E.ON Men's Ob I: dramatic finish, two crucial points for Vasas
A fierce battle for reaching the playoffs is intensifying, so it was crucial how Vasas would end their away match at the Nyéki Swimming Pool. In a crazy finish, the team from Angyalföld managed to come back from a two-goal deficit and secure two points in the penalty shootout.
After OSC surprisingly defeated BVSC on Sunday evening with a very efficient game, the big question was how much momentum Kovács Róbert's team would carry until Wednesday when they faced Vasas. It turned out that they still had some left - although the action-packed first eight minutes favored the team in red and blue slightly (3-4). Gyárfás Tamás quickly equalized in the following period, but the next phase saw Vasas dominate again, with Bátori Bence and Bogdan Durdic scoring action goals to make it 4-6. Baksa Benedek broke a nearly five-minute goal drought for the home team, then Bátori missed a penalty shot, leaving Vasas ahead by one at halftime.
The big turnaround came in the third part, as Várnai Kristóf quickly converted an OSC man-up situation, but Vasas started to falter. During another home advantage, Lévai Márton committed a too aggressive foul, resulting in a penalty against him. Gyárfás didn't miss, and the tide turned. The team in red and blue lost control, and halfway through the fourth quarter, Lars ten Broek scored another man-up goal, putting the home team ahead 8-6. Vasas squandered three more advantages in the remaining four minutes until the break. And Lévai couldn't reach Szalai Péter's ball 58 seconds before the buzzer...
Nevertheless, a block neutralized another guest man-up situation at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Gábor Lőrinc then put an end to Vasas' streak with a center goal after 12:04 minutes. However, they still couldn't equalize - their sixth man-up opportunity in a row was missed, while Baksa netted his sixth goal against five defenders, putting OSC ahead 9-7 with five minutes left. Bátori then broke the ice from a man-up situation, and the tide turned as the home team managed two consecutive man-up situations, but failed to restore the two-goal difference. And the consequence was immediate: 58 seconds before the buzzer, Durdic converted another man-up opportunity, leveling the score at 9-9. Both teams could have taken three points, but OSC missed another chance without a shot, while Durdic released the ball in the last 15 seconds of a man-up situation, but didn't find the net, leading to a penalty shootout. There, the guests proved to be more accurate: they scored four goals out of four, while ten Broek and Gyárfás missed for the home team, allowing the team from Angyalföld to leave with two valuable points.
None of the contenders for higher rankings stumbled. Although BVSC's players were still feeling the shock of Sunday's defeat against OSC, as they trailed 2-4 against newcomer Debrecen after eight minutes, only to recover with a 6-0 second quarter.
Szolnok decisively defeated UVSE, leading 16-3 after three quarters, while Honvéd gradually overcame the Pécs team - although based on the number of shots (39-22, on goal: 25-12), Szivós Márton's team could have won by a larger margin. The defending champion FTC-Telekom scored 23 goals in Eger, the 0-6 start had its effect, and all Fradi outfield players scored, while Kaposvár, positioned at the beginning of the mid-table, ended the match against Miskolc with a brutal 8-1 second quarter.
E.ON Men's Ob I, Round 10
Genesys-OSC Újbuda–Vasas-Plaket 9-9, in penalties: 3-4
Szolnoki Dózsa-Praktiker–UVSE 18-4
BVSC-Manna ABC–DVSE-Master Good 15-9
Endo Plus Service-Honvéd–PVSK-Mecsek Füszért 12-7
Kaposvári VK–PannErgy-Miskolc 17-7
Szegedi VE–Metalcom-Szentes (December 14th)
