Machine-translated from Hungarian.
In the Andersen League semi-final, we hosted GOODWILL PHARMA SZEGED – a team that has been in outstanding form of late – at home on Sunday evening. We knew we were in for a tough battle; one of our few defeats in the regular season came at the hands of the team from the banks of the Tisza.
It was a huge pleasure for us to see our outstanding player, Márk Nagy, back on the pitch after recovering from a long-term injury. He quickly found his rhythm and scored a goal in the very first minute, which – as it later turned out – was just the first instalment of what was to come. (1–0) The sizeable crowd witnessed the home side dominate possession; the visitors’ goalkeeper faced a barrage of shots, but Garbacz successfully parried our attempts. However, the occasional counter-attack led to some very dangerous situations, and on several occasions Dániel Kornakker to pull off some brilliant saves. Early in the 14th minute, however, the Szeged side found a gap in our defence, with Kaposi equalising. (1–1) No further goals were scored before the half-time whistle, so the lads went into the break with the score level.
The opening minutes of the second period were all about Márk Nagy; first he scored following a textbook team move, then, barely half a minute later, he made no mistake when it was 1–1. (3–1) After 10 minutes of goalless play, Danilov first produced a fine and successful solo run, then Kambulov scored following a swift counter-attack. (3–3). It looked as though the first half would be repeated and the lads would go into the break level, but we managed to capitalise on our first man-up situation, with Benedek Madácsi unleashing one of his ‘usual’ long-range rockets. (4–3)
At the start of the final period, we were still on the power play (Biakin had been given a 2+2-minute penalty at the end of the second period) and we didn’t give our opponents much time to get into their stride; Dániel Csölle timed his run perfectly to meet the puck played into the middle. (5–3) This time we didn’t let our two-goal lead ‘slip away’; in the 47th minute, Márk Nagy scored his fourth goal! (6–3) The visitors still had some fire left in them, though; two minutes later they launched a fine counter-attack from a turnover, with Kovács finding the net. (6–4) Another two minutes later, however, the Szeged net was rattled once more; following a beautiful team move, Bence Makovics fired into an empty net. (7–4) We played the final minutes of the match with a man advantage, and in the very last second, Márk Nagy pounced on a rebound to score a ‘hat-trick’ in his first match back! (8–4)
**It wasn’t an easy match, but we managed to hold on to our home advantage; next Saturday we could even ‘seal’ our place in the next round in Szeged!
Should a third match be required, it will take place on Wednesday (4 March) at 6.30 pm at the Győr Ice Sports Centre.
If they progress, the first leg of the final will take place on 4 June.**
Come on, UNI GYŐR ETO!
UNI GYŐR ETO HC vs GOODWILL PHARMA SZEGED: 8 – 4(AL165) Goal scorers: **#18 Márk Nagy (5), #12 Benedek Madácsi, #19 Dániel Csölle, #8 Bence Makovics (UNI GYŐR ETO) #95 Kaposi, #36 Danilov, #11 Kambulov, #22 Kovács (Szeged)
We’ve put together a selection of the best photos from the match in our gallery:
Photo: Dr Krisztina Németh-Csigai
Fotó: Dr. Németh-Csigai Krisztina