In Round 12 of the OTP Bank Liga, we hosted Kisvárda Master Good with the ambition that a victory would see us climb several places in the standings—overtaking the team from Szabolcs in the process. The visitors were once again led into battle by our former head coach, Attila Supka, against whose sides we have traditionally struggled, having emerged victorious only once previously against his teams. Furthermore, after more than three years, we once again hosted the Szabolcs outfit behind closed doors—although the roughly five hundred children under the age of 14 who attended the match created an incredibly positive atmosphere, even without the customary terrace chants. Our traditional fanbase was able to follow the action on a big screen set up outside the stadium.
Compared to the last league outing, Maurizio Jacobacci made two changes to his starting line-up, bringing in Deian Boldor and Dominik Csontos in place of Safronov and Hangya. In attack, this meant we lined up in a classic 4–4–2 formation with four defenders and two strikers against Kisvárda, while in defence we met the visitors' forwards with five defenders on most occasions. The first half produced a great tempo and multiple scoring opportunities. The visitors launched a dangerous attack as early as the first minute: following a cross from the right wing, Yordanov headed over the crossbar, but after that, virtually all the clear chances belonged to Kispest.
In the third minute, the consistently dependable Pablo García burst down the left flank and looked for Patrik Pinte in the middle, but former Honvéd player Dominik Soltész arrived at full speed ahead of Pinte and inadvertently chested the ball between Popovics's legs into his own net (1–0). In the 26th minute, following another dangerous cross from Soltész, Bíró managed a header, but Hadzikic handled the attempt with confidence. After half an hour of play, we created several more scoring chances, but errors crept into the final passes, and when they didn't, our finishing lacked precision—Pablo García's shot, for instance, whistled mere inches wide of the right post. After the break, Kisvárda again carved out the first opening and came closer to scoring than in the first half: the ball moved through Youga, Balogun, and Bíró, the latter striking the right post with venom. Three minutes later, Szamosi's free kick missed the target. Then, in the 58th minute, Marí released Pinte on the right wing with a brilliant turn; although Pinte initially seemed to lose possession, the ball bounced back to him, leaving our striker one-on-one with Popovics. He aimed for the bottom left corner, but the Kisvárda shot-stopper pulled off a stunning save. In the 78th minute, Popovics did well to parry Boldor's excellent free kick. Moments later, substitute Kántor made a fine run down the left, his effort missing the target by mere inches. A minute after that, Pekár met Kántor's long throw with a header that had Popovics beaten, but the left post came to Kisvárda's rescue. The score remained unchanged through the closing stages, sealing three hugely valuable points. Next Saturday brings another 'six-pointer' when we visit MTK Budapest, with kickoff set for 16:45.
OTP BANK LIGA, ROUND 12, 2026-27
KISPEST–HONVÉD FC–Kisvárda Master Good 1–0 (1–0)
Bozsik Aréna, 500 spectators. Referee: Marcell Derdák (Viktor Nagy, Levente Balla).
HONVÉD: Hadzikic – Szabó A., Baki, Boldor (Pauljevic, 86.), P. García – Somogyi T., Pekár, Csontos, Szamosi (Zuigeber, 86.) – Marí (Kántor, 78.), Pinte (Safronov, 90+1.). Head Coach: Maurizio Jacobacci
Kisvárda: Popovics – Nagy K., Lippai, Serbecic, Soltész D. – Bíró, Youga (Herc, 67.), Mbock, Babják (Ésik, 67.) – Yordanov (Balogun, 46.), Melnyk (Mesanovic, 82.). Head Coach: Attila Supka
Goalscorer: Soltész D. (3. – own goal).
Maurizio Jacobacci:
Every match is difficult, as this section of the table is comprised of teams with very similar quality. Kisvárda are an extremely solid and physical side. They proved again today that they can play good football, but despite the short preparation time, we prepared thoroughly for our opponents. What happened against Debrecen and in our recent cup match had weighed heavily on the team's morale. At the same time, we played with focus and discipline, conceding very little space to the opposition even in the first half. The fact that we took the lead in the third minute through an own goal was a massive boost. However, in the first half it was by no means clear which way the game would tip. Overall, I must say that we defended solidly and remained completely engaged mentally throughout. We handled set pieces and the opponent's long throw-ins with great concentration. I believe we deserved the victory. Honvéd proved that we know how to play football and that we have the desire to win. Congratulations to my team; they demonstrated just how well they can play.
Attila Supka:
This wasn't how we wanted to start the match, although even before the opponent's goal we had an opportunity that we could have turned in our favor, but unfortunately we missed the target. After that, we tried to rectify the mistake we made in the third minute that led to the goal. Week in, week out we face the same issues: we create two or three chances that we should convert into goals, but we fail to finish them off. It was a similar story in today's match. We managed to put Honvéd under pressure several times, but unfortunately we couldn't even take away a single point.
