Tom Atcheson revelled in his first Northern Ireland match at Windsor Park as he helped Michael O’Neill’s men keep another clean sheet in Monday night’s 0-0 draw with Hungary.

After making his first competitive appearance in Friday’s 1-0 win away to Georgia the Blackburn defender, who only turned 20 last week, kept his place in a back three now without the injured Dan Ballard.

Although Northern Ireland were left to rue the lack of a killer instinct which could have seen them win the match, a point leaves them joint top of the group after two games.

“It was amazing,” Atcheson said of playing in front of a home crowd. “At Windsor Park, the atmosphere was incredible. I didn’t think it would be that good, but it was absolutely unbelievable. It was better than I imagined and I really enjoyed it.”

placeholder image — Northern Ireland's Tom Atcheson (left) under pressure from Dominik Szoboszlai in the UEFA Nations League draw home to Hungary. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Atcheson played on the right of the three with Ruairi McConville, 21, central and the more experienced Ciaron Brown on the left, and they did a good job of keeping Hungary quiet for long periods.

The visitors rarely threatened until the final stages as Pierce Charles, one of the heroes of Tbilisi, kept his fifth clean sheet in seven competitive appearances.

“Everyone who plays in the team knows their job,” Atcheson added. “No matter who plays, I think they’ll do the job very well and especially against Hungary we did very well and we were very solid.”

The Blackpool born defender, whose grandad hails from Belfast, has come through the youth ranks with Northern Ireland.

But it was during the second half of last season, when Michael O’Neill took temporary charge at Ewood Park, that the manager was convinced to call him into the senior squad while still a teenager.

“He came in at a good time and he noticed my talent and gave me the chance,” Atcheson added.

“I’m quite lucky that he’s the manager of my national team as well. He’s given me that chance. He sees my talent and I’m glad he does because he gives me the platform to perform. I want to continue to do that.”

After making his debut as a late substitute in March’s 1-1 draw with Wales, Atcheson’s first Northern Ireland start was certainly lively – he scored in June’s 1-0 friendly win over Guinea but did not finish the match, shown a straight red for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Atcheson admitted that shows he still has plenty to learn, but he has settled in quickly at this level.

“I think I do have a very relaxed attitude in general,” he said. “I don’t like to get overly worked up about games. I like to go on the pitch and show what I can do. I feel like that comes with games played as well.

“It helped a lot scoring in my first game because that gave me confidence. Confidence comes and the more confident you are, the better you play. I’m going into games feeling confident and I really enjoy playing.”