O'Neill 'positive' as NI maintain unbeaten start

After 315 days away from Windsor Park, Northern Ireland's goalless draw with Hungary on their homecoming did not have the same drama as the late win over Georgia on Friday night. But that suited Northern Ireland just fine. On their return to League B in the Nations League, they sit joint-top with Ukraine with four points from their opening two matches. It's a result that left manager Michael O'Neill feeling "positive" at the halfway point of the four-game window. "We played a very good side, I thought we were more than a match for the opposition," said O'Neill on Hungary, who lost their opener 1-0 to Ukraine on Friday. "It's another clean sheet for us, which is positive, but we just couldn't find maybe enough to create that clear-cut chance that we'd win the game." Northern Ireland top group despite Hungary stalemate Chances were at a premium at Windsor Park as both defences came out on top. Patrick Kelly hit the crossbar in the first half for Northern Ireland, and Isaac Price had an effort beaten away by Balazs Toth. After Dan Ballard controversially conceded a penalty in Georgia, Shea Charles also had a penalty appeal waved away in the lead-up to the Kelly chance for a similar incident. While O'Neill said he had yet to see it back, he did quip that "the referee never seems to make the walk for us to the side of the pitch. It never seems to happen for us." The threat of Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was largely nullified throughout the game as Hungary, like Northern Ireland, struggled to create any clear-cut chances. The only save that Pierce Charles had to make in goal was when a lethargic clearance led to Alex Toth shooting towards goal in the closing stages, but the QPR stopper was otherwise untroubled. After a 5,000-mile trip from Georgia in their opening game, Northern Ireland had to quickly reset and O'Neill admitted he saw "two tired teams" at the end of the game. "I think our preparation, our first game in terms of being away from home and everything, was more difficult. "I felt like Hungary got a little bit stronger towards the end." 'We want that out of the game' One point that did irk O'Neill was perceived play acting from some of the visiting players. Ethan Galbraith, captain Shea Charles, Jamie Donley and Isaac Price were all booked by Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos, and O'Neill felt the visitors played their part in a stop-start game. "I was disappointed with some of the yellow cards that were given, and I was disappointed with some of the Hungarian players' behaviour on the pitch, holding their face and screaming," O'Neill said. "Really, there was no need for that. It was an honest, competitive game. We didn't need the nature of the simulation or the antics. "We want that away and out of the game. That's why the referee has to speed the game up." Northern Ireland are back on the road in their third game of the quadruple-header when they face Ukraine in Slovakia on Friday. It will be another difficult test for a youthful Northern Ireland side, but for now O'Neill is pleased with what he described as a "great start". "It's a very good start in a very, very competitive group," he added. "If you look at the results so far, you can see that. The teams seem very well matched."