Austria vs. Hungary: Score and Twitter Reaction from Euro 2016

Hungary sprung a surprise on Tuesday, beating Austria 2-0 in Bordeaux at the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

An even first half in the Habsburg derby yielded no goals despite a flurry of opportunities for both sides. The underdogs edged ahead in the 63rd minute through Adam Szalai, before Aleksandar Dragovic was sent off for a second yellow card just moments later; Zoltan Stieber added a brilliant second goal late on with Austria caught up the pitch.

The result sees the Hungarians temporarily move to the top of Group F ahead of Portugal's clash with Iceland later in the day.

Before the game kicked off, it was announced by the tournament’s official Twitter feed that Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly was to become the oldest player to ever feature in the competition:

After just 33 seconds, he was nearly picking the ball out of the back of the net. That was after Austria’s star man David Alaba offered Hungary an early glimpse of his quality, crashing a shot off the post from 25 yards.

ATTILA KISBENEDEK/Getty Images

The Bayern Munich man was dictating matters in the early stages and went close again, this time from inside the penalty area. But the veteran stopper was on hand to prevent him from putting Austria in front.

Hungary were eventually able to establish a foothold in the contest themselves and started to grow in confidence. Rory Smith of the Times was impressed with the balanced way in which Bernd Storck’s side had approached the opening 30 minutes of the match:

Their ambition made for an entertaining spell as half-time edged closer. Both teams carved out chances, as Marko Arnautovic's brilliant flick sliced open the Hungary defence, with Martin Harnik eventually unable to convert his cross.

The best chance of the opening period fell to Balazs Dzsudzsak, though. He raced into the penalty area unchallenged on the right before firing a shot wide of Robert Almer’s goal on the stroke of half-time. At the break, these numbers from WhoScored.com showed Hungary were certainly holding their own:

Austria seized control after half-time, causing uncertainty in Kiraly's penalty area with some intelligent play in the wide positions. Still, Hungary continued to pose a threat on the counter, with Dzsudzsak stinging the palms of Almer with a long-range strike.

It was an attacking presence they preserved in the second period, and eventually, a sharp passing move pulled Austria's defence apart. Szalai played a neat one-two with Laszlo Kleinheisler on the edge of the box, clearing a path to goal for the latter; the striker took his time and prodded past the 'keeper. 

Ian Walton/Getty Images

As noted by Bleacher Report's Ryan Bailey, the goal was a long time coming for the forward:

Things quickly got better for Hungary, too. In the 66th minute, Dragovic, already on a yellow card, lunged after an attacking corner but caught Tamas Kadar late. The match official was quick to give the centre-back his marching orders and Austria a mountain to climb.

Naturally, the game opened up in the aftermath of the dismissal, with Austria desperate to get back on level terms in the latter stages and pushing players forward.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

It was a perfect chance for Hungary to show their counter-attacking prowess again, and three minutes from time, Stieber was played through with just the goalkeeper to beat. With the game there for the taking, he lofted a gorgeous, nonchalant finish over the onrushing Almer to end any Austrian hopes.

The celebrations were naturally wild with the game secured, as the Guardian's Sid Lowe noted before the referee called time on a pulsating contest:

There was a lot of momentum behind this Austria team after their excellent qualifying campaign, especially with the cohesion with which they played and the scattering of stars available to manager manager Marcel Koller. But they showed their inexperience at this level here, losing their discipline and failing to attack an organised opponent with diversity.

While a lot was expected of Austria, few anticipated Hungary would have been capable of turning in a display like this. Storck saw a composed and committed performance from his players against a team tipped as a possible dark horse for the title. 

Post-Match Reaction

Afterwards, Storck hailed his team for getting the job done against more illustrious opponents.

"When you look at the Austria team and compare it to ours—the experience, the champions they have—it was obvious who the favourite was," he said, per the tournament website. "My team has developed well—including in recent friendlies—and we got our reward."

ATTILA KISBENEDEK/Getty Images

Koller was quizzed on the use of Alaba in the game and whether he'd consider a tactical reshuffle.

"Alaba has an unbelievable technique and understands the game so well, that’s why we play him in the centre when he plays in defence at Bayern," said the Austria boss, per the tournament website. "Maybe it’s a little problem but today if he had scored at the start then it would have been different and you wouldn’t have asked this question."