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Jana Mc Cabe Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Ray Houghton Former Republic of Ireland midfielder on RTE "That was lovely one-two touch football from Greece. Tzolis went for power in the strike and didn't trouble Kelleher in goal. " Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Lovely build-up play from Greece leaves Christo Tzolis, who had beaten two Republic of Ireland defenders when travelling forward, with space in the box. However his powerful strike is off target. Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece It's not the dream start to the game for Evan Ferguson that the home fans would have been wishing for as Robbie Brady's free-kick is headed away before Ferguson, or any other Republic of Ireland player, can connect with the danger. Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Jayson Molumby makes way for Evan Ferguson just as the Republic of Ireland have been awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position. Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Christos Tzolis shows great pace down the left flank, somewhere Greece have looked dangerous tonight, but no one in a white shirt can rush forward to support Tzolis. Tzolis is then cautioned shortly after for a foul on Alan Browne. Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Fotis Ioannidis picks out the top corner with this delightful strike in Dublin Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Kostas Tsimikas is cautioned for a foul on Andrew Omobamidele. Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Jason Knight does well to connect with Chiedozie Ogbene's pass into the box, but he fails to connect with the ball properly meaning his resulting header lacks the pace it needs to test Odysseas Vlachodimos. Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece Ray Houghton Former Republic of Ireland midfielder on RTE That's a great finish but someone from the back has to come out and engage him from an Irish perspective. Ioannidis has hardly had a kick of the ball but when it matters most he has showed his quality. The curl on the ball have the keeper Kelleher no chance whatsoever. Republic of Ireland 0-1 Greece The goal has certainly put the away side in the ascendancy and they are pushing to double their lead here. Fotis Ioannidis- 50mins What a strike to break the deadlock! Fotis Ioannidis finds space at the edge of the box, moves the ball onto his left foot and guides a curling strike into the left-hand corner. A superb strike from a player who has now scored three goals in Greece's opening two Nations League games. Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece Robbie Brady and Lazaros Rota collide when trying to connect with the ball with Rota falling after contact with Brady's elbow. However neither referee Espen Eskas nor VAR think the challenge is worth a card. One to watch back, but you could argue Brady is lucky to get away without a yellow card. Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece We're back underway at the Aviva Stadium with no changes in personnel at the break. HT: Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece Chiedozie Ogbene rifles into the top corner but the flag is raised for offside HT: Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece In the other game in League B - Group 2, it's goalless between England and Finland after 45 minutes. Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece We still await the first goal of the game at the break, but Heimir Hallgrimsson will be happy with how his side have performed in the opening 45 minutes. A huge second half to come - who will break the deadlock? Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece Since the disallowed goal, the home fans have been encouraging their side to push forward and try to find an opener. The half-time whistle is quickly approaching though. Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece We're into three minutes of additional time at the end of the first half. Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece Will Smallbone cleverly plays the ball back to Chiedozie Ogbene who travels forward before unselfishly passing to the unmarked Alan Browne, whose resulting strike is off target. The home side are really pushing for a goal. Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece Ray Houghton Former Republic of Ireland midfielder on RTE He was just ahead of the last defender. It's the right decision. But what about that finish, what a goal that would have been! The crowd are responding because they can see the intensity of these Irish players. Fotis Ioannidis netted his third goal for Greece in their Nations League campaign The Republic of Ireland slipped to their second consecutive defeat in the Uefa Nations League with a 2-0 loss to Greece at the Aviva Stadium. Fotis Ioannidis' superb effort five minutes after half-time and a late goal from Christos Tzolis gave Greece their second Group B2 win. Chiedozie Ogbene had a fabulous strike of his own disallowed in the first half as Heimir Hallgrimsson's wait for his first win in charge of the Republic continues. It was an improved display from the 2-0 defeat against England on Saturday, but Hallgrimsson's side again failed to show