An important match awaited our U19 side, last year's PSK silver medallists, as they hosted MTK Budapest at the Bozsik Aréna in Round 19 of the elite youth championship. The blue-and-whites had collected only two points more than us over the first 18 rounds, and given the dominance of the two sides, with four matches remaining it was fair to call this an early title decider. The teams set a superb tempo in the opening half hour, with a succession of chances at both ends.
We had a major opportunity to score as early as the third minute: first Erik Kovács and then Tamás Somogyi tried their luck, but the visitors cleared for a corner. Barely two minutes later we put together another attractive attack; Somogyi aimed for the bottom-left corner but sent his effort wide. In the eighth minute the visitors threatened as well, when after a corner the ball 'stuck around in front of goal' and the MTK attackers reacted quickest to the loose ball; Papp had to make an excellent save from a shot heading toward the bottom-left corner. In the 12th minute Kovács broke forward dangerously on the counter and tried to bring Balázs, arriving through the middle, into play, but Tóth intercepted the cross. A minute later MTK were threatening at our end, with Papp called upon to save Andrej Vasiljevic's effort. In the 16th minute Milicz got down the left and delivered a good ball into the middle, but our attackers missed it by centimetres. Although we had more possession, MTK took the lead in the 24th minute through Krisztián László. In the 28th minute a neat one-two opened up MTK's left side and Teó Balázs fired from a tight angle; Tóth tipped the shot from our academy player, who has already made his first-team debut, behind for a corner. In the 35th minute, following a corner, the ball was lifted toward Jádi, who struck first time toward the right corner; Papp produced a huge save to turn away the fiercely hit effort. In the 39th minute Erik Kovács glanced a header just centimetres wide of the left post. In the second half our team clearly controlled the match, although for some time that did not translate into major chances. In the 55th minute Somogyi was teed up on the edge of the penalty area; his central shot spilled from Tóth, but the goalkeeper still managed to gather. In the 75th minute another 'second ball' from a free-kick offered the chance to equalise, Gáspár tried his luck but the MTK defenders made a last-ditch clearance. Two minutes later Milicz could have levelled, before substitute Onder Kolen might have settled the game from the counterattack. The visitors then took a corner and the crossbar saved us from conceding. In the 81st minute, however, even Papp could do nothing after a defensive lapse, when Jádi placed the ball into the net (2–0. In the 88th minute Komlósi's long-range effort still carried some threat, but Tóth was again well positioned. The score did not change after that, so with three rounds remaining MTK's lead at the top of the table grew to five points. Our team will travel to Videoton and Szeged, with a home game against DVTK in between. MTK host current third-placed Debrecen next week, then visit Ferencváros before ending the season at home to Vasas.
Our U16 side played Vasas Kubala Akadémia at the Academy at the same time. István Körtvélyesi's team won 3–0 and moved to the top of the table, although MTK have played one match fewer.
National U19 Elite Championship, 2025/26
BUDAPEST HONVÉD FC–MTK Budapest 0–2 (0–1)
Bozsik Aréna, 150 spectators. Referee: Ádám Czene-Joó (Márton Végh, Gergő Kiss).
HONVÉD: Papp L. – Russnák, Horváth Á., Csörgő (Szelényi, 60.) – Kecskés (Tasi, 83.), Meskó (Komlósi, 74.), Gáspár, Milicz – Somogyi T. – Balázs T. (Schön, 60.), Kovács E (Miták, 74.). Head coach: Bogdánfi Márton
MTK: Tóth M. – Laveczki, Nógrádi, Szebellédi, Csóka – Zoltai (Csányi, 68.), Jádi – Vasiljevic (Onder, 76.), László (Hóbor, 90.), Molnár P. (Kiss A., 68.) – Zubor (Zsámpár, 90.). Head coach: Serfőző Milán
Goals: László (25.), Jádi (82).
Márton Bogdánfi:
We played an open, attacking match and I think those who came out to watch could enjoy it. In the first half we tried to neutralise MTK's game and impose our own. We managed that in certain spells, but especially in the second half I felt we were able to get on top of them. Their goal was under pressure several times, but our finishing was not good enough and we were not sharp enough in the final actions, so we could not equalise. I think that if we had managed to level, we could have turned the match around as well. We had to take risks and, although we put them under even greater pressure, we conceded another goal from a counterattack, which settled the match late on. The lads gave everything; may we never have a worse youth match than this. Obviously this will hurt for a while, but this is a young team full of excellent talent. We keep working, and congratulations to MTK.
