Northern Ireland’s performance in Monday’s 0-0 draw with Hungary had pretty much everything except a goal but Trai Hume is taking encouragement from the positions they are getting themselves into.

Michael O’Neill’s men extended their unbeaten start in Group B2 of the Nations League as they held the Hungarians, but were left to rue their lack of cutting edge after two big chances for Patrick Kelly in the first half and a late shooting chance for Isaac Price.

“There’s a lot of positives,” Hume said. “I think we’re getting ourselves in those positions to score goals. We’re getting crosses in. We’re getting into areas where we can be dangerous.

“The only thing we’re probably missing is maybe that little bit of quality in the final pass. Or maybe getting more bodies in the box. It’s just little details that we’re probably missing.

placeholder image — Northern Ireland's Trai Hume (left) facing Hungary across the UEFA Nations League on Monday. (Photo by Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

“But it’s something that as a young squad, we’ll look to improve.”

O’Neill had described the final stages of Monday’s match as a game being contested by two tired teams. Northern Ireland had faced a lengthy overnight flight from Friday’s 1-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi, and that began to take its toll.

“I would probably say it’s played its part, I think,” Hume added. “For (Hungary), they obviously played at home the first game and didn’t have too long of a flight getting over here.

“We had to fly six and a half hours to get to Georgia, play the game and then fly back overnight.

“If you’re not a good sleeper, you’re not really sleeping on that plane on the way back. So I think it definitely took its toll a little bit.

“But I think the lads obviously worked hard. You can probably see that we did tire a little bit. But you can’t fault the effort of all the boys and we did compete throughout the whole game.”

Under the old international calendar, Hume and his team-mates would now be heading back to their clubs and a return to league action, but instead they are at the mid-point of a quadruple-header.

The players enjoyed some time off on Tuesday before stepping up preparations for Friday’s match against Ukraine, which will be played in Trnava, Slovakia.

“We’re going to have a lot of time to analyse ourselves in the last two games, working on finishing positions and getting the ball in the back of the net, because we’re creating chances,” Hume added.

“I think the only thing missing is maybe that final ball and putting the ball in the net. So we know Ukraine’s going to be a tough test.”