Hungarian League, Round 5: Visitors Vasas shock Fradi to take top spot

According to MLSZ, a late winner from Ievgen Pavlov helped Vasas emerge victorious in the Groupama Aréna as they leapfrogged leaders Ferencváros with a surprise 2-1 win on Saturday.

Everything looked to be going as planned as Thomas Doll’s team carved out chance after chance in the first half-hour and it was only their forwards’ inaccuracy that Vasas had to thank for the untouched scoreline. Instead, it was the visiting team who took the lead through defender Tamás Vaskó from a corner but Fradi stayed on the front foot and equalised on the stroke of half-time thanks to Florian Trinks. The title-holders stayed on the attack in the second period and saw a shot cleared off the line in the 70th minute, but they were caught out in the 89th minute when a superb move was finished off by Pavlov. Vasas now move above Ferencváros into top spot in NBI on 12 points with the green-and-whites two points behind, level on 10 with Budapest Honvéd.

Marco Rossi’s team leapt to third with a 3-1 success at home to ten-man Paks, one which saw them fall behind to János Hahn in the 16th minute and only equalise in the 67th minute thanks to Márton Eppel’s penalty. Paks’ Kulcsár was dismissed ten minutes later for a second bookable offence after conceding a second spotkick which was again dispatched coolly by Eppel and the game was decided just one minute later when Vasiljevic scored Honvéd’s third goal. Paks are still winless this season and fall to tenth in the twelve-team standings.

Just above Paks is one of the newly-promoted teams Mezőkövesd whose faltering form saw them fall 2-0 away at Videoton, early goals from Máté Patkai and Danko Lazovic doing the damage. Patkai scored following a corner in the ninth minute and Lazovic doubled the lead four minutes later. The game was more even thereafter but there was little incisiveness in attack from Attila Pintér’s visitors and in the end Videoton comfortably protected their lead until the match’s conclusion. Henning Berg’s charges now find themselves in seventh position in NBI.

The other promoted team from last season is NBII champion Gyirmót but losing their title-winning coach Ferenc Bene during the summer has had an adverse effect on their results; they are still without a victory after losing 3-1 away at Újpest and prop up the table on just two points. Gyirmót had actually taken a third-minute lead through János Máté but Újpest dominated more and more from then on, despite not finding an equaliser until well into the second half when Enis Bardhi put his team on level terms. Two more goals following in quick succession for the lilac-and-whites, subsitute Benjámin Balázs converting before Bardhi added his second of the day to put daylight between the two teams. 3-1 it stayed, a result which moves an improving Újpest up to fourth in the table on nine points.