Read how Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland held out for a 1-1 draw in Bulgaria to keep the Boys in Green firmly on the road to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.
Bulgaria 1-1 Republic of Ireland
94 mins FULL-TIME: 1-1. Ireland survive a late onslaught to take a deserved point after a superb defensive display, full of the heart and endeavour we are growing to expect from Trapattoni and his team. A point takes us to within one point of Group 8 leaders Italy, who come to Croke Park on 10 October for what could be a group decider. However, we are now comfortably five points clear of Bulgaria with three games to play, with at least a play-off spot firmly within our grasp. On that note I'll sign off so thanks for checking in. see you for the next game!
93 mins Substitute Stephen Kelly does well to head clear as Bulgaria press in the final minutes and Ireland hang on for what would be a valuable point.
90 mins Folan does well to set McGeady up for a thunderous strike from outside the box, but the Celtic man's effort flies narrowly left and wide. There will be four minutes of added time.
89 mins Giuseppe Rossi has given Italy the lead against Northern Ireland in one of tonight's friendlies.
87 mins Jim Beglin confirms Richard Dunne as his Man of the Match after a commanding display at both ends of the pitch, scoring Ireland's goal in the first half and producing several timely interventions and interceptions in front of his own goal. All this despite suffering from a knee injury!
83 mins Kilbane shows a rare bit of skill and composure to clear from the back and launch Folan away down the left, but his attempted throughball for McGeady is overhit and Bulgaria clear.
82 mins Dimitrov replaces goalscorer Telkiyski.
80 mins Folan shows a clean pair of heels to his marker but runs out of pitch as Ireland mount a rare attack. O'Shea is replaced by Stephen Kelly following that earlier knock.
78 mins O'Shea, solid all night, feels the wrath of a late Kishishev challenge and ships a knock to his hip which leaves him in some pain.
77 mins Georgiev's free-kick is headed behind by Kilbane and the resulting corner comes to nothing.
76 mins Whelan is shown the yellow card for deliberate handball on the edge of the area, although that appears a bit harsh with no obvious intent visible on the Stoke man's part. It's now 2-2 in Cyprus.
75 mins Ireland are looking more and more disjointed as the game progresses, with the hosts finding space at will in midfield and dictating play with ease.
74 mins Keane, perhaps feeling the effects of his ankle injury, is replaced by Leon Best, for his first competitive outing in the green jersey.
71 mins Aiden McGeady replaces Hunt.
70 mins Centre-back Stoyanov strolls up unchallenged from the back and drills a shot narrowly over Given's crossbar.
63 mins Sean St Ledger, who has been solid on his competitive debut, produces another timely interception to deny substitute Makriev. Meanwhile, Montenegro have pulled one back in Cyprus.
61 mins Georgiev is introduced for Martin Petrov as Bulgaria outline their intent to go for all three points.
59 mins Makriev comes on for Bojinov.
57 mins Stilyan Petrov's superb throughball from the middle finds Berbatov in on goal, but the Manchester United man's first touch lets him down and the danger is cleared. Jim Beglin wonders why Berba didn't head it, and you'd have to agree that a diving header may have produced a more devastating outcome.
56 mins Martin Petrov's cross from the left is turned behind by the ever-vigilant Dunne. The corner comes to nothing.
55 mins Jim Beglin suggests 'Irish possession has been loose in this half' and that greater care is needed when we have the ball.
53 mins It's now 2-0 to Cyprus courtesy of a penalty.
52 mins Keith Andrews, who has been quietly effective in the middle alongside Glenn Whelan, tries his luck from distance but Ivankov gathers with ease.
48 mins Dunne reads the situation superbly to deny Petrov a run in on goal after capitalising on a rare O'Shea error out on the right. No sign of any knee injury on that occasion.
46 mins Ireland kick-off attacking the end at which the large Irish support are gathered.
The RTÉ panel here in wet and gloomy Dublin all agree that Ireland need to get back to basics and return to the gameplan that saw them start the game so well. No changes on either side at the break.
Half-time: 1-1. Giovanni Trapattoni will be relieved to get his charges in at the break after his side were outplayed since conceding the equaliser. Bulgaria have been well on top since Telkiyski's leveller, but Ireland can take heart from the knowledge that they were in control for the majority of the opening 30 minutes. At half-time it's still very much all to play for, but a win for either side will go a long way to determining who will qualify for the 2010 finals. A win here would put Trap's men one point clear of Italy, who still have to come to Croke Park. A draw would also keep Ireland in contention to top the group and would at least maintain their five point advantage over third placed Bulgaria.
45 mins After a period of sustained pressure from the hosts, the ball is headed clear to the feet of left back Kishishev and his drilled left foot strike is gratefully gathered by Given.
