Replacing damp, gusty Helsinki with a lingering Greek summer, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s Republic of Ireland squad travelled across Europe on Friday encased in the unfamiliar feeling of success.
From despair to temporary hope, Robbie Brady’s match-winning half-volley to beat Finland on Thursday night puts a fresh sheen on the senior men’s previously abysmal recent record. In immediate terms it snaps a goalless three-game losing streak. Morale has also visibly improved as Irish players whooped and hollered at the Olympic Stadium following their 2-1 victory.
“It feels amazing,” said Brady. “It’s frustrating, we know the results haven’t been great for the last few years. And it can weigh on you a bit, especially for the lads, it’s a young group. But we have millions and millions of pounds of talent in that dressingroom, it’s not like we’re all a crop of bad players.”
Most of Ireland’s fledgling professionals have never known a competitive win of substance away from the Aviva Stadium. Defeating a poor Finnish side can sit beside the only progressive result during the Stephen Kenny era, a 3-0 Nations League dismissal of Scotland in June 2022. It is something to hold on to, although Hallgrímsson was quick to adopt a cautious tone.
“I hope I feel it now in training and in the next game we will see a difference in them,” he said. “They’re feeling good and probably a bit relieved that we won the game. It’s down to margins. We need to improve on what we are doing. We are still giving away chances. At times we looked open and indecisive. We just need to continue being confident.”
For many reasons the next task is unenviable. Greece beat Lee Carsley’s England 2-1 at Wembley on Thursday with a performance inspired by the tragic death of George Baldock, the English-born Panathinaikos defender who started for Greece against Ireland in June 2023. On Wednesday, Baldock (31) was found dead in the swimming pool of his Athens home. Twenty-four hours later Vangelis Pavlidis, after scoring a 94th-minute winner, displayed his former team-mate’s jersey to a sympathetic London crowd.
“They have been a really tough opponent for Ireland,” said Hallgrímsson, noting three competitive defeats to Greece in the past 16 months. “I felt, though, when we played them in Dublin [last month] that it was pretty even.
“They scored from their chances and we didn’t, that was the difference in my opinion. I know they are tough, playing them at home, and beating England will give them a lot of confidence. It was psychological game for them, an emotional game [after] losing George Baldock and of course we send his family all of our respects and good wishes.
“Greece will be a really tough opponent. But I hope we can build on the good things that we did. [There are] some tired legs, so we just need to recover as quickly as possible and be ready.”
Chiedozie Ogbene could miss out, having looked uncomfortable when replaced by Festy Ebosele, who slipped two Finnish defenders before finding Brady at the back post for Ireland’s 88th-minute winner.
“Festy was strangely confident,” added Hallgrímsson, “arrogantly confident in front of two players and just took them on.”
More of the same is required.
