Ireland limped their way out of 2012 with a disappointing one nil defeat at home to Greece. Ireland enjoyed the majority of possession and controlled the game for large periods but were once again unable to create enough chances to take advantage. On the first night back in front of the home crowd since the German catastrophe, there were plenty of eager young players on show hoping to impress the few fans that had turned out at the Aviva Stadium with some impressing more than others.
The home side began the game on the front foot and were denied a penalty after just fifty seconds when Stephen Ward whipped in a dangerous cross from the left. The ball quite clearly struck the arm of Stafilidis but the Israeli referee denied Ireland's early claim. Giovanni Trapattoni later lamented the referee's decision by stating that it was a blatant penalty regardless if it was a friendly or not; "After one minute there is a great penalty. The few fans that were there saw it. Maybe the referee didn't want to give a penalty this early."
Ciaran Clark made a solid start at the heart of defence in what was just his third cap. He was given the task of managing Celtic striker Giorgos Samaras and for the first twenty minutes, he did so quite comfortably. Ireland didn't have to wait long for their second penalty claim when after 4 minutes Shane Long went down under a challenge from Papastathopoulos but again the referee waved play on. Replays suggested that he had made the correct decision this time.
Seamus Coleman and Robbie Brady formed a decent partnership down the right flank but it was the Everton defender who posed much more of an attacking threat. Brady who has signed for Hull on loan recently was hauled off at half time having had very little impact on the game. The first real chance fell to the home side when Coleman delivered a fantastic cross on to the head of Simon Cox who found himself unmarked four yards out. However, he completely misguided his header and it went harmlessly over the bar-the first of many groans from the sparse crowd.
Greece offered very little in the opening twenty minutes. They registered the first shot on target when Ninis' strike was comfortably parried behind by David Forde. It was from here that Greece began to get a foothold in the game and soon after scored the crucial goal. After a short interchange on the edge of the Irish penalty area, Samaras fed Jose Holebas who was given far too much time to take the ball in, turn and fire it past Forde. Few could argue that it came against the run of play but it once again proved Ireland's inability to make the most of their dominant possession.
Glenn Whelan was the first to depart the scene following what looked to be a tweaked hamstring. On came Keith Andrews who was given a warm ovation by the home crowd, presumably for his efforts in Poland during the summer. He slotted in alongside Wigan's James McCarthy who again impressed in the green jersey. Trapattoni spoke earlier in the week of McCarthy's desire to demand the ball more from those around him. The youngster clearly took his advice as he set the tempo of Ireland's play.
Trapattoni made two changes at the break with Kevin Doyle replacing Long and the eagerly awaited introduction of Wes Hoolahan for Brady. The Norwich City playmaker was making just his second appearance in an Irish shirt and drew the largest cheer of the night from the home crowd. He began the half very brightly-always hungry for the ball at his feet. He took up his preferred position of just off the front man and linked the play well. In his press conference after the game Trapattoni spoke quite highly of Hoolahan and his ability; "Wes confirmed the quality that we know he has. He was fantastic. He is a good option also when when we need to have just one striker. In this moment we have just player in this position. Sometimes Robbie Keane plays in this position but not always." When it was put to Trapattoni if Hoolahan would be featuring in the squad for the next World Cup qualifiers he confirmed that he was certainly in contention.
Ireland began the second half much like the first with McCarthy forcing a good stop from Karnezis almost from the off. In the goalmouth scramble that ensued, Doyle was quite clearly hauled down but once again the ref failed to point to the spot. In truth that was about as good as it got for Ireland in the second period. They failed to create any real clear cut opportunites and were forced into long range speculative efforts most of which came from the left foot of James McClean who tried hard all evening but lacked any real quality in his final ball. Meyler and Keogh both made cameo appearances late on but had little to no impact on proceedings. In the end Greece comfortably saw off the frail Irish attempts on their rearguard and very nearly grabbed themselves a second goal when substitute Athanasiadis flashed a header over Forde's cross bar.
In all, very little happened for Ireland but there were a couple of notable positives to be taken from the game. Seamus Coleman was outstanding at right back and was unsurprisingly named Man of the Match. His relentless running down the right flank didn't go unnoticed by the man who didn't think he was good enough to make the Euro 2012 squad, just a few months previously; "Coleman was fantastic. He was my man of the match. We know him, we follow him. Many times I repeat that the right and left backs must give great support to the four in midfield and he can do that. He put in nearly twenty crosses near the line. He is fast and is one who will play in the future." Hoolahan's reintroduction to international football was a major plus while McCarthy continued to impress.
With only one friendly (against Poland) before the crunch qualifier away to Sweden, there is plenty of work to be done but for now the youngsters have certainly given the manager some food for thought. Whether they will be genuinely considered when it matters is another matter entirely. Only time will tell.
