Nations League: Pitch in Bulgaria during Northern Ireland loss was not acceptable says Michael O’Neill

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill felt the playing surface at the Stadion Hristo Botev was as poor as he had seen “in a long time” after his side were beaten 1-0 by Bulgaria in the Nations League.

The only goal of the League C game came in the 40th minute when visiting goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell misplaced a pass that led to a tap-in for Bulgarian captain Kiril Despodov.

In a game of few opportunities, the pitch in Plovdiv appeared to make moving the ball difficult for both sides.

When asked if the surface was acceptable for international football, O’Neill answered “no”.

He added: “It’s not an excuse because it’s the same for the Bulgarian players, but that’s as poor a pitch as we’ve had in a long time.

“It didn’t help either team and it probably led to a physical game and it made life difficult for the referee. Challenges looked mistimed, and there were probably too many yellow cards for challenges that were a consequence of the pitch as much as anything else.”