Evan Ferguson's equaliser against Bulgaria on Sunday night came at a crucial time for both him and for Ireland.
The Meath man rifled his shot into the roof of Plamen Iliev's net, drawing Ireland level on the night and putting them back ahead in the tie, after Valentin Andov's shock first half goal had the visitors in front.
Evan Ferguson Ladies and Gentlemen!
The Bettystown native has Ireland back in the mix against Bulgaria!pic.twitter.com/3Yvu1P8zPt
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) March 23, 2025
It was a well-needed goal for the 20-year-old, who has struggled for form at club level this season, both at parent club Brighton and since joining West Ham on loan.
Speaking to the media during a (somewhat surprising) appearance at the post-match press conference on Sunday night, Ferguson showed his elite mentality and said he has taken those frustrations in his stride.
The West Ham striker also said that he had learned to tune out the expectation and pressure that comes with being such an exciting young Irish talent in the Premier League.
There’s been ups and downs. You learn to live with it and move on, that’s just how football is.
There’s nothing I can do about [people's expectations], to be honest! It’s other people having that expectation, and obviously you have that expectation of yourself that you want to do well every time you play football. You can’t really control what other people think or do.
I’ve had more probably bad than good in the recent times, you know. But I’ve gotten used to it, I don’t really care what’s being said.
I think the past year or so I’ve learned to deal with frustration so you wipe it out of your head and move on to the next.
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Evan Ferguson showed his mentality after Bulgaria goal
Perhaps most encouraging for Ireland fans were Evan Ferguson's assertions that he is thoroughly enjoying his football and is eager to build on his excellent strike on Sunday.
"You want to play and, when you’re not, there’s frustration," Ferguson said, "You have to take the minutes as you get them.
"I feel good. I feel like I’m in a good place mentally, I feel positive mentally and physically. I feel like I’m in a good place.
"As a striker, you want to score a goal. From this, hopefully you gain momentum and get a rhythm going."
Ferguson started the second leg in Dublin having been left out of the starting XI in Plovdiv, and found himself operating in much deeper areas than he would generally be accustomed to.
He explained that he was ready to operate wherever the manager required and that it was something the team had worked on in training.
"I don’t pick the teams at the end of the day, you just have to do what you do when you get the chance and see where it goes," Ferguson surmised.
"I thought it was alright, we’d worked on it a bit in training. We’ve not had much time on the pitch. I’ve played a little bit there before for Ireland so I sort of knew me and Troy [Parrott] play well together. It’s just trying to play more in that position and find your way around it."
Both Parrott and Adam Idah have impressed in European football this year, and Idah came off the bench to score the winner on Sunday night.
Rather than shying away from it, Ferguson welcomes the competition for places up front.
I think the two boys have had really good seasons. They’ve been playing a lot and scoring a lot of goals. It’s good competition.
It is indeed good competition and a good headache for Heimir Hallgrímsson to have.
Ireland fans will be hoping Evan Ferguson's goal against Bulgaria kickstarts some bright goalscoring form, with World Cup qualifiers coming down the line later this year.
Eoin Harrington reporting from the Aviva Stadium
SEE ALSO: Player Ratings As Ireland Come From Behind To Get The Job Done v Bulgaria
