Ireland were caught cold in Plovdiv, but eventually warmed up to beat Bulgaria and take an advantage into the second leg in Dublin on Sunday.
With their Nations League second-tier status on the line over this week's double-header, Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side had to recover from an early blow, but thankfully for this new-look Ireland side, it did not prove fatal.
"Shocked but not surprised" was the Ireland manager’s reaction to the early Bulgaria goal, having urged caution about the strength of this emerging third-tier team who have proved difficult to beat in recent years.
As it transpired, Ireland’s opening game of 2025 – a World Cup qualifying campaign year, of course – began brightly, with the manager’s attacking formation looking quite formidable in the opening exchanges.
The Ryan Manning-Robbie Brady left-flank double act was getting immediate success up the left, Mikey Johnston seemed determined to dazzle coming in off the right wing, while Finn Azaz and Troy Parrott had a bounce in their step with both looking lively in the opening five minutes.
Bulgaria, of course, took the wind right out of the Ireland sails with a goal that really was a thing of beauty as they worked the ball all the way across the edge of the box before squeezing it home, in off the post.
It was one of those goals that rarely comes off; an outrageous scooped flick to start the move from way out on the left, followed by an audacious backheel, however, the ball arrived perfectly for Marin Petkov and the striker proved precise with a pass into the corner of the goal.
It took a while, but Ireland finally got back into their stride and by the 20-minute mark they were, once again, starting to look the dominant side, playing through their opponents at will, while exploiting the massive pockets of space out wide and in behind the advanced defence.
Alert and accurate, Matt Doherty’s quick 21st-minute free-kick was sent from right to left before Brady took a great touch to kill the ball before sending a looping delivery deep to the back post, which pulled the keeper out of position.
Troy Parrott, on the other hand, was perfectly placed to meet it with a classy, cushioned pass back across the face for Finn Azaz to nod home and bag his first international goal.
And Hallgrimsson’s side maintained that momentum throughout the remaining minutes of the first half and were justly rewarded with another well worked goal to take control of the play-off.
Again credit must be given to Doherty’s awareness and willingness to make a bursting charge in from the right when he spotted Josh Cullen with the ball in space in the middle of the park.
Cullen obliged with a tempting through ball, and while goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov immediately spotted the danger, there was nothing he could do as Doherty arrived on cue to nod past and hand Ireland a deserved lead.
The second half was a scrappy affair, and Ireland were perhaps a touch guilty of being dragged into a dogfight against their frustrated hosts, while there was also a sense of edginess creeping into their play, determined to see out the win.
Changes from both sides added further to the lack of quality throughout that instantly forgettable second period, and the tie will now resume in Dublin on Sunday evening with Ireland leading 2-1.
Overall, Hallgrimsson seemed quite happy with the performance as his side showed the character that he has been attempting to instil in the squad to help develop a winning mentality.
Yet the narrow margin of victory and the second-half performance will rightly help keep the team on their toes going into the second match on Sunday.
"We gave them a bit of initiative in the second half, and we need to fix that and improve for the next game," said Hallgrimsson, speaking at the post match press conference.
"Maybe it was because we were winning and we haven’t done much of that lately, you automatically tend to get a little bit more passive, and we need to correct that."
There will be very little time to correct any real issues between now and the Aviva Stadium game with travel, rest and recovery to take into consideration, but there should be a higher level of confidence starting the game off the back of an away win.
Hallgrimsson was asked about individual performances, and was happy to speak fondly about Matt Doherty, Troy Parrott, Finn Azaz and others, however, he again emphasised the collective nature of the team following the victory, knowing the performance will also help create competition for places coming into the World Cup qualifiers.
The eleven that started in Bulgaria may not be the same team that begins that September quest for qualification, but Hallgrimsson will certainly be looking to bring that continuity into Sunday’s game with the minimum of changes.
And no doubt, the manager will again send out a side to start on the front foot and make sure that Bulgaria don’t get another early goal and play their way back into the tie.
Based on the Plovdiv performance and result, Ireland’s League B status should remain in place on Sunday night, and another winning performance really would put the team back on track to have a real crack at the autumn adventure.
