BULLET POINT!
Duffy’s late leveller earns Kenny a draw
STEPHEN KENNY was adamant the Republic of Ireland got the least they deserved as Shane Duffy rode to the rescue with a lastgasp Nations League equaliser against Bulgaria last night.
After what he regarded as his biggest game as a manager, Kenny said he’d bank the point and take it to Sunday’s game against Finland in Dublin.
‘It was our first game since last November. One point is something,’ he said.
‘We never surrendered belief. We never deserved to lose that game. We could have won it, if we’d taken our chances to go 1-0. We had some good passages of play, and had most of the chances. There are certain areas we need to improve. We only had three days of preparation.
‘We were exploited on the counter
attack and we had to chase the game, it was difficult. They played narrow and were hard to get in behind. We kept believing and got the goal we deserved.’
Kenny, who felt Aaron Connolly was a threat, also saluted substitute Robbie Brady for closing down the Bulgaria defender, winning a corner and then picking out Duffy with a pin-point outswinger. In the week he signed for Celtic, Duffy couldn’t conceal his annoyance at conceding a ‘sloppy’ goal before he redeemed himself late on.
As Kenny’s first game as manager appeared to be slipping towards defeat, captain courageous Duffy scored with a 94th minute header – Ireland’s first goal from a corner since 2017.
The goal compensated for the centre-back’s poor positioning which allowed Bulgaria to take the lead in the 56th minute in a Nations League opener of few thrills.
‘I take the blame for it myself, it was sloppy defending, I didn’t get in quick enough. I’ve not played a lot of football, it was tough to get going. I need to get sharper,’ said Duffy. ‘It was important we didn’t lose the game, it was a positive that we kept going to the end and got the goal. It’s a bitter-sweet moment.
‘It’s early days with the new manager, he’s trying to get his ideas in. It’ll take a bit of time.’ Callum O’Dowda was awarded Man of the Match by Virgin Media even though he was substituted in the second half.
He said he felt ‘mixed emotions’ after a ‘tough game’. ‘Bulgaria were tough to break down. We could have been more clinical in the box, and I had a chance myself in the first half.’
Of the late Duffy goal, the Bristol City winger said. ‘It shows the attitude we’ve got. We wanted to come here and get three points. We never gave up, We weren’t going to roll over.
‘On reflection, if we can get a good performance on Sunday, we’d take four points from the opening two games.’