Celtic new boy Shane Duffy slams home stoppage-time header for Ireland

Captain salvages point for new boss Stephen Kenny

Ireland goal hero Shane Duffy, left, and debutant Adam Idah. Picture: Anton Uzunov/AP

New Celtic signing Shane Duffy’s injury-time header rescued a point for Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny in his first game in charge.

Kenny handed teenager Adam Idah a senior international debut against Bulgaria in theUefa Nations League Group B1 clash in Sofia.

The 19-year-old Norwich striker and Brighton’s Aaron Connolly, 20, who both played for Kenny at Under-21’s level, started, as did Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy, winning his first cap since October 2016.

Bulgaria coach Georgi Dermendzhiev made wholesale changes to the side which beat the Czech Republic in their last Euro 2020 qualifier with only keeper Georgi Georgiev, defenders Strahil Popov and Petar Zanev and midfielders Georgi Kostadinov and Kristiyan Malinov surviving.

Connolly squandered a good 13th-minute opening for the visitors when he fired wastefully across goal from a difficult angle after dispossessing defender Kristian Dimitrov with Idah and Callum O’Dowda better placed in the middle. At the other end, Todor Nedelev lifted a shot over after getting beyond Enda Stevens to collect Anton Nedyalkov’s pass.

The game was scoreless at the break with the Republic ahead on points, but having failed to trouble Georgiev. O’Dowda missed the target from Stevens’ driven 45th-minute cross.

It was the home side who took the lead 11 minutes after the restart when Nedelev played Bozhidar Kraev in between central defenders Duffy and John Egan and he fired through Darren Randolph’s legs to make it 1-0.

It was left to Duffy, pictured, to drag Ireland back from the brink of defeat when he got his head to substitute Robbie Brady’s corner in the third minute of stoppage time to power home his fourth international goal.

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