Welsh youngsters held by Bulgaria in Newport

Wales’ Under 21’s were held to a 1-1 draw by their Bulgarian counterparts in a Euro 2023 Qualifier at Rodney Parade.

Paul Bodin’s side were looking to bounce back after Friday evening’s heavy defeat away to Switzerland but they were forced to settle for a point in the end as goals from Vladimir Nikolov and Sam Pearson saw the tie finish level.

The visitors started brightly and had their first sight of Nathan Shepperd’s goal in the third minute as Kristian Dobrev cut inside past Edward Jones but couldn’t get enough curl on his effort to trouble the Welsh shot-stopper.

Shepperd was called into action for the first time in the 11th minute as a clipped ball caught the Welsh backline out and Dobrev snuck in behind to turn the ball goalwards but the Welsh number 12 got down smartly to claw the ball to safety.

The Welsh had to wait until the 17th minute for their first sight of Damyan Hristov’s goal but it very nearly resulted in the game’s opening goal as the ball was played over the top to Isaak Davies and the Cardiff City striker brought the ball down smartly but a last-ditch challenge from Simeon Petrov denied him a clean effort on goal.

Bodin’s side were lucky not to find themselves a goal down in the 24th minute as the lively Sylvester Jasper was allowed to cut in unchallenged from the left flank and fired his effort narrowly wide of the right-hand upright with Shepperd stranded.

Following this, the game settled into a pattern of the Bulgarian’s dominating possession while Wales continued to look threatening on the break, highlighted by Pearson’s effort from the edge of the area which flew narrowly over Hristov’s crossbar with the goalkeeper scrambling to get across to the strike.

Both sides showed bluster and promise prior to the interval without either creating a significant chance as they went in still deadlocked.

Once again it was the visitors who had the first sight of goal in the second-half as the impressive Dobrev saw his cross partially cleared to Filip Krastev on the edge of the area however the midfielder was unable to trouble Shepperd with his effort.

Davies looked to be the man most likely to spark the game into life and he very nearly caught Hristov out in the 52nd minute, squeezing in front of Atanas Chernev to turn Finley Stevens’ cross goalwards but the Bulgarian just about got across to the effort before producing a fine fingertip save to turn Daniel Williams’ rasping strike round the upright moments later.

A driving run from Jack Vale drew a corner for the hosts in the 57th minute and from the resulting set-piece, Elliot Thorpe picked out Ryan Astley at the back post but with the goal at his mercy, the centre-back couldn’t keep his effort down and saw a great chance go begging.

The Welsh would be made to pay on the hour mark as a cut-back from Jasper found substitute Nikolov and he fired beyond Shepperd’s desperate dive to give Bulgaria the lead.

Wales weren’t behind for long at all however as virtually straight from the restart, Vale drove at the heart of the backline before sliding the ball through for Pearson who slotted calmly beyond Hristov to level the clash.

Vale nearly gave the hosts the lead in spectacular fashion in the 72nd minute, volleying the ball towards goal from at least 25 yards out however the ball flew just wide of the post with Hristov well beaten.

Davies should have given Bodin’s troops the lead with a little over 15 minutes remaining as Stevens whipped a fantastic ball into the box from the right but the City man was unable to steer his header on target, sending it narrowly over the bar when well-placed.

With five minutes left on the clock, Vale would once again threaten to unlock the Bulgarian defence before the ball broke for Christopher Popov who opted for power and saw his effort creep over the bar and into the stands.

Neither side were prepared to settle for a point however and with seconds remaining, Stevens would send one final cross in the direction of Popov but Hristov rose highest to claim the ball and ensure a share of the spoils for the visitors.

Wales remain fifth in the group with Bulgaria a point and a place above them.

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