A look at the Republic of Ireland's player performances against Bulgaria tonight.

In a spirit of, as he put it,“nothing ventured, nothing gained”, Mick McCarthy has made the left-field decision to play Conor Hourihane atleft-back against Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium tonight.

Despite plenty of endeavour, Ireland’s attack lacked the requisite composure or finishing ability to adequately trouble their opponents for much of the 90 minutes.

Mick McCarthy has named his Ireland squad for the forthcoming European Championship qualifier against Switzerland and the friendly with Bulgaria.

The Ireland manager is considering Birmingham City’s new recruit for inclusion in his squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland.

Asked to sum up the 12 months since he joined Portsmouth from Derry City, Ronan Curtis smiles and says: “It’s been amazing, my journey so far. Coming in from Derry to Portsmouth, I didn’t think I was going to play.

Luca Connell has told Mick McCarthy that he is committed to playing for Ireland and the manager has further revealed that but for a thigh injury ruling him out, the Liverpool-born Bolton Wanderers midfielder would have been in with a real chance of at least a cameo in the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifier against Gibraltar.

The call-up will be a boost for Connell after his club, Bolton Wanderers, went into administration following their relegation from the Championship.

The parallels are striking. For Liechtenstein in Vaduz almost 23 years ago read Gibraltar in the Victoria Stadium on Saturday.

After his first day back on the training pitch as Ireland manager, Mick McCarthy has given a strong hint Matt Doherty will feature in an attacking right-flank role against Gibraltar.

Declan Rice won the Young Player of the Year, as previously announced last week, less than 24 hours before he was called up to the England squad. He was not pictured receiving his award.

Shamrock Rovers midfielder Jack Byrne has received a last-minute call-up to replace the injured Callum O'Dowda in Mick McCarthy's first Republic of Ireland squad back in charge.

Mick McCarthy has named his Republic of Ireland squad for the EURO 2020 Qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia.

Potential Ireland recruit Patrick Bamford continued his recent rich vein of form on Saturday, netting an early winner as promoting-chasing Leeds won 1-0 at Bristol City.

Also included is Aston Villa's Glenn Whelan, who was expected to have played his last game for Ireland after captaining the side in a 36-minute ceremonial cameo against Northern Ireland in November.

Midfielder Glenn Whelan will lead Ireland out as captain against Northern Ireland for what will be his 85th senior appearance. The Aston Villa man will not be part of the squad for the Denmark game.

Conor Shaughnessy believes the Ireland U21 team can provide a much-needed lift to the Irish football scene when they face Germany in a crucial European qualifier tonight.

Premier Division top spot going into the mid-season break is what’s at stake in the SSE Airtricity League this evening as leaders Cork City host Bohemians, while Dundalk, just a point behind the defending champions, travel to Derry.

Cork City 4 Derry City 2

Derry City 0 Cork City 0

Cork City boss John Caulfield does not expect to be doing any business in the transfer window at the end of next month because “we have no money”.

Cork City boss John Caulfield believes playing on all-weather pitches has given title rivals Dundalk a distinct advantage and expects Derry City to reap the rewards this year too.

Ronan Curtis scored a first half hat-trick as Derry City, record 10-time winners of the competition, beat First Division Shelbourne 7-3 in a thrilling goal-fest last eight tie at the Brandywell to book their place in the semi-final of the EA Sports Cup.

Derry City might be long shots for a title challenge but they showed they are up to the task after battling back twice to claim a share of the spoils with Dundalk FC at Oriel Park last night.

Blustery conditions at the Brandywell threatened to spoil this game as a spectacle, but Derry’s determination stood them in good stead to record their sixth win on the spin.

The absence of Stanley Aborah and Bastien Hery didn’t help Waterford United’s cause at the Brandywell, as Derry City extended their unbeaten run at the Brandywell.

Bohemians came from 2-0 down to beat UCD 5-3 in a penalty shootout after extra-time at Dalymount Park to advance to the quarter-finals of the EA Sports Cup as the wet weather wreaked havoc with yesterday’s schedule, forcing the postponement of five of the competition’s eight fixtures.

Republic of Ireland's U21s continued their unbeaten run in the European Championship qualifiers with an impressive 4-0 win over Israel today.

SSE Airtricity League

FC MIDTJYLLAND 6 - 1 Derry City: Derry City suffered a heavy defeat in Denmark last night — their worst in European competition as a League of Ireland club — Kenny Shiels side no match for a quality FC Midtiylland.

Cork City can focus their attentions on Thursday’s night game in Estonia against Levadia Tallinn, John Caulfield’s men securing what was a hard-earned victory over a lively and determined Derry City at Maginn Park.

The league’s hottest property, Seanie Maguire, brought his goals haul to 16 for the season.

Derry City 3 Shamrock Rovers 1: A brace of stunning strikes from Derry City’s Aaron McEneff put this game out of the reach of Shamrock Rovers at Maginn Park.

Galway United moved off the bottom of the Premier Division last night after their seventh draw of the season, but it could have been so much more if referee Rob Hennessy had taken a different view of a controversial incident in the fifth minute. 

SSE Airtricity Premier Division

Ireland U21 boss Noel King has strenuously denied pursuing Northern Ireland-born players for his squad following allegations made by Michael O’Neill.

Derry City 2 Bohemians 1: Derry City bagged a Europa League spot with a deserved victory over Bohemians at the Brandywell last night.

Sligo Rovers 0, Derry City 0: Derry City’s pursuit of the top two was halted by Sligo Rovers at The Showgrounds in a scoreless yet absorbing SSE Premier Division fixture.

Wexford Youths 1 Derry City 2: Derry City manager Kenny Shiels paid tribute to his players after they bounced back to snatch all three points with a goal in additional time at Ferrycarrig Park on Saturday evening.