Beaten in a hard-fought match

The visitors started better, but Krizsan came off her line well early in the match and confidently dealt with an effort following a corner. In the 16th minute a long-range shot showed the visitors' intent, and three minutes later Vachter had an opportunity but could not convert it. Sára Szarvas gave the visitors the lead in the 20th minute (0–1). Four minutes later Krizsan kept our hopes alive with a big save, then made two more superb stops within a minute. In the 32nd minute, however, even she could not help: Ashley Merill increased PAFC's lead after a corner (0–2). Late in the half Krisztin tried her luck from distance, then pulled one back from a free kick in the 46th minute, so the teams went into the interval with the visitors one goal ahead. 

Both sides had opportunities to score after the restart. Krizsan made another save in the 58th minute, then Vachter tried her luck in the 66th. Our goalkeeper produced another big stop in the 73rd minute, but in the 77th Zsóka Tóth restored the two-goal gap (1–3). Late on Krizsan had to make two more excellent saves in quick succession, while Vachter fired narrowly wide in the 84th minute. We fought until the end, but PAFC ultimately took all three points from Kispest. 

Head coach Balázs Dörnyei: “Perhaps I am only disappointed because we gifted the opposition two goals in the first half. Apart from that they had maybe one genuinely dangerous chance. PAFC are much further ahead in building their team; they are a settled, good side and last season they were still in contention for the championship final in the penultimate round. We did not perform today at a level that gave us a realistic chance of taking points, but that can happen: this is a team with potential to improve and we still have a lot of work ahead of us. There are areas where we are already in a good place and others where we are not. I think today we had major shortcomings in our play on the ball and in the duels – which are usually one of our strengths – we lost too many battles for second balls in midfield, and Puskás Akadémia were able to break from those situations. Of course it is easier for them then because they can attack an unsettled defence, but these are things we need to work on. Every match is a new experience for us.”

Anna Sain: “First of all, I am very happy that I could return from my injury and that Balázs gave me the opportunity. It was a very combative game with a lot of duels, and perhaps we should have gone into them a little more strongly. We lost a lot of balls and the opposition could attack us from those situations. I feel that in some phases we managed to implement what we had practised during the week, but we could not maintain it consistently, so I am left with a slight sense of dissatisfaction. At the same time, I believe that if we continue to develop like this, we can still achieve some very good results this season.”

Budapest Honvéd FC – PAFC 1-3 (1-2)

G: Krisztin (46.), while Merrill (21.), Androniki (33.),  Tóth (76.)

Honvéd: Krizsan – Koszo, Csáki, Cakovic (Johnson, 46. ), Krisztin, Földvári (Szilvási, 81.), Horváthová (Szalay, 46.), Sain, Vachter, Bokor (Végh, 81.), Simon.

Head coach: Dörnyei Balázs

In round four of the Simple Women's League, we host MTK at the Academy next Saturday at 16:30.