MOL Hungarian Cup: Paks retain title on penalties

2025. május. 14., 22:44 |

György Bognár's side took a late first-half lead and shrugged off the concession of Ferencváros's equaliser in the last minute of normal time to battle through extra time and win the ensuing penalty shootout, thus retaining the trophy they won for the first time in their history last year against the same opponents.

In a game high on industry but low on match-winning quality, Paks took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Kristóf Papp crossed for Barna Tóth to dispatch the ball from close range into the Ferencváros net.

An attritional second half seemed destined to remain goalless, but just as Paks fans would have been thinking the trophy would surely be theirs, Robbie Keane's Hungarian OTP Bank Liga leaders found a last-ditch equaliser, Lenny Joseph scrambling the ball into the Paks goal at the second attempt from just a few metres out in the 94th minute.

That meant there'd be 30 minutes of extra time, but the closest either finalist came to a winning goal was when Ferencváros' Traore saw a goal in the 98th minute ruled out for offside in the build-up.

So it was that penalties would decide this Cup final, a match played between the same two teams as in 2024 and which broke last year's all-time record for the most spectators at a Hungarian Cup final, 54,762 in the Puskás Aréna this time compared to 51,900 last year.

Substitute Aleksandar Pesic was first up for Ferencváros, but his shot down the middle was easily saved by Paks goalkeeper Péter Szappanos and his save soon after of Lenny Joseph's spotkick put Paks firmly in pole position. Dénes Dibusz's save from Balázs Balogh's penalty jangled a few Paks nerves, but Bálint Vécsei, formerly of Ferencváros, held his to send the ball into the top-left corner of the goal and ensure Paks retain the trophy they won last year.

MOL Hungarian Cup final:
Ferencvárosi TC 1–1 Paksi FC (HT: 0–1, FT: 1–1, FT in ET 1–1) – Paks win 4-3 on penalties

Puskás Aréna: 54,762 spectators. Ref: Csaba Pintér
Goalscorers: FTC: Joseph (90+3.), Paks: Tóth (45+1.)

Ferencváros: Dibusz – Gartenmann (Cirkovic, 83), Cissé, Szalai – Makreckis, Tóth A., Maiga (Raul Gustavo, 98), Abu Fani (Joseph, 64), Civic (Traoré, 65) – Saldanha (Zachariassen, 77), Varga B. (Pesic, 64)

Paks: Szappanos – Hinora (Ádám, 91), Ötvös (Kinyik, 79), Vas, Szabó J. (Gyurkits, 106), Osváth – Mezei (Balogh B., 90), Windecker, Papp K. – Haraszti (Vécsei, 75) – Tóth (Böde, 75).