Ireland vs. Bulgaria preview and live blog

Let’s be totally honest. Ireland had a poor showing against Nigeria. Pat Dolan and all of those other muppets on Setanta were either being overly nice because they think it’s what the public wants, or they’re just muppets of the highest order. Nigeria’s C team played us off the park, and Robbie Keane, Shay Given, and Richard Dunne were the only players who looked like they really belonged in Ireland’s first team, and we knew that already.

Duff looked the same as he did all season with Newcastle, completely without a spark. Liam Lawrence looked inept in midfield. Kevin Foley and Eddie Nolan looked like they have a long way to go before becoming international players. And Leon Best…well, I’m not sure what Trapp sees in him. He said he was impressed with the Best and Keane partnership. Well, Robbie was good, but what did Leon bring to the table? He looked slow, couldn’t finish, couldn’t pass, and didn’t really hold up the ball and bring the midfielders into the attack. He tried to play like he was a pacey, goal-scoring center forward instead of like the big target man he is. Hopefully, against Bulgaria, he’ll embrace that role a little more instead of trying to be Wayne Rooney.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Sean St. Ledger and Kieran Westwood looked incredibly confident and competent, and we should be seeing more of them in the future.

Today, the mission is clear. Ireland need at least 1. Walking out of Sofia with a loss could be a disaster, and when you’re in a hostile environment up against guys like Berbatov and the Petrovs, it’s easier said than done. Fortunately, while Bulgaria’s best may be better than ours, they are certainly not a deep team. If Leon Best plays like the target man he is instead of like the player he dreamed about being when he was 10 years old, Ireland should be able to score. For me, this is the key to today’s game. I’d rather Trapp played Folan instead of Best next to Keane, but based on his comments after the Nigeria game, I doubt he will.

Prediction: Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria

Live blog starts at 15 minutes after the hour, 15 minutes before the match.