Caoimhín Kelleher: Couldn’t be faulted for the Bulgaria goal and didn’t have much to do otherwise, but the Liverpool star’s distribution was good and he performed the basics well. 7
Nathan Collins: Was a little sloppy in possession more than once, but defended well for the most part and almost scored down the other end, missing Troy Parrott’s cross-shot by inches. 7
Dara O’Shea: Was unlucky not to win a penalty in the second half when the Bulgaria defender clattered into him. Down the other end, he was as defensively solid as ever. 7
Matt Doherty: There were some doubts about whether Doherty would start, largely owing to Jake O’Brien’s excellent form for Everton. But the Wolves man more than justified his place in the team with a brave header that turned out to be the winning goal. 7
Robbie Brady: Was particularly influential in the first half down the left and his cross led to the opening goal. Got a nasty-looking knock to the head in the second period but carried on to complete the 90 minutes. 7
Josh Cullen: Tidy as ever in the holding midfield role and made a couple of important interceptions. The range of the Burnley man’s passing is sometimes underappreciated, as he reminded people with a terrific cross-field ball for the second Ireland goal. 7
Jason Knight: Had a couple a couple of bright moments but struggled to impose himself on the game at times before picking up a harsh booking and getting replaced by Rocco Vata in the 79th minute of the second half. 6
Ryan Manning: The biggest surprise in the starting XI, but another player who ended up vindicating Heimir Hallgrímsson’s selection. The Southampton man linked up well with Brady down the left and won Ireland several free kicks to take the pressure off the defence in the second period. 7
Mikey Johnston: Didn’t quite happen for him in an attacking sense more often than not, but the West Brom man still worked really hard off the ball and gave the team some much-needed width down the right in the absence of the likes of Chiedozie Ogbene and Festy Ebosele. 6
Finn Azaz: Showed good movement to score Ireland’s equaliser and provided the type of creativity that Ireland have been sorely lacking in the team, arguably since Wes Hoolahan’s retirement. If the 24-year-old Middlesbrough star can maintain that level of performance, he can become a regular presence in the starting XI for years to come. 8
Troy Parrott: Didn’t score but looked bright and inventive in the first half, and did really well for the first goal, with his volley from Brady’s cross putting it on a plate for Azaz to score. He faded a little after the break, but you could say the same about Ireland’s other attacking players. 7
Substitutes: The subs didn’t have much time to make an impact, but Evan Ferguson and Mark Sykes helped see the game out with some smart decisions, while Jake O’Brien and Jack Taylor were solid when they needed to be. Debutant Rocco Vata will be a little disappointed he couldn’t make more of two promising attacks in the dying stages. 6
Up to the heady heights of 15th! Gonna cut the arms off my tracksuit top in tribute to Tim. Keep up the good work and keep big Ben banging them in and we might see another season of premier league football at villa park. Great result with has has happened elsewhere down the bottom.
Villa always seem to grab a few important wins towards the tail end of the season, they’ll stay up this year.
What a job pardew is doing with palace they were 10 pts behind newcastle at one stage and now they are 7 pts clear and could finish as high as 8th.
Two weeks ago Leicester being in this position would have been unthinkable. The way Sunderland and Hull are playing, I wouldn’t be surprised if themselves and Burnley make it (Can’t see QPR doing it).
Kinda sick of sunderland at this stage, wouldn’t mind both goin down. Really want to see Burnley stay up. Imagine a team with Stephen Ward avoiding relegation? Jaassysus
Brilliant photo of Vardy.