NORTHERN IRELAND SLUMPED to their third defeat of a poor Nations League campaign as they were beaten 3-1 by Greece in Athens, only spared a relegation play-off as Kosovo thrashed Cyprus 5-1.
Shayne Lavery quickly cancelled out Dimitrios Pelkas’ 14th-minute goal, but a scrappy, disjointed performance could muster no answer after Giorgos Masouras restored Greece’s advantage early in the second half, with a fine strike from Petros Mantalos settling it 10 minutes from time.
It was hardly a fitting night for Jonny Evans’ 100th cap, with the joy of Saturday’s late win over Kosovo at Windsor Park dissipated at the Georgios Kamaras Stadium as the 976 travelling fans gathered behind Ian Baraclough’s dugout made their feelings known, with some booing the manager at the final whistle.
Northern Ireland have avoided relegation but third place in League C Group 2 means they face the prospect of a tough Euro 2024 qualifying draw for the campaign that starts in March.
Jordan Thompson returned to the starting XI in one of three changes but lasted only four minutes before taking a heavy blow in a midfield collision – though it took Northern Ireland several minutes to bring on George Saville as his replacement.
And five minutes after they did get back up to 11 players, Northern Ireland trailed. Bailey Peacock-Farrell came for a deep cross but collided with Paddy McNair as he battled Fotis Ioannidis, spilling the ball into the path of Pelkas who stooped to head home.
Northern Ireland needed only four minutes to draw level. Steven Davis picked up the pieces of a half-cleared free-kick and sent in a fine cross from the left, with Lavery on hand to side-foot the ball home from close range.
Two quick goals might have brought the contest to life, but after an offside Masouras hit a post for Greece it instead deteriorated into a sloppy first half of misplaced passes and poor decisions.
Northern Ireland’s midfield trio – in which Ali McCann had replaced Corry Evans – was doing a good job of winning the ball but too often gave it straight back, while at the back attempts to play the ball out were inviting needless pressure.
Anastasios Bakasetas flashed a shot wide from a poor Peacock-Farrell pass early on, and then the Greece captain got another chance when Davis, earning his 140th cap, passed up an opportunity to clear and instead laid the ball off for the goalkeeper who only half-cleared under pressure.
Northern Ireland’s best chance before the break came in the 23rd minute when McCann won the ball and it rolled for Josh Magennis, who saw Odysseas Vlachodimos off his line but could not find the target.
Northern Ireland continued to try to play out from the back in the second half, and it cost them as Greece retook the lead in the 55th minute.
Masouras had time and space to tuck the ball away after being played in by Bakasetas, but the move began with a misplaced pass from Davis on the edge of the area.
Greece threatened again moments later on a break, but Conor Bradley was out quickly to deny Kostas Tsimikas, while George Baldock then blazed a shot over.
Northern Ireland needed to regroup, and Baraclough sent on Dion Charles and Gavin Whyte for Lavery and Bradley, then Shane Ferguson and Conor McMenamin – the Glentoran winger cleared to play on Monday after an historic video shared on social media saw him kept out of the Kosovo game.
But no sooner had they come on than Mantalos put the game beyond reach. His shot had plenty of venom, but Peacock-Farrell will feel he could have done better. The same would go for several of his team-mates.
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Can’t go more than a rugby article or two without a jaded Leinster fan having a pop at other provinces. The decade of success has really gone to some heads.
@Sam Bingham: yawn
@Sam Bingham: You just made my irony detector explode
@Sam Bingham: I once witnessed a man eat his own head
@Dan P: did he just start chewing from the lips or get a knife and fork and cut bits off?
Hopefully he gets an injury free run in France and rediscovers his best form. Clearly an incredibly talented player but one of the few to be poorly managed in the Irish system.
@teuO6nLS: Dunno, his injury profile is terrible, all the timings are key points in his career.
Wishing him the best of luck for the rest of the season and his move next season. But for me he’s never fully convinced as a 10. He absolutely has had some performance in the position but he was never consistent enough. Of course injuries haven’t helped but Leinster had it right playing him at full back. I really hope the move works out for him.
@Kevin: He looked like a real live option at 15 alright. However if he had stayed, would Keenan have broke through? Sliding doors I guess…
@Kevin: Would agree, looked world class at 15, and even tho he’s excellent off the tee, never had the grit for 10 in the contemporary game, then injuries follow, etc. Kinda mad that he is so adamant about not playing at the back.
@Thesaltyurchin: Joe Schmidt and Graham Henry put it in his head that he was Irelands future at 10. He probably would have been happy at 15 other than that.
Wishing Joey all the best in France. Really hope it works out for him
@mWhSNsK2: careful Tom, a non partisan earnest comment there…wont go down well here
Most of the leinster fans on here commenting on how Leo was right to make joey a 15 would also have been saying that frawley should be an outhalf. Figure that one out
@munsterman: almost like two players with completely different profiles and skillets might be different?
Frawley’s style of play suits 10, 12 or 15 but he probably lacks the footwork and pace to be a top end 15. Carbery’s footwork was his biggest asset by comparison.
@munsterman: such differences in both players so not a relevant comparison
@teuO6nLS: surely the ‘footwork’ is handiest in tight spaces, like as a genuine breaking threat at 10?
@munsterman: I prefer frawley at centre. He’s ok at 10 but I guess he’s only played relatively few games as outhalf so it’s hard to have a fully formed opinion of him there.
@teuO6nLS: Where is the evidence that Joey has international standard DEFENCE as a 15? Advocates of the ‘Joey should play 15’ always seem to focus on what he can do with the ball from there, (which is, of course, good).
