THE Republic of Ireland Under-21s slipped to the bottom of their European Championship qualifying group following Friday's 2-0 defeat away to Bulgaria.

Eddie Nolan captained the side, which also included Keith Treacy and Alan Judge in the starting line-up, but goals either side of half-time from Atanas Kurdov and Momchil Tsvetanov secured the win for the hosts.

England, however, who were without the injured Matt Derbyshire, booked their place in the play-offs thanks to a 2-0 Wembley win over Portugal.
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