Northern Ireland 5-0 Bulgaria (UEFA Nations League Group Stages)
I'm at East Midlands Airport where I bump into Brummie Rob. He's a Villa fan and football mad and just so happens to be on my Aerlingus flight to Belfast.
The chat is football, he talks of Villa's weaknesses at right back and a possible move from Villa Park, PSR struggles, Champions League loving and an up and coming striker named Rory Wilson who's banging the goals in at youth team level.
Northern Ireland host Bulgaria tonight and both teams could do with a goalscorer, between them in the UEFA Nations League this campaign they've scored just three across six games. Tight at the back, Bulgaria are yet to concede in the group format and beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in Plovdiv last month, that goal scored by Kiril Despodov, the only one conceded so far by Northern Ireland.
I'm not predicting a classic, anything that betters 0-0 will do, but Bulgaria, although unbeaten in nine are a far cry from their lofty days in the 90's, the Balkan nation that gave us Stoichkov, Letchkov, Balakov, more recently Berbatov, are a far cry from what they used to be.
I've landed and wish Rob well before taking the train from Sydenham station by George Best Airport into the centre where I check in to my digs before walking the Lisburn Road towards Windsor Park.
The Venue
It's grey, wet, dark, traffic is at a standstill so I'm glad I'm on foot as I turn right down Tates Avenue where I first see the grounds floodlights appear over the terraced housing.
On UEFA duty tonight, I walk down the back of the South Stand towards the media entrance where I'm given my accreditation and a matchday programme on reception before nipping into the media lounge for a cup of tea.
The ground is only small at Windsor Park, I liken it to Meadow Lane and Notts County locally, which is a similar size around 20,000 all modern looking and quaint with good even metrics. I'm up in the lift as I head for the commentary box where the view is high but impeccable, green seated, green pitch with an amber glow of the floodlights above black skies and those two huge flags of Northern Ireland and Bulgaria laid flat on the ground.
The Game
I'm joined by a fellow scout who looks like Prince William. I have to double take before he opens his mouth with a strong Kilkenny accent, he's driven 3 hours from the south to be here and is a chirpy chap, although I struggle to understand what he says.
The atmosphere increases ahead of kick off, the sell out crowd stands for the anthems, and the game is underway to a slow start, pedestrian like, until Northern Ireland begin to shift through the gears.
The lively Dion Charles gets the better of a Bulgarian defender down the left and crosses low with the outside of his right boot for Isaac Price who slots home first time on the run.
That goal on fifteen lifts the mood in the stadium and the hosts start to press and harass a Bulgarian side that simply don't look up for it.
On 28, Brodie Spencer is sent racing down the left before getting to the by-line and pulling back and as Dion Charles is upheld the ball falls to Price who's deflected effort drops in for number two, and things get worse for Bulgaria shortly after, the impressive Spencer letting fly from range a low driven effort which cannons in after hitting the keeper on the back. Three-nil to Northern Ireland and three more goals than I've been expected to see today.
The Score
Bulgaria are handed a reprieve on the stroke of half time with a soft penalty call by the French referee who adjudges Eoin Toal to have pulled back his man in the area. Toal is booked before hobbling off injured but despite this hiccup, it certainly feels it's not Bulgaria's day as Despodov's penalty crashes away off the crossbar.
At the break the visitors make a couple of changes but it makes no difference, Northern Ireland are busy in numbers pressing, working hard, attacking and find the back of the net through Charles but his goal is ruled out for offside after Conor Bradley's chipped effort was initially cleared off the line.
Northern Ireland do get a fourth though with the impressive Price grabbing his hat trick, outside of the box, curling, dipping, out of nothing, into the top corner, no questions of offside for that one. Superb.
Late on, substitute Josh Magennis also gets in on the act with a shot in off the bar, a completed rout, a first win over Bulgaria since 1979 and for the first time in five years they score five goals in a game. The fans are bouncing, singing, cheering and why bloody not.
The Stars
Isaac Price is an obvious man of the match and looks to be an exciting attacking midfielder who's currently at Standard Liege and doing well. He now has five goals in 16 international appearances and is a key element to his nations progressive style of play.
I was told before the match that it was the first time Northern Ireland had three players with the same surname in the same team and all three 'Charles' were superb, brothers Pierce and Shea were exceptional, nineteen year old goalkeeper Pierce only made his debut last week, but kicks well and looks competent and confident at the level, twenty year old Shea who's been pulling strings a little longer is a lovely footballer in the centre of the park. Dion Charles, no relation, in attack, currently in form for Bolton Wanderers, he's a lively number ten with a touch of class and invention.
The Verdict
Nothing standing out for Bulgaria who simply weren't at the races, an ageing side under a part-time Coach who have shape and strength, but they severely lack talent, and on the night, they lack a lot of fight, which is unlike them if recent results and card counts are anything to go by.
Northern Ireland in comparison had plenty of fight with discipline, they worked extremely hard and with a touch of quality in the final third, that was the difference in putting Bulgaria to the sword, they have an exciting young side under Michael O'Neill in his second stint in charge of the nation and could potentially be on to even better things than his first time at the helm when leading the GAWA (Green & White Army) to the finals of Euro 2016.
The Teams
Northern Ireland: Pierce Charles, Conor Bradley, Trai Hume, Paddy McNair, Eoin Toal (Ciaron Brown 45), Brodie Spencer, Shea Charles (Josh Magennis 85), Ali McCann, Isaac Price (Bradley Lyons 85), Callum Marshall (Paul Smyth 74), Dion Charles (Jamie Reid 74).
Bulgaria: Dimitar Mitov, Viktor Popov, Zhivko Atansov (Ivaylo Chochev 79), Simeon Petrov, Hristiyan Petrov, Georgi Kostadinov, Serkan Yusein (Valentin Antov 46), Kiril Despodov (Ilian Iliev 85), Radoslav Kirilov (Zdravko Dimitrov 46), Martin Minchev (Georgi Minchev 85), Filip Krastev.
7:45pm Kick Off. Tuesday 15th October 2024, Windsor Park, Belfast (att 17,891).
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