The manager called for a high-intensity performance from his side before the game, but Ireland bowed out of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a whimper, as Greece made it two from two against the boys in green with a comprehensive 2-0 victory at Lansdowne Road on Friday night.
Stephen Kenny sent his side out to right the wrongs of Athens from the summer defeat to Gus Poyet's side, but in reality, the travelling Greeks just emphasised the fact that they are a better team than this current Irish crop, as they maintain their push to edge the Dutch for an automatic place at next summer’s tournament.
A whole host of pre-match permutations that could have seen Ireland remain relevant all the way to the final round of games in November, but it was only the French who came good with the required result, beating the Dutch 2-1 in the other Group B encounter.
The defeat leaves Ireland cast adrift of the top three and now face into a wooden spoon encounter against the group’s whipping boys, Gibraltar, on Monday evening on the Algarve coast.
A new formation for the arrival of Greece as Ireland put out a four-man defence to thwart the three in the visitors’ attack, and it all started quite well in the opening exchanges as Will Smallbone tested the keeper after three minutes, while Evan Ferguson struck the post after four.
But soon after, Greece started to give and go, pass and move, and ten minutes into the contest, they were looking very comfortable pushing on, and then having the confidence to press Ireland high up the pitch.
Surprisingly, it took Greece a full 17 minutes before they thought of testing the keeper from distance, and when captain Tasos Bakasetas tried an audacious effort from out near the right touchline, it was evident that their confidence was growing.
Gavin Bazunu and Shane Duffy combined to clear that particular effort, however, there was little that the Ireland goalkeeper could do when Giorgos Giakoumakis rose majestically to hammer his header home three minutes later, following pin-point perfection from Kostas Tsimikas out on the left.
The goal should have been the catalyst for a rip-roaring response from the home side, but it never materialised, while the crowd had to try to amuse themselves with equally awful Mexican wave attempts.
Nothing was going Ireland’s way and it was summed up by Jason Knight’s heavy first touch following some fine anticipation to latch onto a rare wayward Greek pass. Shane Duffy was then bundled to the ground inside the box from a set-piece, but again, it was a sign that Ireland were not getting, or perhaps, not deserving the rub of the green.
Thirty minutes on the clock, it would later transpire at the post-match press conference that Greece boss Poyet sensed that he was going to take all three points having perhaps come to Dublin looking for just the one.
And Poyet would also admit that the second goal, on the stroke of half-time would prove the deciding factor, which made the second half a lot easier to manage.
The Ireland manager did, however, show a ruthless streak as he hauled Nathan Collins off at half-time following that vital second goal where the Brentford defender was caught out by the long ball out of defence, which led to the decisive strike.
"No, no, he's not injured, no," said Kenny at the post-match press conference when asked was Collins substituted as a result of an injury. "It was just a tactical decision to put Ryan (Manning) on the left side and give us balance that way.
"To concede in the 45th minute was a killer, a killer for us to concede that goal, because we were having a good period in the game. So at 2-0 at half-time, it was difficult."
The Greek boss even had the luxury of making key substitutions with over 25 minutes remaining as he withdrew Dimitris Kourbelis and Dimitris Pelkas, who were both on yellow cards, with one eye already on Monday’s vital clash with the Dutch.
Poyet remarked that he also used that stoppage to make sure that his players did not sit deep with so much time left on the clock as he felt it would have encouraged an Irish assault on their goal.
It never materialised, of course, and it actually took Kenny 70 minutes to make a change in the attacking department before bringing on Mikey Johnston and Callum Robinson.
Kenny felt that his side were playing well in the second period, and perhaps felt that his options on the bench were limited due to the lack of game time at their respective clubs.
"I actually thought we played well in the second-half for long periods. Our ball retention was good, we dominated, a lot of crosses because they were deeper," said Kenny.
"But they defended their box very well. We had chances, goalkeeper saves off the line, but we missed the target a few times on strikes, Callum and one or two others.
"Obviously the two players we put on were our more creative players at that stage. They haven’t played much recently, Mikey hasn’t played at all, Callum not too much after his injury.
"Mikey gave us a lot down the left to be fair when he came on."
As for the spy rumours from the previous game, there was no such suggestion coming into this encounter with Poyet admitting that the four-man defence caused a few last-minute adjustments to his side’s approach to the game.
Poyet also stated that he did not see Keith Andrews after the game and felt that if they had shaken hands, it would have only served as a photo opportunity, which could have been taken out of context.
But while Ireland were still dreaming before tonight’s game of taking on the Dutch in November in a Group B showdown, it is now Poyet’s men who have deservedly put themselves in the mix and will look to make another statement as they welcome the Netherlands to Athens on Monday night.
"I think the players are understanding that to qualify for the Euros and then to perform in the Euros, we still need a little bit more, and I think Monday is going to be massive," said Poyet.
"There are plenty of things that we need to do well on Monday and depending on that, how much we grow up as a team, I think we’re going to be in a better position to qualify.
"But I have to say, we have put ourselves there with our victories, with our work somehow, and if you’d asked me before we started when I was in Frankfurt for the draw and you said to me that we would be here now with this chance to qualify, I would have taken it."
