Ireland suffer early Euro blow with defeat to Greece
Barely given any time to settle, Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had to be on his toes to deny Konstantinos Mavropanos and Piratiko captain Anastasios Bakasetas in the space of 60 seconds.
And the hosts’ early dominance paid dividends shortly before the quarter-hour mark, as a VAR review saw referee Harald Lechner award a penalty after Bazunu had clumsily brought down marauding midfielder Georgios Masouras inside the area.
Leading by example, Bakasetas gave Greece a deserved lead with an unstoppable strike straight down the middle that left the guilty Southampton stopper with no chance.
Hoping to hit the back of the net for only the second time in their previous six European Championship qualification (ECQ) matches, Ireland needed some divine intervention from Mount Olympus.
And Zeus’ next thunderbolt from the heavens indeed favoured Ireland, as Nathan Collins just about beat the Greek offside trap and converted Evan Ferguson’s flick-on to the back post past Odysseas Vlachodimos for the equalising goal on 27 minutes.
With the threat of heavyweights France and the Netherlands lingering in Group B, Greece knew only a victory would suffice, and the Euro 2004 winners subsequently wasted no time in restoring their lead after HT.
Sensing fresh vulnerability in the Irish backline, Masouras exquisitely curled Bakasetas’ defence-splitting through-ball past Bazunu into the far corner with only four second-half minutes on the clock.
Despite the introduction of reinforcements from the dugout, it was goalscorer Collins who had Ireland’s first opportunity in front of goal of the second half, but Vlachodimos was up to the challenge this time, expertly redirecting the defender’s fearsome strike away from danger.
That turned out to be the last piece of significant goalmouth action in a scrappy conclusion, in which Ireland defender Matt Doherty saw red deep into added-on time for an incident off the ball.
Victory leaves Greece beaten just once in 17 home matches, ahead of a daunting trip to the Stade de France to face Didier Deschamps’ group leaders on Monday.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the 2024 European Championships remain on a knife edge, as Stephen Kenny will hope a return to the familiar setting of the Aviva Stadium against Gibraltar on the same evening will result in a much-needed victory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Anastasios Bakasetas (Greece)
