Misery continues for Ireland as they lose 2-0 to Greece in Nations League tie

Fotis Ioannidis and Christos Tzolis extended Ireland’s Nations League misery as Greece emerged from their trip to Dublin with a 2-0 victory.

Ioannidis’ accomplished 50th-minute finish was matched by Tzolis three minutes from time to leave Ireland pointless in League B2 after two fixtures under new head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.

It proved to be a familiar story for the Republic, who have now won just two of the 18 games they have played in the competition, and their only victories – two of them – in their last 10 competitive outings have come against minnows Gibraltar.

It might have been different had Chiedozie Ogbene not strayed offside before producing a superb first-half finish, but the toxic blend of defensive frailty and attacking bluntness which characterised the dying embers of the Stephen Kenny era remain issues for Hallgrimsson as he turns his attention to October’s double-header in Finland and Greece.

For the visitors, a third-successive win over Ireland – and a second at the Aviva Stadium – since June last year, coupled with their 3-0 opening-day victory against Finland, represents a very pleasant start for new boss Ivan Jovanovic.

Hallgrimsson was forced to reshuffle at the back with skipper Seamus Coleman injured during Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by England, but also dispensed with Matt Doherty and Adam Idah as he drafted in Alan Browne, Andrew Omobamidele and Jason Knight.

After starting with a back three against England, the Icelander, who had considered changing shape at half-time, opted for a back four with Omobamidele lining up at right-back and he found himself under early pressure from full-back Kostas Tsimikas, who delivered two dangerous crosses.

The Greeks were dominating possession, but playing