At the beginning of the half, MTK attackers tested Zala’s rookie NB I goalkeeper, Bence Gundel-Takács, who brilliantly defended three times. In the first forty-five minutes, the visiting blue-whites had several chances, the people of Zala were happy with the scoreless score.
During the break, the former 37-time ZTE international complained about the pace of the game: “The game could be a little more pulsating… Both teams have talented football players. ZTE should also pay attention to the fact that when you can shoot freely from twenty meters away, you should hit the goal. Of course, this is true for the other side as well. I liked the game of twenty-year-old Dénes Csanád, who is fast and talented, but he still needs a routine to be effective.”
For the second half, ZTE changed strikers, the young Dániel Németh replaced Josip Spoljaric. Both teams fought with integrity, but nothing more came out of the game, there were many mistakes. But what many were waiting for happened, as Yohan Croizet entered the field, but the situation did not change much, the monotonous and imprecise football remained. The Zala team switched to the five-defender game and tried to close all areas in front of the guests, who were mobilizing more and more forces in the attack. There were also striker changes, Molnár Rajmund and Marin Jurina – and this change turned out to be decisive in the end. The capital city gained more and more advantage, and in the 92nd minute Marin Jurina he scored a goal with a beautiful header from the middle, and a winning goal.
ZTE did not give up, even the goalkeeper Bence Gundel-Takács went forward at the last corner of extra time, but the home team tried in vain, but the equalizer was not achieved. Even though a penalty was claimed, the VAR reviewed the situation inside the penalty area, but the decision was made that there was no penalty, and then the referee blew the match. The MTK players hugged each other happily, while the blue and whites of Zala marched in front of the fans with their heads bowed, because just like on July 25, 1998, they lost 1-0 to MTK this time as well.
ROUND 1
Friday, July 26
Zalaegerszeg TE–MTK Budapest 0–1 (0–0)
Zalaegerszeg, ZTE Arena, 2867 viewer. Led by: Corporal Mihály
Nyíregyháza Spartacus–ETO FC Győr
Mezőkövesd, City Stadium. Led by: József Erdős
Sunday, July 28
18.50: Újpest FC–Puskás Academy FC
Budapest, Szusza Ferenc Stadium (Tv: There is)
18.50: Diósgyőr VTK–Paksi FC
Miskolc, DVTK Stadium (Tv: m4sport.hu)
18.50: Kecskemét TE–Fehérvár FC
Kecskemét, Széktó Stadium (Tv: m4sport.hu)
Wednesday, December 4
19.00: Debrecen VSC–Ferencváros TC
