decisions, while Jake O’Brien and Jack Taylor were solid when they needed to be. Debutant Rocco Vata will be a little disappointed he couldn’t make more of two promising attacks in the dying stages. 6 Paul Fennessy Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Player ratings: How the Boys in Green fared against Bulgaria”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Player ratings: How the Boys in Green fared against Bulgaria”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. 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Leave a commentcancel Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Nations League player ratings Ireland Republic halfway there Ireland take stride to Nations League safety with comeback win in Bulgaria Gavin Cooney reports from Hristo Botev Stadium, Plovdiv 28 mins ago Finn Azaz provides welcome flashes of satisfaction to help seize control of play-off David Sneyd 30 mins ago Bulgaria v Ireland, Nations League playoff Freerecognition Two Irish players feature in Six Nations team of the tournament FreeTeam news Parrott to lead line against Bulgaria with Ferguson benched, Manning starts FreeMoneyball NBA's Boston Celtics sold for record $6.1bn - reports FreeOlympics Kirsty Coventry becomes first woman to lead IOC Bulgaria v Ireland, Nations League playoff Freerecognition Two Irish players feature in Six Nations team of the tournament 'He energised everyone he was near. 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