With our victory against Ludogorets, our defending champion men's football team won a spring tie in a European Cup for the first time in 51 years, while also advancing to the top 16 teams in the UEFA Europa League for the first time. In the first match of the round of 16, we hosted SC Braga, currently ranked 4th in the Portuguese league. This was a team we had never faced before, whose players are worth more than €100 million, exceeding the value of Ferencváros's squad. Our head coach, Robbie Keane, acknowledged that they were a more experienced team than us, but he also emphasized that we had been in this situation before and had come through it.

Keane put together a bold, attacking starting eleven for the match, which took to the field in the following lineup, wearing special jerseys designed for the occasion, with which our club pays tribute to the 1848 revolution and war of independence: 

Gróf – Cissé, Reamaekers, Gómez – Makreckis, Abu Fani, Zachariassen, Kanikovszki, O'Dowda – Joseph, Yusuf

First half

After our audience paid tribute to March 15 by singing the national anthem, Scottish referee Nick Walsh blew his whistle to start the match. At the beginning of the third minute, Abu Fani immediately found himself in position after a turnover by the visitors, but his shot from the penalty area lacked power. Another chance came within a minute: we attacked, won a corner, and Joseph headed the ball just over the bar. Our lineup was bold, and we started the game just as boldly. Braga responded with a quick counterattack, which Gróf and the defense were able to clear at the last moment. In the 19th minute, however, goalkeeper Hornicek could only watch as Gómez headed just inches wide after a cross. Minutes later, he again cleared the ball from inside the box after a pass from Abu Fani to Yusuf. At our goal, Gróf did his part in the goalkeeping duel with a save from close range.

In the 32nd minute, however, Hornicek was beaten: after a superb pass, Kanikovszki jumped up at the edge of the box and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner (1-0). In the final minutes of the first half, he hit the goal again from 18 meters, but this time the goalkeeper was able to make the save.

Second half

The game didn't change much after the break. We dominated the game, and even though there weren't any serious chances, our confidence gave us reason to be optimistic. At the end of the first quarter of an hour, Braga tried to take control for the first time. After some fruitless pressure from the visitors, it was us who threatened, with Joseph's shot being saved by the Portuguese goalkeeper. In the 69th minute, however, there was no answer, as we quickly developed an attack after winning the ball, and Joseph arrived with Swiss precision to Makreckis' cross from the right and found the net on the run (2-0). The goal understandably gave our team a boost, and we took the initiative again. The Portuguese coach, Carlos Vicens, clearly couldn't find a solution to this, so he tried to freshen up his team with substitutions as the game entered its final stages. Although this did not really work, in the 89th minute Gróf brilliantly saved a shot from close range with a corner kick. In extra time, the visitors had a series of corner kicks, but our defense, which had been excellent throughout, neutralized them one after another.

Our team ultimately secured an impressive victory against SC Braga, who were considered the favorites, with an impressive display of confidence! We will continue our two-goal lead in the second leg next Wednesday, March 18, in Portugal.