The Republic of Ireland’s proficiency in international soccer appears to be slipping, with Greece securing three victories over the Irish in the span of 15 months. The inaugural matches of Heimir Hallgrímsson’s managerial stint in competitive action yielded two crushing losses, much to the despair of Irish fans. The Aviva Stadium experienced a mass exodus in the 87th minute when Christos Tzolis scored following an unfortunate blunder from the Irish side’s Alan Browne.
The Nations League will present further challenges, with future matches slated for Helsinki and Athens in October, followed by Wembley against England in November. Yet, a few silver linings do exist. The introduction of a 3-5-1-1 formation, with Chiedozie Ogbene acting as an aggressive right wing back, was a daring move by Heimir. Despite the risk, it showed early signs of success with Nathan Collins successfully intercepting a dangerous delivery into the Irish area in the opening half a minute of play.
Collins, the newly appointed Ireland captain, in partnership with Dara O’Shea, managed to deal with every major threatening ball from the Greek side near the goal of Irish goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher. Midfielder Jayson Molumby was seen bustling, aided by the presence of four other midfielders.
Robbie Brady, playing on the left-wing, garnered himself the threat of a caution card. Despite several fouls on Tasos Chatzigiovanis, he narrowly avoided a booking from the Norwegian referee Espen Eskás. The Irish team exhibited their dominance, maintaining possession with 234 out of 262 successful passes prior to half-time, even though a header from Greece’s Konstantinos Koulierakis came close to disrupting Kelleher’s net. However, the inconsistency proved costly in the end, resulting in a loss for Ireland.
Jason Knight was ubiquitously involved in the game, partnering with Will Smallbone, but a realistic goal attempt by Browne was thwarted by Andreas Bouchalakis. There was a renewed vigour in the Irish play, which was definitely a positive sign.
A pivot occurred in the team’s strategy, with Sammie Szmodics becoming the central figure after his impressive season – netting 27 goals in the English second tier, which led him to be transferred to Ipswich Town. Even at 28, alternative options like Adah Idah, Evan Ferguson, and Troy Parrott were kept in standby to make Szmodics the main forward.
Despite having a go at the goal twice in a dramatically spectacular fashion, Szmodics couldn’t pull it off.
As the game approached the 40-minute mark, the Irish side nearly managed to score. Molumby had a great opportunity to pass a high ball to Ogbene who, upon receiving it on his chest, tried to bypass Tsimikas. However, an offside flag from the lineman wiped the smile off his face quickly.
This bold play stirred up the audience numbering around 37,274. Smallbone manoeuvred his way down the inside right before passing to Ogbene who laid it off for Browne to test the Newcastle United goalkeeper, Odysseas Vlachodimos. Despite the team’s enthusiasm, tenacity and audacity – all traits encouraged by Hallgrímsson, they couldn’t capitalise.
Just five minutes into the second half, Fotis Ioannidis managed to squeeze in another goal, adding to his earlier brace against Finland. Once again, Ireland suffered at the hands of the enemy, as Ioannidis exploited the space left by the Irish defence to score from a distance. His powerful shot proved too much for Kelleher, landing in the top corner of the net.
The score was 1-0 in favour of Greece, draining the confidence and initiative from the Irish side. This has been a recurring issue for them from 2021 to 2023, whereby sudden long-range shots led to goals against them nine times.
There’s evidence that the ex Iceland coach has been focusing on set pieces. Every chance had Collins and Omobamidele bustling into the Greek box in search of an equaliser.
Most opportunities were from throw-ins and it was clear that O’Shea could certainly use some throw-in coaching from Rory Delap or Megan Campbell. However, he was unable to clear the first man.
With 60 minutes on the clock, changes were made by Hallgrímsson. Swapping Molumby for Ferguson, he introduced a promising young forward to replace a solid, hardworking midfielder.
The manoeuvre to change the game plan and position Szmodics alongside Ferguson backfired, paving the way for Greece to shatter Irish offensive drives and surge ahead. Idah and Callum Robinson’s entrances in the closing minutes spiced up the game, as both are goal-scoring specialists by profession. Ireland got precisely what they had earned when Browne knocked the ball out of play, leading to a quick throw and Bakasetas orchestrating a head-to-head between Tzolis and Collins. Tzolis adroitly outplayed Kelleher after turning the Irish captain inside out.
The Irish team consisted of Kelleher from Liverpool; Ogbene from Ipswich Town, Omobamidele from Nottingham Forest, Collins from Brentford; O’Shea from Ipswich Town, Brady from Preston North End; Smallbone from Southampton, Molumby from West Bromwich Albion, Browne from Sunderland, Knight from Bristol City; and Szmodics from Ipswich Town. Substitutes were Ferguson from Brighton and Hove Albion for Molumby, McAteer from Leicester City for Knight, Doherty from Wolverhampton Wanderers for Omobamidele, and Idah from Celtic for Szmodics, Robinson from Cardiff City for Ogbene.
The Greek team was made up of Vlachodimos from Newcastle United; Rota from AEK Athens, Mavropanos from West Ham United, Koulierakis from VfL Wolfsburg, Tsimikas from Liverpool; Siopis from Cardiff City, Bouchalakis from Hertha Berlin; Chatzigiovanis from Eyüpspor, Bakasetas from Panathinaikos, Tzolis from Club Brugge; and Ioannidis from Panathinaikos. The substitutes were Zafeiris from Slavia Prague for Chatzigiovanis, Pelkas from Başakşehir for Bouchalakis, Ntoi from Olympiacos for Siopis, Pavlidis from Benfica for Ioannidis, and Vagiannidis from Panathinaikos for Tzlois. The match was supervised by referee Espen Eskás from Norway.