In the biggest tie of Round 4 of the MOL Hungarian Cup, we travelled to Debreceni VSC for the closing match of the round. Both teams prepared for Thursday evening with 5–2 victories. Our side comfortably beat Mezőkövesd, while Loki defeated Újpest. Both clubs entered the competition in the previous round: the hosts beat Veszprém 2–0, while Tamás Feczkó's side won 4–1 in Mór.
Our head coach made several changes from the starting XI seen against Kövesd. This time Gellért Dúzs started in goal, while Branko Pauljevic, Ákos Sigér and Zoltán Medgyes also came into the line-up. The hosts created the first chance, but Dúzs pushed the shot away. In the 10th minute Dacosta had a free header inside the six-yard box from Dzsudzsák's cross, and Dúzs needed a huge save. Four minutes later Kántor held the ball up excellently inside the penalty area before shooting from a tight angle, but Varga was in position. Just over a quarter of an hour into the match another big chance went begging: no attacker arrived for a sharply driven ball across our goalmouth, so the home side's opener was delayed. In the 22nd minute, however, it came: Dzsudzsák received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and placed it past Dúzs into the left corner (1–0). In the 37th minute Dzsudzsák released Bárány perfectly, who shot after a feint, but Dúzs gathered the attempt. At the end of the half, the two sets of supporters, who created a fantastic atmosphere from the first minute to the last, showed mutual respect by chanting “Gábor Komáromi!” and “Gergő Bordás!” – paying tribute to influential members of the Debrecen and Kispest ultra scenes who passed away tragically young. After the break the pattern of the match changed dramatically: our team created chance after chance. In the 49th minute, after a free kick, Gyurcsó curled the ball towards goal from a tight angle, but Varga tipped it over the crossbar. In the 56th minute Sigér battled for the ball and moved it on to Pauljevic, who, after a series of stepovers, finished into the right corner with his weaker foot (1–1). In the 63rd minute Csontos released Gyurcsó down the left. He picked out Kántor charging through the middle like an express train, and our forward made no mistake from close range. However – following a highly debatable decision – after lengthy consideration and consultation with the VAR team, the referee disallowed the goal for offside. In the 72nd minute Csontos again switched play superbly, leaving Zuigeber one-on-one with his man, but Guerrero just managed to get a touch with the tip of his boot on our top scorer's shot. The ball whistled past the right post. In the 86th minute Pinte won a duel near halfway, allowing us to attack Debrecen with a numerical advantage. Our forward chose Hangya arriving in the second wave, but the ball flew over the goal. Extra time followed. The biggest chance of the first 15 minutes fell to the hosts when Djokic headed from close range, but Dúzs shut the door. The second period of extra time was again more ours: substitute Bence Varga played Zuigeber through on the offside line. He made no mistake against Varga, but the assistant's flag was raised again. A few moments later, however, it stayed down: Pinte released Zuigeber, who smashed a magnificent first-time shot into the left corner and sent our team into the next round (1–2). In the M4 Sport studio, everyone's Trezije, István Pisont, helped with the draw. It seems not only his feet but also his hands are magical: our team will face NB III side ESMTK in the next round, meaning we can host the Pesterzsébet side as favourites. If we advance after that, we may face the winner of the Paks-DVTK tie.
MOL HUNGARIAN CUP 2025/26, ROUND 4
Debreceni VSC–BUDAPEST HONVÉD FC 1–2 (1–0) – after extra time
Debrecen, Nagyerdei Stadium, 4,412 spectators. Referee: Tamás Bognár (Péter Kóbor, Balázs Szert).
HONVÉD: Dúzs – Szabó A., Baki, Csontos – Pauljevic (Kállai, 84.), Pekár (Szamosi, 68.), Sigér, Hangya (Varga, 91.) –Medgyes (Zuigeber, 68.), Kántor (Pinte, 68.), Gyurcsó (Kesztyűs, 105.). Head coach: Feczkó Tamás
DVSC: Varga – Dacosta, Lang, Kulbachuk (Hofmann, 101.), Guerrero – Szűcs (Camarasa, 65.), Manzanara (Youga, 84.), Dzsudzsák – Komáromi (Kocsis, 77.), Bárány (Djokic, 65.), Bermejo (Gordic, 77.). Head coach: Sergio Navarro
G: Dzsudzsák (22.), and Pauljevic (55.), Zuigeber (117.).
Match highlights:
