Northern Ireland beat Greece yesterday in the Euro 2016 qualifier with a score of 2-0 dashing the hopes of the Greek team for a home win while also coming one step closer to making their first European Championshiop appearance. Never before has Northern Ireland’s team won all three games in the qualifiers.

The teams played at a largely empty Karaiskaki Stadium in Piraeus, showing the lack of enthusiasm despite the country’s tradition in football. The Greeks, former European Champions, were favored to win the group when the draw was made.

The Irish took an early lead in the ninth minute through Jamie Ward’s strike with Kyle Lafferty adding the decider in the counter-attack six minutes after half time. “I’ve never seen Greece beaten by two goals in a home match before, even if the fact we scored at the start of each half played a vital role,” said Northern Ireland keeper Roy Carroll.

Following the loss, former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri’s position as head of the Greek team is coming under close scrutiny and was actually jeered from the field.