Following our midweek Europa League exit against Braga, our defending champion men’s soccer team took the field as visitors to Kisvárda on Sunday, March 22, in the final match of the 27th round of the Fizz League. The team’s morale was surely boosted by a visit to Népliget from our former player, Alex Tóth, who now plays for Bournemouth in the English Premier League; we’ll cover this in more detail next Tuesday on Fradi TV on M4 Sport. For the league match against Kisvárda, Robbie Keane sent out the following starting lineup: Dibusz – Osváth, Gómez, Raemaekers, Szalai, Nagy B. – Kanikovszki, Madarász, Zachariassen – Yusuf, Kovacevic.

First Half

We created a chance right in the first minute: Yusuf, on the left flank, tried to cross the ball into the box from a tight angle near the five-meter line, but the defenders cleared it for a corner. In the 15th minute, the ball found its way to Franko Kovacevic, who, after a touch, fired a stunning left-footed shot into the top left corner of the home goal from roughly 20 meters out (0-1). Várda could have responded, but Melnyik’s shot was blocked by Raemaekers.

Seven minutes later, following a cross from Kanikovszki, Barnabás Nagy fired the ball over the crossbar after it was cleared. Kovacevic’s shooting instinct didn’t fade in the second half either; this time he tried a right-footed shot from just outside the box, but missed the target. Toward the end of the first half, Kisvárda created a dangerous situation from a corner; the ball bounced back and forth, but our team eventually managed to clear it from our five-meter box. In stoppage time, Fradi nearly scored their second goal, but Chlumecky cleared Zachariassen’s header toward the center away from Gómez for a corner.

Second Half

The match resumed with a chance for Barnabás Nagy, but our winger’s shot was blocked. In the 57th minute, Dibusz had to make his first save; Radmanovac fired a superb shot at our goal, but Dénes was able to make the save, just as he did later on Matanovic’s attempt. We made two substitutions, with Máriusz Corbu and Júlio Romao coming on for Madarász and Zachariassen. Following this, the home team came out significantly bolder in the second half and equalized with a spectacular goal similar to Kovacevic’s, scored by Melnyik (1-1). On our next play, Júlio Romao crossed into the middle, and Kovacevic tried to put the ball on goal with his heel, but was unsuccessful. More substitutions followed, with Zsombor Gruber and Elton Acolatse replacing Yusuf and Barnabás Nagy.

In the 76th minute, Kanikovszki set up the ball for Gómez in front of the box, but our Argentine defender couldn’t find the net. On the other side, Szalai headed the ball back briefly, and Bíró pounced on it, but Dibusz was able to save his shot. In the closing minutes, Mohammed Abu Fani also entered the game, replacing Kanikovszki. In the 82nd minute, Acolatse shot from the left, forcing Popvics to make a save.

In the final minutes, the home team could barely get past the halfway line, but despite attacking with as many as eight or nine men, we were unable to score the winning goal.

The action continues after the international break, when we take the field at Debrecen’s home stadium in Round 28 on April 5 at 5:00 p.m.