Matt Doherty expressed disappointment at Ireland's 2-1 victory over Bulgaria in their Nations League playoff, feeling they missed a chance to secure a more convincing win. After trailing early, Ireland equalized and took the lead by halftime but couldn’t extend their advantage despite a strong first half. In the second half, there were no shots on target, leading to concerns about complacency. Both Doherty and coach Heimir Hallgrimsson acknowledged the need for improvement before the upcoming second leg in Dublin.
"I think we believed already we could come here and win; belief wasn't a problem," he told RTE. "It's [about] proving to yourself you can go away and win, and that's what we did."
"We got too passive in the second half, especially defensively after we pressed them well in the first half. It's always when you're leading, it happens automatically, but it shouldn't."
"But we know it's only halfway through; there's still a lot of work to do. We're a little bit disappointed it finished 2-1; we were wanting to push and put the game really to bed."
"It's only the first game of two, so we keep our heads on the ground and look forward to going to Dublin to play them at home."
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