After Thursday's cup euphoria, there was little time to rest, as on Monday we hosted Kecskeméti TE, who are also chasing promotion. Tamás Feczkó once again made several changes to the starting eleven, with Kevin Kállai and Tibor Szabó, returning from injury, among those coming into the side, while our head coach could not call on Kevin Kántor because of a minor injury.
Krisztián Tímár also sprang a surprise – forced by the need to manage the minutes played by young players – by naming his most prolific player, Gergő Pálinkás, only on the bench. It was the first time the forward had started among the substitutes. In the 8th minute, Gyurcsó crossed and, after the loose ball fell kindly, Zuigeber fired over. Following an uneventful first half, we recorded our first real chance in the 53rd minute, when Baki rose highest to meet Csontos's corner but headed over. The visitors threatened our goal for the first time in the 55th minute, although even then, after Barnabás Kovács drove a dangerous ball into the box, it was our own player, Alex Szabó, whose touch sent the ball into Tujvel's hands. The refereeing decisions made the match increasingly tense, and in the 71st minute Szamosi was dispossessed in highly debatable fashion, allowing Kecskemét to launch a dangerous counter. Eördögh raced down the right and crossed for Kovács Barnabás to turn the ball into the net (0–1). In the 85th minute Csontos delivered a dangerous cross, and after Patrik Pinte headed the ball back, Szamosi stepped in front of Pálinkás. Although our young midfielder once again could not stay on his feet, Zierkelbach's whistle remained silent. In the 88th minute, Baki found himself facing Bence Varga, who had come uncertainly off his line; our defender managed to turn towards goal, but Varga saved with his feet. In the closing stages we clearly pinned the visitors back in front of their own goal, but they held firm. Tempers flared in the final minutes, though that no longer affected the result. We remain top of the table, two points ahead of Vasas, while the Kecskemét–Mezőkövesd duo are nine points behind us.
MERKANTIL BANK LIGA, 2025/26, ROUND 21
BUDAPEST HONVÉD FC–Kecskeméti TE 0–1 (0–0)
Bozsik Aréna, 2,508 spectators. Referee: Péter Zierkelbach (Gergő Vígh-Tarsonyi, Zoltán Horváth).
HONVÉD: Tujvel – Szabó A., Baki, Csontos – Kállai (Csonka, 89.), Szabó T. (Ujváry, 74.), Szamosi, Hangya – Gyurcsó (Pinte, 62.), Nyers (Varga, 74.), Zuigeber (Medgyes, 62.). Head coach: Feczkó Tamás
KTE: Varga B. – Szabó A., Belényesi, Debreceni – Eördögh, Derekas (Szabó B., 86.), Haris, Pljesvszki (Fürj, 77.) – Kovács B. (Bocskay, 86.), Beke (Szojma, 67.) – Szlovák (Pálinkás, 67.). Head coach: Tímár Krisztián
Goal: Kovács B. (71.).
Tamás Feczkó: Our first-half performance was below criticism, because we did not carry out the tactical elements we had practised. Neither goal was really threatened in the first half. It is true that perhaps the opposition had more of the ball, but in my view it was a very poor half from both teams. Right after the break we had a chance to score. It is frustrating, but we can only blame ourselves for failing to keep at least one point at home. After the visitors scored, they practically built a human wall in front of their goal. I do not know how many of our shots they blocked, or how many questionable situations went against us. The fatigue from the match three days earlier was noticeable, especially mentally. We made poor decisions at set pieces and when building attacks. At the same time, the beauty of football is that another match comes next week, and our aim there is to take all three points.
Krisztián Tímár: I think the spectators saw a genuine top-of-the-table clash. There was more football in the first half; after the goal, the second half became more of a battle. I am very happy with my team and with the performance. We started the match well and our pressing worked extremely well. About three quarters of the first half was played in Honvéd's half, and Honvéd found it very difficult to play out accurately from their own territory. Perhaps the reason we were not leading then was that our final decisions were poor and we lacked a little presence in the final third. Even so, we were stable throughout and I think we won a huge number of duels. The team fought tremendously; perhaps we were a little sharper today than our opponents. I congratulate Honvéd on what they have achieved so far, because they are not leading the NB II by accident. The supporters and the team have both worked very hard to get this far. Given the club's past and present, I believe it belongs in NB I, but in today's match we were the better side by one goal.
