Republic of Ireland 0
Greece 2
THE GREEKS HAVE a God of misery, named Oizys. It’s time for a rebrand to O’Izys.
Irish football is in a tailspin and there seems no way out.
Stephen Kenny’s primary failure was to lose 2-0 at home to Greece, and so his replacement has started his reign by losing 2-0 at home to Greece.
Stephen Kenny was undone by the concession of goals from goals outside the box and early in second-halves, and so Hallgrimsson was undone tonight by a long-ranger five minutes after the break.
Stephen Kenny was undone by a wan, broken team who couldn’t react to falling behind, and so Hallgrimsson saw Ireland stir in mild hope at 1-0 only to concede a second goal that poisoned the mood among supporters. If all they have been promised for their money are results, then they have to be given results.
Otherwise the full-time scene will be repeated, as a quarter-empty stadium boo to distract from their long walloped sense of hope or happiness.
Take out games against Gibraltar, and Ireland have lost 11 of their last 14 competitive games. This team is in a bleak doom loop and there is nothing that suggests there is anything at hand to pull them out of it.
Irish football’s chickens haven’t so much come home to roost as come home to euthanise themselves. It’s hard to see where supporters of this team will find any sense of energy anymore.
Given Heimir Hallgrimsson delegated squad selection, press duties and seemingly many of the in-game tactics against England to John O’Shea, we wondered who exactly was in charge of this team, the first-half of this game bore Hallgrimsson’s imprint.
Ireland switched to a back four and the manager stood alone on the touchline, arms folded and legs akimbo in Tory power stance. So perhaps Hallgrimsson sent O’Shea and McCarthy out to deal with the English head-on as he stayed at home to plot further into the future, De Valera-style.
Hallgrimsson’s emphasis on this game was betrayed by Jayson Molumby ahead of the game, who said it would be the most important of the campaign. This is despite Ireland’s being drawn with England but then again, we are supposed to have returned to the realm of realism. Aim to win the games we think we can win. Though if anyone thinks Ireland can beat Greece, we have a year’s worth of evidence to show that is not living in the real world.
Out of possession Ireland were set up in a familiar 4-4-2, with Will Smallbone partnering Sammie Szmodics up front, though given licence to drift deep to collect possession when Ireland had it.
If Ireland’s back three system was indulged to accommodate our many Premier League centre-backs, Hallgrimsson found use for them in this system, with Andrew Omobamidele starting at right-back. Nathan Collins lamented after the England game that Ireland were too passive, but here they were proactive without the ball, Omobamidele and left-back Robbie Brady snapping into challenges on opposition wingers and full-backs to deny them the space they used so ruinously when the sides met in Athens last year.
Thus Greece were limited to set-piece threat, with defender Koulierakis heading over unmarked from a corner and Tasos Bakasetas forcing Caoimhín Kelleher into a nimble save low to his right from a free-kick.
Ireland were largely better without the ball than with it, cycling too often through desultory possession among the centre halves, largely unable to play through the Greeks. They did have some joy when they pinged balls on top of Tsimikas for which Ogbene battled, while Smallbone was alone in looking capable of crafting a goalscoring chance: at one stage he intelligently slipped a pass through for Jason Knight, whose pull-back for Alan Browne deflected off a defender and looped into the goalkeeper’s arms.
Ireland played at a steady pace and as if they needed furious intensity, players passing the ball as if they were removing a Jenga tower block. But while it was pretty dreary fare, this was the stuff of improvement. Chiedozie Ogbene then snapped the stadium from their slumber when he controlled a long ball, cut inside, and sliced a gorgeous volley into the top corner. The bedlam was instantly speared by the linesman’s flag: Ogbene was offside in the build-up. Why can’t we have nice things?
Perhaps because it’s because Ireland are stubbornly stuck in the sins of their past. There were two bizarre trends to the goals conceded under Stephen Kenny: they were often from shots outside the box, and often within the five minutes immediately after half-time.
And so was it written that when Fotis Ioannidis got the ball in space at the top of the ‘D’, a trio of Ireland defenders invited their recurring fate by backing off the man on the ball. Knowing there’s nothing in the ether about being aware of the Irish bearing gifts, he curled the ball into the top corner with Kelleher not even committing to the dive.
It was the 40th goal Ireland conceded since the start of 2021, and this was the 13th of those to have come from outside the box. Ireland continue to torch the whole scholarly basis of Expected Goals.
Ireland showed no instant reaction, instead looking haunted by their own selves. We’ve changed system, we’ve changed manager; how does this keep happening?
Hallgrimsson sent for Evan Ferguson just after the hour mark, with the limited Molumby replaced and Smallbone asked to drop deeper. Kasey McAteer soon followed, and Ireland upped the ante. But Ireland were always undermined by their lack of quality and composure: one smart Smallbone pull-back was too far behind Ferguson, while later he miscontrolled when picked out unmarked in the penalty area by Brady.
Adam Idah and Callum Robinson were next to arrive, and the latter saw a shot deflect and loop narrowly wide. The Irish players pumped their arms to the crowd who raised the noise in response…but soon they were lost, too. Ireland were done by a Greek throw-in close to the halfway line: it was tossed to Bakasetas who steered the ball through a gap in the Irish defence and Tzolis raced away from Collins to slam the ball into the bottom corner. Boos tumbled down concourse steps in front of departing fans. Hallgrimsson slammed his notebook to the ground.
Collins remained on one knee, staring off into the distance.
There is always further to fall and this team is still searching for the bottom.
Republic of Ireland: Caoimhín Kelleher; Andrew Omobamidele (Matt Doherty, 74′), Nathan Collins (captain), Dara O’Shea; Alan Browne; Jayson Molumby (Evan Ferguson, 62′), Will Smallbone, Jason Knight (Kasey McAteer, 74′); Robbie Brady; Chiedozie Ogbene (Callum Robinson, 83′), Sammie Szmodics (Adam Idah, 83′)
