The Republic of Ireland maintained their perfect record in the UEFA Nations League as a second-half Henrietta Csiszar own goal gifted them a scrappy victory over Hungary at Tallaght Stadium.
The Girls in Green won the group last month after beating Albania 1-0. This was supposed to be a bit of window dressing in the run-up to Christmas, a routine win to warm the bones of those who turned out on a bitingly cold December evening.
That's not how it panned out. Hungary made it a scrappy, physical battle, spurning some decent chances to open the scoring before their captain Csiszar hacked the ball into her own net when trying to atone for a Reka Szocs fumble that had sent it spinning goalwards.
The Hungarians were teak tough and showed lots of endeavour; they just lacked the finesse to punish a home team that never hit top gear.
They now require Eileen Gleeson’s top seeds to beat Northern Ireland on Tuesday if they’re to have any hope of joining them in the Nations League top tier.
Ireland can expect a hot reception for their international derby in Belfast, but the reality is things will only really come to the boil for this team in the spring, when the Euro 2025 qualifiers begin and their aspirations to compete with Europe’s elite will receive a proper stress test.
Having endured Biblical rain in Albania last month, Ireland returned to the fray on a freezing night in Dublin, where temperatures dipped below zero.
It was an experienced side that started in Tallaght, with Ruesha Littlejohn back in the middle of the park for her first appearance since the World Cup and Peamount United teenagers Erin McLaughlin and Ellen Dolan held back on the bench.
Meanwhile 16-year-old Freya Healy was left out of the matchday panel completely.
The 6,752 in attendance came cloaked in scarves and snoods, doubtless anticipating another Irish victory. But this was no easy night at the office.
Both sides snapped into tackles in a spiky opening.
Ireland initially looked fluid and sharp, but that energy would soon evaporate. Indeed it was the visitors who had the first chance of note after Diana Nemeth's clever header freed Evelin Fenyvesi to scurry past Caitlin Hayes and fizz in a low effort that Courtney Brosnan saved smartly.
Hungary looked quite comfortable until Lilla Turanyi did a Father Dougall Maguire and pressed the big red button, her self-destructive backpass pounced on by Kyra Carusa who wheeled around keeper Reka Szocs before slamming her effort into the sidenetting.
That aside, Ireland weren’t clicking. Hungary’s German coach Margret Kratz packed her midfield to stop the supply to Denise O’Sullivan and Katie McCabe. Coupled with an aggressive, front-foot approach out of possession, it worked a treat. And they weren’t without a threat going forward either.
On 20 minutes Csiszar glided past two half-hearted challenges and went close with a rising drive. Then the impressive Viktoria Szabo exploited space on Ireland’s right bend in a smashing low cross that evaded the sliding Dora Zeller by inches.
As the half wore on, the Girls in Green became increasingly sloppy. Passes were rushed, misplaced or just poor, as the Hungarian midfield block of five chopped up the game and slowed it down.
Ireland’s best opportunity came ten minutes before the break when O’Sullivan darted onto Payne’s pass and lashed in a low strike that Szocs stopped with her right leg. Hayes was then inches away with a well-directed header off a Megan Connolly corner but it was scoreless at the break, with a below-par Ireland left with plenty to chew over.
Ireland continued to huff and puff on the turnaround. Hayes went close when her eye-wateringly committed header flew just over, before O’Sullivan lifted the crowd with a carousel turn that left Hungarian studs scraping air. Her subsequent pass to Carusa was cut out, and that summed up Ireland’s night up to that point: toil followed by frustration.
The arrival of Sinead Farrelly – a 64th-minute replacement for Toland – changed things instantly. The elegant midfielder played a neat one-two with Payne, who swung in a cross that Szocs fumbled, and the unfortunate Csiszar sliced the ball into the net as she tried to slash it off the line.
Farrelly’s composure had been badly needed. Suddenly O’Sullivan had a creative ally in midfield to break the lines and shift Hungary out of their shape. Not that they were easily penetrated.
On more than one occasion Kratz’s charges resorted to brute force in their efforts to disrupt Irish rhythm, with Farrelly and Lucy Quinn both sent flying by a pair of robust challenges.
Farrelly’s class still flickered. She picked out Payne with a beautifully weighted through ball down the right, and then fed O’Sullivan with a nonchalant flick.
Hungary kept scrapping, but belief had drained out them by the time Dutch ref Shona Shukrula blew for full-time. Not a classic, but there’s worse habits to have than winning when under-par.
Next stop Windsor Park.
Republic of Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Caitlin Hayes, Louise Quinn, Megan Connolly; Heather Payne, Ruesha Littlejohn (Jamie Finn 56), Tyler Toland (Sinead Farrelly 64), Denise O’Sullivan, Izzy Atkinson (Lucy Quinn 56); Katie McCabe (capt); Kyra Carusa
Hungary: Reka Szocs; Laura Kovacs (Boglarka Vida 72), Lilla Turanyi, Hanna Nemeth, Diana Nemeth; Luca Papp, Henrietta Csiszar (capt, Dora Sule 81); Dora Zeller, Evelin Fenyvesi (Emoke Papai HT), Viktoria Szabo (Zsanett Kajan 81); Fanni Vachter (Bernadett Zagor HT)
Referee: Shona Shukrula (Ned)
Attendance: 6,752
