Norwich City striker Kyle Lafferty was the hero as Northern Ireland got their Euro 2016 campaign off to a superb start with a 2-1 win in Hungary.

The summer signing from Palermo made one goal and scored the other as the Irish came from 1-0 down with nine minutes to go to claim all three points.

And the striker, who will now be looking to build on a great international night by opening his account for the Canaries, said his performance was the ideal way to answer his critics in the Province.

Lafferty was heavily criticised for a rash tackle that led to a red card last September as Northern Ireland were beaten 4-2 at home by Portugal in a World Cup qualifier, and asked if he had a point to prove he said. 'Yes I think I did. In the last game I let myself down. I also let (manager) Michael (O'Neill) down, and the squad and the fans down.

'When I play my workrate will always be 110pc and hopefully my ability will be able to take it further. I got the winning goal and I am very happy.

Hungary had looked set to take the points when Tamas Priskin headed home a 74th-minute corner. But O'Neill's men ripped up the script as Lafferty's brilliant run and pass left Niall McGinn with the simplest of tap-ins with 10 minutes to go. The pair then swapped roles with three minutes left, McGinn crossing for Lafferty, who tangled with Vilmos Vanczak and somehow got the job done from the most ungainly position.

Elsewhere Russell Martin and Stephen Whittaker both played the full 90 minutes as Scotland gave an excellent account of themselves before losing 2-1 to world champions Germany in Dortmund. Thomas Muller scored twice for the hosts, with Ikechi Anya briefly making it 1-1.

Wes Hoolahan was an unused substitute as the Republic of Ireland beat Georgia 2-1 in Tblisi with Aidan McGeedy scoring both of the goals.