Greece ended the Republic of Ireland’s slim hopes of UEFA Euro 2024 qualification with a 2-0 win at the Aviva Stadium last night, extending their unbeaten run against the Boys in Green to five matches and moving up to second in Group B.
Ireland started brightly, and had two quickfire chances to break the deadlock in the opening exchanges. Will Smallbone’s shot was parried by Odysseas Vlachodimos into the path of Liam Scales, who fired over the bar on his senior debut.
Evan Ferguson had returned to the squad following a knee injury last month, and he showed his class with a superb long-range effort which clipped off the post.
Tasos Bakasetas tested Gavin Bazunu down the other end, with this serving as a warning for what was to come. Gus Poyet’s side took the lead in the 21st minute when Giorgos Giakoumakis powered in a bullet header from a Kostas Tsimikas cross.
It was a hammer blow for Stephen Kenny’s side, and they had that familiar sinking feeling in this qualification campaign.
Giakoumakis then turned provider with a delightful reverse pass to Dimitris Pelkas, but a big hand from Bazunu denied the İstanbul Başakşehir man.
Just as Boys in Green were pressing for an equaliser, the Greeks doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time when Giorgos Masouras rifled home at the end of a blistering counter-attack.
Key stats from the match at full timeFlashscore
Poyet’s side were looking to continue their momentum from the first half, with Pelkas involved in the thick of the action early on. His shot was deflected wide, before a teasing cross into the box was just missed by Masouras.
A flat crowd inside the Aviva Stadium had little to rally them, as Jason Knight’s respectable effort from distance just missed the target.
Two Greek substitutes combined to almost add a third for Poyet’s side, when Tasos Chatzigiovanis’s superb delivery was headed onto the roof of the net by Fotis Ioannidis.
Matt Doherty and Callum Robinson had late chances to reduce the deficit, but it was too little too late on a dismal night for the Irish.
This was another meek display for Kenny’s men, whose qualification campaign ended with a whimper in Dublin.
Five defeats from six qualifiers tells its own story, and the Boys in Green look a long way from ending what will be an eight-year absence from a major tournament once the 2024 finals get underway.
As for Greece, they move above the Netherlands into an automatic qualification berth and host the Dutch next Monday.
Man of the Match: Giorgos Masouras (Greece)
