After 315 days away from Windsor Park, Northern Ireland failed to draw a goal against Hungary at home, without the same drama as they won against Georgia late on Friday night.
But that suited Northern Ireland just fine.
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Back in League B of the Nations League, they sit joint-top with Ukraine with four points from the opening two matches.
The result left manager Michael O’Neill feeling “positive” in the middle 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 of Hungary, who lost their opener 1-0 in Ukraine on Friday.
“It’s another clean sheet for us, which is positive, but we couldn’t find enough maybe to create that insightful chance that we want to win the game.”
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There were chances at Windsor Park as both defenses came out on top.
Patrick Kelly hit the post in the Northern Ireland half, and Isaac Price’s effort was deflected over by Balazs Toth.
After Dan Ballard conceded a controversial penalty in Georgia, Shea Charles also discussed the penalty appeal in the lead-up to Kelly’s case for a similar incident.
While O’Neill said he was yet to see it, he did quip that “the referee never seems to make us walk to the side of the pitch. It never seems to happen to us.”
The threat of Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was largely nullified throughout the game in Hungary, as Northern Ireland tried to create some clever chances.
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The only exception to what Pierce Charles did in goal was when a lethargic clearance led to Alex Toth heading for goal in the closing stages, but the QPR stopper was otherwise quiet.
After a 5,000m road trip from Georgia in the opening game, Northern Ireland quickly reset and O’Neill admitted he saw “two tired teams” at the end of the game.
“I think our preparation, the first game away from home and everything, was more difficult.
“I felt like Hungary got a little bit stronger towards the end.”
‘We want to get out of the game’
One point that O’Neill is perceived to be reluctant to play is by some of the visiting players.
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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 had their part in the game.
“I was disappointed with some of the yellow cards that were given, and with some of the Hungarian players’ behavior on the pitch, holding their faces and shouting,” said O’Neill.
“Really, there was no need. It was an honest, competitive game. There was no need for pretend nature or antics.
“We want to take him away and out of the game. That’s why the referee rushes to the game.”
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Northern Ireland are back on the road in the third game of their quadruple header when they face Ukraine in Slovakia on Friday.
It will be another difficult test for the young Northern Ireland side, but for now O’Neill is delighted with what he describes as a “great start”.
“It’s a very good start in a very competitive group,” he added.
“If you just look at the results, you can see that. The teams seem very well matched.”