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 Troy Parrott (left) celebrates with Evan Ferguson (right) and Mikey Johnston.Bryan Keane/INPHO Troy Parrott continues to come of age with performance of growing maturity Forward led the line impressively as Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah got the goals that mattered. 9.57pm, 23 Mar 2025 Share options David Sneyd reports from Aviva Stadium THIS GAME WAS all about the Republic of Ireland. The good, the bad and the worrying. Troy Parrott’s all-round play was superb and further indication of his maturity leading the line. Yet the forwards that got the goals were his partner from the start, Evan Ferguson, and second-half substitute Adam Idah. If this can be a sign of things to come, with three of the country’s most promising attackers delivering in crucial moments then Heimir Hallgrímsson will be relishing the World Cup qualifying campaign to come after the summer. They will head into with League B status assured, and a growing confidence, but the Ireland manager knows it will be tempered by how they gave up the opening goal. Bulgaria score with their first shot on goal after 30 minutes, threatening to turn this into a very sobering night, and in the moments before Ferguson’s delightful equaliser they began to act the maggot a bit. There were 61 minutes on the clock when Ireland got a free kick on the right just inside their own half. One Bulgarian took the ball with him after the foul was called before flicking it back to Josh Cullen to delay the re-start. Of course, another then took his place to stand over the ball and prevent Cullen playing a pass into the channel, before captain Kiril Despodov assumed his duties and kicked the ball a few yards further back. It was getting to that time of the night when this kind of gamesmanship might take its toll. Ireland weren’t quite toiling but frustration was growing around the Aviva Stadium. Some chances had gone awry and the scores were level on aggregate despite what had been a largely impressive performance, backing up events in Plovdiv on Thursday. Advertisement It wasn’t just that Ireland won there with relative ease that seemed to allow most get in a comfort zone about this return leg. Bulgaria may have scored a well-worked goal after just six minutes, against a worryingly passive defence and defensive midfield, but for the remainder of the night offered little in the way of sustained quality to cause any concern. It was very similar here in Dublin. Ireland, after reasserting an almost disconcerting level of control, looked like a side too organised, sharp and – whisper it – too good for Bulgaria. That’s exactly how the first half an hour played out here until they went ahead on the night and level on aggregate with Valentin Antov’s soft goal. Parrott his the post in the first half.Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO It was a bolt from the blue, and not one of those moments that felt like it needed to jolt Ireland into lie. They had already started with intent, typified by Parrott’s all-round play, and created chances that, on another night, would have had them out of sight. The AZ Alkmaar striker hit the post after getting across his man at the near post on 24 minutes and what followed was a collective roar of approval from the 40,000-plus crowd inside the ground. They were liking what they were seeing from Ireland, brimming with positivity and delivering enjoyment. That is why the focus and expectation shifted here, a feeling that not simply doing enough to scrape through the tie and avoid relegation by any means necessary was the only requirement. By the end the scoreline (4-2 on aggregate) was fair reflection on both games. Hallgrímsson said he could “smell” a change among the squad, a growing belief and confidence to match. That sucker punch of a goal on 30 minutes – Bulgaria’s first shot – didn’t knock them out of kilter. They regained composure swiftly and continued to probe. Parrott was hacked down on the touchline by Simeon Petrov, a nasty stoods-to-the-ankle that looked opportunistic from a centre half struggling to get to grips with his man and who took his chance to inflict some pain. Parrott responded moments later with another intelligent run across Petrov and a deft header that zipped just over the bar. Jake O’Brien, on his first start, had an effort from a corner cleared off the line by the same centre back but for so much of the good, there are still some ills that will take time to cure, or at least subdue long enough to build momentum when the World Cup qualifiers begin after the summer. Ireland were in this play-off because they were unable to take any points from games with England and Greece during the group phase. Both of those teams will take part in League A of the next edition. Ireland seemed to be a cut above Bulgaria but gifting them such a goal from a corner at a time when they were dominant is a reminder of the vulnerability at the heart of this team. It was a slower start to the second half and yet Ireland still created opportunities through a combination of sharp interplay. Mikey Johnston blazed over after being slipped through by Parrott and Ferguson then shot tamely from distance after his strike partner won possession and put him through. As Bulgaria tried to stifle them Ireland then went back ahead in the tie when Ferguson dropped deep for a pass from Nathan Collins, turned and ran at the defence before blasting into the roof of the net after a one-two with Finn Azaz unlocked the opportunity. It was a move of quality and composure at just the right time. Ireland made a triple substitution moments later and that helped them maintain their superiority into the final quarter rather than allowing it become nervy. Two of those introduced, Mark Sykes and Idah, combined on a counter attack that was started b Azaz. Idah celebrated his cushioned finish at the back post by putting his finger to his mouthing and making the shush gesture. All talk now will be of starting the World Cup qualifiers with the kind of intent shown in this Nations League play-off. 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