Our team faced no easy task in Round 23 of the Merkantil Bank Liga away to Karcag. The hosts went into the round in an impressive seventh place and had an excellent home record, with only BVSC-Zugló and Mezőkövesd having managed to beat them at the Liget úti Stadium. Tamás Feczkó was also unable to take his place on the bench because of a three-match suspension, so our assistant coach István Márton took charge, while Kevin Kállai, Ákos Baki and Patrik Pinte were also unavailable because of suspension. The stands, however, were full and had a festival atmosphere, with both the Kispest and Karcag supporters producing an excellent display. Our travelling support once again remembered fellow supporter Gergő Bordás, who tragically passed away.
The first chance of the match fell to the hosts in the second minute, when Kohut tried his luck, but the ball arrived at Tujvel's feet and our goalkeeper – who recently received the award for Player of the Month for February – gathered comfortably. In the 10th minute Kohut headed over from Szűcs's cross. Six minutes later Kovalovszki delivered into the middle and Zsolt Pap, left alone at the far post, fired wide.
We endured another difficult spell in the 25th minute: after a scramble following a long-range free-kick, Zsolt Pap hooked the ball back into the middle, but Kaye and Kovalovszki got in each other's way as they tried to head it, so the score remained goalless. In the 28th minute Ujváry sent in a dangerous cross and Varga, arriving centrally, was only centimetres away from getting the required touch before the ball rolled beyond the by-line. The hosts' momentum faded somewhat and in the 36th minute, after Csontos's free-kick from the flank, Alex Szabó cushioned the ball back inside for Szamosi, whose acrobatic bicycle kick was saved by Gergely; the ball missed crossing the line in its entirety by only centimetres. After the restart there was little wait for the first major chance: in the opening minute of the second half, after Hangya's throw, Medgyes escaped the Karcag defenders with a series of superb touches before sending a low ball across goal. Once again Zuigeber was only centimetres from getting the inside of his foot to it and giving us something to celebrate, but the ball eventually rolled all the way across the face of goal. In the 55th minute Zuigeber's free-kick was whipped sharply and dangerously into the goalmouth, and Gergely produced a huge save to push it away.
After an hour Karcag threatened again: Kaye's promising long-range effort was heading towards the right corner and Tujvel had to stretch to keep it out. Three minutes later Kaye headed from a throw-in, but Tujvel was well positioned. In the 66th minute Csontos played a perfectly weighted pass to Hangya, who aimed for the far corner, but the ball flew just wide of the left post. In the 72nd minute Csontos again curled the ball precisely onto Medgyes's head, but our forward's glancing header ended up in Gergely's hands.
A minute later, however, not even he could help: Ujváry flicked on a ball which fell to Zuigeber, and our forward beautifully rolled it into the far corner with his weaker foot (0–1). It was already the 23-year-old attacker's tenth league goal of the season and his third against Karcag, having scored twice against them in Round 8 at the Bozsik Arena. In the 87th minute Gyurcsó fired from 16 metres, but Gergely did not need to intervene. The hosts pushed for an equaliser until the final moments, but our players defended superbly and formed an impenetrable wall throughout the match.
With the win we remain top of the table and, regardless of the Soroksár–Vasas result, we are guaranteed to go into the next round in first place. Our lead over Kecskemét has grown to 15 points, while the gap between us and Mezőkövesd remains 12.
MERKANTIL BANK LIGA, 2025/26, ROUND 23
Karcagi SC–BUDAPEST HONVÉD FC 0–1 (0–0)
Liget úti Stadium, 2,000 spectators. Referee: Tamás Ujhelyi (István László, Pál Vrbovszki).
HONVÉD: Tujvel – Szabó A., Csonka, Csontos – Ujváry (Somogyi T., 88.), Pekár (Szabó T., 75.), Szamosi, Hangya – Zuigeber (Varga B., 88.), Varga K. (Gyurcsó, 61.), Medgyes (Kovács E., 75.). Acting head coach: István Márton
Karcag: Gergely – Kovalovszki, Szekszárdi, Mona, László – Sain (Györgye, 82.), Sághy (Fekete, 76.), Szűcs K. – Kaye, Kohut, Pap Zs (Egri, 82.). Head coach: Attila Varga
Goal: Zuigeber (73.).
