There were mixed feelings ahead of Saturday afternoon’s league clash against DVSC. We had won the previous home meeting against Debrecen convincingly, but before that the two sides had produced several fierce battles. This time, another close contest looked far more likely, especially with our opponents battle-tested by a Champions League campaign and beaten domestically only by Ferencváros and Győr this season.

A strong crowd gathered at the Elek Gyula Arena for the final big match of the season, and the atmosphere reflected the occasion.

The start, however, was far from ideal. Although Emily Vogel scored the opening goal, the visitors looked sharper and found the net seven times in less than eight minutes, forcing Jesper Jensen into an early timeout (4–7). There was no reason to panic purely because of the deficit – DVSC had led 7–2 in the reverse fixture as well, only for us to turn that into a three-goal advantage by half-time.

This time, though, it was clear we would need more time to catch up. In the 16th minute, Debrecen even had the chance to go six ahead (7–12). A little more than ten minutes later, we could have cut the gap to one, but failed to take the opportunity, and a series of poor decisions late in the half sent us into the break trailing by four (14–18).

It quickly became obvious after the restart that the team had found another level. We immediately began closing the gap, and Vogel’s goal in the 36th minute brought us level again at 20–20. The score then remained tied for several minutes, before what proved to be a key moment arrived in the 43rd minute, when Petra Simon fired us back in front for the first time since 4–3.

As expected, the game remained heated throughout, with several refereeing decisions drawing increasingly loud reactions from the stands. Neither side could pull clear, turning the contest into a true one-goal thriller. One decisive moment came late in the 58th minute, when Blanka Böde-Bíró denied Toublanc from the penalty line. In the closing stages Simon struck again, before Katrin Klujber lobbed into the empty net. DVSC managed only one reply, as we sealed a dramatic 30–29 victory in the derby.

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