The penultimate round in the Hungarian OB I saw 1st put against 2nd, but there was no surprise to see Ferencvaros defeat the reigning champions, UVSE, for the fourth time this season.
Fradi will therefore definitely finish the regular season atop of the women’s OB I heading into the play-offs, and are rumbling towards their first ever league title.
Of the five games played this weekend, there were five victories for the travelling teams. Quick starts were pivotal to the success of FTC’s 9-7 win at UVSE, Dunaujvaros’ 15-10 defeat of Tatabanya and Eger’s 17-10 victory over the Third District.
Szentes came out on top in the Csongrad derby, taking a 14-11 win over Szeged, and BVSC proved too strong for Gyor.
2022/23 Women’s Hungarian League, Day 17
UVSE 7 – 9 FTC Telekom (1-4, 2-3, 1-0, 3-2)
UVSE: A. Magyari, T. Aubeli, E. Macsai, Z. Koka, G. Szucs 1, P. Tiba 1, V. Baksa 1, K. Farago 4, P. Szegedi, N. Rybanska, R. Irmes, K. Peresztegi-Nagy, K. Hajdu, S. Golopencza
Ferencvaros: B. Neszmely, B. Vosseberg, Z. Mate 1, g. Gurisatti 2, P. Pocze, T. Farkas, D. Leimeter 1, A. Illes, S. Kuna 2, P. Petik, D. Toth-Csabai 2, D. Domsodi 1, E. Millot, L. Greso
Tatabanya 5 – 15 Dunaujvaros (0-2, 1-5, 3-3, 1-5)
Tatabanya: D. Kovacs, H. Zantleitner, N. Zantleitner, P. Zink, B. Orban 1, E. Becsey 2, S. Felkai 1, L. Biro, E. Rajna, J. Kovacs 1, L. Soti, B. Mikola
Dunaujvaros: L. Maczko, D. Kardos, L. Kardos 1, L. Dobi Dorina 3, B. Horvath 2, G. Mahieu 1, N. Szabo, K. Garda 4, A. Mandula 1, L. Somogyvari, R. Pal, N. Sumegi 3, H. Erdelyi, L. Aarts
III Keruleti TVE 10 – 17 ZF Eger (1-5, 4-4, 2-2, 3-6)
Third District: T. Torkos, G. Brezovszki 4, A. Keresztes, V. Kiss, P. Kiss, T. Zold, B. Fodor, K. Hnatyszyn, P. Kudella 3, N. Koltay, R. Hajdu, K. Gasparics, A. Gyongyossy 2, B. Papai
Eger: A. Kiss, P. Jancso 1, I. Borsi 3, R. Parkes 3, D. Molna, Z. Katona, E. Weston, D. Czigany 2, B. Kekesi, F. Bodi 1, C. Szellak 2, D. Szilagyi 5, S. Szilagyi, M. Dulic
Szeged 11 – 14 Szentes (1-3, 2-3, 5-5, 3-3)
Szeged: B. Gyongyosi, K. Szabo, N. Lendvai 4, M. Pap, S. Tatrai 1, L. Raski 2, J. Szabo 2, K. Kenez, Z. Botka, E. Bocskay, B. Padar, A. Torma, A. Heri, V. Vikor
Szentes: J. Futsi Molnar, V. Varga 2, A. Hevesi 1, K. Macsai, V. Dankina 4, B. Biro, R. Bicskei, D. Samsonova 1, V. Bonca 2, R. Korom, R. Kover-Kis, F. Toth, H. Katai-Benedek, N. Heri
GYVSE Gyor 6 – 11 BVSC-Zuglo (3-2, 0-3, 0-3, 3-3)
Gyor: A. Horvath, R. Radli 1, Z. Finta, Z. Galicz, J. Vaszari, D. Torok, V. Nemeth, V. Huszti, D. Huszti, A. Kiss 1, M. Szedlak 2, I. Droth, K. Kurucz 2, L. Torma
BVSC: K. Kakas, F. Fekete 1, K. Meszaros Farkas 2, R. Toth, C. Dobos 2, Z. Armai 1, E. Batizi, T. Kolarova 1, L. Urvari, N. Kele, L. Kenderes, A. Gemes 3, Z. Polak 1, Z. Hajdu
Ferencvaros travelled to Alfred Hajos knowing that, barring a miracle, they would finish the regular season at the summit of the table. After losing the last three encounters with Fradi, there was a feeling of optimism amongst those involved with Ujpest that they could get a good result, especially with the return of Natasa Rybanska – who has spent the best part of seven months sidelined with injury. That optimism, however, soon dissipated…
UVSE needed to get off on the right foot, but it was the visitors who enjoyed the perfect start, netting three goals from their first three attacks (two from former UVSE player Szonja Kuna). The hosts were stunned, and simply couldn’t find a way through an extremely stubborn Fradi defence in the first period. Kamilla Farago netted Ujpest’s first score of the game at the end of the first, but the Green and Blacks from the 8th District were soon five goals to the good (6-1).
