With the support of hundreds of Loki fans, DVSC stepped onto the pitch against champion Ferencváros on Saturday at Groupama Arena, in front of almost a full house. Regarding the podium, it was an important fixture and there was no big surprise concerning our starting eleven. There were some smaller changes as Balázs Dzsudzsák was back and instead of Kevin Varga, Alexandros Kyziridis started the game.

Loki had a great start, by dominating in the first minutes, and in the 2^nd minute Christian Manrique headed over the goal after a free kick. Our team was playing in an organized manner, and it could be seen that the players were positioning themselves on purpose. In the 15^th minute, Owusu shot wide from 20 meters and a minute later, Balázs Megyeri made a feat and saved Ryan Mmaee’s clear cut chance after a mistake.

In the middle of the first half, FTC was possessing the ball mainly but in the 21^st minute Balázs Dzsudzsák had a dangerous shot from 21 meters, which forced Dibusz to punch the ball away. Fifteen minutes before halftime, the goalkeeper of DVSC had to receive extensive medical treatment due to initial suspicions of circulatory disorder. Unfortunately, Balázs Megyeri had to be substituted, and Marko Milosevic took his place.

In the 36^th minute, following a beautiful attack, Alexandros Kyziridis slid the ball wide from close range. Then, in the 42^nd minute, Ferencváros took the lead. After a right-sided attack, Pászka found himself in a shooting position 16 meters from the goal and curled the ball into the top right corner (1-0). There were a few more chances for the home team before halftime, but no more valid goals were scored.

Kevin Varga and Oleksandr Romanchuk entered the game for the second half, and DVSC tried to resist the attacking moves of Ferencváros, while also seeking to score a goal. In the 51^st minute, they came close to doing so but Dorian Babunski’s attempt was blocked. The game was more open and both teams had promising opportunities.

With half an hour remaining, Ádám Bódi also joined the field, and in the 63^rd minute, the equalizer came! Dorian Babunski forcefully shot towards the goal, evading the last defender, and rolled the ball into the bottom right corner from 10 meters out (1-1). A new game started with another Loki goal! Following a quick action, Kevin Varga crossed the ball from the right side, it deflected off an FTC defender, and Dorian Babunski tucked it into the net (1-2). After the action, Balázs Dzsudzsák injured his hand and had to be substituted, with Hamzat Ojediran taking his place.

In the beginning of the final minutes, Christian Manrique was fouled inside the box and after a lengthy VAR review, DVSC was awarded a penalty.  In the 75^th minute, Ádám Bódi stepped to kick the penalty and confidently placed it to the right side of the goal (1-3).

Until 2023, DVSC never won at Groupama Arena, now they had a fantastic comeback and won three points. All praise to them! We will continue next week against Újpest at Nagyerdei Stadium. If Loki wins that match as well, they will be on the podium for sure!

With the eye of an expert

Srdjan Blagojevic: Congratulations to my players for the victory! We deserved this feeling, which is the result of our work during the last 8-9 months. It was a great opportunity to show ourselves. We are not on the podium yet, the match against Újpest may be even more difficult than this was. I hope that Balázs Megyeri and Balázs Dzsudzsák will be back soon.

OTP Bank Liga, 32^nd round.

FTC-DVSC 1-3 (1-0).

Groupama Arena, 15 879 spectators. Referee: J. Erdős

Ferencváros: Dibusz – Botka, Knoester, Pászka (Kaján, 83.) – Owusu, Zachariassen, Gojak (Mercier, 83.), Marquinhos (Tóth, 83.) – Traore, R. Mmaee, Lisztes (Sagal, 69.). Head coach: Sztaniszlav Csercseszov.

DVSC: Megyeri (Milosevic, 34.) – Kusnyír, Dreskovic, Lagator, Ferenczi – Loncar (Romanchuk, 46.), Manrique – Szécsi (Bódi, 61.), Dzsudzsák (Ojedrian, 70.), Kyziridis (Varga K., 46.) – Dorian Babunski. Head coach: Srdjan Blagojevic.

Goal: Pászka (42.), Dorian Babunski (63., 67.), Bódi (75., from the penalty).