Hungary are a team with whom Northern Ireland has a lot of history, as they are one of the major scalps Michael O'Neill's side made en route to qualifying for UEFA Euro 2016, with late Kyle Lafferty goals earning a win in Budapest and a draw in Belfast.
After Shea Charles snatched victory for the Green & White Army in Georgia, a home game against a Hungarian side who were edged out by Ukraine in Budapest on Matchday One posed a great opportunity to make it a second successive win.
There were chances for Patrick Kelly and Isaac Price, as well as a potential penalty shout on Shea Charles, but Northern Ireland failed to muster too many opportunities to trouble Balazs Toth in goal for the visitors.
Team News:
Northern Ireland -
After a monumental win in Tbilisi just three days ago, manager Michael O'Neill made just one change after Sunderland's Daniel Ballard was ruled out with injury and replaced by Ruairi McConville.
Hungary -
As for the visitors, there were two changes after the disappointing home defeat to Ukraine in Matchday 1, as Famalicao's Tamas Szucs came in for Damir Redzic, and Gabor Jurek replaced AEK Athens's Milan Vitalis.
Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai was also shifted out of the No.10 spot onto the left wing, after having an ineffective game against Ukraine.
Story of the Match
After a shaky start in possession, the hosts had the first real opportunity of the game as they won the ball high up the pitch, allowing Isaac Price to drive forward and thread in Patrick Kelly.
With the Barnsley winger being forced wide, he attempted to clip the ball over the top of Balazs Toth as he had vacated his line. However, the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper read the effort and batoned it away with both fists.
Dominant end to first half for the hosts -
Northern Ireland came close to taking the lead again with ten minutes before the break, as a long throw was flicked on by Tom Atcheson, before Shea Charles was seemingly dragged to the ground by Milos Kerkez. The ball broke to Kelly, but he was unable to adjust his feet and skewed his effort onto the top of the crossbar.
As the break approached, it was the away team who were on the back foot with Northern Ireland pressing for an opener, but the final ball evaded them in the key moments.
The game garnered more spite as time went on, with a flashpoint emerging following the half-time whistle when Shea Charles collided with Daniel Lukacs after Charles headed the loose ball.
Hungary grow into the contest
In the second period, Hungary started dictating possession more, but were still unable to threaten Pierce Charles' goal, and lacked a lot of punch in the final third.
At the other end, an Ethan Galbraith cross was headed goalwards by Jamie Donley, but lacked the conviction required to beat Balazs Toth.
The Northern Irish defence was largely a solid unit throughout, but as bodies grew weary, moments of panic crept in. This included a botched clearance that allowed the ball to bounce multiple times in the area, before the ball was lashed wide by Andras Schafer.
Hungary started having more success in and around the 18-yard box, after a corner was flicked on by Willi Orban and headed over by Donat Barany at the back post.
The Windsor Park crowd continued to roar their side on, as they sensed yet more late drama - A free kick from halfway was initially won by Ciaron Brown, before Szoboszlai's half clearance was directed by the head of Shea Charles into Price.
As the West Bromwich Albion youngster squirmed free of the attention of Szoboszlai, he opened out his body to go across goal, but instead dragged a shot low at the near post, allowing Toth to make the save.
It would, however, be the Hungarians who had the last sight of goal with minutes remaining. An almighty scramble in the area broke to Alex Toth, who rattled an effort through a sea of bodies, forcing Pierce Charles into a reaction save. The rebound found its way back to Schafer on the edge of the area, with his effort deflected just wide of the post.
What comes next
The result means an unbeaten start to the League B campaign in the Nations League for the Northern Irish, but with Ukraine dropping points at Georgia, as well as a strong end to the first half in particular, this will feel like a missed opportunity to top the group.
Michael O'Neill's side will next fly to Slovakia to play Ukraine in Trnava, before concluding the extended international break with a home game against Georgia.
As for Hungary, they will return to Budapest in search of the first win of their campaign, as they welcome Georgia to the Puskas Arena.
Player of the Match - Shea Charles
In a game that lacked end product, it was difficult to pick out one individual who shone above the rest, but the match winner from Tbilisi once again dictated the midfield and offered real quality in possession.
Though he may have been fortunate to stay on the pitch after a mistimed slide tackle whilst on a yellow card, the Fulham midfielder continues to be the heartbeat of this Northern Irish side under Michael O'Neill.
