FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL REVIEWS
Republic of Ireland 1 Bulgaria 1 Andy Reid may be in dispute with his club, Nottingham Forest, in wanting a transfer but it didn't seem to affect him as he not only scored a bizarre first international goal but went on to produce a man of the match performance.
Just past the quarter hour mark Reid sent a long-range free kick into the Bulgarian box and the ball mysteriously eluded goalkeeper Zdravko Zdravkov to bounce inside the far post for a 1-0 lead.
The Irish went on to create further chances but Reid, Kevin Kilbane and Gary Doherty were all just off target as the home side failed to convert their superiority into goals.
Clinton Morrison also had a couple of good chances but in the end the Bulgars made the Irish pay for their profligacy in front of goal when Valeri Bozinhov lashed the ball home with 20 minutes to go.
After the game manager Brian Kerr wasn't too displeased with the result, saying: "We had several good chances after going ahead and could have gone two or three goals up."
Kerr, who sent on six substitutes in the second half, added: "We needed to get a match under our belts because a lot of our players haven't had a lot of competitive football yet and we were a bit rusty. There are several areas in which we can improve."
Switzerland 0 Northern Ireland 0
A determined performance, not to mention some desperate defending, earned Northern Ireland a scoreless draw with the Swiss and extended their unbeaten run under Lawrie Sanchez to six games.
A record which they hope will stand them in good stead when they commence their World Cup qualifying campaign in just over a fortnight.
Roy Carroll was the busier goalkeeper and just after Jihn Vogel sent a cracking drive inches over his bar the Irish custodian pulled of a superb save to deny Hakin Yankin's close range effort.
Stephen Craigin had Northern Ireland's best chance but his point-blank header, from a Keith Gillespie free kick, went wide when he really should have scored.
After the draw skipper Aaron Hughes expressed his delight with Northern Ireland's performance, saying: "We knew at half time we could play better and we stepped it up in the second half. We made a few good chances and were unlucky not to score so, overall, we are reasonably pleased. If we can play well right from the start of the qualifiers then there's a chance of good results."
Manager Lawrie Sanchez was full of praise for his side, saying: "We should have won it in the second half but the biggest test is in two and a half weeks and everybody involved is looking forward to the game in Belfast. Bring on Poland."
