The fact remains that Stephen Kenny needs meaningful wins to convince doubters that he is the man for the future but this was a decent evening in isolation.

With a lively home crowd excited by the prospect of a major tournament kicking off on Hungarian soil next week, this encounter had the feel of a proper away fixture and Ireland handled the occasion well.

They had chances to nab the victory that would really have sent Kenny into the summer with good vibes, yet they also rode their luck on occasion too with young goalkeepers Gavin Bazunu and Caoimhin Kelleher both showing immense promise in their timeshare. Kelleher was the busier of the two in his second half debut.

Adam Idah and Jason Knight also stepped things up after the interval while the back three of Shane Duffy, John Egan and Dara O'Shea looked comfortable with Josh Cullen impressing ahead of them. Duffy will have taken special satisfaction from his showing and thanked Kenny for giving him the opportunity after a difficult year.

There was also a historic moment late on when Chiedozie Ogbene became the first African born player to represent Ireland at senior level and the 24-year-old was actually presented with a pair of opportunities to really mark the moment but took the wrong options.

It's a shame as a goal from Ogbene would have been the perfect riposte to the home fans who loudly booed the Irish decision to take the knee beforehand.

With the Hungarians heading into a group featuring France, Germany and Portugal, their supporters might become the headline act unless they can find improvement, although they are a team that is more comfortable as the underdog so they will likely operate at another level of intensity when it really matters.

But Kenny can be satisfied that an Irish group missing a double figure number of squad members produced a display which suggested that this end-of-season gathering has been productive.

The Dubliner had hinted beforehand that he would tweak his system and the switch to three at the back suggests this might be a go-to strategy for the tougher away games in the autumn.

The manager described the system as a 'fluid 3-4-1-2' beforehand and that involved Knight advanced behind strike pair Troy Parrott and Idah.

In reality, though, Parrott spent fair portions of the game dropping deeper with Idah's pace generally utilised as a get-out ball.

But while the young trio will win a lot of caps together in the future, they found it hard to really impose in the opening 45 with Hungary quite comfortable in their own half and the green shirts struggling to pull them out of shape.

Ireland had more success at the other end, though, with Cullen and Conor Hourihane covering ground in front of the defence.

The organisation off the ball was good and while Hungary executed some slick passes to get near the final third, they were starved of options beyond that and frequently resorted to hopeful shots from distance. Ireland spent less time in opposition territory, but they could have yielded a goal from their first significant attack with Cullen's free kick met by a John Egan header that crashed back off the crossbar.

Hungary struggled to create a chance of that quality until just before the interval when a clipped pass into the area saw Adam Szalai creep in between O'Shea and Egan to steer a header goalwards but Gavin Bazunu was equal to the task and produced a fine stop.

Kenny was keen to see how Bazunu coped in front of a full house and the Manchester City teenager was calm and composed, with his starting position off his line affording Hungary little joy with a couple of hopeful passes lofted over the top.

The 19-year-old has really put himself in the equation for September, but Kenny stuck to his pre-game plan to introduce Kelleher for a senior debut at the interval. If Ireland had two emerging options of that quality in every position, the future would undoubtedly be rosy.

Kenny made more changes ten minutes after the resumption and they were impactful too with Jayson Molumby an energetic replacement for Hourihane and Daryl Horgan coming in for Parrott who had his moments but didn't always take the right decision.

The structure went closer to a 3-4-3 with Horgan on the left and Knight switching right.

This worked better and Horgan immediately fashioned an opportunity for Idah that was blocked away. Indeed, the Norwich striker grew in confidence and stung the palms of Hungary's sub goalkeeper Adam Bogdan with a shot from distance. Knight stepped it up a gear too, demonstrating his battery power and his range of skills.

It must be stressed that the natives began to ring the changes so they could get minutes into legs with next week in mind whereas Kenny had a singular focus on this fixture. Still, with Idah beginning to stretch the home defence, Ireland enjoyed a good spell as the match entered its final quarter.

Hungary responded though, and Kelleher really came to the fore with a pair of fine back to back saves, pushing a Szalai header over the bar and then showing his reflexes again when defender Attila Szalai stabbed the ball goalwards following a messy scramble. Hungary did gain some joy from set pieces, an area where they made hay in qualifying.

At that stage, a scoreless draw looked attractive but Ogbene's pace switched the focus again and he twice breached the offside trap.

On the first occasion, he took a shot on goal when the pass was a better option and he made the opposite mistake the next time. That was the last act and the travelling party will have boarded the flight home with a few regrets.

But Kenny has endured rougher plane rides during his tenure. The focus will now shift to September when there's points on the line.