Northern Ireland were the markedly better team in the first half against Hungary, although after a 5,000-mile round trip to Tbilisi appeared to tire as the game worn on.
Again, however, they struggled to create chances throughout. According to Opta, their xG on Monday night was just 0.55, their lowest in a Nations League game since September 2022.
The side’s record goalscorer David Healy pointed to the side’s lack of threat from set-pieces with Balazs Toth easily gathering a few corners. The presence of Ballard in the opposing box was missed too.
“The set pieces were really poor,” said Healy on BBC NI’s coverage.
“We pride ourselves in them but we did not threat at all. Hungary did not really have many chances. Overall, coming away with a clean sheet against the opposition, O’Neill will be pleased.
“The frustration will be if we had been bang at it, it was an opportunity.”
Jamie Donley, who is on loan at Luton Town from Tottenham Hotspur, again led the line but did not have much in the way of opportunities.
Isaac Price and Patrick Kelly started in behind the striker, with the latter hitting the bar in the first half, but were backed up by a trio of promising yet untried teenagers, none of whom were brought on in a second half when Hungary wrestled back control.
“When we look at the top end of the pitch, we’re looking at much younger players,” said O’Neill.
“Kieran Morrison, Ceadach O’Neill, Braiden Graham – we don’t have the same options in terms of what we can do at the top end of the pitch, in terms of experience, and being a little bit more accustomed to international football and first-team football.”
It should be remembered that O’Neill is still without Conor Bradley who has missed the past six games through the serious knee injury he sustained with Liverpool in January.
For all the talk of how to stop Kvaratskhelia and Szoboszlai over recent weeks, opposition have not had to give any thought as to how to account for Northern Ireland’s own talisman.
Even allowing for the small and spread sample sizes afforded by international football, Northern Ireland have scored 24 times in Bradley’s past 16 caps. In the nine games played without him during that span, they have found the net on just six occasions.
With the 23-year-old expected to miss the rest of this Nations League campaign, the Hungarian stalemate again showed that replacing his attacking impetus remains O’Neill’s biggest short-term challenge.
Again, though, his side showed against Hungary that their defensive solidity is a platform to build upon.
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