The former Ireland defender didn’t hold back with his criticism of the current full-back.
Stephen Kelly had a lot to say about Matt Doherty’s defending during the build-up to Greece’s second goal during Republic of Ireland’s Nations League loss last night.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team are currently sat in third place in League B Group 2 of the competition, six points behind England and Greece at the top.
Last night’s dismal display was Ireland’s fourth consecutive defeat in a competitive match at home – a first in the nation’s history.
In his post-match analysis for RTÉ Sport, former Republic of Ireland and Fulham right-back Stephen Kelly was quick to point the finger at Wolves full-back Matt Doherty as being responsible for Greece’s second goal.
Doherty came on midway through the second-half and failed to track his man for Christos Tzolis’ breakaway goal.
Kelly said: “Listen, I’m not one for calling out a player and saying they’re bad, but this is awful, this really is awful.
“Matt Doherty is tracking his runner, and he just stops, and then what’s worse about it is, he just jogs back. You cannot legislate for a player jogging.”
RTÉ soccer analyst Stephen Kelly was highly critical of Matt Doherty's defending for the second Greek goal in Ireland's 2-0 defeat at the Aviva Stadium. #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/ZrqMNYdtGn
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 10, 2024
He continued: “It’s just a run, Tzolis heads it into the air, Collins is trying his best to get back but gets done by the chop.
“But if Matt Doherty actually just runs back, sprints back in, he’ll probably recover in that position.
“Like I said, that’s nothing got to do with the formation change… I don’t understand, just sprint… And there’s no excuse cause he was fresh onto the pitch, he’s not played the whole game.
“I don’t know what you do with that…”
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Doherty wasn’t the only player in green to face criticism following the defeat.
Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone was booed by the crowd when his name was announced as Sky’s Man of the Match.
The 24-year-old said that he felt ’embarrassed’ by the MOTM award and appeared emotional as he left the pitch after the final whistle.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side will need a dramatic turnaround between now and 10th October, when they travel to Finland to face the team at the bottom of their Nations League table.
