Adam Idah strikes late as Ireland battle back from two goals down against Hungary
Adam Idah rises high to score against Hungary at the Aviva Stadium. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Cork’s Adam Idah completed a seemingly unthinkable comeback by getting a dramatic equaliser at the death as the Boys in Green side overturned a two-goal half-time deficit at the Aviva Stadium in World Cup qualifying.
The striker headed in and rescued a point, on a night that opened with the visitors scoring twice inside the first 16 minutes of play in front of a sold-out crowd.
Evan Ferguson pulled one back and the striker that came through at College Corinthians did the hard part. Caoimhín Kelleher, Jake O’Brien, and Chiedozie Ogbene also starred for the Boys in Green, who will play Armenia on Tuesday in World Cup qualifying.
The headlines were very different to this after a Matt Doherty clearance in the first minute. Hungary just put the ball back in for Barnabas Varga, who was able to get passed Dara O’Shea and fire in.
Not even 90 seconds had been played and the crowd was silenced – with worse to come.
Hungary went on to control possession. With that came a corner and a second goal after Roland Sallai met a neat in-swinger from Dominik Szoboszlai.
The visitors reacted to such a perfect start by sitting back and slowing the game down at every opportunity. As a consequence, Ireland took the game to Hungary, but struggled to create clear opportunities.
Doherty did try his luck on the edge of the area on one occasion during this spell at the end of the first half, and the full-back hit the ball wide. Jason Knight also cut through midfield and a pass to Ryan Manning set up a sequence of events that ended with Nathan Collins heading into the hands of Denes Dibusz.
Hungary managed to break against all of this in the 43rd minute and Kelleher put an end to that by coming out and getting to an inviting Bendeguz Bolla cross.
Ireland hit back before the break through Ferguson, who stung the palms of Dibusz in the dying seconds with a blistering right-footed strike.
There were no words of encouragement throughout half-time, just frustration as the sold-out crowd began to process what had transpired.
The conversation quickly changed as Dibusz punched a free-kick out to Sammie Szmodics in the 48th minute and the midfielder knocked it on for Ferguson to head in. That was one back, and things got better shortly after as Sallai was shown a straight red card for a challenge on O’Shea.
The night was re-energised, a feeling enhanced by successive Kelleher saves to deny Bolla. Ireland regrouped and used the extra man to create space in the final third for crossing opportunities for O’Brien and Doherty.
This was met with changes by Heimir Hallgrimsson, designed to add pace and legs into the forward line, with Jack Taylor and Ogbene coming on in the 66th minute as the home side chased an equaliser.
There were chances, starting with a flicked Finn Azaz header in the 70th minute that was clawed away off the goal-line by Dibusz.
Idah was the hero though, with a header from right in front of the posts in the third minute of injury time.
Caoimhin Kelleher; Jake O’Brien, Nathan Collins, Dara O’Shea, Matt Doherty, Jason Knight, Josh Cullen, Finn Azaz, Sammie Szmodics, Evan Ferguson, Ryan Manning.
Jack Taylor for Cullen (66); Chiedozie Ogbene for Doherty (66), Mikey Johnston for Szmodics (78), Adam Idah for Azaz (78), Kasey McAteer for Knight (90).
Denes Dibusz; Milos Kerkez, Attila Szalai, Willi Orban, Loic Nego, Callum Styles, Bendeguz Bolla, Alex Toth, Dominik Szoboszlai, Roland Sallai, Barnabas Varga.
Bence Otvos for Toth (55); Attila Mocsi for Bolla (67),Barna Toth for Varga (80), Zsolt Nagy for Kerkez (80).
Harm Osmers (Germany)
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