@Conor: I think what’s relevant is that Cullen saw both as utility players. Carbery saw himself as a 10 and didn’t stay in his comfort zone. He looked a high class 10 for munster too before his injuries and a fit joey probably makes a huge difference in that wc 1/4 final when sexton could barely walk
@munsterman: That’s a solid point and can’t disagree with it. The initial comparison however wasn’t. Wish Joey the best, served Leinster, Munster and Ireland well considering his luck with injuries!
And this is why Leinster players who are in demand and appreciated at home will never go to Munster again.
@Daniel O’Keeffe: why?
@Daniel O’Keeffe: you have to admire joeys ambition, he’s not happy to just sit around and collect a paycheck when he’s not getting starts in important games. The man is willing to back himself. I wish him the very best, I’d love if he stayed at munster but I’d imagine the wages he’d expect to get would be too much for munster to pay for their backup 10
@munsterman: that would make sense until you remember he was starting at 15 in the big games for Leinster and Lancaster / Cullen clearly saw him as a second playmaker from there with the added benefit of having more space to use his footwork.
@Mark Murphy: because someone who was the next big thing left Leinster and then his career fizzled out.
@Daniel O’Keeffe: I see your point but not necessarily confined to moving to Munster, Jordi Murphy and Jack McGrath’s moves north stand out too as not really helping with their international ambitions. In any case, Carbery’s injury troubles seem to have been constantly mismanaged. Where the blame for that lies is open to question. Really hope this works out for him, a superb talent.
@Carmine Lorenzo: open to question? His major injury was the ankle one, he lost a year and a half of his career with that. That happened in a pre-world cup friendly and he was still brought to the world cup just to make it worse
@munsterman: Don’t disagree there that he shouldn’t have gone. But he’s had other injuries too. Think a total break from Irish rugby will be good for him. A shame to lose such a talent however.
@teuO6nLS: The irony that Leinster are now chopping around for a decent 15 too
@munsterman: What happened to stand up and fight? He was dropped from Ireland and then couldn’t even make the munster URC squad so instead of fighting for his position he walks away. That’s not ambition.
@Fagin Strauss: if he was viewed as the next big thing he wouldn’t have moved. Players leave Leinster to get more game time. If he was viewed as the next big thing, game time would not have been an issue. He left because he didn’t want to play 2nd fiddle. I think every rugby fan in Ireland is disappointed that Joey never reached his potential at Munster. Maybe Munsters game didn’t suit him, but I read somewhere he has only managed 61 games in 5 years… Injury had taken it’s toll. An injury free run and hopefully he’ll discover his true form. Good luck to him.
@Carmine Lorenzo: pretty much all of his injuries since the ankle were picked during play. So I don’t think they could have been mismanaged by anyone. It’s just bad luck.
Carbery should have been big enough and brave enough to stand up to Schmidt. ‘I’m not leaving Leinster, I’m staying’. Instead he meekly capitulated and did as he was told. Such a waste of talent, he was talented but signing for Munster had a catastrophic impact on his career. It never worked out for him there.
@Aidan Farrell: By all accounts if you read between the lines, Ross Byrne did defy Schmidt by not leaving Leinster but he doesn’t exactly have a bucket load of caps to justify it either. in any case, Ross has played lots of times for Leinster each season in that time and has medals too so definitely made the right call staying.
@Aidan Farrell: did as he was told?
Did Joe sign his contract?
@Carmine Lorenzo: where are you getting that?
@Carmine Lorenzo: Ross is a man of character and conviction. He was never going to be bullied into leaving. A way stronger character than Carbery.
@Aidan Farrell: did as he was told???? Meekly capitulated??? Some people put some amount of nonesense on this. IRFU/Schmidt wanted him to move to Ulster to replace the recently sacked Paddy Jackson, Carbery said, didn’t capitulate, or do as he was told, in fact he said No and asked to move to Munster instead. Doesn’t suit some people’s narratives but Carbery chose to go to Munster.
@Aidan Farrell: it wasn’t mentioned in this article but in others from the same presser that he wanted to leave Leinster as he was not happy playing behind Sexton and only playing when Johnny was rested or injured.
@Aidan Farrell: lol, what a coward you are.
Jofus Carbery is a class act. Brilliant at times at 10 or 15. I love him @ 15 though. His luck will change in France I guarantee you. He’ll cut defences to bits. Can’t wait actually. Will be watching every Bordeaux game.
@Jofus Soap: hopefully but doubtful
@Jofus Soap: I can see it! Rooting for ya Joey
Never seemed to have the personality to be a class 10 and he struggled to stamp his authority on any team he led at outhalf , coaching wise he would have been better staying at 15 or maybe even being a 9. Don’t think it was a Munster issue with him , others have done well with the move ( Conway , Beirne etc )
@Owen ODonoghue: Beirne didn’t move from Leinster to Munster. Jones did and again it was s success.
@Ciaran Kennedy: my bad , Beirne was from Scarlets I think , agree Felix Jones was great too
I really hope he does well over there. And I think if he stays fit he will.
For all the comments about decisions by Irish rugby and Leinster, all the decisions made were justifiable at the time.
Carbery’s issue over the decade has been his injury profile. For his sake I hope this improves in France.
Don’t like too say, good player but not hard enough for test rugby
@John Kennedy: 37 caps means he was more than good enough.
@Johnny Knox: seems very injury prone.
@Johnny Knox: most of them off the bench , games he started he was anonymous except maybe the Fiji game where they took him out
Sure he was offered a chance to go to Ulster but opted for Munster – I’m sure he regrets that now – or maybe not?! Hopefully he will do well in France. He never really made the breakthrough into the international team and then had a few injuries.