Greece 3-1 Northern Ireland: NI avoid Nations League relegation as dismal campaign ends

Jonny Evans made his 100th appearance for Northern Ireland but finished on the losing side

Northern Ireland managed to retain their Nations League third-tier status despite a dismal 3-1 defeat by Greece.

With Cyprus losing in Kosovo it meant Northern Ireland avoided having to face a Group C relegation play-off.

A goalkeeping error from Bailey Peacock-Farrell gifted Dimitris Pelkas an early opener but Shayne Lavery equalised three minutes later.

Giorgos Masouras slotted home to restore Greece's advantage and Petros Mantalos blasted in the third.

Jonny Evans won his 100th cap for Northern Ireland and wore the captain's armband for the night, but while he spoke afterwards of the pride he felt in leading the side out, there was little during the match for him and his team-mates to savour.

After ending a 14-game winless Nations League run with victory over Kosovo in Belfast on Saturday, Northern Ireland went into Tuesday's match in Athens knowing that they would avoid a relegation play-off if they matched or bettered the Cypriots' result.

However, the defeat means Baraclough's men face the prospect of dropping into pot five of the Euro 2024 qualifiers that get under way next year.

While their response to falling behind was strong, Northern Ireland's performance throughout the match was disjointed and flat, with little sign of them carrying out the manager's call to build on that much-needed win at the weekend.

Far too often they gave possession away carelessly while trying to build from the back and they failed to exploit on the promise of joy that was offered early on by moves down their right-hand side, particularly with Conor Bradley trying to drive forward from wing-back.

After losing Jordan Thompson to an early injury, replaced by George Saville, the visitors' night got much worse on 15 minutes when a horrendous error from Bailey Peacock-Farrell led to the hosts taking the lead.

• NI beaten by Greece in Athens - as it happened

The Burnley keeper came out to collect a deep right-wing cross but collided with team-mate Paddy McNair and dropped the ball, allowing Pelkas to stoop and head into an unguarded net.

Baraclough's men were only behind for three minutes, however, producing a fantastic response to equalise through Lavery, who was brought into the starting XI after impressing off the bench at the weekend.

Captain Steven Davis delivered a beautiful inswinging cross from the left and Lavery pounced to steer home a volley from close range to bring the sides level.

Giorgos Masouras shots past Bailey Peacock-Farrell to put Greece 2-1 in front

A rare mistake by Davis saw him give possession away to Anastasios Bakasetas deep in his own half, with hosts capitalising to feed Masouras who tucked into the bottom corner from eight yards after 55 minutes.

The third came courtesy of a late 25-yard bullet strike by Mantalos that Peacock-Farrell, who had been one of NI's better performers recently until Tuesday night, was unable to keep out 10 minutes from time.

While that strike put the game beyond doubt, in truth the lacklustre visitors rarely looked like getting back into the game during a second half in which the Greeks, who had won the group before this double-header, slowly took control of the game as they responded to a surprise defeat by Cyprus.

As yet Northern Ireland have not arranged any friendly matches during the international window before the World Cup in November, meaning the next outing for Baraclough's men could be the Euro 2024 qualifiers in the spring of next year.