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The international break meant the youth weekend programme was not complete either, as our U19 side did not play, while the U17s had a friendly. Márton Bogdánfi's charges lead their league after 13 rounds, two points ahead of Vasas and five ahead of PAFC. Saturday's opponents were UTE, who had been ‘squeezed out’ of the national elite championship.
Budapest Honvéd U17–UTE U17 5-1
G: Kis, Acsai, Kobela, Oros-Kovács, Varga K.
Márton Bogdánfi, head coach:
“We definitely wanted to play during the international break, to practise and also give opportunities to players who have had fewer minutes so far this season. In the first 50 minutes our opponents played with great enthusiasm and organisation, and we were unable to produce the game I had expected. We lost a lot of duels and made many unforced technical errors; our play was inaccurate. In the final 30 minutes we managed to put our opponents under the kind of pressure I would have expected throughout the entire match. A major positive is that several of our players were able to return from injury and we could finally see them on the pitch; today's match was most useful for them.
Our U16s, second in the league, returned to winning ways after four winless league matches and, because PAFC lost away to leaders Vasas, moved up one place in the table. Viktor Petrók's team comfortably beat Zalaegerszeg by three goals and currently have the best goal difference (+18) in the competition.
Budapest Honvéd U16–ZTE FC U16 3-0
G: För (12.), Somogyi (21.), Érsek (77.).
Viktor Petrók, head coach:
"We played tensely and made a lot of mistakes in the first quarter of an hour. After that we improved continuously in every aspect of the game, although there were still many unforced errors. Our pressing worked well and we worked hard to win the ball. In our build-up we need to play more patiently in the future. The boys deserved the success; overall we played according to sound principles, and I hope we can continue on this path."
Our U15s travelled to Diósgyőr in Round 14 of the championship, but the match ended goalless.
DVTK U15–Budapest Honvéd U15 0-0
István Körtvélyesi, head coach:
“Throughout the first half we tried to play our football and put together some very good attacks, while our defending was also organised and our opponents could not really find an answer to it. Our biggest problem in the first half was that we were slow, or unable, to break through the defensive line. We had players making runs into space, but our execution of the moves was not perfect. In the second half our play became a little more direct than usual, but that was understandable because we had a qualitative advantage over the opposition defenders. We had several big chances; you could say we let a match we should have won slip away. The team's presence and unity were beyond question, but unfortunately the result does not reflect the game.”
Our U14 age group picked up an important three points and are keeping pace with Illés Akadémia ahead of them.
Budapest Honvéd U14–Várda Labdarúgó Akadémia U14 4-2
G: Pisont (9.), Schill (30.), Varga (36.), Gerebenes (48.).
Tamás Szamosi, head coach:
“We played a good match today and deservedly kept the three points at home! The elements we had practised during the week also showed on the pitch, and that is how we scored two of our goals from set pieces.”
Our U10 team took part in an international tournament in Slovakia, where after the group matches they missed out on the top four only on goal difference. In the battle for fifth place, the penalty shootout went our way. Teams taking part in the tournament included Slovan Bratislava, Crvena Zvezda, Sturm Graz, ETO FC Győr and Spartak Trnava.
Attila Sánta, head coach:
“Because of the poorer-quality pitch and the absence of the offside rule, we had to adapt to unusual conditions, so not all of our principles could work effectively. At the same time, it was positive that despite all this we kept trying to apply them throughout. Overall, we are proud of the boys because they fought honourably for Honvéd's success, while the tournament also served their individual development very well, as we gained highly useful experience in an environment where the importance of fighting spirit and mental strength was particularly evident.”
Our U8s were in Austria for the Ibra’s Challenge international tournament.
Our team produced a confident performance in the group stage, winning all five matches with a 23-0 goal difference and thus advancing to the championship bracket. In the quarter-final they faced a physically extremely strong and technically gifted Vojvodina side; after a 1-1 draw in regular time, our team went through on penalties. Lokomotiva Zagreb were the opponents in the semi-final and proved stronger, but our boys then beat Ferencváros to finish the tournament with the bronze medal.
Results:
Budapest Honvéd FC – Fussballschule Raffl 7-0
Goalscorers: Maróth (2), Dobos, Kiss A., Frank (2), Petróczi.
Budapest Honvéd FC – SV Donau Blau 6-0
Goalscorers: Kovács K., Maróth (2), Frank, Dobos, Petróczi.
Budapest Honvéd FC – FK Austria Wien 2-0.
Goalscorers: Maróth, Dobos.
Budapest Honvéd FC – Viitorul Arad 4-0
Goalscorers: Maróth (3), Kereszturi.
Budapest Honvéd FC – Flyeralarm Admira Wacker 4-0
Goalscorers: Szatmári, Kovács K., Frank, Petróczi.
Budapest Honvéd FC – FK Vojvodina 1-1 (after penalties: 2-0)
Goalscorers: Maróth (penalties: Kiss A., Maróth).
Budapest Honvéd FC – Lokomotiva Zagreb 0-3
Budapest Honvéd FC – Ferencvárosi TC 2-1
Goalscorers: Kiss A., Maróth.
Árpád Kovács, head coach:
“The quarter-final took a huge amount out of us physically and mentally and we could not get ourselves going for this match. Our passing was slow and we made a lot of technical errors. We had chances here too, but our opponents had very talented individuals and were mentally stronger. They deservedly won the tournament. In the bronze-medal match against Fradi, we managed to secure bronze in a tiring but very hard-fought game. Today's tournament was very demanding and valuable for development, and everyone was able to contribute.”
Featured image: our U14 team celebrates a goal.
