Ireland 0-2 Greece
Eoin Harrington reporting from the Aviva Stadium
The fans voted with their feet as the final whistle approached on another wretched night for the new Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson ended in a 2-0 defeat to Greece.
Hallgrímsson made three changes to the team which was so soundly beaten by England on Saturday evening. One of those was injury-enforced, with Seamus Coleman returning to Everton after picking up a knock. Matt Doherty and Adam Idah were also dropped, with Andrew Omobamidele, Jason Knight, and Alan Browne coming into the team.
There was a decidedly smaller crowd in the Aviva Stadium for Tuesday’s game than three days prior, with 37,274 fans in attendance compared to the 50,359 who witnessed the composed destruction by England. By the final whistle, there were far fewer in their seats.
A mass exodus followed Christos Tzolis’ 88th-minute strike after Fotis Ioannidis had put the visitors 1-0 up shortly after half-time.
The first-half performance from Ireland had been far brighter than what we saw against England, and Greece created little of note as the hosts enjoyed the better of proceedings before the break.
Chiedozie Ogbene even had the ball in the net with a sensational strike, only to see the official raise his flag. Alan Browne could also twice have scored before the second-half misery began.
However, few Irish fans will be leaving with positive memories of another wretched Aviva night – a night which arguably made even clearer than Saturday’s defeat just how big a task the new boss has ahead of him.
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Ireland 0-2 Greece: MNT Player ratings from the Aviva Stadium
Caoimhín Kelleher – 6
10 September 2024; Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher makes a save during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Kelleher was far quieter in the first half than he was against England, with Greece happy to wait for counter attacks. He made a good save down low to his right from Basaketas’ 26th-minute free-kick. Greece’s more relaxed pressing game helped Kelleher play more assuredly with the ball at his feet.
His positioning was somewhat questionable for the Greek opener though, in fairness to the Liverpool man, he could scarcely have anticipated that Ioannidis would be afforded as much time as he was to take a shot.
Robbie Brady – 5
Something approaching the Robbie Brady we have seen in the past after Saturday’s disaster, he was a bit more involved in Ireland’s buildup and his positioning was solid in defence. Nonetheless still misplaced some first-half passes.
He sought to open up the play with crossfield passes in the second half, with a few well-executed long balls getting Irish players in behind.
Dara O’Shea – 5
Was used as Ireland’s main out-ball by Kelleher early on. Though he generally found the right pass, his ill-advised and ill-executed charge forward in the 25th minute led to Greece’s best chance of the first period. Redeemed himself somewhat by stopping the opposition counter-attack ten minutes later.
Caught in two minds for Ioannidis’s long-range strike, he stood off before committing to a tackle far too late as the ball glided past him.
🇮🇪 0-1 🇬🇷: Greece take the lead against the run of play as Ioannidis is gifted far too much time and space on the edge of the Irish penalty area. Some finish though.
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Got across well to prevent Ioannidis getting in behind with just over ten to play.
Nathan Collins – 5
Slowly started to drift forward and engineer a few incisive passes as the first half wore on, though they became more sporadic once again after the break.
Was once again the deepest of Ireland’s defenders, tasked with staying compact when Greece broke with pace. Like O’Shea, Collins was not alert to the danger for the Greece opener. Fought valiantly to get back, but Tzolis danced around him for Greece’s second.
Andrew Omobamidele – 5.5
10 September 2024; Andrew Omobamidele of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
By contrast, Omobamidele pushed high up the pitch in the first half, helping to push Chiedozie Ogbene further upfield in tandem. His execution on the ball in the final third, however, was regularly lacking.
The right-hand flank was generally where Greece targeted with Omobamidele somewhat out of position, though he tracked back well.
Alan Browne – 4.5
Browne’s pass selection was consistently good, though his execution was lacking. He had both of Ireland’s best chances of the first half, with his 22nd-minute shot being blocked from close range and his wasted effort just before the break blazing over.
His influence on the game was increasingly diminished after Ioannidis’ strike, with the Greek play largely bypassing Browne in midfield.
Jason Knight – 5.5
10 September 2024; Jason Knight of Republic of Ireland in action against Lazaros Rota of Greece during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Knight showed early on why he was brought into the starting XI after his encouraging cameo off the bench v England. He brought good, industrious energy and consistently linked up well with his fellow Ireland attackers. His pass selection was generally strong in the first half.
Involved in a lovely piece of link-up play with Smallbone to set up Alan Browne’s 22nd-minute chance.
Headed meekly wide from Ogbene’s cross approaching the hour mark and cut an increasingly frustrated figure in the s second period, being booked before being replaced by Kasey McAteer with just over 15 to go.
Jayson Molumby – 4
Battled well in midfield. Molumby was calmer than he was against England – not necessarily a bad thing. Despite this, he had less impact on the ball in the Greek half than Browne, despite being stationed consistently higher up the pitch.
The first Irish player to be withdrawn after 63 minutes.
Chiedozie Ogbene – 6.5
Once again, much of Ireland’s most positive attacking play came through Chiedozie Ogbene.
The Ipswich man linked up brilliantly with Will Smallbone and Jason Knight early on, and the crossfield pass saw him consistently come out on top in the aerial battle.
It was such a shame his sensational strike just before halftime was correctly ruled out for offside.
A good cross set up Jason Knight for Ireland’s first chance from open play of the second half.
Will Smallbone – 4.5
Will Smallbone was a far brighter presence in the Ireland team than he was on Saturday, with Heimir Hallgrimsson choosing to push the Southampton man further forward. His link-up play led to almost all of Ireland’s best first-half chances, and he tracked back well.
As the game progressed, Smallbone’s positioning in the team became more erratic, as did his pass selection, with the 24-year-old regularly misplacing simple passes as the clock ticked past 70 minutes. He
Slow to react when the ball was pulled back to him in the box with ten minutes left.
Sammie Szmodics – 4.5
10 September 2024; Sammie Szmodics of Republic of Ireland has a shot on goal during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
He was industrious as he was on Saturday but we are still waiting to see the best of Sammie Szmodics in an Ireland jersey.
His speculative effort from way out midway through the first half was his only attacking action of real note, and the play went more through Ogbene and Smallbone than through the Ipswich man in the first half.
Substitutes
Evan Ferguson (for Jason Knight, 63′) – 4.5
A recurring theme of his recent Ireland appearances, Ferguson struggled to do much even though his runs behind were threatening. Dilly-dallied on the ball in the lead-up to a big Greece chance in the final ten.
Matt Doherty (for Andrew Omobamidele, 74′) – 4
Did little of note before being caught completely out of position for the second Greek goal.
Kasey McAteer (for Jason Knight, 74′) – 5.5
Did well to engineer Will Smallbone’s guilt-edged chance near the end. A rare bright spark for Ireland in the closing phases.
Callum Robinson (for Chiedozie Ogbene, 84′) – n/a
His deflected shot seconds after coming on was the closest Ireland came to scoring in the second half.
Adam Idah (for Sammie Szmodics, 84′) – n/a
Not on long enough to rate.
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