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Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Player ratings: How the Boys in Green fared against Greece

It was another night to forget for Stephen Kenny’s side.

Gavin Bazunu: Didn’t have much to do. Had one nervy moment where he failed to gather a long-distance shot at the first attempt but could do little about either goal. 6

Liam Scales: A solid enough debut in difficult circumstances. He looked composed and distributed the ball well but there were times when he could have got closer to the Greek attackers. 6

Shane Duffy:  Didn’t do much wrong at the back and had a few half chances down the other end and could have won a penalty at one stage where he seemed to be bundled over by his Greek marker. 6

Nathan Collins:  Perhaps could have got closer for at least one of the goals and didn’t have much to do otherwise before being replaced by Ryan Manning at half-time. 6

Matt Doherty:  Went close to scoring towards the end with a header and linked up well with Ogbene on occasion, but looked a little shaky defensively and was fortunate not to concede an early penalty. 5

Josh Cullen: Did his usual screening job efficiently enough and rarely gave the ball away but like many of his teammates, lacked urgency and dynamism at times. 6

Alan Browne:  Gave the ball away cheaply on occasion and didn’t have the same impact as he had in the Dutch game before being replaced in the second half. 5

Jason Knight: Offered plenty of energy as usual but never looked like a major threat though went close in the second half with a low shot. 5

Will Smallbone: It just wasn’t his night. His effort was valiant but failed to offer the kind of creativity Ireland are sorely lacking in the final third. 5

Chiedozie Ogbene: A deserved player of the match, Ogbene tormented the Greek left-back particularly in the first half though ran out of steam before being substituted late on. 7

Evan Ferguson: A reminder that he is far from the finished product just yet, the 18-year-old struggled physically against the Greece defence and very little that he tried came off. 5

Subs: The likes of Ryan Manning, Mikey Johnston and Callum Robinson offered some much-needed energy and ingenuity, but like their predecessors, lacked ruthlessness in the final third. 6

Author
Paul Fennessy
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