In the 31st round of the OTP Bank Liga, our record champions, league leaders and cup winners played a crucial match in the race for the title. One of the special features of the match was that we were playing as guests of Paks, the team we will face in the MOL Hungarian Cup final on Wednesday 14 May at the Puskás Arena. In April, Robbie Keane, who was voted Coach of the Month, sent out a starting line-up of Dibusz - Cissé, Gartenmann, Szalai - Makreckis, Tóth, Maiga, Zachariassen, Traoré - Saldanha, Varga B.

First half

As expected, the two teams played a high tempo and attacking game from the first minute. Paks threatened first, but Ötvös' shot missed Dibusz' goal and two minutes later he was shown a yellow card for a foul on Saldanha.

Our first attempt came in the eighth minute, Saldanha's right-footed effort was over the target. Four minutes later, Makreckis, who was celebrating his 25th birthday, headed in a cross from Varga, which was saved by Kovácsik. In the 12th minute, Saldanha beat the Paks goalkeeper with a sensational flick, but his shot into the empty net was disallowed for a foul. Soon afterwards, Paks also threatened, as Könyves' header missed Dibusz' goal.

In the 27th minute, Gyurkits' rebounded shot could not be saved by Dibusz and Paks took the lead (1-0). There was a great fight for every ball in every area of the pitch. The home team tried to break the Paks back line, while the home team tried to create danger with a counter attack after a ball break. In the 38th minute, Varga headed Traoré's cross towards the goal, but there was not enough power in it, so Kovácsik saved easily.

In the closing stages of the first half, first Maiga's effort from outside the penalty area was blocked, then Zachariassen's centre was blocked. In extra time, Saldanha's header from a corner missed the target.

Second half

At the break, although our players were actively warming up, Robbie Keane did not substitute, while György Bognár did, and Martin Ádám was replaced by Barna Tóth.

Barely a minute into the second half, Paks had a free kick from just outside the penalty area, but Dibusz saved the shot with great bravura. In the 56th minute, two substitutions were made, Abu Fani and Joseph came on, Tóth Alex and Zachariassen left the pitch. A minute later, after a corner from our Israeli midfielder, Gábor Szalai headed into the goal (1-1).

In the 65th minute, Paks were reduced, Vécsei received a red card for a foul on Saldanha. Six minutes later, after a lengthy VAR review, Abu Fani took the free kick, no one touched the ball, and substitute Lenny Joseph shot into the goal from close range from the long side (1-2).

In the 82nd minute, Joseph shot right after a fine individual effort but missed the target. In the 86th minute, Gyurkits' shot was well saved by Dibusz. In the 89th minute, Kristóf Hinora equalised (2-2). In extra time, another spot kick gave Fradi their third goal: Varga's header was defended by Kovácsik, but Lenny Joseph was in the right place to put the ball under the crossbar (2-3).

Our men's football team won 3-2 away to Paks in a last-minute thriller, and with two rounds to go they lead the table with three points ahead of second-placed Puskás Akadémia.

Our team will next play against Paks in the MOL Hungarian Cup final on Wednesday, 14 May at the Puskás Arena.