Uefa Nations League Group 2B: Republic of Ireland 0 Greece 2
From Brendan Crossan in Dublin
IT was better than the England performance on Saturday – but it still ended in defeat for the Republic of Ireland against Greece last night.
Two opportunistic second-half goals from Fotas Ioannidis and Christos Tzolis dashed Ireland’s hopes as they now have lost their two opening Uefa Nations League games.
Greece are one of the great pick pockets in European football. Experienced. Canny. Skilled. Still under-rated too.
And yet Ireland produced a very encouraging, cohesive first half performance – but a lapse in concentration saw them fall behind on 50 minutes.
After that, the home side gambled, with Heimir Hallgrimsson rolling the dice with a host of attacking changes – but they were caught with a sucker punch towards the end.
And that was that.
Boos rang out at the end from the departing 37,274 crowd.
Perhaps a slightly harsh reaction towards a performance that had some positive elements in it.
But the truth is, this Irish team are a good bit behind teams like Greece.
Hallgrimsson made three changes to the side that suffered a 2-0 defeat to England last Saturday – one enforced change with Seamus Coleman ruled out through injury – and two other changes in a rejigged Irish line-up.
Andrew Omobamidele came into the defence which squeezed out Matt Doherty while Jason Knight earned a recall to the starting line-up after impressing from the bench against England.
Adam Idah dropped out too with Sammie Szmodics being pushed further forward into the lone striker’s role.
Greece, Ireland’s nemesis, returned to Dublin 11 months after winning here in a Euro 2024 qualifier with a very similar line-up.
Under new manager Ivan Jovanovic, the Serb was able to field nine of the side that featured in last October’s 2-0 win for the visitors.
Ireland, by contrast, fielded five of the side that saw their Euro dreams go up in smoke that night.
After the England defeat, Hallgrimsson insisted any changes he’d make would be slow and methodical and that he didn’t like “jumping” from one system to another.
But last night, that’s exactly what the Icelandic did. And he was right to jump to something different.
He ditched Ireland’s 5-3-2 and moved to a 4-2-3-1. It was an instant success as it denied Greece a numerical advantage in the middle of the field, but not only did it nullify the visitors’ possession game, the Irish played some very tidy football.
The back four gave the Irish better balance – each player’s role was more defined than Saturday’s system, while Alan Browne and Jayson Molumby were the twin defensive pivots in front of the back four.
Will Smallbone, Jason Knight and Chiedozie Ogbene were the hardworking attacking three with Szmodics ahead of them.
Unlike in their previous two competitive encounters with the Greeks, Ireland only coughed up one notable chance in the first half with Konstantinos Koulierakis clipping the top of the home side’s crossbar on 11 minutes with a firm header from a corner.
But for the remainder of the first half, the Irish were the better side, moving the ball at a good pace and never afraid to play it into a team-mate under pressure. Although the possession stats were roughly 50-50 in the opening 45 minutes, it felt like the home side held territorial advantage.
The new system yielded better from Smallbone too who with more green shirts around him was far more effective in possession.
It was the Southampton man’s lovely reverse pass to Ogbene that created an opening for Browne but he shot well over the Greek bar.
Szmodics had a chance in the 38th minute and knew it too as he scuffed the ball badly wide from 18 yards.
Ogbene kept fantastic width throughout the first half and produced a screamer of a ‘goal’ four minutes before the break, finding the top corner, but he’d strayed into an offside position.
But all of the home side’s good work was undone in the 50th minute by a brilliant left-footed strike by Fotas Ioannidis who found himself in too much space in front of the Irish defence.
With Nathan Collins retreating rather than engaging his man, the Panathinaikos striker had time to look up and pick his spot with a beautiful curling finish that nestled in the top corner. Kelleher had no chance.
Hallgrimsson, to his credit, acted swiftly to Greece going a goal in front by throwing Evan Ferguson up front alongside Szmodics with defensive midfielder Molumby making way.
Ten minutes later, more changes. More attack-minded changes too. Kasey McAteer entered and linked well with Robbie Brady but the move came to nothing when Smallbone couldn’t adjust his feet in the penalty area.
Idah and Callum Robinson were the next attacking options throwin into the fray with the latter’s looping effort, via a deflection, just missing Greece’s right-hand upright.
That was as good as it got for the Irish as Greece utilised the vast canyons of space in the Irish half of the field before Christos Tzolis broke clear in the 87th minute to administer the last rites to Ireland’s challenge with a blistering low finish.
Ireland now go away and lick their wounds ahead of next month’s Nations League games away to Finland and Greece.
Hallgrimsson starts his reign with two defeats - but a lot of lessons learned across 180 minutes, and hopefully the feeling that his feet are finally under the table.
IRELAND RATINGS
Caoimhin Kelleher: Great shop window for the Liverpool back-up ‘keeper. Dominates every inch of his box and showed good feet. No chance for Greece’s two goals. 6.5
Dara O’Shea: Definitely more suited to a back four, even if the right-footed Ipswich Town defender was on the left of a two. Dithered on one ball but steady display. 6
Robbie Brady: Crashed into Chatzigiovanis a couple of times and was good in position. Greece pulled the legs out of Brady in the last 20 minutes but he kept going. 6
Nathan Collins: Steady first half but made the wrong decision to back off rather than engage Ioannidis who scored from the edge of the box under no pressure. 5
Andrew Omobamidele: Brought pace and solidity to right back position despite a first-half yellow. The manager opted for the more attack-minded Doherty in the final 20 minutes. 6
Jayson Molumby: Not as angry as he was against England. Some passes came off, some didn’t. The manager acted swiftly by withdrawing in an more attacking move. 5
Will Smallbone: The new system proved beyond doubt that it’s pointless playing the creative Southampton man in a skeletal midfield. Some clever moments in possession. 6.5
Alan Browne: Anchored midfield beside Molumby but had more prairies to mind as Ireland went on the offensive after falling behind. 6
Chiedozie Ogbene: Stayed wide and was always a great outlet for the Irish defence. His brilliant strike was rightly ruled off-side before the break. Worked tirelessly. 6.5
Jason Knight: A popular call-up to the starting line-up. Technically and tactically good. Tucked in when Greece had possession and good in possession. Made way for Kasey McAteer in the final quarter. 6
Sammie Szmodics: A livewire attacker whose approach play was very good but might have done better with a first half chance. One of the bright sparks of this Irish team. 7
Subs:
Evan Ferguson: Lacks match practice but worked hard for the half hour he was on the field. 5
Kasey McAteer: Impressive in defence and attack after coming in Knight. Two appearances in two games suggests the manager likes Ireland’s new boy. 6
Matt Doherty: One or two decent moments but was closed out by Greece. 5
Adam Idah: Didn’t see much of the ball. 5
Callum Robinson: So close with one effort late on. 5
