MOL Hungarian Cup final: Boli brace secures Fradi victory

There was a frenetic start to the first half, Fradi threatening first down the right side thanks to Auzqui's surging run which yielded only a corner, before Pak's Zsolt Haraszti latched on to a long through ball and unleashed the game's first shot at goal, only for the recovering Miha Blazic to deflect the ball behind for a corner which was cleared.

That chance aside, it was the newly-reconfirmed Hungarian champions who had settled into the game most comfortably and in the 16th minute they converted that comfort into a lead. Aissa Laidouni's ball from the right channel into the Paks penalty area found Kristopher Zachariassen who exchanged passes with Marquinhos before rifling the ball through Paks goalkeeper Gergely Nagy's legs and into the net.

Two minutes later, midfielder Marquinhos was nearly able to claim another assist after a trick was followed by a deep cross from the right wing, but Frank Boli's left-footed half-volley at the back post was desperately beaten away by Paks goalkeeper Nagy.

Nagy was again Paks's saviour in 24th minute when he dived to block Zachariassen's close-range header, and when Fradi's Auzqui rattled the Paks crossbar from 23 metres, followed soon after by Laidouni's wastefully wild drive into the sidenetting from an admittedly tight angle, it only seemed a matter of time before Stanislav Cherchesov's dominant team would double their advantage.

To their credit, a young, entirely-Hungarian Paks side tried to stretch Fradi on the wings whenever they could, but when Bálint Szabó surged past two defenders almost to the right byline in the last few moments of the first half, his subsequent low cross could only find the grateful arms of opposing goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz.

The second half began in similarly frantic fashion to the first, the game becoming extraordinarily stretched, given how much time remained. Ferencváros were content to pose a clear and present danger on the counter-attack while Paks pushed as hard as they could in upfront, but even when a chance was created - such as when Máté Sajban crossed low and hard from the left wing across the five-metre line - there was no one in the right place to apply the finishing touch.

An open game swung back and forth without either goalkeeper being unduly tested, that is until talismanic striker Dániel Böde made his entrance for Paks as a 66th-minute substitute. His presence was felt just three minutes later when he eased past a couple of Fradi defenders and slipped through to Kovács, but his shot from ten metres was deflected behind for a corner by a recovering defender right in front of Dibusz.

Just as Paks seemed to be gaining a foothold in the game though, the ground gave way beneath them. Firstly, in the 83rd minute, Fradi substitute Loncar spotted Boli's from a central position to the right channel of the Paks penalty area and slipped the ball through to the Ivory Coast international, who turned back inside and slid the ball past Nagy into the far left corner of the goal.

Three minutes later, Boli put the destination of the Hungarian Cup trophy for the next year beyond doubt, sweeping Henry Wingo's through ball high into the right side of the Paks net from 20 metres to set the final score at 3-0 and secure Ferencváros its 24th Hungarian Cup victory and a league and cup double this season.

2022 Hungarian Cup final:
Ferencvárosi TC 3–0 Paksi FC (HT: 1–0)
Puskás Aréna, Budapest, 38,979 spectators. Ref.: Bognár T.
Ferencváros: Dibusz – Botka (Vécsei, 81), Blazic, S. Mmaee – Esiti, Laidouni – Auzqui (Wingo, 76), Zachariassen, Pászka (Civic, 76) – F. Boli, Marquinhos (Loncar, 59). Head coach: Stanislav Cherchesov
Paks: Nagy G. – Szélpál, Lenzsér, Szabó J. (Osváth, 83) – Windecker, Balogh B. (Sajbán, 46) – Kovács N. (Nagy R., 80), Haraszti ( Böde, 66), Szabó B. (Tamás O., 66), Medgyes – Ádám. Head coach: György Bognár
Goalscorers: Zachariassen (16), F. Boli (83, 86)