'A lot to learn' as NI not pitch perfect in Bulgaria

"We have to learn from it, pick ourselves up and go again."

That was the direct message from Conor Bradley after Northern Ireland's 1-0 defeat by Bulgaria in the Nations League on Sunday.

After a difficult few years, things had been looking up for Northern Ireland with four wins in their previous six matches.

In fact, their only defeat in that time had come at the hands of Spain, who went on to win Euro 2024 a few weeks after powering past Michael O'Neill's young team.

Thursday's win over Luxembourg at Windsor Park only only added to the belief and confidence, but that momentum was halted in Bulgaria on a warm Sunday evening.

The hosts were on top from the first whistle, and after twice striking the post, they were gifted a deserved lead when goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell played a loose pass to Daniel Ballard, which led to captain Kiril Despodov tapping into an empty net five minutes before the break.

While Northern Ireland improved after the half-time break and piled on plenty of late pressure, they could not find the decisive moment to try and find an equaliser.

"In the second half I thought we played really well. We know the first half wasn't good enough," said Liverpool full-back Bradley.

"We didn't keep the ball well enough and we kept giving away free-kicks. We brought the pressure on ourselves. There's a lot to learn from it."

After the departure of several experienced players over the past 12 months, excitement had started to build around the young group of players that O'Neill has assembled.

O'Neill, in his second spell as manager, had warned defeats were inevitable as they continued to learn on the international stage. It's all part of the process.

"There's a learning curve in every game and when we look back at this we can take the positives from it," said Paddy McNair, who was the second oldest member of O'Neill's team at the age of 29.

"In the second half they didn't really have a chance at all and we were on top. Overall, I don't think there was too much wrong with it but we didn't really have that cutting edge."

Bradley echoed those thoughts, and added it was important that Northern Ireland have to "make sure we don't give teams a start on us".

"Giving away goals, for example," Bradley said on what Northern Ireland would learn from the game.

"Bulgaria were a strong team, to be fair. They were very physical and we knew it was going to be difficult.

"I think every away game in international football is difficult. We're disappointed we didn't get a point, if not three, but we'll learn from it and go again."

The stifling heat in Plovdiv wasn't the only issue for Northern Ireland. The surface at the Stadion Hristo Botev was more akin to the end of a rugby match than an international football pitch.

It was cutting up in the early stages of the game as players struggled to complete passes and bring the ball forward.

It only got worse as the match progressed as clumps of turf gathered on the surface.

When asked about the pitch after the match, defender Paddy McNair went as far as saying it was "awful".

Manager O'Neill added that it was as poor as he had seen "in a long time" and felt it wasn't acceptable.

Bradley was slightly more diplomatic in his response, as the smirk on his face told as much about his feelings as his words.

"I've played on better, definitely," he said.

"There's no excuses. The pitch wasn't great but both teams had to play on it."

The challenge before Sunday's match was for Northern Ireland to try and build upon the momentum they have worked so hard to generate.

A narrow defeat away to a physical team in difficult conditions is unlikely to knock the confidence of the team too far. A bump in the road, if you will, rather than derailing progress.

But now, as attentions switch to the next window, the challenge for O'Neill's young team will be to make sure the defeat in Plovdiv was a one-off and their progression continues in a positive trajectory.

Bradley is adamant that will be the case.

Next up, Northern Ireland face Belarus on 12 October, which will be played in Hungary due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"We know it is going to be difficult going away to Belarus but I have full confidence already," added Bradley.

"We have a good bit of momentum from the game so we just have to keep that going."

And in the second game of the window, Northern Ireland have the chance to get back at the Bulgarians, who travel to Belfast on 15 October.

"Hopefully we can do them back," Bradley said.

"They will be a difficult game, even at home, but hopefully we can get some revenge.

"We aren't out of the group yet and the win the other night was good for us, so we're not done yet."