BUL-LISH BOSS NOT TAKING IT LIGHTLY

BY

IAN BARACLOUGH expects a backlash in Sofia after Bulgaria fell to a shock 3-1 defeat to lowest seeds Lithuania in Vilnius yesterday.

Two late goals from Fedor Cernyc condemned Yase Petrov’s new-look side to a damaging loss that effectively ended their hopes of reaching the playoffs.

Northern Ireland, who drew 0-0 with the Bulgarians in Belfast in March, complete this month’s double header at Stadio Vasil Levski on Tuesday night.

And Baraclough is bracing himself for a stern test as Northern Ireland bid to bounce back from last night’s crushing

2-0 defeat to Switzerland with 10-men in Geneva.

He also hasn’t forgotten how the Bulgarians secured a memorable 1-1 draw with pool favourites Italy in Florence last month.

“Since we played Bulgaria, they got a good result against Italy,” he said. “They have shown that they can be very tight and compact and are capable of giving away very few chances.

“They are also a young group who are rebuilding again and we’ve got to be mindful that they’ve had a few more games together.

“I had someone at the game in Lithuania and we will look at the videos

ourselves and take it from there.”

Baraclough accepts a scoreless draw in March against Bulgaria was an opportunity missed after Northern Ireland bossed large parts of the game.

“I do think we created a lot of chances (in Belfast) against them and should have won the game quite comfortably, in my mind,” he said.

“But they are playing at home, so it might be a very different Bulgaria team that comes out, maybe a little bit more attacking and we’ve got to be on our mettle for that.”

Jamal Lewis misses the trip to Bulgaria after picking up a red card against the Swiss.