A goalless draw did Bulgaria and Switzerland few favours in their Euro 2012 qualification campaign.
Bulgaria and Switzerland draw a blank
A goalless draw did Bulgaria and Switzerland few favours in their Euro 2012 qualification campaign.
The Group G rivals played out a stalemate in Sofia on Saturday, taking them both onto four points from as many games.
A disappointing return from their fixtures so far means they are six points adrift of Montenegro and England, who are currently joint-leaders.
A forgettable weekend encounter was most notable for Stiliyan Petrov becoming only the second player in Bulgarian history to reach 100 caps for his country.
He was, however, unable to inspire his side to a first home victory of the campaign against the Swiss.
Blasted
The hosts began brightly enough, with Ivelin Popov shooting just wide inside the opening 60 seconds and Dimitar Makriev going close with a header.
Skipper Petrov could have marked his century with a goal but blasted well over the crossbar following a fine run and cross from Popov.
Switzerland also had their chances, with captain Alexander Frei's bullet header bringing a smart save from Nikolay Mihaylov on the half-hour.
Bulgaria took control again after the interval and Stanislav Manolev glanced a header inches past the post before Spas Delev tested Marco Woelfli with a stinging drive.
There was to be no breakthrough, though, and both nations must accept that their hopes of reaching next summer's European Championships are starting to fade.