41 mins Bulgaria break well down the left but Angelov's cross is stopped by Dunne and Hunt clears.
39 mins Milanov is shown the yellow card for a late challenge on Hunt, and he will miss their next game against Montenegro.
37 mins Bojinov finds space in the box and his right-foot effort is headed behind for a corner by Dunne. A minute later, another corner is wrongly awarded to the hosts, but thankfully leads to nothing.
32 mins Keane almost breaks through at the other end but is pulled back for offside.
29 mins GOAL! The Irish lead lasts just five minutes as Kilbane's misjudgement lets Telkiyski in behind him on the right and the Bulgarian finishes with conviction low to Given's left. Another costly (non) intervention from Kilbane. 1-1
28 mins Stephen Hunt has so far more than justified his selection ahead of Aiden McGeady, tracking back superbly as well as providing the cross for Dunne's opener.
25 mins At the other end, Petrov misses a glorious opportunity to level with Dunne losing concentration, but Ireland escape.
24 mins GOAL! Hunt's left-footed free-kick finds Dunne in acres of space and the Manchester City man finds the back of the net with a thundering header. 1-0 to the visitors.
23 mins Folan and Hunt combine well on the left before the latter's progress is halted by Angelov.
22 mins Duff is taken down by left back Kishishev, as Beglin enthuses from the commentary box that 'Ireland have been impressive' in the opening 22 minutes.
19 mins Ireland survive Bulgaria's first real chance of the game when Berbatov heads narrowly over from close range after Milinov's cross down the left. Cyprus are 1-0 up on Montenegro at home in the night's other Group 8 game.
18 mins Folan and Martin Petrov leave the field briefly for some attention after an accidental clash of heads.
15 mins Folan almost sneaks in at the back post with a right-footed volley from Duff's in-swinger from the left, but Danish referee Claus Bo Larsen blows up for a foul. Ireland aren't looking too bad at this stage, and Shay Given has been a spectator for most of the opening 15 minutes. Long may it continue.
11 mins The hosts are let off the hook with the best chance of the game so far. Duff's corner from the left is headed goalwards by Dunne and lands in front of Robbie Keane, back to goal, but the Spurs man fails to connect properly and his left-footed effort from seven yards goes high and wide.
8 mins Richard Dunne shows no sign of an injury with a well-executed interception on Dimitar Berbatov, who has looked lively in the opening stages, by the right touchline.
6 mins Ireland's first serious attack of the night sees Caleb Folan hold the ball up well for Damien Duff on the right, the Newcastle man then crossing for the in-rushing Stephen Hunt to head goalwards. His decent header is saved by Ivankov.
5 mins Nothing much to report in the opening five minutes, although Sean St Ledger, making his competitive debut alongside Dunne at centre-back, endured a nervous moment in the opening minute but survived.
2 mins George Hamilton's co-commentator Jim Beglin reveals the previously dry pitch was watered before kick-off and should play well tonight.
1 min Bulgaria kick-off, playing from left to right as the camera looks on.
6.29pm The panel back in the RTÉ studios are not overly optimistic, Eamon Dunphy saying he 'fears' for this Irish side, while Johnny Giles and Ronnie Whelan think that it will be tight, but that the hosts may edge it. We won't be long finding out.
6.28pm A colourful crowd of over 43,000 stand for the national anthems under clear blue skies in Sofia.
6.27pm The good newsis that Dunne does start, so that allays our initial defensive fears. Let's hope he can make it through the 90 minutes.
6.25pm These sides drew 1-1 at Croke Park on 28 March, with Dunne opening the scoring in the first minute before Kevin Kilbane's 74th-minute deflection gave the Bulgarians a deserved point.
6.20pm If Dunne, who has been struggling with knee ligament problems all week, is ruled out, then expect John O'Shea to move into the centre and either Stephen Kelly or Eddie Nolan to come in at right back.
6.15pm Speculation coming through from Sofia suggests Richard Dunne has left the field with a physio and could be a doubt to start.
The teams are:
Bulgaria: Ivankov, Milanov, Stoyanov, Tomasic, Kishishev,
Angelov, Stiliyan Petrov, Telkiyski, Berbatov, Martin Petrov, Bojinov. Subs: Mihailov, Todorov, Dimitrov, Topuzakov,
Domovchiyski, Makriev, Georgiev.
Rep of Ireland: Given, O'Shea, St Ledger, Dunne, Kilbane,
Duff, Whelan, Andrews, Hunt, Keane, Folan. Subs: Henderson,
McGeady, Miller, Kelly, Best, Keogh, Nolan.
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark).
