A GOALLESS EURO 2012 warm-up away to Hungary saw keeper Shay Given and John O’Shea seize a chance to work on their fitness tonight as the Ireland made it 14 games without loss.
Given played just the first half but O’Shea came through the full match as the Irish prepared for their opening Group C fixture against Croatia in Poznan, Poland, on Sunday before the watching Croatian boss Slaven Bilic.
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Veteran Given made some sharp stops as Giovanni Trapattoni’s kept their unbeaten run going at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in difficult, slippery conditions.
Hungarian midfielder Balazs Dzsudzsak twice brought the best out of Given with early chances as the hosts, who lost out to Holland and Sweden in the qualifiers, enjoyed the better openings.
At the other end, O’Shea saw his seventh-minute header from a Damien Duff cross sail just over before captain Robbie Keane also went close.
Given then gave way to Keiren Westwood for the second half while Jon Walters came on up front for Kevin Doyle as Trapattoni went through some permutations.
Sunderland’s Westwood then made an athletic stop to further frustrate Dzsudzsak before Stephen Hunt cleared a late Imre Szabics shot off the line.
Match report: Ireland stumble towards Poland with draw against Hungary
A GOALLESS EURO 2012 warm-up away to Hungary saw keeper Shay Given and John O’Shea seize a chance to work on their fitness tonight as the Ireland made it 14 games without loss.
Given played just the first half but O’Shea came through the full match as the Irish prepared for their opening Group C fixture against Croatia in Poznan, Poland, on Sunday before the watching Croatian boss Slaven Bilic.
Veteran Given made some sharp stops as Giovanni Trapattoni’s kept their unbeaten run going at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in difficult, slippery conditions.
Hungarian midfielder Balazs Dzsudzsak twice brought the best out of Given with early chances as the hosts, who lost out to Holland and Sweden in the qualifiers, enjoyed the better openings.
At the other end, O’Shea saw his seventh-minute header from a Damien Duff cross sail just over before captain Robbie Keane also went close.
Given then gave way to Keiren Westwood for the second half while Jon Walters came on up front for Kevin Doyle as Trapattoni went through some permutations.
Sunderland’s Westwood then made an athletic stop to further frustrate Dzsudzsak before Stephen Hunt cleared a late Imre Szabics shot off the line.
- © AFP, 2012
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Aviva Stadium Damien Duff Estonia Euro 2012 Euro2012 FAI Giovanni Trapattoni John O’Shea Keith Andrews Kevin Doyle Lansdowne Rd Richard Dunne Robbie Keane Sean St Ledger; Glenn Whelan Shay Given Stephen hunt Stephen Ward