We had to wait six minutes for the first chance: Pauljevic fired from 17 metres, but his shot was blocked and fell to Hangya on the left, who tried his luck from distance – the effort looped off a Vasas defender and into the goalkeeper's hands. At the other end Iyinbor threatened with a header, but Tujvel produced an excellent save to keep out the ball heading for the bottom right corner. In the 13th minute we won a free kick 19 metres from goal, but Holman curled it over the bar. A little over ten minutes later Radó flicked Mamusits's cross wide, so the first half ended goalless at 0-0.
In the 54th minute Doktorics found himself in a shooting position on the left and aimed for the far corner, but missed by a few centimetres. We threatened with an Ene header from Hangya's right-wing corner, but the Vasas goalkeeper gathered the ball comfortably. The visitors then took control of the match, but could not break down our organised defence and were forced to shoot from distance. One of the most dangerous efforts came from Urblík in the 59th minute; the Angyalföld midfielder shot from 23 metres, but Tujvel made a superb save to punch the ball away. Zsolt Laczkó made a substitution in the 61st minute, sending on Keresztes for Holman, and twenty minutes later he showed exactly why his introduction had been the right decision. In the 82nd minute Benczenleitner crossed from the right and Keresztes, arriving in the middle, met it first time with his right foot and placed the ball into the bottom left corner. (1-0)
We were reduced to ten men in the 87th minute: Németh escaped Ene's attention, our defender pulled the attacker back from behind, and the referee immediately sent him off.
Vasas were unable to create a major chance in the closing stages, so we signed off from the 2024 calendar year with a one-goal victory over our historic rivals.
Budapest Honvéd FC–Vasas FC 1–0 (0–0)
Budapest, Bozsik Aréna, 2970 spectators. Referee: Péter Antal (Milán Mohos, Dávid Dobos)
Honvéd: Tujvel – Bévárdi, Pauljevics, Ene, Benczenleitner, Hangya – Holman (Keresztes N., 61.), Kesztyűs B. (Sigér Á., 90+4.), Somogyi Á. – Ihrig-Farkas (Pekár I., 90.), Medgyes Z. (Csilus T., 90.). Head coach: Zsolt Laczkó
Vasas: Kiss Á. – Lehoczky, Otigba, Iyinbor, Doktorics – Cseke B. – Mamusits (Bodnár G., 32.), Kapornai (Németh B., 60.), Urblík J. – Tóth M. (Rácz B., 71.), Radó. Head coach: Attila Pintér
Goal: Keresztes N. (82.)
Sent off: Ene (87.)
