The unstoppable national team brought Ireland to its knees, dedicated it to George and is going to battle for first place with England!

That goes too! OR Greece cleanse Ireland (and within), winning 2-0 in “hot” Karaiskakisretained the ultimate and +3 from 2 England and dedicated the victory to the late George Baldock.

His right Bakaseta (48′) showed the way to victory, while in the delays o Latch he stole (taking advantage of goalkeeper Kelleher’s mistake) “locked” her. Now, the blue and white team is going to the first “final” with the “three lions” in OAKA.

In the coach’s mind

With 4-2-3-1 Ivan Jovanovic lined up for the National Team. In goal, Vlachodimos, with Mavropanos and Hatzidiakos as the stoppers, while Rota and Giannoulis are the backs. In the midfield, the duo of Kourbelis and Siopis will be retained, while Masouras and Tzolis will be on the “wings” and Bakasetas behind Pavlidis.

With 4-2-3-1but more Ireland is a hybrid formation. Kelleher in the goal, Collins-Scales in the center of the defense, O’Shea and Brady the backs, Smodix and Knight the midfielders, with Ogbene and Parrott in the “wings”, while Ferguson was at the top. In an offensive position, he played with a trio (O’Shea, Collins, Scales) on defense, Brady taking the entire left side and Ogbene the right.

The match

The National team tried to control the game from the start, taking possession of the ball. However, Ireland had the first threat, missing a very big chance in just the 4th minute! When Kourbelis filled in, the ball went against Rota and reached Ferguson who found himself face to face with Vlachodimos and after being tackled by the AEK full back he made a bad shot and missed.

Greece’s first good momenteven if it wasn’t as good as Ireland’s came in the 8th minute. Bakasetas looked for Pavlidis, but the ball was returned to him and the right-footed shot was countered, with the ball going just outside for a corner. In the 11th minute, Pavlidis turned the ball over, it countered and Masouras threatened Kelleher with a one-piece shot, who kicked it away. The protagonist was the Olympiakos ace two minutes later, who saw his two attempts end up in the bodies.

The biggest chance of the national team in this period was lost in the 19th minute. THE Bakasetas he made a terrific move, emptying Scales, he shot right-footed, Kelleher cleared with his feet and the ball bounced past Pavlidis who couldn’t shoot, with the Irish keeper blocking.

In the 25th minute, the very active Tzolis made a backheel for Pavlidis who executed with the left from a slightly sideways position and the ball went wide for a corner. Four minutes later, Greece missed a great opportunity. Jolis was again the driving force as, after Bakashetta’s cross, he maneuvered well to feed Giannoulis who was in a shooting position and fired in with his left foot, but Kelleher, who had already closed his corner, cleared.

After this good period of Greece, Ireland tried to “hit” on the counter by utilizing its speed. In one case, he read the phase and was kicked by Rota in the 36th minute, while three minutes later Ogbene troubled our defense and Hatzidiakos kicked in a corner. She was the last threat in the two regions in the first 45 minutes.

The National team came on very strong after the break. In the 47th minute, Bakasetas from a good position could not beat Kelleher, as his shot was not as powerful as it should have been and the 25-year-old Liverpool goalkeeper blocked low.

That phase proved to be a warning, with Bacacheta almost a minute later (following some fine work with Jolley) firing a right-footed shot from the edge of the area into the net. He obviously dedicated the goal to late George Baldock.

OR more dangerous situation in the frames of the national team during this period, it came in the 56th minute, with Brady filling with fouls from the right and the left and Vlachodimos driving away with fists.

Ireland had a good moment in the 69th minute with Taylor’s header from an excellent position. In the 72nd minute, Jovanovic put in fresh legs with Douvikas and Zafeiris (instead of Pavlidis and Bakaseta), investing a lot in their speed and in the counter attack.

OR last dangerous situation in our frames it came in the 87th minute, with Taylor’s shot in the 87th minute blocked by Vlachodemos. In delays, Mandalos finished the match. Kelleher made a wrong pass under the pressure of the AEK ace, who took the ball, went forward and with the home side undefended sent the ball into the net.

The film of the fight

MVP: Manolis Siopis. He was…everywhere, he “ploughed” the “Georgios Karaiskakis”, coming all the way from Wembley, where he had made an excellent appearance. He had a very full and mature presence all over the pitch, looking invincible in all duels, both on the ground and in the air!

Whistle: A mistake was not made that determined the outcome. Mistakes were made by the Dutchman. He wanted to allow hard play initially, in order to have a good pace of the match. However, at times he messed things up, changing his tactics afterwards, as a result of which he punished the Greek internationals more severely with cards, while the visitors got out of the match without a card.

Greece (Ivan Jovanovic): Vlachodimos – Rota, Mavropanos, Hatzidiakos, Giannoulis – Kourbelis (82′ Mandalos) – Siopis, Masouras (65′ Pelkas), Bakasetas (72′ Zafiris), Tzolis (82′ Tsimikas), Pavlidis (73′ Douvikas)

Ireland (Heimir Hallgrimsson): Kelleher – O’Shea (82′ McAteer), Collins, Scales, Brady – Cullen, Smondix (73′ Johnston), Knight (73′ Molybi) – Ogbene (57′ Embosele), Parrott – Ferguson (57′ Ferguson)