While Marton Benczur’s team improved defensively as the game went on, they never built any sort of momentum in the game. Ferencvaros had all the focus, and UVSE looked a team bereft of belief.
Just before the end of the third period, Ujpest had a gilt-edged chance to pull within two goals with a double man-up (7-4). They wasted it, and from that moment on, you could feel the spirit sapped from the crowd and the team. A last-quarter rally from UVSE did indeed cause trouble for Fradi, but it was too little too late for the Lilacs, serving only to make the score look less ugly.
The win is yet more evidence that this Ferencvaros team is the real deal, and will surely beat Gyor on Tuesday to keep a perfect record from the first part of this season. The team will take confidence from this win, and their previous victory over Dunaujvaros that they can lift the title. The worrying aspect for UVSE is that, if they do make the championship final, that they have shown nothing this season that points to them being able to defeat Ferencvaros in one game, let alone three.
But UVSE don’t have time to soul-search, as they face a crucial final game of the regular season against Dunaujvaros on Wednesday; defeat would see them drop to third in the rankings.
Dunaujvaros, who find themselves into the semi-finals of the Champions League at the end of the month, were not at their best this weekend, but Attila Mihok will take the 15-5 victory over the league’s bottom side Tatabanya ahead of their big clash with UVSE this week.
Ujvaros made short work of Tatabanya, led by a first hat-trick from a leading member of the Hungarian national team, Kristina Garda. Ujvaros led 4-0 after four minutes and then 8-1 after twelve. From there, the result was never in doubt. The side from Fejer County has a real chance of ending the regular season in second and swerving extra games in the play-offs.
Fourth beckons for Eger, and they too enjoyed a strong start on their way to a 17-10 victory over the Third District. Five goals from Dorottya Szilagyi inspired Josez Sike’s team to their twelfth win of this campaign.
Eger led immediately, inside the first attack of the game. The Third District soon capitulated, with 1-0 soon becoming 5-0. To the credit of the hosts, they tussled back to 10-7. But an onslaught from Eger, and Szilagyi at the midway point of the second half put the result in the bag, with the Eger-born Szilagyi notching four goals in as many minutes.
Szentes continues to drift towards finishing 5th in the regular season, as they came out on top in the Csongrad derby with their regional rivals, Szeged (14-11). Viktoria Dankina and Reka Kover-Kis both netted a quadruple of goals. While the margin of victory was only three points, the Saints looked comfortably the better team.
Meanwhile, the Yellow and Blues from Zuglo kept Gyor scoreless for 20 minutes in their meeting in which they eventually ran out 11-6 winners. It’s an outside shot, but Mercedes Stieber’s BVSC are still hopeful that they can match their 4th place finish from last season.
BVSC and Szentes confirmed their places in the play-offs a long time ago. While the two teams are only separated by a single point, they are unlikely to swap positions in the final weekend of games, with Szentes sure to beat Tatabanya, and BVSC hoping for a drama-less meeting with their Budapest rivals, III Keruleti TVE.
Next Matchday (21st March)
FTC Telekom vs GYVSE Gyor
Dunaujvaros vs UVSE
Szeged vs ZF Eger
BVSC-Zuglo vs III Keruleti TVE
Tatabanya vs Szentes
Standings
- FTC Telekom – 17 – 51pts
- UVSE – 17 – 42pts
- Dunaujvaros – 17 – 40pts
- ZF Eger – 17 – 36pts
- Szentes – 17 – 25pts
- BVSC-Zuglo – 17 – 24pts
- Third District – 17 – 16pts
- Szeged – 17 – 7pts
- GYVSE Gyor – 17 – 6pts
- Tatabanya – 17 – 5pts
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