David Forde: Given a rare outing following Westwood’s late withdrawal, Forde looked composed for the most part, without having too much to do. 6
Stephen Ward: Solid in defence but relatively ineffectual in attack, putting in a few bad crosses as well as scuffing a good chance in the second half. 5
John O’Shea: Culpable for the goal as he failed to show the requisite aggression needed to stop the Greek attack, and also gave possession away cheaply at times, as he is prone to doing. More mistakes like the one tonight (in addition to those made against Germany) will cause critics to doubt whether he is the logical replacement for Dunne at centre-half, as so many people had previously suggested. 5
Ciaran Clark: Made two good interceptions early on, and generally looked comfortable. However, he was lucky not to be sent off for a wild challenge at one point. 6
Seamus Coleman: Put in some great crosses in the first-half and gave the Greeks problems throughout. He thus was deservedly given the Man of the Match award and should surely be an automatic starter from now on. 8
Robbie Brady: Had a good shot on 45 minutes that tested the goalkeeper. Overhit one or two crosses though, and lacked the necessary sharpness to show the spark he sometimes seems capable of providing 6
Glenn Whelan: His passing was occasionally stray, before being substituted early on through injury. 5
James McCarthy: Neat and tidy in possession at times, but not the midfield driving force that many think he has the potential to be. He rarely demanded possession and also could have protected the back four better for the goal. 6
James McClean: For all his obvious endeavour, he regularly lacked end product, and also got needlessly worked up at the end of the first half following a dispute with one of the Greek players. 5
(A bored looking Ireland fan – INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan)
Shane Long: Held the ball up well at times and always worked hard, and will have been disappointed to have been taken off prematurely by Trapattoni. 6
Simon Cox: Missed a good early chance with a header. He was also slow to react early in the second half, when Andrews played him through, thus wasting another decent goalscoring opportunity. 5
Keith Andrews: Played a good through ball to Cox at one point, and clearly looked to pass the ball in midfield for the most part, though resorted to lumping it forward hopefully once or twice. 6
Wes Hoolahan: Made an instant impact when he came on, linking up well with the attack and playing some intelligent passes. He also played a great ball in to O’Shea from a corner, before fading slightly towards the end. Still displayed more creativity and intelligence than some Irish players can show in 90 minutes though. 7
Kevin Doyle: Workmanlike on a consistent basis, but failed to repeat his heroics against Kazakhstan. 6
Andy Keogh: Conceded possession cheaply at one stage and made no real impact after coming on. 5
David Meyler: Scarcely had enough time to impress, but was still wasteful in possession during his short time on the field. 5
Giovanni Trapattoni: Delivered on his promise to give Hoolahan 45 minutes, but strangely opted to keep the unimpressive Cox on at the expense of Long. He’s at least showed a willingness to change, but familiar failings in his team, such as slow build-up play and a lack of attacking threat at times, were once again all-too-evident. 6
