Our team were able to prepare for the league match against FC Ajka with an almost full squad. István Pekár and Bonifác Csonka could both take places on the bench, while Kevin Varga and Ádám Gyurcsó were also included in the 23-man squad. Our head coach Tamás Feczkó made only one change to the starting line-up from the winning match against Szentlőrinc: Barna Kesztyűs replaced Tibor Szabó, who suffered a more serious injury in the previous round and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Thanks to Mezőkövesd dropping points at Szentlőrinc, a Kispest victory could have increased the gap to the third, non-promotion position to as much as 10 points. The visitors were led by our former legend József Csábi. Although the curse against Feczkó Tamás's teams was broken last year against BVSC, that remains the only one of six previous meetings in which we did not leave the pitch defeated.
The visitors created the first chances of the match. In the 9th minute, first after a cross from Gergely Tóth and then after a delivery from our former player Nikolasz Kovács, Jelena headed goalwards, and on both occasions Tujvel produced an enormous save – prompting the chant “Tomás Tuvel! Tomás Tujvel!” to ring out from the North Curve.
In the 12th minute we also came close to scoring. Csontos crossed, Alex Szabó arrived well at the far post but could not find the target. A little over a quarter of an hour in, the familiar 'fire' of matches against Ajka also arrived at Bozsik Aréna when Alex Szabó and Gábor Makrai clashed. In the 25th minute, Hangya found the net after a corner routine, but the referee disallowed the goal. At half-time Tamás Feczkó made three substitutions, bringing on Ákos Zuigeber, Ferenc Ujváry and Kevin Kállai, and the changes appeared to lift the team, as the visiting defence already had to clear in front of Medgyes in the 47th minute. In the 59th minute, Medgyes headed Zuigeber's cross, but Szabados produced an incredible reflex save from point-blank range. Moments later he also made a superb stop to deny Baki's looping header that was dropping under the bar. After an hour Zuigeber tried an overhead kick, but Szabados was again in position. In the 74th minute Zuigeber lofted the ball forward, Alex Szabó laid it off and Szamosi fired from 15 metres – and although Móri saw it differently – Szabados tipped the shot away with his fingertips. Then, in the 86th minute, the substitutes combined: Kevin Varga played a perfectly weighted pass to Gyurcsónak, who had been on the pitch for only five minutes and, after a shooting feint, calmly rolled the ball into the left corner (1–0).
The victory kept our lead over Vasas at three points and extended our unbeaten league run to nine matches. It was also the first time Tamás Feczkó could celebrate a victory with his team against Ajka.
MERKANTIL BANK LIGA 2025/26, ROUND 19
BUDAPEST HONVÉD FC–FC Ajka 1–0 (0–0)
Bozsik Aréna, 2,318 spectators. Referee: Tamás Móri (Dániel Szabó, Kristóf Halmai).
HONVÉD: Tujvel – Szabó A., Baki, Csontos – Pinte (Varga K., 72.), Kesztyűs (Kállai – at half-time), Szamosi, Hangya – Medgyes (Gyurcsó, 81.), Kántor (Ujváry, – at half-time), Nyers (Zuigeber, – at half-time). Head coach: Feczkó Tamás
Ajka: Szabados – Kovács N., Bacsa, Tar, Kenderes, Tóth G. – Kopácsi, Sejben – Csizmadia (Mohos, 85.), Makrai (Cipf, 63.) – Jelena (Tóth T. 85.). Head coach: Csábi József
Goal: Gyurcsó (86.).
Tamás Feczkó: There was a huge difference between the two halves. In the first half, our chances came only from set pieces, our play was disjointed and Tomás had to make two saves. We came out completely differently in the second half and dominated throughout, although the visitors also had a big chance. I love my team; they really are a TEAM in capital letters. We need everyone, and everyone knows that we have serious objectives. From Tomás to Gyurcsó, everyone was able to contribute to today's match. The atmosphere is always fantastic, and it is uplifting that our supporters believe in us until the final second. We fought until the last minute to achieve a good result and, based on the second half, deservedly won.
József Csábi: We played a very good match away to one of the promotion favourites. We have taken a big step forward, but unfortunately we are still unable to score. We did not convert our chances even though we had serious opportunities. I am sorry that we conceded in the 86th minute from a ball played forward; I do not necessarily feel the result was fair. You could sense that while the hosts were able to bring on Kevin Varga and Ádám Gyurcsó, we did not have that option. I am not saying that decided it, but Gyurcsó scored the chance that we missed. The situation is difficult, but not hopeless.
Match highlights:
