Friday evening’s opening match of OTP Bank Liga round four brought together two unbeaten sides. Although just two points separated the clubs, Vasas went into the game in second place. Despite the early kick-off, both sets of supporters turned out in considerable numbers at the Bozsik Aréna and created a tremendous atmosphere.
Maurizio Jacobacci made three changes from the match in Paks: Ákos Baki returned from suspension, new signing Osman Hadzikic made his debut in place of Tomás Tujvel, while István Pekár replaced Ákos Zuigeber and was given a new assignment: marking József Urblík, who had been outstanding in the previous rounds.
The opening half-hour was intense and played at a high tempo, with most of the chances falling to Honvéd. The clearest opening, however, went to the visitors in the 17th minute: after Milán Tóth crossed from the left, first Kovácsréti and then former Honvéd player Márk Koszta tried their luck from the rebound, but Hadzikic announced himself in front of the North Stand with a string of spectacular saves—one perhaps the save of the round—to keep the scores level. A minute later Tamás Somogyi played an excellent through-ball to Adi Alic, who shot after a series of feints, but the visiting defenders recovered just in time. In the 26th minute the Somogyi brothers combined before Tamás shot, but Engedi saved. A minute later, however, even he could do nothing: Csontos lofted the ball behind the defenders and Hangya, racing down the left, sent in a superb cross to Adi Alic, who got ahead of the Vasas defenders and headed in from point-blank range (1–0). In the 29th minute we launched another dangerous counterattack; Hangya shot after a pass from Szamosi, but Engedi got down to save. In stoppage time Rab tried his luck after a solo run but missed by a considerable margin. In the
second half our side managed the clock well and neither team created a major chance until Ádám Somogyi fired a long-range shot in the 71st minute. Three minutes later Urblík broke clean through against the goalkeeper, but Hadzikic came out perfectly and stretched out his right leg to make the save despite the clear-cut chance. Then, in the 77th minute, Ádám Szamosi was dispossessed in a contentious challenge near the Vasas penalty area. During the ensuing counterattack, a looping ball struck Csontos on the hand and referee Péter Antal pointed to the spot. Milán Tóth stepped up and aimed for the bottom-left corner. Hadzikic guessed correctly and saved, but Tóth reacted first to the rebound and turned the ball over the line (1–1). Deep into stoppage time, the visitors were awarded another free kick following a disputed incident, from which Dániel Csóka headed into the bottom-left corner (1–2), deciding where the points would go.
Next up, we host ZTE FC at the Bozsik Aréna. The exact kick-off time has not yet been confirmed; the Hungarian Football Federation will decide it later in line with M4 Sport’s schedule. We will not travel to FTC next weekend because the green-and-whites requested a postponement due to their European commitments.
KISPEST–HONVÉD FC–Vasas FC 1–2 (1–0)
Bozsik Aréna, attendance: 4,906. Referee: Antal Péter (Bornemissza Norbert, Becséri Gergely).
HONVÉD: Hadzikic – Kállai (Pauljevic, 75), Baki, Boldor (Medgyes, 89), Hangya (P. García, – half-time) – Somogyi Á., Pekár, Csontos – Szamosi (Kántor, 89), Somogyi T. – Alic (Pinte, 75). Head coach: Maurizio Jacobacci
Vasas: Engedi – Pávkovics, Iyinbor, Csóka, Doktorics – Kovácsréti (Horváth R., 57), Hidi M., Rab (Mezei, 57), Tóth M. – Koszta (Pethő, 81), Urblík (Hei, 90+8). Head coach: Erős Gábor
Goals: Alic (27); for Vasas: Tóth M. (78), Csóka (90+7).
Maurizio Jacobacci:
“It was a tough match against a strong opponent, but we expected that, as Vasas came into it on the back of a 5–0 win. We knew what awaited us and prepared accordingly, but technically we did not produce the sort of game we wanted. One of our main objectives was to take their captain out of the match, and we achieved that: he practically did not feature, only touching the ball at set pieces. We used tight man-marking, and István Pekár deserves credit for that. In the second half, both teams’ performances were quite inconsistent. Neither really managed to impose themselves, and then came that memorable penalty. Osman made a tremendous save, but our opponents scored from the rebound. Vasas were thus able to turn the psychological momentum of the game in their favour. What makes it all the more painful is that this is already the second match in which we have lost points at the very last moment.”
Gábor Erős:
“First of all, huge congratulations to the team for coming from behind to win again. We faced a very awkward style of play. I will be frank: in the past 15 or 20 years I cannot recall seeing another team play with such tight man-marking. Several of our players were followed constantly, and the truth is that it worked for a long time. I believe the lads worked incredibly hard to win this match, and looking at the overall picture, they deserved it. Delivering such a thrilling finish from our point of view makes us enormously happy, because the team once again showed real mental strength. We are proud of this success and wish Honvéd all the best.”
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