AMONGST other things, Iceland is known for its volcanoes.
They can lie dormant for years and then, with little or no warning, suddenly erupt. And the next thing you know you can have the biggest air-traffic shutdown since World War Two.
Granted, Heimir Hallgrímsson rising from his seat in the dugout in the first half was not nearly as dramatic as Eyjafjallajökull spewing ash into the skies over Europe in 2011.
For a while, though, it looked like it might help ensure that there would be no Irish equivalent of the Scot who interrupted the Sky News vox-pop at Glasgow Airport at the time to declare loudly ‘I hate Iceland’.
But, when the crowd of 37,274 started streaming out of the Aviva Stadium after Greece’s second goal with four minutes on the clock.
You could not but wonder how long before the floor becomes lava for another Ireland manager.
Despite Marc Canham’s assertion that he had been identified as the FAI’s first-choice to replace Stephen Kenny as far back as March, Hallgrímsson has, at times, looked like a trainee teacher.
He has been there in the classroom but happy to defer to John O’Shea because of his greater knowledge of the players, despite Hallgrímsson having far more coaching experience.
Amid an outcry from fans and a host of former internationals alike, he needed to start showing why the FAI had decided on him being the best candidate to lead the team forward.
For a lot of the first half here, Ireland were easy on the eye but had all the urgency of someone bathing in his home country’s hot springs.
There were some nice patterns of play but either the Greeks were particularly gifted at reading their opponents’.
Intentions when they got in or around the box or Ireland were too predictable and pedestrian when it came to the final ball.
Although the possession stats were even at the break, Ireland’s share had increased as the half wore on and, yet, the Greeks looked more incisive with their choices and execution when they broke.
And, then, the 57-year-old decided it was time to take a more proactive part in the issuing of instructions from the technical area, much of which had been left to O’Shea during the England game on Saturday.
Whatever he said, it appeared to have the desired effect. In a game which was crying out for somebody to take it by the scruff of the neck, Jayson Molumby put his hand up.
More renowned for his tenacity in tackling and the short, simple ball, the West Brom midfielder delivered out a sumptuous cross-field pass from left to right.
Chiedozie Ogbene controlled the ball brilliantly on his chest to tee up a left-foot shot which caused the back of the net to ripple despite Odysseas Vlachodinos getting his fingertips to it.
Not only would it have been the first goal of Hallgrímsson’s reign, it would have been one that would be hard to better however long he stays in charge.
And, then, we were all brought down to earth with a bump as the offside flag was raised and it was ruled out.
‘No’, the flag seemed to say, ‘you are Irish, you are not allowed to score such goals, you have been reared on a diet of headed goals from centre-halves – usually Shane Duffy – from set-pieces late in the game. This is the way it must be’.
Still, it lifted the crowd and the team, one which Hallgrímsson had identified as being short on confidence, hardly surprising given the results in recent years.
Suddenly, the players seemed to believe that they might be capable of playing the sort of football we would like to see, ideally accompanied by a positive result.
When Ogbene passed to Will Smallbone in the box, the Southampton player returned it to him, teeing up Alan Browne who skied the ball over the bar.
Nevertheless, it meant there was a sense of optimism at the break for the fans who had opted to, or were able, to come again having been here on Saturday with the majority of tickets sold as a three-match bundle also including November’s against Finland.
But Greece boss Ivan Jovanovic’s pre-match observation that not much had altered about Ireland despite a change in manager proved to be prescient.
NO CONFIDENCE
Two of the unwanted hallmarks of Kenny’s reign were goals from outside the box and/or shortly after half-time.
So when the ball was played into Fotis Ionaddis about 20 or so yards out with nobody close enough to get to him, there was a cry from the press box before he had even struck the ball because we had all seen this movie before.
As you would expect, it made the Greeks even less inclined to take the game to the hosts, prompting Hallgrímsson to send on Evan Ferguson in Molumby’s place, with Smallbone and Sammie Szmodics dropping further back.
Matt Doherty and Kasey McAteer were also introduced, the former’s arrival onto the pitch greeted by a smattering of boos.
There was no lack of effort from Ireland in the final stages but the hesitation to which Hallgrímsson had referred after the England game returned.
Szmodics has been unable to stop scoring at club level for some time but, twice, he opted not to shoot when in a decent position.
To be fair, on the first occasion it might have led to something had Smallbone been able to control Robbie Brady’s drag-back
And the Ipswich Town man was replaced by Adam Idah for the last seven minutes, at which stage Callum Robinson was also introduced in a last throw of the dice as Ireland’s search for an equaliser became ever more desperate.
Robinson had a chance. He did not take it. Greece broke, Christos Tolis turned Nathan Collins and scored.
Collins – captain for the night – had been at fault for a goal when Greece were here last October which saw him dropped by Kenny.
It was another similarity – along with the boos at full-time – with the last campaign that a new manager could really have done without.