On Thursday evening, the last rental place in the MOL Hungarian Cup semi-finals will be sold: from 8:45 p.m., Nyíregyháza Spartacus, the leader of the second division, will host the leading Kecskemét TE in Balmazújváros.
The Nyíregyháza Spartacus-Kecskeméti TE match – and the semi-final draw after the match ends – will be broadcast live by M4 Sport and m4sport.hu.
Dominik Nagy and Gergő Pálinkás can also be protagonists in Thursday’s cup quarter-finals (Photo: Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC/Facebook, Kecskeméti TE/Facebook)
A Nyíregyháza is in Goatskemet its history took a common direction in 2015: due to licensing problems, both clubs were excluded from the top flight and relegated to the third division.
In addition, the latter could not even undertake the NB III launch, so KTE is the limited liability company with the right to use the name. It was discontinued in 2015. The adult players left, and the youth players joined the other team in the city, the County I. Division LC-KTE Sports School of Kecskemét.
After this, it is no wonder that for a long time it seemed that Nyíregyháza would be the first to recover. But in the following season, Szpari immediately won the NB III Eastern group and moved up to the second division, but since then they have not been able to move up.
Kecskemét returned to the third division in 2018, and then again needed three “runs” to change the division – although this also required that Iváncsa, who won the championship in the 2020-2021 season, not undertake to start in the second division. At that time, István Szabó took over the management of the team, with whom he immediately managed to win another promotion, so that KTE, which also got its name back in the meantime, could return to the top line ahead of (also) Nyíregyháza.
From the county I. class to defeating the FTC – Kecskemét’s journey from the brink of extinction to the championship
Seven years ago, the club almost completely disappeared into the abyss, but now, under the leadership of István Szabó, KTE is excelling in the NB I.
It is true that it is increasingly conceivable that after eight NB II seasons Nyíregyháza will finally succeed: Krisztián Tímár’s team leads the table with seven points with eight rounds before the end of the championship, ahead of the chasing duo ETO FC Győr and Vasas, who have collected 51-51 points so far. .
Nyíregyháza team picture after the victory against ETO (Photo: Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC/Facebook)
At Nyíregyháza, in addition to returning to NB I, they are also preparing for another historic feat: they would make it to the top four in the Hungarian Cup. Szpari has been to the quarter-finals three times (1980-1981, 1998-1999, 2013-2014), but failed there every time. Barnabas the Great now, in addition to the championship, they would also make a big difference in the cup.
“I am happy that we can play against Kecskemét in the MOL Hungarian Cup, I am really looking forward to the match. I know that many of the fans believed that we could play against Ferencváros or Diósgyőr, but if we win against Kecskemét, then this can also happen in the next round. I know that we can write sports history if we reach the top four, and we want to make a big impact in the cup as well as the championship” said the club website left back of Nyíregyháza.
And even though Balmazújváros is still Szpari’s home field due to the construction of its new stadium, this is not at all reflected in its performance: it is still undefeated as a field selector in NB II (10 wins and three draws).
So far, Nyíregyháza has only met NB III opponents in the cup, and the process started off a bit difficult (Tiszaújváros was only able to say goodbye with penalties, then Dunaföldvár won 1-0 as a guest), the most recent 5-1 success against Szentlőrinc it was much more convincing.
Kecskemét’s goal joy against MTK in the championship (Photo: Kecskemét TE/Facebook)
Kecskemét started the cup with a 2–1 success against Soroksár, then bid farewell to another NB II team, Szeged, with 1–0, and most recently won 2–0 as a guest of NB III Veszprém.
In the MOL Hungarian Cup, Kecskemét has won all three matches so far in regular time, but in the championship, they are not doing so well away from home: they collected only 8 points away from home in 13 matches in NB I (2-2-9 record).
That’s why they don’t even trust themselves in Kecskemét, Ákos Szendrei you know, Nyíregyháza is a good team, a difficult match awaits them.
He is of a similar opinion Istvan Szabo, also the head coach of KTE:
“After the success against Veszprém, we watched with interest who our opponent could be in the cup. We got the Nyíregyháza, and this pairing cannot be said to be easy. We are talking about a very serious and developing team with a good coaching staff. They have a stable game system with quality players. It is enough to mention the name of Dominik Nagy without claiming to be complete, but we also know Csanád Novák and Mihály Rjaskó from Kecskemét. A very difficult opponent, it is no coincidence that they lead the league with a convincing advantage, not to mention ahead of Győr and Vasas. Although we have a difficult match ahead of us, our clear goal is to advance, but of course, so do they. Anything can happen in this match, but we want to come out victorious” – quotes the club website the professional.
The last time the two teams met was in the 2021-2022 season: they played a goalless draw in Kecskemét, and then the sides ended 2-2 in Balmazújváros. It is certain that a decision must be made this time, if the regular playing time and the two 15-minute overtimes are not enough, then in the penalty shootout at the latest.
The Nyíregyháza Spartacus-Kecskeméti TE match – and the semi-final draw after the match ends – will be broadcast live by M4 Sport and m4sport.hu.
MOL HUNGARIAN CUP
QUARTER FINAL
20.45: Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC (NB II)–Kecskemét TE (M4 Sport, m4sport.hu)
EARLIER
Kisvárda-Master Good–MTK Budapest 3–2 (Jovicic 8th, 90th, Szpaszics 21st, or Bognár 59th, Hej 87th)
Vasas FC (NB II)–Paksi FC 2–5 (Holender 58th, Tóth M. 85th – from 11, or Haraszti 44th, Papp K. 90th, Böde 93rd, Hahn 114th, Windecker 119th) – after extra time
Diósgyőr VTK–Ferencváros TC 0–2 (Zachariassen 37., Lund 46. – own goal)
