Hungary, June 5 : Hungary and Ireland played a 0-0 draw on a rain-sodden pitch in a warm-up on Monday for the European Championship.
John O'Shea's header in the 7th minute nearly gave Ireland the lead but the ball went just over the crossbar, while teammate Robbie Keane's shot a few minutes later forced a deft save from goalkeeper Adam Bogdan, Hungary's player of the match.
Hungary winger Balazs Dzsudzsak's strong, low kick in the 18th deflected off an Ireland defender but goalkeeper Shay Given was able to clear the ball.
Adam Cox and Jon Waters had clear chances for Ireland near the end of the match. Cox's shot from a counterattack was saved Bogdan, while Waters' header after jumping above the defense went wide.
Adam Szalai had the best opportunities for Hungary but was prevented from scoring by a tendency to overelaborate as well good play by Given and replacement goalkeeper Kieran Westwood.
The match began 20 minutes late because of heavy rain while large puddles of water on the pitch slowed play.
Ireland will face Croatia in its opening Euro 2012 match on Sunday in Poznan, Poland. Spain and Italy complete Group C.
Lineups:
Hungary: Adam Bogdan, Jozsef Varga, Norbert Meszaros, Zsolt Korcsmár, Peter Halmosi (Tamas Kadar, 70th minute), Adam Gyurcso (Tamas Koltai, 86), Peter Szakaly (Imre Szabics, 66), Adam Pinter (Vilmos Vanczak, 46), Balazs Dzsudzsak, Vladimir Koman, Adam Szalai (Krisztian Nemeth, 78) .
Ireland: Shay Given (Kieran Westwood, 46), John O'Shea, Sean St. Ledger, Richard Dunne, Stephen Ward, Damien Duff (Stephen Hunt, 63), Keith Andrews (Darron Gibson, 66), Glenn Whelan, Aiden McGeady, Robbie Keane (Simon Cox, 61), Kevin Doyle (Jon Walters, 46).
