Stephen Kenny blasted Hungary’s boo-boys before toasting his young guns in Green.
The Republic of Ireland stretched their unbeaten run to three games after a solid performance in Budapest.
But the Irish players were booed by the 14,000-strong full-house for taking the knee in support of anti-racism initiatives.
Hungary’s Euro 2020-bound stars stood upright and some pointed at the UEFA ‘respect’ badge on their sleeves.
Kenny fumed:: “The fact it was booed is incomprehensible really.
“It must be damaging for Hungary, with the Euros in Hungary. It’s disappointing and it doesn’t reflect well on Hungary and Hungarian support.
“Our players wanted to do it and it’s an important stance and I commend them for taking that stance.
“I think it was the right decision. I approached [international operations manager] Barry Gleeson and said it was something we wanted to do, to take the knee.
“I think it’s a very important message.”
Ireland’s diverse senior squad included four black players - Gavin Bazunu, Adam Idah, Chiedozie Ogbene and Andrew Omobamidele.
And Kenny continued: “Three of the young black players are teenagers - Adam Idah, Gavin Bazunu and Andrew Omobamidele.
“Chiedozie Ogbene came on and was excellent. They all performed brilliantly. Gavin was terrific in goal and Adam was outstanding in the second-half, he caused havoc.
“They are well capable of speaking for themselves as they’re educated individuals but they’re a credit to Ireland and to the Irish football team.
“They’re going to be a big part of the Irish football team and we’re very proud they’re part of our team.”
Bazunu and Caoimhim Kelleher stole the show with three remarkable saves between them to put the squeeze on injured No 1 Darren Randolph.
Bazunu has started the last four internationals but Kelleher’s debut will give Kenny plenty of food for thought this summer.
“We’re fortunate as we have three excellent goalkeepers here with Mark Travers as well who played against Serbia," he said.
“But Gavin and Caoimhin have both been excellent. They were very calm and made some great saves and we think we have a bright future in that area.”
Shane Duffy also bounced back to form after a miserable season on loan at Celti with a reminder of his worth at centre-back.
The big defender picked up TV’s man-of-the-match and Kenny said: “Shane has shown himself to be an exemplary professional.
“He had a difficult season by his own high standards and is determined to rectify that. He trained well every day and always had a brilliant attitude.
“The squad we have and that we’re building, the ethos is very important and you need that collective will. He is an immense presence.”
Kenny added: “It was a tough game but our players were excellent overall. Their commitment and sense of team was very evident.
“It wasn’t a perfect display and in the first-half we weren’t as cohesive as I’d have liked us to be, but we defended really well.
“In the second-half, we were very much a threat on every counter-attack and Adam Idah was very, very dangerous and we caused a lot of problems.”
