In the third match of the Hungarian Finals, FTC failed to secure its title as a champion. With the former score of 2:0, FTC would win the championship, but Szolnok stood their ground firmly, ending the match with 14:6, thus setting the final match score to 2:1. This match gave Szolnok the opportunity to fight for the title.
The Komjádi pool hosted a tense match between the Hungarian giants. To the pleasure of the spectators, the third match prolonged the championship. The next battle will be fought at Szolnok on Wednesday at 18:15.
Kis Gábor said:
“For us, this was a decisive match, so we pushed hard and managed to get up on our feet. It was a difficult start, nothing went as we planned and we had no confidence. We talked before the match and said that if we let FTC win for the third time in a row, we’re not going to be happy. Fortunately, we played hard and won the game.
“I’m happy for the team, but we still have important matches to play and our first goal is to win the game next Wednesday.”
Norbert Madaras, an FTC player, is disappointed, but looks forward to playing with confidence:
“We showed weakness at the beginning of the match. Because of it, after the second quarter, the opponent scored four goals. At that moment, I didn’t think the match was decided, and we did not think it would end this way.
“It was certain that Szolnok would find themselves sooner or later. We have seen them play numerous times and they played well — they won last year’s Champions League, but had a very big downturn the last two matches. As for us, the 2:1 shocked us, and we need to get back on our feet. I believe in us.”
Viktor Nagy, Szolnok goalkeeper with 75% efficiency in defense, said:
“I’d like to congratulate our team! Even though we played the last two matches badly, we came back and played a great match — we were able to stop FTC from getting the title. FTC is a good team, but not good enough to win three times in a row. And that’s what we showed them with this match.
“I’m glad everyone went into to match with a clear head. It was noticeable that we were more relaxed and did not push too much, yet we set a great score. This is why water polo is great, it had many aspects of playing a good game.”
David Jasnik said:
“Due to the last two matches, the team was fiercer and wanted a better game. We knew that we weren’t ready to play a weak match because, if you get beaten 3:0 in the league final, it’s not good. So we just jumped into the pool and played our best.
I don’t think that Wednesday’s match will be such an easy one — I expect a very hard game. After such a play, I think they will talk about their mistakes and see how to play more aggressively against us. They will try to push us, but we won’t break.”
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