Defending champions and leaders of the table, Ferencvaros men's football team hosted Kecskemét at the Groupama Arena in the 20th round of the OTP Bank League. Head coach Stanislav Cherchesov voted for the starting line-up of Dibusz - Wingo, S. Mmaee, Kovacevic, Pászka - Esiti, Vécsei - Zachariassen, Marquinhos, Traoré - R.Mmaee, with our new Algerian midfielder Mehdi Boudjemaa, who was signed this week, already on the bench. We had a reason to fight back against our current opponents, as the newcomer won 2-0 in Kecskemét in the autumn.

First half

We had to wait until the ninth minute for our first chance. Esiti got the ball from the right wing, and our Nigerian midfielder fired a shot at the goal of our on-loan goalkeeper Ádám Varga, but the shot was saved by a corner kick, which was not dangerous. A few minutes later, Samy Mmaee headed home from another corner kick, but he was off target. We controlled the game and the visitors rarely crossed the half-court.

In the 26th minute, Marquinhos' superb through-ball saw the lead just out of reach, but the Brazilian's shot went wide of the right post. In the 37th minute, the ice was broken. After a perfect cross from Samy Mmaee, Adama Traoré put the ball into the net for his 10th goal of the season (1-0). Soon after, Pászka's cross was headed in by Ryan Mmaee, saved by Varga, and then, Wingo's shot came off the post. Kecskemét were visibly affected by the goal and the break was a good one for the visitors.

Second half

The second half started with a cold shower from our point of view. After a flat corner, the ball was crossed by two Kecskemét players, then Krisztofer Horváth shot from about 16 meters to the bottom right corner (1-1). Bálint Vécsei would have answered with a great shot, but Varga made a great save. After that we made our first substitution, Myenty Abena replaced Kovacevic. Shortly afterwards, we welcomed a newcomer, as one of our winter signings, Nikolai Baden Frederiksen, came on for Pászka. In the 77th minute we made another update, with Xavier Mercier coming on for Esiti. In the 82nd minute, the visitors came close to taking the lead, but we came out of the confusion in front of our goal well and managed to clear. Zachariassen had a great chance in the second half, but no further goals were scored and we finished 1-1 against Kecskemét, still 14 points ahead of them in the league.

We will next play DVSC on Sunday 26 February at 16.30. Ticket information: www.meccsjegy.fradi.hu.