UVSE and Ferencváros will meet for the first time in the Women’s Hungarian Cup Final tomorrow.
Ferencvaros have the chance to lift their first piece of serious silverware since the club’s emergence, courtesy of a 12-10 victory over reigning cup winners, Eger. Fradi were the better side in the match, and made full use of all the opportunities that came their way.
UVSE cruised through their semi-final, with a dominant 14-5 victory over Budapest rivals, Keruleti TVE. Denes Lukacs crumbled helplessly after the opening eight minutes, where they couldn’t find the back of the net for over twenty minutes of open play.
The final will take place at Komjadi Swimming Pool at 19:00 CET tomorrow.
Hungarian Cup, Semi-Final Results
Eger’s valiant journey to retaining their Hungarian Cup from last season is over after suffering a narrow 12-10 defeat to Ferencvaros.
Thanks to hat tricks from Greta Gurisatti, Anna Illes, and Dora Leimeter, Fradi gained a decisive offensive advantage, while a strong zone defence denied Eger a route to their star centre-forward, Hungarian player of the year, Rebecca Parkes.
Eger had their moments during the match. Perhaps they were a little too wasteful at times. They put themselves in a precarious position due to their lack of defensive discipline, which led to an accumulation of exclusions.
FTC Telekom 12 – 10 ZF Eger (4-4, 4-2, 2-3, 2-1)
FTC: B. Neszmely, B. Vosseberg, Z. Mate 1, G. Gurisatti 3, P. Pocze, T. Farkas 1, D. Leimeter 3, A. Illes 3, S. Kuna, P. Petik, D. Toth-Csabai, D. Domsodi 1, E. Millot, L. Greso
Eger: A. Kiss, P. Jancso 1, I. Borsi 3, R. Parkes, D. Molnar, Z. Katona 2, R. Parkanyi, D. Czigany, B. Kekesi 2, F. Bodi, C. Szellak, D. Szilagyi 2, S. Szilagyi, M. Dulic
After eight minutes of open play, there was no separating the two teams, although Eger may have felt they were the better of the two. Rebecca Parkes, playing centre, was a tough nut for FTC to crack. She helped her team earn three man-up situations, during which they scored twice.
Dorottya Szilagyi (Eger) and Anna Illes each scored two goals in the first quarter, both on the strength of extra-player situations and 5-meter penalties. Ilona Borsi and Borbala Kekesi scored off the crossbar for Eger, while Gurisatti and Domsodi convert well when unmarked.
Despite a brief second period lead for Eger, Fradi went into the intermission up by two goals thanks in large part to two goals scored by Greta Gurisatti as the quarter wound down. Eger’s ill-discipline was holding them back, and Fradi was taking full advantage.
To their credit, Eger battled back into the game; Ilona Borsi, who was dangerous all evening operating on the right, scored her second of the match, and Zsofia Katona finished off a well-orchestrated man-up set play with a goal from the first post. Eger evened the score at 9-9 on a cross-cage strike from Borbala Kekesi.
However, by the end of the third, Ferencvaros had adjusted to Eger’s use of Rebecca Parkes and were playing a solid zone defence, limiting Eger’s attacking play and allowing them to counter well, setting up Anna Illes with a golden opportunity to restore FTC’s lead, which she did with a minute left in the period.
Josef Sike’s team put a lot of effort in the third, and Fradi took advantage of that in the opening minutes of the fourth. Leimeter and Mate scored without response, extending their lead to three goals for the first time (12-9).
Eger kept ebbing away at Fradi, and eventually got their reward via their best attacking outlet in this game, Ilona Borsi. In a central position, Eger’s number three rifled the ball into the top of Boglarka Neszmely’s goal.
However, with some smart game management from Fradi in the last sixty-seconds of the game was enough to hold out for a place in the final.
After a comfortable 14-5 victory over III Keruleti, UVSE advance to their first Hungarian Cup final in two years.
While Keruleti performed admirably in the first quarter, they crumbled in the middle of the game, presenting Ujpest with a relatively simple task.
Marton Benczur will be pleased with his team’s offensive performance, as the goals were distributed evenly across the squad. There were braces for Eszter Macsai, Vanda Baksa, Kamilla Farago, as well as youngsters Eszter Varro and Zoe Lendvay.
UVSE and Ferencvaros will meet in the final.
Keruleti were not expected to win the match, but they had hoped for a better performance in the semi-final of the cup against a team that has struggled recently, is lacking in confidence, and has lost its last two matches.
III Keruleti TVE 5 – 14 UVSE (4-4, 0-3, 0-5, 1-2
Keruleti: T. Torkos, G. Brezovszki 1, A. Keretes, L. Petrovary, P. Kiss, T. Zold, H. Illes, K. Hnatyszyn 1, P. Kudella 2, N. Koltay, R. Hajdu, K. Gasparics, A. Gyongyossy 1, B. Papai
UVSE: A. Magyari, T. Aubeli 1, E. Macsai 2, Z. Koka, G. Szucs, E. Varro 2, V. Baksa 2, K. Farago 2, P. Szegedi 1, Z. Lendvay 2, R. Irmes, K. Peresztegi-Nagy 1, K. Hajdu 1, S. Golopencza
After eight minutes of play in the second semifinal, the score was again tied at 4-4.
When playing 6 on 6, Keruleti did a decent job of preventing UVSE from scoring, but when UVSE had the man advantage, they were deadly. All four initial UVSE scores resulted from extra-player situations (Aubeli, Peresztegi-Nagy, Macsai, and Hajdu).
Third District’s Panna Kudella and Kinga Hnatyszyn both scored in the first period, but each accumulated two personal fouls that forced them to walk a tightrope for the remainder of the game.
In the second quarter, UVSE were not significantly superior to Keruleti, but they generated far more opportunities in front of the net. Kamilla Farago converted an early penalty to give her team a 4-3 lead, and Vanda Baksa, who has hit a purple patch of form in recent weeks, scored twice, sandwiching a dry spell in the game.
In the third, the floodgates opened, ending the game as a competitive contest. UVSE continued to score on their man-advantages; Zoe Lendvay gained confidence in the quarter, scoring twice; Kamilla Farago added her second; Eszter Varro her first; and Eszter Macsai scored on the rebound after missing the 5m penalty.
Marton Benczur’s team continued to score goals via Eszter Varro and Panni Szegedi. Gerda Brezoszki joined Gabriella Szucs in missing a 5m penalty. Panna Kudella eventually netted Keruleti’s first goal in 23 minutes, firing past UVSE’s substitute keeper, Szonja Golopencza.
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