As the end of the regular season in the Hungarian League approaches, the number of big games per round has been increasing. In the 24th round, there were three encounters between the top 6 teams.
The surprise of the day happened in the Nyeki Imre Uszoda pool in Budapest. Honved earned an away win over OSC Budapest—15:9. However, the victory won’t help Honved qualify for the semifinals of the playoffs. The team coached by Marton Szivos is seven points behind fourth-placed BVSC and fifth-placed OSC with two rounds remaining.
The other two derbies also took place in Budapest. A duel between Vasas and Szolnok was a big thriller. Vasas grabbed two points after a penalty shootout win—12:11 (7:7 in regular time)—and kept second place, with one point more than Szolnok. But Vasas has played one match less.
Ferencvaros kept a perfect record, beating BVSC 14:8. Still, BVSC can be happy after the 24th round. It remains in fourth place because of the unexpected outcome of the game OSC—Honved.
Vasas was never ahead during the regular time of their game against Szolnok, but the hosts secured two points that could be crucial in the battle for second place. Szolnok built a 3:1 lead in the second quarter and maintained a two-goal advantage until the end of the first half (4:2). Vasas’ captain, Bence Batori, opened the third quarter with two goals from penalty shots, leveling the score at 4:4. Szolnok regained a 2-goal lead going up 7:5 in the 24th minute. However, the hosts quickly closed the gap; Lorinc Gabor netted just six seconds before the last break, bringing the score to 6:7. Bence Batori converted a man-up in the early stage of the final period to tie the score again – 7:7.
Nobody could find the net in the remaining 05:12 minutes, so the match entered a penalty shootout. Goalkeepers didn’t save a single shot in the series of penalty shots. In the 4th round, Szolnok’s Bence Szabo missed the target, which proved to be a decisive moment. Vasas recorded a 12:11 victory. Bence Batori led the hosts’ attack with four goals. Olympic champion Nikola Dedovic contributed three to Vasas’s win. Kaksteder, Cseh, B.Szabo and Krasznai scored two each for Szolnok.
Although Honved had no chance of reaching the semifinals and could not move from sixth place, the club put great effort in the game against OSC, which was more important for the home side. The encounter was a neck-and-neck race until the middle of the first period. Then, Honved made a 4:0 series between the 4th and 11th minute to jump from 2:2 to 6:2. The visitors had an 8:4 advantage at halftime. They secured a win with a dominant 4:1 third quarter. Bendeguz Kevi helped Honved with four goals in a 15:9 victory. Rolf Bencz and Bendeguz Ekler added three each. Lars ten Broek scored three for Honved.
The match between BVSC and Ferencvaros lacked excitement. However, that was expected, given that most of Ferencvaros’ games this season have quickly turned into one-sided contests. Ferencvaros took a 4:0 lead in the first quarter. BVSC narrowed the gap twice during the second period (1:4 and 2:5). “Fradi” built a 6-goal advantage before the middle break (9:3) and maintained the difference in the remaining 16 minutes. Ferencvaros’ leader was Dusan Mandic, who scored four goals this time.
An interesting game was played in Debrecen. Szeged beat DVSE 9:8, by scoring a winner with three seconds left on the clock.
2024/25 Hungarian League, Round 24
Vasas – Szolnok 12:11 (1:2, 1:2, 4:3, 1:0, PSO 5:4)
BVSC – Ferencvaros 8:14 (0:4, 3:5, 3:4, 2:1)
UVSE – Eger 8:15 (1:2, 1:2, 3:5, 3:6)
PVSK Pecs – Kaposvar 11:14 (2:4, 4:4, 1:2, 4:4)
Szentes – Miskolc 13:11 (3:1, 5:2, 2:5, 3:3)
Debrecen – Szeged 8:9 (1:1, 2:3, 3:3, 2:2)
OSC Budapest – Honved 9:15 (2:5, 2:3, 1:4, 4:3)
1.Ferencvaros 24 – 72
2.Vasas 23 – 58
3. Szolnok 24 – 57
4. BVSC 24 – 53
5. OSC Budapest 24 – 53
6. Honved 24 – 46
7. Szeged 24 – 34
8. Kaposvar 23 – 29
9. Szentes 24 – 26
10. Eger 24 – 19
11. Miskolc 24 – 17
12. UVSE 24 – 16
13. DVSE 24 – 13
14. PVSK Pecs 24 – 18
*Head to head encounters: BVSC – OSC 8:3 and 10:13
