Ferencvaros 3 – Honved 1: Derby Stroll in the Sun for Fradi
Ferencvaros enjoyed a comfortable afternoon in the Budapest heat as they swept aside the challenge of cross city rivals Honved in Sunday’s Budapest Derby, the second of three consecutive Derby’s for Tam Courts visitors.
A hat-trick from Adama Traore – one in the first half followed by two second half strikes – earned the points for Ferencvaros, however, in truth, had it not been for Peter Szappanos in the away goal, the score line could have been more flattering.
Ferencvaros set the tone for the afternoon as early as the third minute with Mercier creating space to shoot at the edge of the box only to see his effort blocked.
Vescei and Besic soon gained a stranglehold on the midfield and the Honved defence was pressed deep by the movement and interchanging play of the Ferencvaros front three; Traore – Boli – Marquinhos.
Yet, despite being hemmed in for most of the opening quarter of an hour, it was Honved who came closest to breaking deadlock when Krisztian Tamas saw a cross-shot clip the top of the bar on its way over with Bogdan stranded.
Ferencvaros responded by stepping up a level with both Mercier and Boli going close to giving the home side the lead before Traore broke the Honved resistance with 4 minutes to play in the half. A neat sequence of passing outside the area involving Besic, Traore, and Marquinhos ended with the latter unlocking the defence with a perfectly weighted through pass that Traore was only too happy to convert.
The second half began as the first ended, with Ferencvaros in the ascendency.
It took the home team just 6 minutes to double their advantage as Traore rose unchallenged to head home a cross from Mercier, leaving Szappanos stranded.
Three minutes later and the game was over as a contest as Traore rounded off his afternoon and hat trick in style. The Mali controlling Boli’s cut back with his back to goal before spinning and firing past Szappanos to make it 3-0 for Ferencvaros before the hour mark.
Honved made a trio of changes to try to spark some life into their performance. The largely disappointing Lukic and hard-working Kocsis were replaced by Kerezsi and Jonsson, while influential midfielder Gomis – who had been on the receiving end of some hefty challenges – was replaced by Plakushchenko.
It was Plakushchenko who would have the greater part to play of the subs, offering a calming presence in the middle of the park and showing confidence on the ball. Albeit a little too late for Honved.
With 20 minutes remaining Honved was handed a lifeline back into the game as Balint Vecsei was adjudged to have blocked a shot from Zsoter with his hand. After a lengthy VAR review the spot kick was given and Vecsei shown a harsh second yellow leading to his dismissal. Zsoter then stepped up and dragged his penalty effort wide of Bogdan’s left-hand post to kill off any lingering hopes of a Honved revival.
The away side eventually got their name on the scoresheet in the 95th minute as Prenga headed a Plakushchenko freekick beyond Bogdan to give the travelling support who had sung for the full 90 minutes a small crumb of comfort to take back across the city.
A third consecutive Budapest Derby now awaits Honved this midweek as they host Ujpest on Thursday evening, while Ferencvaros also has another Budapest Derby to prepare for as they visit Vasas on Wednesday.