It was as poor a goal as an Irish team has conceded in many years.
And it summed up the display in Athens - shapeless, raggedy and with more holes than any of the Greek capital’s iconic historical structures.
Tasos Bakasteas slips the ball to George Baldock on the right.
READ MORE: Stephen Kenny back in firing line as Ireland's Euro 2024 qualification hopes all but end in Athens
The overload forces Jayson Molumby and Callum O’Dowda out from the middle, but none of the central defenders pull over to plug the gap.
So when Baldock returns the ball to Bakasteas, all he has to do is find the Acropolis-sized space inside the Irish area.
That he does so with a nutmeg through the legs of the recently introduced Mikey Johnston adds another layer of humiliation to the scenario.
Goalscorer Georgios Masouras could hardly believe his luck as he chased the pass deep inside the Irish area - almost in line with the angle of the six-yard box.
Yet this Greek wasn’t going to turn down the gift - and he finished in style.
You could have trundled a Trojan Horse through the gap between Callum O’Dowda and his nearest centre-half.
But it wasn’t a one-off. Time and again the hosts poked holes through Ireland’s defence, mostly coming in from wide.
The space between the wing-backs and the three in the middle offered them many more opportunities than the two they took.
From early on there were cries for a switch in formation. The back-three tactic that Stephen Kenny has landed on simply wasn’t suited to the occasion.
There have been other games when it looked to present vulnerabilities in this Irish side.
But on Friday it was a glaring structural fault.
There were poor individual performances, sure, but it did no favours to some of those in the starting-11.
The match ratings won’t be too generous for Will Smallbone on his competitive debut, but he is much better than suggested by last night’s display.
He was often caught between two stools - drawn into the middle when Kostas Tsimikas was lurking on the touchline.
This was a big win for Gus Poyet - stretching the field as wide as possible and giving Tsimikas the freedom of the Greek left-flank to attack.
It also stifled Matt Doherty’s attacking instincts. Anytime the former Tottenham and Atletico Madrid man got the ball inside the final-third, he looked a threat.
But we haven’t seen too many nights like this, when Ireland’s wide defenders - whether wing-back or full-back - have been so subdued in the attacking half.
Doherty’s red card at the death was another moment of Greek tragedy on a night to forget.
There was little to cheer throughout the 90 minutes as the promising performance against France less than three months ago seemed light years away.
Evan Ferguson deserves more than to chase down long, hopeful punts forward.
But quality service to the Brighton striker was practically non-existent, apart from that wonderful Smallbone corner that led to Nathan Collins’ equaliser.
Ferguson did his best to link up play whenever he could, but there seemed to be no cohesion to Ireland’s rare forays forward.
In terms of positive performances, Gavin Bazunu emerged with credit.
Maybe he put himself in the shop window with a hat-trick of early saves, including one outstanding stop against Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Bazunu, who was targeted by lasers from the crowd as he faced the penalty for Greece’s opener, hardly put a foot wrong.
In front of him, however, Ireland’s performance mirrored the display in Yerevan last June, when the long gap between the end of the season and the Nations League clash with Armenia was touted as the reason for a leggy display.
The heat in Yerevan was also a factor.
There were similar factors in the build-up to last night’s game, but they were meant to be mitigated by a couple of training camps, including one warm-weather trip to Turkey.
It was a poor night all-round, with Irish fans fearing that they would be caught up in a massive crush outside the ground before kick-off.
A lack of open turnstiles created a seriously dangerous situation for thousands of travelling supporters.
On the pitch, however, Ireland were far more porous.
The old problem of gaps between midfield and defence were evident once again.
That there was no concession from long-range was down more to poor finishing by the Greeks than Irish defending.
Gibraltar are up next on Monday and they should be easily brushed aside.
But then it’s a trip to Paris in September, followed by the visit of the Netherlands three days later.
Hardly ideal in the wake of a performance on Friday that suggested it’s back to the drawing board for this side.
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