Greece too good as Kenny's listless Ireland are undone in Athens
NOT AGAIN: John Egan, left, and Jayson Molumby of Republic of Ireland after their side conceded a second goal, scored by Giorgos Masouras of Greece in Athens. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Instead of history, this result activated alarms for the present and future as Stephen Kenny finds his continuation as Ireland manager reliant on his FAI board loyalists.
Losing to fourth seeds Greece ends a direct route to next year’s Euros, theoretically rather than mathematically it must be said, but what is equally relevant is recent history.
Three campaigns Ireland have been under the care of Kenny and this reverse extends his record of losing the first two fixtures and effectively control of their destiny.
Internal discussions beckon, only a case of whether they await till after Monday’s meeting with minnows Gibraltar at Aviva Stadium.
Kenny discounted the Rock when decrying Ireland’s lack of firepower in the team he inherited, eliminating the goals against them when comparing to his predecessor Mick McCarthy’s record.
Brave words indeed but results carry supremacy. Kenny has now lost more than half of his 23 competitive games at the helm and that’s the grim reality when the Abbotstown analysis gets serious, sooner rather than later. Board opinion on Kenny’s tenure has been split, placing emphasis on the opinions of chief executive Jonathan Hill but particularly Marc Canham, the Head of Football currently with the squad.
Kenny couldn’t even console himself with an upbeat performance in this one, levelling when the Greeks were well on top. Normality was restored two minutes in the second half when Giorgos Masouras slalomed through unattended to sink the winner.
Perhaps it was the dead heat in the air that caused Stephen Kenny to deliver one of his flattest pre-match press conferences but the 15 days of preparation across Bristol, Antalya and Athens indicated a spark as straight from kick-off Ferguson sprayed a crisp pass to right-wing back Matt Doherty that earned an early corner.
It was to prove merely a cold starter, for Greece duly dealt with the delivery and proceeded to bossed the opening quarter of the match.
Seven corners forced by the tenth minute reflected that dominance and the only mystery was how it took until just afterwards for the Ethniki to source their deserved breakthrough.
Greece’s first chance came through an unusual channel as former Arsenal centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos was quickest to react when Ireland were beaten to first contact from the first contact. The gangly unit opted to loop his connection towards the top corner, requiring Gavin Bazunu to spring acrobatically to bat the effort around the post.
Tasos Bakasetas was next to threaten from a corner, bouncing his 20-yard volley into the turf and ball heading high into the net until a strong hand by the Ireland stopper conceded another corner.
Greece, buoyed from winning their Nations League group with five wins from six, sustained the pressure that signalled an inevitable outcome.
Giorgos Masouras gave his marker the slip to raid into the box and the advancing Bazunu was fortunate not to concede a penalty when taking man and ball to smother the danger.
Gus Poyet and his players were still pleading for a penalty from referee Harald Lechner when they sensed a second opening from the resultant corner. Initially, the Austrian didn’t deem Callum O’Dowda’s block on George Baldock’s right-wing cross to be a handball but changed his mind following four minutes of consultation with the VAR officials and visiting the monitor.
Although Bazunu kept Ireland scoreless in an away qualifier in Portugal by guessing right to deny Cristiano Ronaldo, he was left powerless when Tasos Bakasetas smashed his spot-kick down the middle, adding to his goal in the opening 3-0 stroll over Gibraltar.
Ireland were struggling to find any rhythm to their passing whereas the hosts, backed by a two-thirds full stadium, were belying the 75% humidity to synchronise with apparent ease.
Only a sprinkling of the Greek vibrancy could enliven Ireland and a 25th-minute surge by the dependable Matt Doherty to the endline punctuated the siege.
It was their second and final corner of the half but an effective one as Will Smallbone, chosen for his first competitive cap ahead of Jason Knight due to his set-piece excellence, lofted an outswinger to instigate a rehearsed move.
Ferguson arrived on cue to flick his header across the six-yard box where Nathan Collins had anticipated the knock-on and he swept the ball home.
The equaliser was initially ruled out for offside but VAR footage vindicated the timing of Collins’s run and he dashed to the densely-populated Irish corner of the stadium to celebrate his second international goal.
Respite for Ireland, yet not the instigator of the turnaround essential to become a competing force for qualification.
Space and time was afforded to the Greeks who, with better quality in the final third, could have reasserted their authority by the break. Hull City winger Dimitris Pelkas conjured the hard part by dribbling into the box, only to scuff his shot woefully wide, before Bakasetas tested Bazunu with a 30-yarder he smartly held on to. Four minutes before the interval, Doherty stretched to block a goalbound effort by Pelkas.
All Ireland could muster was an audacious 45-yarder from Ferguson. Ireland’s latest striking sensation he may be, but Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos is similarly talented to avoid such embarrassment.
There was only one potent team on this sultry night and it wasn’t Ireland despite the introduction of Mikey Johnston at the break to replace the sluggish Adam Idah.
Johnston is renowned for his trickery in possession but he was one made to look foolish just three minutes into the second half through another telling contribution by Bakasetas.
When George Baldock darted down the right, he opted to check his run rather than cross, thereby feeding his skipper.
It was a wise decision because he telegraphed his pass through the legs of Johnston to the onrushing Giorgos Masouras who strode into the box and bent his low drive into the far corner past the despairing boot of Collins.
Callum O’Dowd, whose defensive naivety was brutally exposed, was hooked within minutes but the needle didn’t change. Lacking energy and certainly ideas, bar Doherty’s stab wide and a Collins piledriver comfortably batted away, Ireland’s sole sight on goal came in stoppage time. A knockdown by Collins fell to Doherty and he couldn’t apply either the power or accuracy to trouble Vlachodimos.
Likely fuelled by frustration, Doherty then got himself involved in an off-the-ball tangle with Kostas Tsimikas, resulting in the Liverpool player floored and the unattached dismissed.
: O Vlachodimos; G Baldock, P Hatzidiakos, D Mavropanos, K Tsimikas; D Kourbelis, P Mantalos (M Siopas 90), T Bakasetas (G Tzavellas 90+4); G Masouras, V Pavlidis (G Giakoumakis 71), D Pelkas (T Fountas 71).
: G Bazunu; N Collins, J Egan, D Lenihan (T Parrott 88); M Doherty, J Cullen, J Molumby (M Obafemi 81), C O’Dowda (J McClean 53); W Smallbone (J Knight 53); A Idah (M Johnston 46), E Ferguson.
: Harald Lechner (AUT)
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