MOL Women's National Championship I: Fradi Victory in Újváros, Thriller in Szentes
MOL Women's National Championship I: Fradi Victory in Újváros, Thriller in Szentes
The FTC-Telekom won the first top match of the women's championship after managing to defeat Dunaújváros in the last quarter, following a 7-7 tie. A sensational battle took place on Szentes' pool, with the Budapest team looking to secure the win, but the home team managed to take the lead again with two quick goals. However, III. Kerület managed to equalize just three seconds before the final whistle, sending the match to a penalty shootout, which they eventually won. In the other matches, the favorites collected three points without any trouble.
The first true top match of the season was won by FTC-Telekom, who have been performing consistently and excelling in the Champions League. Despite missing their leader, Krisztina Garda, Dunaújváros showcased the previous world-best goalkeeper, Russian Anna Karnaukh, who has been absent for objective reasons in recent years. Although the green-whites quickly scored three goals in the opening period, the Olympic and World Championship bronze medalist goalkeeper began to find her rhythm, making the match more balanced. The Fradi led at halftime (3-5) but the home team's performance intensified in the third quarter, catching up with the visitors (7-7).
The new FTC signing, Valeria Palmieri's action goal was crucial at the beginning of the fourth quarter, especially as it was followed by a defended deficit, and then Greta Gurisatti converted a penalty earned by Palmieri into a goal to extend the lead to two. The next penalty was taken by the other foreign ace, Eleftheria Plevritou – but Karnaukh saved the penalty, putting the Budapest team at risk of losing their lead 8-9 instead of 7-10. Dominika Kardos scored a goal for Dunaújváros 2:28 before the end. The home team had another chance in a man-up situation, but could not equalize. Boglárka Neszmély excelled once again, reaching a high efficiency of 12/20, closing at 60%! On the other hand, Gurisatti finally decided the match under pressure from the attacking time.
The excitement returned to the pool in Szentes as the home team put up a tough fight against III. Kerület, who advanced from last week's Euro Cup qualification round—even though they might not be used to such pressure.
After a seven-goal opening quarter, the attacks quieted down somewhat, and the visiting team managed to equalize in the middle of the second quarter. However, Szentes soon regained the lead and held onto it until halftime (6-5).
In the third quarter, they went ahead by two goals twice, but failed to maintain the lead both times, with Kerület responding immediately to the next attack. With 20 seconds left before the whistle, Zsófia Tóth scored a penalty to level the score at 8-8 going into the final quarter. Enikő Rajna's go-ahead goal in the last quarter put the Budapest team in the lead for the first time in the match. It seemed like it might be enough for the final victory until after a long struggle, Réka Kövér-Kis scored another goal with 1:08 left, making it 9-9. After a great block by Varga Viktória, the home team scored another goal, taking the lead once again at 0:26. However, Lilla Ráski managed to score a goal from a man-up situation just 3 seconds before the whistle, forcing the match into penalties. Although Anikó Gyöngyössy missed the first penalty, Eszter Pecz made two saves following her Euro Cup performance, leading III. Kerület to a two-point victory in Szentes.
The other matches proceeded without much excitement, with BVSC taking control of the game against KSI with a 5-1 opening quarter. Eger dominated Tatabánya, and UVSE similarly overpowered Szeged, with a particularly striking 7-0 closing quarter.
It was a good day for the purple-yellows, as their men's team also had a successful day, turning the game around to win 14-12 against Miskolc in the 4th round of the E.ON National Championship, which was postponed.
MOL Women's National Championship I, Round 4
Dunújvárosi FVE–FTC-Telekom 8-10
Valdor-Szentes–III. Kerületi TVE 10-10, penalties: 3-4
E.ON Men's National Championship I, Round 4 (postponed match)
(click on the match links for statistics)
