Irish media react to Caoimhin Kelleher's performance and 'howler' ahead of Liverpool return

Caoimhin Kelleher on Sunday. back-up goalkeeper made a series of important saves to keep his country in the game in Piraeus, but in the 92nd minute

Still, the Ireland football teams' official X account posted after the final whistle to say that Kelleher had been named Ireland's Player of the Match, irrespective of his error, which is a sign of just how well he was playing prior to the late rick.

Members of the Irish press were also largely reasonable as they assessed Kelleher's overall performance on the night. Giving Kelleher a rating of 7/10 for his performance, The said: “The Liverpool goalkeeper kept Ireland in the game in the first half and could do nothing about the opener - but loses a mark with his error that gifted Greece their second.”

Meanwhile, The also gave Kelleher a 7/10 in its player ratings, saying: “Made three really good saves in the first half but there was nothing he could do about the deflected opening goal and he was too careless in giving away possession for the second - although the game was gone by that point”

Irish website gave Kelleher a slightly lower rating, handing him a 6.5/10. The website said: “Made a superb point-blank save to deny Matsouras early on. He followed that up with an even better double save ten minutes later. Kelleher was outstanding in the first half, responsible in no small part for keeping Greece scoreless despite the immense pressure being piled on the Irish goal.

"He was reliable throughout, which made his late error all the more baffling. His rating takes a significant hit purely for gifting Greece their second on the night but he was outstanding for the majority of the game.”

The was harsher still in its assessment of Kelleher's display, handing him a 6/10 and saying: “Stood up to the test well in the early stages with his goal under siege. Was beaten by a cruel deflection for the first goal but was culpable for the demoralising second when he tried to play a pass that wasn’t on.”