Five and half years have passed since the Republic of Ireland were hit with a stoppage-time sucker-punch in Greece when Anastasia Spyridonidou volleyed home a dramatic equaliser.
"A bunch of street fighters made it so difficult for us that we couldn't get our play," complained Vera Pauw in Athens.
That Spyridonidou goal was highly damaging to the Girls in Green's Euro 2021 qualification hopes, which were eventually extinguished when they fell to a painful loss against Ukraine.
But plenty of water has passed under the bridge.
There's been a World Cup, two managerial changes and a raft of retirements since that setback in Athens.
Indeed, only four players in the current squad (Katie McCabe, Denise O'Sullivan, Leanne Kiernan and Amber Barrett) featured in that trip to Greece back in November 2019; Barrett opened the scoring that day and could win her 50th cap this afternoon if she features.
Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward spoke to @Corktod this morning in Crete ahead of tomorrow's Nations League game against Greece as the Girls in Green look to atone for February's heavy loss to Slovenia #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/W0vFGpF5rx
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 3, 2025
Heather Payne won't be available for the Greek reunion in Crete - she needs a few extra days to recover after rolling her ankle against Manchester United last weekend. Bar that, Ward has a full squad to choose from.
So who will she choose?
The head coach has spent the last week insisting harsh lessons have been learned from February's dreadful 4-0 loss to Slovenia in League B of the Nations League.
Ward had one-on-one meetings with every player to pore over the many things that went wrong in Koper and make sure there's no repeat today at the Theodoros Vardinogiannis stadium.
She says there won't be formational change; rather "tactical tweaks" with a greater focus on what to do when out of possession.
Their opponents today are limited. Ranked 61st in the world, Greece have been beaten by Slovenia (2-1) and Turkey (1-0) in the Nations League so far. They are not stacked with technical players who will play around or through Ireland - but they are defensively resilient and organised enough to test the favourites' patience.
Ward went with a naively attacking setup against Slovenia that saw O'Sullivan and McCabe play off lone striker Barrett, with Kyra Carusa on the right and a marooned Ruesha Littlejohn left with huge spaces to plug as a sitting midfielder. It was a mess.
Slovenia killed Ireland on the break, emphatically punishing a disjointed formation and several below-par individual performances.
The youngest Irish player in the starting XI was Payne, aged 25 with 51 caps behind her. This is at odds with Ward's promise to blood new talent ahead of next year's World Cup qualifiers. Surely now is the time to give others an opportunity.
Jessie Stapleton should be at the top of the queue. The 20-year-old has enjoyed a successful loan spell at Sunderland from West Ham and is a Swiss Army knife midfielder who can hold, pick passes, or even drop into centre-half if required. Stapleton didn't get a minute against Turkey or the Slovenians; she deserves a proper chance over the next two games.
Ward admitted her side missed someone with Saoirse Noonan's capabilities in and around the box as they toiled against the Turks and malfunctioned in Slovenia. Noonan, who has 22 goals for Celtic this season, hasn't played for her country since the friendly against Zambia in June 2023.
Shelbourne's Aoibheann Clancy has also had to bide her time to get another opportunity. Pauw handed Clancy her debut in November 2022 against Morocco but she wasn't on the radar at all until Ward brought her back into the squad two weeks ago.
Clancy has been terrific in the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division with Shelbourne, with clubmate Rachel Graham tipping her to make a surprise start today. It would a huge vote of confidence but it's not difficult to envisage Clancy doing well, particularly if she's in the engine room alongside a wise old head like Littlejohn, the only other LOI representative in the panel.
Blackburn Rovers skipper Tyler Toland (above) might have something to say about that of course, while the likes of Abbie Larkin and Marissa Sheva - one of the brighter sparks in the last window - will hope to get a run on the right, as will Chloe Mustaki, who looks the most natural replacement for Payne.
Ward is caught between a rock and a hard place for this clash. On the one hand she needs to get a look at fresher faces to give them precious experience in an awkward, but winnable away game. On the other hand, she needs a win, and may again lean into experience to try and get it. Greece will be dogged, but there'd be serious questions asked if the visitors don't come home with three points.
They should overcome their hosts, though patience may be required. Then it's back to Tallaght on Tuesday for another collision with the same opposition. Positive results will boost morale; the introduction of less experienced players will nourish hope that there's a vision for the future.
Meeting those twin objectives will be Ward's biggest, and most important challenge to date.
Prediction: Greece 0-2 Republic of Ireland
Predicted lineup: Courtney Brosnan; Chloe Mustaki, Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten, Katie McCabe; Abbie Larkin, Ruesha Littlejohn, Denise O'Sullivan, Jessie Stapleton; Saoirse Noonan, Kyra Carusa
Watch Greece v Republic of Ireland in the Women's Nations League on Friday from 3pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra.