the "confidence" and "decisiveness" at the back which their manager spoke of pre-match. That, combined with their lack of a clinical edge, condemned the hosts to a fourth competitive home defeat in a row. Ogbene's stunning strike was ruled out for offside Hallgrimsson made three changes to the side beaten by England, one of which was enforced. Seamus Coleman, who limped off against Lee Carsley's Three Lions, was replaced by Andrew Omobamidele, with Jason Knight and Alan Browne brought in for Adam Idah and Matt Doherty. It was a tentative start to the game from the Republic, with a rather flat atmosphere accompanying the opening stages in a half empty Aviva. The first chance arrived on 11 minutes as Konstantinos Koulierakis connected with Tasos Chatzigiovanis' looping corner, but his near-post header landed on the roof of the net. After a sustained period of possession the Republic managed to fashion their first sight on goal with Will Smallbone slipping in Knight on the right-hand side of the area. He squared the ball to Browne and his low strike was blocked before it could trouble Odysseas Vlachodimos. Caoimhin Kelleher was called into action for the first time on 26 minutes, diving low to turn Tasos Bakasetas' curling free-kick around the post. The Republic improved as the half wore on and Chiedozie Ogbene thought he had opened the scoring five minutes before the break. He chested down a searching pass from Jayson Molumby and fired a powerful strike into the top corner before the flag went up for offside. That effort raised spirits in the stands and on the pitch, with Browne guilty of squandering another good opportunity on the stroke of half-time. This video can not be played Watch: Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson on Greece defeat Ogbene played a neat interchange of passes with Smallbone before laying the ball off to Browne on the edge of the area. He attempted to guide the ball into the far corner but leaning back his effort curled over the crossbar. Greece had arrived full of confidence after a 3-0 win over Finland in boss Ivan Jovanovic's opening game in charge, and they made up for their underwhelming first period by taking the lead five minutes after the break. Bakasetas zipped the ball into Ioannidis, who had time and space on the edge of the area to pick his spot and find the far corner with Kelleher rooted to the line. That forced the Republic to press further forward in the search of an equaliser as Ogbene delivered a teasing cross which was met by a tame header from Knight that drifted wide. Evan Ferguson and Kasey Mc Ateer were introduced off the bench to try to spark the hosts into life, while another substitute, Callum Robinson, almost got the equaliser on 84 minutes with his deflected strike falling agonisingly wide. And Greece hit the Republic with a sucker punch on 87 minutes as Tzolis broke free from Matt Doherty before twisting past Nathan Collins and firing confidently into the bottom corner. Up next in October for the Republic is a difficult away double-header against Finland and Greece where they will hope to get some much-needed points on the board. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 10th September 2024 at 22: 09 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Heimir Hallgrímsson Formation: 4 - 4 - 1 - 1 Manager: Ivan Jovanovic Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 UEFA Nations League All competitions All competitions All competitions Republic of Ireland have never beaten Greece in five previous attempts (D1 L4), the only European nation the Boys in Green have come up against more than twice without ever tasting victory. Greece have won all three of their previous away games against the Republic of Ireland without conceding, most recently in October 2023 in a European Championship qualifier (2-0). Republic of Ireland lost against England last time out in their first match under Heimir Hallgrímsson. The only manager to lose both of his first two matches in charge of the country is Mick Mc Carthy in March-April 1996. Greece have won four of their last five away games in in the UEFA Nations League but did lose their most recent such match, 0-1 in Cyprus in September 2022. Greece have only lost one of their last seven competitive internationals (W4 D2), with that lone defeat coming against the Netherlands in October 2023 (0-1). Three of Greece’s four victories in this run have been achieved by at least a three-goal margin: 5-0 v Gibraltar, 5-0 v Kazakhstan and 3-0 v Finland. Republic of Ireland have lost each of their last three competitive home games, with the second of those coming against Greece (0-2 in October 2023). They’ve never previously lost four competitive home matches in a row. Fotis Ioannidis scored two of Greece’s three goals against Finland last time out, registering the first brace of his international career. Indeed, the 24-year-old has now netted four goals across his previous five appearances for his country. No Republic of Ireland player has been directly involved in more goals than Robbie Brady in the UEFA Nations League (3 – one goal, two assists), while he’s also created the most chances (20) and completed the most crosses (21) in the competition for the Boys in Green. © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.