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Slick Hungary surprise ten-man Austria

by IBNS 15 Jun 2016, 08:08 am

Bordeaux, June 15 (IBNS): dm Szalai's cool finish propelled Hungary to victory in their first appearance in a major tournament for 30 years and their first UEFA EURO finals game since 1972.

Austria began the match favourites and David Alaba, unsurprisingly, was at the centre of their play. In the very first minute Alaba hit the post, though perhaps the best chance before the interval fell to Martin Harnik, who slipped as he looked to finish a sweeping move. The prettier football was played by Hungary, though, with László Kleinheisler standing out.

It was Kleinheisler who combined excellently with Szalai for the opener, the 28-year-old sweeping the ball in before running to the boisterous Hungary fans behind Robert Almer's goal.

Not long after, Aleksandar Dragović received a second yellow card to make Austria's task even tougher and, near the end, substitute Zoltán Stieber broke clear and coolly chipped Almer before celebrating, with the 10,000-plus Hungarian supporters, a win that before the game coach Bernd Storck said would be a "miracle".

Man of the match: László Kleinheisler (Hungary)