BENU Men's Hungarian Cup: Fradi-BVSC final – for the first time

In the first semifinal, Honvéd played similarly to Fradi's current opponents this year – those who were capable of challenging the reigning champions to some extent. Only a few teams managed to keep up until halftime, such as Jug in the Super Cup final, or Jadran in Split last time, and at home, Szolnok for a while and Vasas a bit longer. But by the fourth quarter, everyone collapsed as they couldn't keep up with Fradi's pace of play or match the physical dominance of the individuals.

Honvéd played promisingly, not deterred by Fradi's early lead of 1-4. With two quick goals at the beginning of the second half, they came back into the game, responding whenever the greens seemed to pull ahead by two goals again. Although the defending champions seemed to pull away again in the third quarter, after goals by Nagy Ákos and Stylianos Argyropoulos, Honvéd managed to close the gap to 7-8. Fradi missed a penalty shot, and Honvéd missed a 6-on-5 opportunity until Dusan Mandic, as usual, scored a fantastic goal at 0:05, slightly boosting Fradi's confidence.

When the fourth quarter started with a goal from Márton Vámos, followed by Edoardo di Somma's goal, the collapse happened for Honvéd as well at 7-11. Although Ekler managed to score, and Honvéd blocked a Fradi penalty shot, soon Krisztián Manhercz scored another goal, followed by a powerplay goal from Fekete Gergő, sealing the victory. Fradi secured its 22nd win of the season with a strong finish, gearing up for its eighth consecutive cup victory.

Their opponent will be the BVSC team, which – unbelievably – has never faced each other in a classic cup final before. They finished in the top two positions in 1977, but back then a six-team final was held.

The BVSC-Szolnok showdown was expected to be a more balanced battle, offering as much excitement as the two teams' league match, which the hosts surprisingly won. However, recently, Szolnok seems to be losing steam after a sensational October-November performance. More formidable opponents have exposed their weaknesses, and even Vasas managed to retaliate for their cup quarterfinal defeat.

Now BVSC did the same: the first eight minutes set the tone for the entire match, with the railwaymen surging to a 2-6 lead and maintaining it relatively comfortably until the end. The difference between defenses and goalkeepers was evident in statistics and visually: BVSC had solid blocks supporting the 11 saves and 48% success rate of goalkeeper Gyapjas Viktor, while the Szolnok goalkeeper, Bányai Márk, reached 5 saves and 28% until he was substituted.

The key was always someone stepping up for BVSC when needed, mostly Konarik Ákos (who scored 5 goals), but also a crucial long-range shot by Ekler Zsombor at the right moment after Zugló failed to score in the first four minutes of the second period. While in the second quarter the question was whether Szolnok could reduce the deficit to at least two goals – they failed every time – after Ekler's goal in the third quarter (5-10), the question became if they could narrow it down to three. Well, they couldn't. BVSC managed the game excellently, while Szolnok was mentally worn out by the unsuccessful chase – every time there was a glimmer of hope, they soon conceded another goal. In the end, they had to accept that they have to wait for another chance to play in the final after 2021. BVSC, on the other hand, reached the cup final for the first time since 2003, although it would take a remarkable effort to win the trophy, a feat achieved only by Olympiacos in a Piraeus Champions League match since September last year. The other 62 times, Fradi emerged victorious.

BENU Men's Hungarian Cup, Final Four

Semifinals

Endo Plus Service-Honvéd–FTC-Telekom 8-15

Szolnoki Dózsa-Praktiker–BVSC-Manna ABC 12-16

Sunday's schedule:

18.00 – bronze medal match: Honvéd–Szolnok

20.00 – cup final: FTC–BVSC