Sick Hallgrimsson tries to diagnose the Irish mentality

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson senses pyscological issues are hampering Ireland progress.

Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Fever temporarily isolated Heimir Hallgrimsson from his players during this international window and he was certainly sick of Greece by the end of it.

Half of the Icelander’s tenure has been against the team who’ve assumed the modern mantle of Ireland’s nemesis.

Sunday in Piraeus was the third straight 2-0 outcome between the nations in 12 months, added to Greece's 2-1 victory which opened the wound four months earlier in Athens.

That profuse bleeding robbing Ireland of vital oxygen was stemmed – albeit briefly – by beating Finland last Thursday but the switch from Helsinki to Helles was ominous.

Aside from Evan Ferguson’s early chance, which might have warranted a penalty, and a 20-minute spell in the second half, Ireland were largely dominated in the hot and hostile conditions.

Only Tasos Bakasetas’s deflected goal within three minutes of the interval had separated the sides when Ireland profited from a selection and tactical shift to finally trouble Newcastle United goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.

One of those unlikely late equalisers that redeemed Ireland in recent years, such as against Germany, Serbia and Denmark, might have arrived with better accuracy from substitute Jack Taylor.

Instead, fatigue, both physical and mental, was responsible for the sure-footed Caoimhín Kelleher gifting Petros Mantalos an errant pass which he gobbled up to add a second in stoppage time. A similar clanger by another player usually proficient, Nathan Collins, gift-wrapped Finland their opener four days earlier.

“It’s something psychological, for sure,” Hallgrimsson surmised about the propensity to rely on a concession to awaken.

“Why can’t we just start with that mentality? I said to the players afterwards, maybe as a joke, we should call FIFA and start playing the second half first, and the first half second.

“Now our task is to find out what we are doing differently when we are behind.

“I’ve talked a lot about confidence. When he had spells of growth in the game, like the second half in Greece, I show our players the good things. 

“But, of course, the bad things need to be corrected.” 

Scratching those costly errors is fundamental if Ireland are to prosper in time for next year’s World Cup qualifiers. Avoid defeat against Finland at home next time out on November 14 and it's probable there’ll be a Nations League playoff in March to navigate first.

“Mistakes happen to the best teams in the world,” contextualised the former Iceland and Jamaica manager.

“I think once we improve collectively, the individual mistakes will cost us less.

“When we are collectively not perfect then individual mistakes cost us. I think that is the political answer for this.

“There are moments in games when we cannot switch off. We need to be focused and disciplined all the time.

“If it was the same player committing all the mistakes, then the player would change.” 

There was only one change between the teams that started in Helsinki and Athens.

Troy Parrott’s promotion ahead of Finn Azaz was designed to pack a punch in attack, a ploy eventually altered arising from the Greek domination of midfield.

Taylor’s introduction approaching the hour mark shored up the gaps, gradually swaying the momentum in Ireland’s favour.

“We didn’t plan before the game with a No 10 - we wanted to play with two strikers - but Greece moved the ball so quickly from right to left.

“That was the tweak in-game during the first half. We were trying to compensate for how they moved the ball so quickly, overloading the flanks etc.

“I think we are tactically improving. We need to find the best balance against opponents. How do we jump, when do we press etc? The guys have responded to everything we asked them to do since the first game, a tough one against England.” 

Those top seeds in the group are on the horizon at Wembley on November 17 – Lee Carsley’s team will likely need victory in to usurp Greece for top spot – but Finland are first up at home three days earlier.

“It is better not to get ahead of yourself,” Hallgrimsson said of the derby. “The second game is not the one I’m focusing on now.

“It will be a good challenge to play Finland at this time. We will have a lot of clips from Greece, positive and negative, which we will go through but I know we will have more belief and confidence in what we are doing.”