Friday, September 02, 2011

Live Thoughts: Bulgaria vs England (Euro Qualifier)

Hey everyone, join me in my first ever feed of an England match. Refresh this page once in a while when the match is on to see my live thoughts as we go along! We need the three points today as Montenegro, who we're on equal points with at the top, go against a Wales team that shouldn't pose much threat. That being said, being associated with Wales as I lived there for 13 years I'm rooting for them too!

England: Hart, Smalling, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Walcott, Parker, Barry, Downing, Young, Rooney; Subs: Stockdale, Jagielka, Baines, Milner, Lampard, Johnson, Defoe.
Bulgaria: Mihailov, Zanev, Bodurov, Milanov, Bandalovski, Ivanov, Georgiev, Martin Petrov, Stiliyan Petrov, Popov, Genkov; Subs: Vladislav Stoyanov, Iliev, Marquinhos, Sarmov, Raykov, Kostadin Stoyanov, Kostadin Stoyanov.


We have a decent side out that should be able to get the 3 points today. Let's hope they don't cause too many problems as they do have some quality in there.

1' - Bulgaria are passing the ball quite nicely just outside of our third. Free kick to us.

3' - It's only been three minutes but we haven't really penetrated at all yet. We shouldn't be pinned back like this against Bulgaria. 

4' - Martin Petrov takes a shot from about 30 yards out and it goes way over the bar. 

7' - They were showing Berbatov in the stands. He retired from international football.

8' - You wouldn't think it would be Bulgaria with most of the possession so far. But they're dealing with us really easily at the moment. 

9' - Finally, a moment of pressure. A nice little bit of movement between Walcott and Christ Smalling, who whips in a cross that dissolves into the Bulgaria defence. At least it was something. 

10' - The Bulgaria fans are very loud. As an unbiased fan I fucking love noisy crowds. I love passionate crowds and this crowd is a decent one. Of course in a biased way I want them to shiut up as they're possibly intimidating the England players. 

12' - GOAL! Gary Cahill! We had a corner that didn't do anything really, but the ball got back into a crowded box and Gary Cahill skims a shot that goes under the keeper and into the corner of the net! 

13' - We got our goal, so far it was completely undeserved though. But hopefully we can start playing better. 

14' - Rooney dinks a cross over the defence to Ashley Cole on the left of the box but he can't reach it. Lovely bit of skill by Rooney.

16' - A nice bit of play by us leads to a counter attack by Bulgaria that fizzles out because of a hard Scott Parker tackle. 

18' - Bulgaria almost scored. We gave it away and they crossed the ball from the left and thankfully Martin Petrov wasn't there to score. 

20' - We're starting to put some consistent pressure on the Bulgarians. About time too I say. 

20' - GOAL! Wayne Rooney! Simple. A corner that Stewart Downing takes goes in the middle where three England players could have easily scored and Rooney gets to it with a simple header in the box. 2-0! 

23' - Interesting statistic from the commentators, while we've had Joe Hart in goal we've never lost. He's had 12 caps now.

25' - I've been critical of England today despite the goals but it's just because they've not had much possession. One thing I will say however is that we've for the most part dealt with Bulgaria comfortably, apart form the hash up around 7 minutes ago.

27' - They just replayed a nasty tackle on Ashley Cole by Ivan Bandalovski. Should have been booked really.

29' - The commentators are commending the England performance. To be fair it's been a concentrated mature performance so far. We're picking our moments wisely and not being rash. 

31' - A nice bit of movement just outside the box between Martin Petrov and Popov,ends when Ashley Cole gets the ball back. Good defending.


34' - Scott Parker does another potentially dangerous tackle and gets a talking to from the referee.

35' - Scott Parker got a booking in the end.

36' - Martin Petrov takes another long distance shot that Joe Hart deals with comfortably. At least he's trying. 

39' - Strong bit of pressure by Bulgaria. We're dealing with it quite well so far again. 

41' - Rooney is now amongst the Top 10 England strikers in terms of goal scoring. 

43' - The games slower in pace at the moment. Both sides probably want to get to half time for tactics. 

44' - One added minute at the end of the half. 

45+1' - GOAL! 3-0! Rooney scores a second! A potential hand ball just outside the England box leads to a lovely counter attack where Theo Walcott blisters his pace down the right wing, cuts into the middle and passes to the right where Ashley Cole crosses to an on-running Wayne Rooney! Absolutely gorgeous counter attacking goal there! 

HALF TIME - A great scoreline and a very professional performance. I've been a little too critical of England in the start of this live feed. They've been mature and deadly when the time is right. Three goals. Excellent stuff.

Yay! Wales are beating Montenegro! Awesome. Let's hope the underdogs win that match! Go Wales! 

46' - Bulgaria sub at half time: Bandalovski for Sarmov.

47' - Bulgaria get themselves into our box but John Terry clears.

50' - A couple of free kicks in succession. This second on is in a more dangerous area on the left of the box. 

53' - Some good penetration from Bulgaria. Corner to them. 

53' - Great save from Joe Hart! First major test for him and he passed. Not sure who took the shot. Bulgaria are starting to play quite well all of a sudden. 

54' - Downing! So close. He hits the post. A lovely cross from Walcott gets to Downing who is unmarked. Free header at goal goes over the keeper and clips the side of the post. Unlucky.


55' - Scott Parker! Nice save from Mihailov. There's some great football from both sides at the moment.

57' - Free kick in a dangerous area for Bulgaria. Leads to nothing. Disappointing from Petrov. 

58' - Yellow card for Georgi Sarmov.

60' - Bulgaria Sub - Genkov for Bozhilov. England Sub - Ashley Young for James Milner.


63' - Theo Walcott has had a very good game. His pace and crossing ability has been great.

66' - We're just passing it outside of the Bulgaria box at the moment. Comfortable. 

68' - Decent spell of possession for Bulgaria with no penetration. 

70' - A good little bit of movement lets Downing in the box but he was offside. 

73' - Walcott! That was quite bad. Rooney put it on a plate for him with no defenders in his path and he shoots well wide.

75' - Second half possession is still in Bulgaria's favour. They've dominated possession today but done jack shit with it.


77' - Frank Lampard is about to come on. I wonder why he didn't start? I don't mind, I just forgot he was available for selection.

79' - England Sub: Gareth Barry comes off for Frank Lampard.

80' - Bulgaria Sub: Popov comes off for Marquinhos.

81' - Wales have scored a second against Montenegro! Awesome stuff. A great result for both England and Wales tonight it seems, unless things change. 

82' - England Sub - Adam Johnson comes on for Theo Walcott. Johnson hasn't really done much for Man City or England recently. It's a shame as he's a quality player.

83' - That's all six subs for both teams made now by the way.

85' - There's pictures of Fabio Capello just relaxing in the stands. It's really weird but it shows you how good this performance has been on the whole. 

87' - Rooney! Close. A snap cross from James Milner was just too quick for Rooney to clip it into the net. 

89' - Joe Cole is keeping away from the goal as there's some trouble in the crowd behind him. I hope all the England supporters and players are okay in Sofia tonight. 

90' - Two minutes of added time. 

90+1' - Marquinhos finds his way into our box but is dealt with relatively company.


FULL TIME - 3-0 to England and it was a very good performance. We weren't at all times playing the best football and we didn't always have the ball, but when we did we were on song and made an impact. The fact that we had three shots on target in the first half and all three were goals says it all. Clinical and professional. One of the best England performances in a long time in terms of how strong we were. Thanks for reading.

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