Gavin Bazunu: A deserved man of the match, there were no signs of the worrying form that saw Bazunu lose his place at Southampton at the end of the Premier League season. He made a number of good saves, particularly early on, to at least ensure the hosts were made to sweat for the win late on. 7
Darragh Lenihan: With Dara O’Shea not match fit, it was a big ask to come in under such pressurised circumstances for someone so inexperienced at international level, but the Middlesbrough man did okay and did not look out of place by any means. 6
John Egan: Couldn’t do too much about either goal and generally looked solid enough in difficult circumstances. 6
Nathan Collins: Made a couple of mistakes in possession but took his goal really well and went close to scoring a second with a finely struck effort in one of Ireland’s few promising attacking moments in the second half. 6
Matt Doherty: Had one or two positive attacking runs, but his lack of football in recent months showed, as he was sloppy in possession and struggled to deal with Greeks’ attacks at times. A late red card for a silly bit of ill discipline compounded a woeful evening. 5
Callum O’Dowda: Kenny has a lot of faith in O’Dowda by starting him but it wasn’t really repaid this evening. The penalty he conceded was avoidable while he was caught out defensively for the second goal too while also offering very little from an attacking perspective. 5
Josh Cullen: Too often a bystander as Ireland were overrun in midfield. Had one incisive through pass for Doherty in the second half but otherwise did little of note. 5
Jayson Molumby: Another player who was too often on the periphery of the game as the Greeks largely dominated midfield. Replaced by Michael Obafemi in the 80th minute and may now find his starting spot under threat after an indifferent display. 5
Will Smallbone: One of the more surprising starters. Smallbone showed one of the reasons why he was in the team with a couple of good set-piece deliveries including for Ireland’s equaliser. However, his introduction seemed to imbalance the midfield, and himself on Doherty were exposed too often down the right by the hosts. 5
Evan Ferguson: Did really well to get a flick on for Ireland’s goal and showed a few nice touches, but was isolated up front more often than not with too big a gap between the midfield and the attack. 5
Adam Idah: His selection ahead of the likes of Michael Obafemi and Mikey Johnston raised eyebrows, and ultimately Idah didn’t really do enough to justify his starting spot, albeit like Ferguson he suffered from a real lack of service. It was no surprise when an ineffectual display came to a premature end at half-time as he was replaced by Johnston. 5
Substitutes: The likes of Jason Knight, Mikey Johnston and James McClean did add a bit more energy, but struggled to lift a dire Irish performance and ultimately, did not have the desired effect. 5
Stephen Kenny: A difficult night and a result that will likely lead to renewed question marks over the Dubliner’s future as manager. Ireland were second best for much of the contest and many of his big selection calls, such as starting Idah, O’Dowda and Smallbone, failed to pay dividends. 5
