E.ON Men's Water Polo National Championship: Budapest storm struck
All five Budapest teams playing on Saturday won in the 7th round of the men's championship: the most valuable victory came from FTC-Telekom, as they defeated the previously undefeated Szolnoki Dózsa-Praktiker team by scoring 21 goals. (By the way, the sixth team, Vasas, also won in the previously held match in Miskolc.)
The clash between the two unbeaten teams raised the question of whether the young Szolnok squad could deliver their best performance and if it would be enough against Fradi; especially after losing to Szentest in the cup qualifiers, they won 14 games in a row.
It seemed clear that sooner or later reality would catch up with them; last week in the Euro Cup tour in Recco, they faced for the first time the quality difference that cannot be bridged with team unity and youthful vigor. And after facing the June Champions League finalists followed by the Champions League winners within ten days, it was not surprising that their winning streak at home ended. Although Hangay's team held on for a while, it was only enough for them to at least stay within sight. At halftime, the score was 9-5, then after 10-5, they managed to close the gap by two, but the green team always had a counterattack ready. Under immense pressure, the Szolnok defense faltered more and more in the second half, conceding six goals per quarter, with a shooting ratio of 40-25 and shots on target of 29-20 - such firepower difference could not be balanced, and the defending champion finally stopped at 21.
BVSC-Manna ABC also scored the same number of goals against Kaposvár: the 5-0 start paved the way for the match, although the second quarter brought a classic festival of eight goals (7-5), and the third poured another nine goals (5-4). The two sides attempted a total of 67 shots in 32 minutes (39-29), needless to say, they did not hold back.
UVSE secured another victory against Pecs, collecting three points with a remarkable performance in the third quarter. After leading 9-7, the yellow-purple team kept a clean sheet for nine minutes while extending their lead to 14-7, leaving no way back for the Baranya team.
Honvéd confidently claimed the three points in Szeged. Csoma Kristóf excelled in the guests' goal, reaching for the ball with a 63% success rate (15/24), allowing them to lead by six after three quarters (5-11). The Szeged team halved the difference in the final period, but it did not affect the outcome much.
OSC started strong with a 0-5 quarter in Eger, but the great start was not followed by a similar continuation, leaving the score at only 4-6 at halftime. Then in the third quarter, the Budapest team fired off another serious performance, scoring six goals in eight minutes.
The clash between the two provincial teams brought the most excitement: Szentes and Debrecen fought a close battle, with the guests never taking the lead but always having a chance to score. Szentes took a 4-2 lead, but the persistent newcomer fought back to equalize at 5-5 in the middle of the third quarter. No goals were scored in the last four minutes before the final break, while Debrecen defended two disadvantages. Kürti-Szabó Máté's action goal changed the game two minutes later, but the guests failed to equalize, and with four minutes left, Tóth Gyula added a fifth. The answer also came from a penalty, as Patrik Macsi broke Debrecen's goal drought after 11 minutes, but with 3:09 on the clock, no more goals were scored as Szentes celebrated victory.
In the seventh match of the round, Vasas won 12-6 against Miskolc two days ago, joining OSC, Szolnok, Honvéd, and BVSC with six wins and one loss behind Fradi, who won all seven matches of the week; additional matches will be played among the top teams next week, revealing who will stay in the ring the longest after the greens.
In the women's championship, in the shadow of the Champions League, two matches were held today, and III. Kerület surprisingly left the decision to late in Szeged, eventually turning the game in their favor in the last quarter; Eger gradually defeated KSI.
E.ON Men's Water Polo National Championship, Round 7
FTC-Telekom-Szolnoki Dózsa Praktiker 21-14
Szegedi VE–Endo Plus Service-Honvéd 9-12
UVSE–PVSK-Mecsek Füszért 15-10
DIGI-Eger–Genesys-OSC Újbuda 8-15
Metalcom-Szentes–DVSE-Master Good 7-6
MOL Women's Water Polo National Championship, Round 6
Szegedi VE–III. Kerületi TVE 10-12
Click on the game for statistics.
