Substitute Troy Parrott strengthened John O'Shea's case for the vacant manager's job by leading the Republic of Ireland to victory over Hungary at Euro 2024.
The 22-year-old Tottenham striker, who spent last season on loan at Dutch club Excelsior, ended a 14-game unbeaten run with a 2-1 win over Marco Rossi's side in stoppage time.
For Ireland, whose only win since March last year came against European powerhouses Gibraltar, there was some relief after a turbulent period in recent history, and Stephen Kenny's successor is still nearly seven months removed from his departure.
O'Shea, who will take his team to Portugal next Sunday, saw Adam Idah lead them into the lead and won at the death after stubbornly surviving a counterattack while Adam Lang levelled.
The Football Association of Ireland insist Kenny's successor will be in place by the time the squad is called up ahead of their Nations League opener against England in September, and the former Manchester United defender is increasingly making his case.
Hungary, on the other hand, face Israel in their final friendly on Saturday, knowing they will need to be sharper in Germany if they are to succeed on the big stage.
Ireland, who started sloppily, gradually got into the game as the impressive Will Smallbone began to see more of the ball in the center of the field, but almost broke down when Shane Duffy caught Barnabas Varga off balance. Only if Loic Nego is on fire.
The result gave John O'Shea his first win as interim manager after previously drawing with Belgium and losing to Switzerland.
Andras Schafer had a genuine chance at a premium before driving into the box and firing a shot wide of Caoimhin Kelleher's left post, but the Liverpool goalkeeper had both Smallbone and Josh Cullen beaten in their 50s. Hu had to force a clear save from Milos Kerkes in the 29th minute. -50 challenges in between.
Ireland tried to advance the ball quickly, sometimes bypassing midfield altogether. However, this left Idah, Sammie Szmodics and Finn Azaz with their first senior starts for their country as they continued to chase down defeat.
Dara O'Shea's progress and an intelligent pass from Szmodics looked to have the Republic trailing Hungary 12 minutes before half-time, but indecisiveness between Idah and Matt Doherty gave them a made me miss a momentary opportunity.
But Aida, who won the doubles with Celtic on loan from Norwich last season, made amends in the third minute when Smallbone was given time and space to pick out the frontman, who fired a header past goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. He led the team.
Hungary were level at half-time but in slightly fortuitous circumstances, skipper Dominik Szoboszlai's deflected long-range shot was deflected by Willy Orban and landed at the far post before flying into the roof of the net.
Lyon defender Jake O'Brien made his senior debut as he and Liam Scales replaced Doherty and Duffy at the break, but Kelleher had to come to their rescue 11 minutes after the restart, firing home Roland Salaj's strike after an attack from Szoboszlai. I dove to the right to block. A menacing run.
The Irish goalkeeper then handled Schafer's deflected effort brilliantly and the Hungarians stepped up their gear, forcing the hosts back inside their own half and forcing them to defend for their lives.
But they defended and won the game two minutes into extra time when Parrott broke away from his own half and squeezed a shot past substitute goalkeeper Denes Dibusch as the Hungarian defense went AWOL.
