Troy Parrott strike lifts Ireland as win over Hungary adds weight to John O’Shea’s hopes of making role permanent

But in getting a 2-1 win over a Hungary outfit unbeaten in their previous 14 games, this was a badly-needed change in the script – a win, at last – which Ireland have written for some time now, relief for O’Shea to mark his third game in charge with his first success, the victory secured thanks to an late counter-attacking goal from sub Troy Parrott.

O’Shea and his captain Séamus Coleman had echoed the spirit of Donegal GAA before the game with a nod to the win-at-all-costs mantra from Jim McGuinness and while this 2-1 defeat of Hungary was rarely pretty, hardly ever perfect and unlikely to live long in the memory, that ability to carve out a win in added-time, when a victory seemed most unlikely from a shot-shy Ireland, will add weight to O’Shea’s credentials.

The first goal of the evening, when it came on 36 minutes, was against the run of play as Hungary had been – marginally – the better side in a scrappy and uneven opening spell.

It was a much-changed and experimental Ireland side with two players – Sammie Szmodics and Finn Azaz – very much at Junior Infants level in terms of international football, and Azaz left behind more questions than answers when he was replaced.

Shane Duffy had a difficult season on and off the field and he looked out of sorts at times in that first half, a slack back pass from Duffy putting Caoimhín Kelleher under pressure after only five minutes, forcing Kelleher into conceding a throw-in which the Hungarians then wasted.

It was very scrappy stuff from the Boys in Green, the back three particularly off their levels, with Dara O’Shea almost punished for a lapse in concentration on 12 minutes when Barnabas Varga set up Loic Nego but his shot was wide and then on 23 minutes, Andreas Schafer showed skill and strength to bustle his way into the box, recover from a fall and get in a shot which went wide.

The danger signs from the away side were there again on 29 minutes, a move started by the clever Schafer who dispossessed Josh Cullen, he found Dominik Szoboszlai who played in fellow Premier League man Milos Kerkez, his shot deflected.

It wasn’t quite an onslaught from the away side but they failed to make the most of those chances when Adam Idah put Ireland in front in the 36th minute, the senior team’s first goal of 2024. It came from insightful passing, Matt Doherty with a ball to Will Smallbone and his cross found Idah unmarked in the box.

The lead did lift a previously quiet home crowd but the hush soon returned, as Hungary were level within three minutes. The build up was sloppy, a free kick from Szoboszlai deflected, then flicked on by the head of Willi Orbán, and defender Adám Lang was free at the far post to stab home only the second goal of his 68-cap career.

We had the third debut of the O’Shea interregnum at half-time when Jake O’Brien came on for his first senior cap and as Hungary retreated, having taken off their lead striker Varga on the hour mark, O’Brien was not tested to the extent that he had been in that remarkable debut season with Lyon in the French league.

Hungary still looked more likely to score than the home team who became more disjointed with each substitution. They almost went in front on 55 minutes with a well-worked move. Its origin was in the brain and the boot of the languid Liverpool man Szoboszlai, he played in Roland Sallai who won a corner for his efforts. A quickly-taken corner came to Schafer but Kelleher was on hand to make the save.

No points were at stake and clearly the main objective of the away side was to incur an injury to damage their Euro 2024 plans but there was still an edge.

Parrott was keen to shake things up, the Dubliner frustrated by his end to the season in the Netherlands where a flow of goals from him could not keep Excelsior in the top flight and he seemed to have a point to prove in front of the 29,424 crowd.

The two managers looked over their shoulders and to the benches to freshen things up, and Hungary coach Marco Rossi was on his feet on more than one occasion, irked by what he saw as over-zealous tackling from Ireland.

There was endeavour about Ireland as well as that bite in their tackle but no end product. Some home fans had began to move to the exits before the three minutes of added time began and those who departed would regret it when Parrott popped up with the winner.

Hungary were asleep when a corner kick didn’t go their way, Parrott pounced on the loose ball and burst forward, his shot going in despite the save by Dibusz.

O’Shea shook hands with Rossi at the end, one man bound for the Euros, the other headed into more uncertainty over his future, but the ability of his Irish side to win despite being second best for long spells was a welcome change of mood music in the air around the Irish team.

Ireland: Kelleher; O’Shea, Duffy (Scales 46), Coleman; Doherty (O’Brien 46), Cullen (Knight 79), Smallbone, Brady (O’Dowda 60); Azaz (Parrott 60), Szmodics; Idah (Obafemi 70).

Hungary: Gulásci (Dibusz 46); Orbán, Dárdai, Lang (Baliogh 73); Nego (Botka 46), Schafer (Styles 70), A Nagy, Kerkez (Z Nagy 70); Szoboszlai, Sallai; Varga (Kleinheisler 60).

Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal)