After conceding five goals apiece at the weekend, both defences were happy to get through the opening 16 minutes untested, before Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj was called into action. Barnabas Varga used his head to divert Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner goalwards, but Vasilj judged the bouncing ball well and clawed it away.
And Varga was at it again midway through the half, meeting a deep cross from Zsolt Nagy, and Vasilj was forced to tip the header over the bar this time around.
The pair’s duel continued after the 30-minute mark, when a free-flowing move down the Hungarian right seemed to fizzle out. Roland Sallai sliced his shot across goal, only for Varga to not only keep the ball in play but fire it towards the near post, and Vasilj got just enough behind it to stop it crossing the line.
Three saves then became four for the St. Pauli goalkeeper before half time, when a long throw eventually fell to Nagy, whose stinging half volley was the latest effort to be thwarted.
With two wins over Liechtenstein all the Bosnians had to show from their last 13 matches, they appeared content to sit back and protect the point in the second half, frustrating Marco Rossi’s men, who struggled to create.
After 65 minutes, the Dragons finally worked Hungarian goalkeeper Denes Dibusz, as Ermedin Demirovic flicked the ball on to Edin Dzeko, whose volley was well struck but straight at the goalkeeper.
For all his first half heroics, Vasilj had no answer to Szoboszlai’s 25-yard dipping free-kick 20 minutes from time. The goalkeeper was motionless as the ball struck the crossbar, but it went over, giving him the ultimate let-off. It looked as if neither side would be able to generate a real chance late on, until
Sallai crossed for substitute Martin Adam, but he planted his free header straight at the legs of Vasilj. The Magyars stay unbeaten in five meetings against Bosnia, who avoided defeat under Sergej Barbarez for the first time at the fourth attempt.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nikola Vasilj (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
