In the Nations League, Greece triumphed 2-0 over Ireland, with goals coming from Tasos Bakasetas and Petros Mantalos. A sense of disappointment lingered among the 800 Irish supporters as Caoimhín Kelleher’s superb display was tarnished by an unfortunate error which allowed Mantalos to secure the second goal for Greece. This marked the end of a tense game at Piraeus.
Since June 2023, the Greek side has consistently outperformed the Republic of Ireland in four consecutive matches, amassing an aggregate score of 8-1. It was Bakasetas, the Greek captain, who shattered the tense atmosphere with a spectacular goal deflected off Ireland’s Liam Scales.
Kelleher had been acting as Ireland’s backbone until Mantalos scored the second goal, reminiscent of Nathan Collins’ mistake in Helsinki the previous week. The Irish squad, already fatigued, found some relief in the half-time whistle which ended their gallant defence following Bakasetas’ goal in the second half.
Despite their exhaustion, the Irish managed to sporadically challenge the buoyant Greek team who had recently celebrated a win against England at Wembley. The Karaiskakis Stadium came alive with the home crowd contributing significantly to the final outcome, notably utilising green lasers which caused enough interference for the Dutch referee, Joey Kooij, to halt the game briefly.
Heimir Hallgrímsson, the Irish coach, actively encouraged his side to persistently challenge the Greeks. At the game’s onset, he held up his previous Icelandic Captain, Aron Gunnarsson, as the ideal football ‘warrior’. Liam Scales and Josh Cullen may soon join these ranks.
The Nations League match also served as a tribute to George Baldock, an English-born defender who represented Greece on 12 occasions, and had tragically died in his Athens residence a week earlier.
Despite having previously represented Panathinaikos, footballer Baldock still enjoys a huge following at Olympiacos, his number two Greek jerseys regularly flying off the shelves. His appearance on a pre-match video on the stadium’s large screen was met with a respectful silence from the home crowd before the game commenced.
A high-pressure 4-4-2 formation was adopted by Ireland as Troy Parrott teamed up with Evan Ferguson on the front line. Despite a few hiccups from the Irish, such as Dara O’Shea tossing a ball out of play and Kelleher’s errant kick straight into the hands of Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, they had a chance to score early on. However, Ferguson’s possible goal was impeded by Dimitris Giannoulis’s missed nudge when the young player took his shot.
The Greek players displayed superior performance, forcing Kelleher to repeatedly protect his net, notably against an attack by Giorgos Masouras after an initial thrust was blocked by Scales from Taos Bakasetas. The Greeks continued their relentless attack with shots being blocked by Scales and Sammie Szmodics on more than one occasion.
Szmodics stood out in the first half of the match, dispossessing Lazaros Rota and setting Parrott down the pitch. Parrott, unfortunately, could not reciprocate his good deed. Greece maintained a fast-paced offensive game, with Kelleher being an unwavering bastion in the face of multiple strikes by Bakasetas and Vangelis Pavlidis.
Even with only 30 minutes elapsed since match inception, Greece boasted of 70-percent possession, managing 12 shots overall. Conversely, Ireland found themselves continuously returning possession to the opposition. Notably, right after Kelleher thwarted a shot from Giannoulis, a promising sequence of nine passes ended with Dara O’Shea unluckily kicking the ball out of play.
After notifying his team, Hallgrímsson received a response. From his contingent that suffered a 2-0 defeat to Greece in Dublin, only four players – Will Smallbone, Alan Browne, Matt Doherty, and Callum Robinson – were selected for the new squad. However, due to injury, Smallbone could not join, and the experienced trio were let go.
Hallgrímsson took some time to react to the first goal scored by Greece, but then introduced Festy Ebosele and handed Jack Taylor his debut, replacing Chiedozie Ogbene and Ferguson.
Sadly, the team felt the absence of Ferguson’s aerial strength when Brady whipped a cross into the box shortly after.
At the 68th minute, Ireland had another significant moment as Taylor’s header following a superb cross from Cullen forced Vlachodimos to make a difficult save.
In response to the constant threat posed by Ebosele down the right flank, Greece coach Ivan Jovanović brought in Konstantinos Tsimikas from Liverpool, who had been absent for the England match due to sickness.
Despite Ireland’s persistent attempts to level the score, a second effort from Taylor was thwarted by a flurry of defenders. The individual brilliance required to extend Ireland’s unbeaten run to two games was missing.
Greece’s lineup included Vlachodimos from Newcastle United, Rota from AEK Athens, Mavropanos of West Ham United, and several others. Tsimikas from Liverpool was one of the substitutes brought on later in the match.
The Republic of Ireland squad featured Kelleher from Liverpool, O’Shea from Ipswich Town, Collins from Brentford, Scales from Celtic and Brady from Preston North End. In addition, there were Ogbene and Szmodics from Ipswich Town, Cullen from Burnley, Knight from Bristol City, Parrott from AZ Alkmaar and Ferguson from Brighton and Hove Albion. Substitutions included Ebosele from Watford replacing Ogbene and Taylor from Ipswich Town replacing Ferguson, both at the 57-minute mark. Later, Knight and Szmodics made way for Molumby and Johnston from WBA at the 72-minute mark, followed by McAteer from Leicester City substituting O’Shea at the 82-minute point. The match was officiated by referee Joey Kooij from The Netherlands.