A true football atmosphere was expected for the closing match of round 14 of the Merkantil Bank Liga, as the top two teams in the table met at the Illovszky Rudolf Stadium in front of more than 4,000 spectators. Due to injury, Gábor Erős still could not name our former player Botond Baráth in his squad, but of the two head coaches Tamás Feczkó unquestionably faced the more difficult task when selecting his team. One available player after another had dropped out during the week, so in addition to Ádám Szamosi, who had previously suffered a shoulder injury, our head coach was also without Ákos Zuigeber, Gellért Dúzs and Ákos Sigér through injury, while Ákos Baki, Bonifác Csonka and Ádám Gyurcsó were unavailable through illness.
Barely had the match started when the cold shower arrived: in the third minute the hosts were awarded a debatable penalty, but Tujvel read the direction superbly and pushed away Milán Tóth’s effort heading for the right corner. Vasas had somewhat more possession in the first half, while our team was set up mainly to counter, although both sides created chances of varying quality. In the 25th minute Sztojka shot and Tujvel saved; from the rebound Tóth was left alone at the far post but could not direct the ball accurately towards goal and hit the post. In the 41st minute Medgyes broke away with the ball after a counter-attack and shot following his duel with Otigba, but his effort – at that stage – went wide of Uram’s goal. In the 44th minute it did not: we launched another dangerous counter-attack, Pinte delivered a waist-high ball into the middle, and Medgyes placed his finish superbly beyond Uram into the right corner (0–1). The home side also began the first half with great energy, but our defence – as it had repeatedly done throughout the opening period – managed to clear the danger.
In the 55th minute Kántor went on a solo run and sent the ball towards goal. Uram parried it, allowing Somogyi to shoot, but his effort was blocked and fell to Hangya. Our captain’s goalbound shot was stopped by Girsik with his back, so our one-goal advantage remained intact. A minute later Sztojka tried his luck, but Tujvel did not need to intervene. In the 60th minute Molnár was left completely unmarked in front of goal and Tujvel produced a huge reflex save to push away the shot. In the 67th minute Pinte received an excellent ball from Ujváry and Medgyes missed his cross by only centimetres. Two minutes later we launched a beautiful counter-attack, Hangya crossed, but Pinte mishit the ball in a scoring position. In the 73rd minute, after another counter, Nyers played a slightly overhit pass to Kállai and Uram made a big save. Two minutes later, from Csontos’s corner, Pekár glanced the ball from close range, unstoppable, into the right corner (0–2). In the 80th minute, following a defensive error, Barkóczi found the bottom-right corner (1–2). Vasas tried to increase the pressure in the closing stages, but when Barkóczi fired towards the top of the goal Tujvel was perfectly positioned and tipped the ball over. The score did not change, and thanks to our superior goal difference the victory took us to the top of the table.
MERKANTIL BANK LIGA 2025/26, ROUND 14
Vasas FC–BUDAPEST HONVÉD FC 1–2 (0–1)
Illovszky Rudolf Stadium, 4,016 spectators. Referee: Ferenc Karakó (István Albert, Balázs Buzás).
Vasas: Uram – Girsik, Hej, Otigba, Doktorics – Sztojka (Pethő, 76.), Hidi M., Urblík – Horváth R. (Németh B., 62.), Molnár Cs. (Barkóczi, 62.), Tóth M. Head coach: Gábor Erős
HONVÉD: Tujvel – Pauljevic, Szabó A., Csontos – Ujváry (Kállai, 71.), Gáspár (Somogyi, – at half-time), Pekár (Szabó T., 87.), Hangya – Pinte (Kesztyűs, 78.), Kántor (Nyers, 71.), Medgyes. Head coach: Tamás Feczkó
G: Barkóczi (80.), while Medgyes (44.), Pekár (75.).
Gábor Erős: We played a high-quality match in a very good atmosphere, and both teams played to win. Unfortunately we did not take the lead, while Honvéd are very good in transitions and on the counter. We missed a big opportunity with this result and were unable to pull away from our rivals.
Tamás Feczkó: The way the team played football today proves that nothing is impossible. Vasas had more chances in the first half, but after the break we could have decided the match earlier. I am proud of my players. At times we played football, at times we fought, and we thank our supporters for once again creating a home atmosphere.
