Fradi Women gain upper hand in chase for Champions League spot

Simple Női Liga European Qualification play-off, 1st match of three:

FTC-Telekom 3–2 MTK Hungária FC 3–2 (1–1)
Sándor Kocsis Sports Centre

FTC-Telekom: Anna Samu - Evelin Mosdóczi, Melisa Hasanbegovic, Inna Zlidnis, Viktória Szabó - Luca Papp (Marija Aleksic, 46), Sára Pusztai (Dorottya Czellér, 82) - Petra Kocsán (Fanni Diószegi, 92), Evelin Fenyvesi, Anna Csiki - Fanni Vágó

MTK: Réka Szőcs - Lilla Nagy (Emőke Pápai, 69.), Lilla Turányi, Réka Demeter, Anita Pinczi - Edina Farádi-Szabó (Blanka Bokor, 84.), Diána Csányi, Ágnes Nagy (Zsófia Mayer, 69) - Zoé Magyarics, Barbara Tóth (Dóra Papp, 84), Loretta Németh

This is the sixth time in a row that the women's championship is ending with a contest over several matches between Ferencváros and MTK. This time, however, the battle between the two clubs won't decide the destination of the championship title, but rather only who qualifies for next season's UEFA Women's Champions League. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Simple Női Liga was brought to a premature end after Round 13, MTK last week defeating DVTK to ensure the qualification play-off series would be an all-Budapest affair with Ferencváros.

The latter won the right to host the first leg due to being top of the league championship at the stage it was curtailed, by virtue of goal difference. Both teams featured a mix of young talent and established internationals and had to contend with strong winds in the early stages of the game, neither goalkeeper being seriously tested during an attritional start. In the 23rd minute, Fradi's Fanni Vágó shook off a defender on the edge of the penalty area and got her shot away, only for it to miss the target. The half-hour mark brought the best chance so far, Evelin Fenyvesi, Viktória Szabó and Vágó combining well for Fenyvesi to unleash a powerful effort which sailed just over the angle of the left post and crossbar.

That should have warned MTK that the momentum was swinging against them but it clearly hadn't, Ferenváros scoring the opening goal a minute later when Petra Kocsán beat an MTK defender and passed the ball across goal from the right for Sára Pusztai to shoot into the empty net. Vágó nearly doubled that lead in the 39th minute, only for her shot to bounce from one goalpost to the other and then out. The Hungarian international forward will have rued that miss in the 44th minute when MTK converted their first real chance of the match into a goal, Zoé Magyarics beating Inna Zlidnis to a long ball, and knocking it into the arriving Lilla Nagy, who diverted the ball past Ferencváros goalkeeper Anna Samu and into the goal to lelvel the matchgoing into half-time.

During the break, Ferencváros opted to replace Luca Papp with Marija Aleksic and the change paid dividends when the home team retook the lead in the 59th minute, Aleksic's free kick finding Vágó, who took advantage of MTK's defensive error and stabbed the ball over the goal line. MTK rang the changes in an attempt to make a second equaliser more likely, 16-year-old Emőke Pápai coming on for Lilla Nagy and 15-year-old Zsófia Mayer replacing Ágnes Nagy, and they were successful in their aim almost immediately, Diána Csányi's corner in the 71st minute being met by Lilla Turányi, who followed up her double strike against DVTK last week with another leveller.

Nine minutes, later, Kocsán passed to Szabó in a central position but the Ferencváros defender shot over the bar. Her teammate Sára Pusztai was replaced by Dorottya Czellér for the last ten minutes while MTK also shuffled their pack, head coach Attila Varga sending on 16-year-old Blanka Bokor in place of Edina Farádi-Szabó and Dóra Papp for Barbara Tóth. It was clear that the match was so tight that the next decisive incident could be the last oneand the most crucial. So it turned out in the 88th minute, when MTK's Csányi made contact with Szabó instead of the ball and a penalty was awarded, Ferencváros captain Evelin Mosdóczi stepping up to score the spotkick and seal a 3–2 for the hosts.

Ferencváros captain Evelin Mosdóczi:
"I always prepare for penalties, because I usually take them during matches and there wouldn't have been any extra-time in this game, so there would have been a penalty shootout in the event of a draw. We hadn't played a match against MTK for half a year so we were really looking forward to it. It was very difficult to train alone; now I've realised that I wouldn't like to do an individual sport".