Ferencváros travelled to the mining city of Zabrze, Poland to defend the 1–0 lead they won in the first leg at home in Budapest, Hungary against Górnik Zabrze in the third round of UEFA Europa League qualifying on Thursday, 13 August.
The stakes were high for both teams. Whoever advanced would face the Turkish side Trabzonspor—tough opposition for sure, however, at that stage, even a potential knock-out by the Turkish club would still yield a spot in the UEFA Conference League league phase. The losing side of the Polish–Hungarian clash, on the other hand, would need to face the French club AS Monaco in a play-off for a Conference League spot, and either side would come into that tie as the heavy underdogs.
In other words, win this round, and European football is guaranteed throughout the fall; or lose, and likely end the European campaign for the season in August.
Marius Corbu scored the winner for Fradi back in Budapest. In Zabrze, it was Ferencváros who hit the target first, but Philippe Rommens’ free kick from the edge of the box was saved by Philipp Schulze in the Górnik goal in the ninth minute.
It took nearly half an hour more for the home side to also find the target: Maksym Khlan took a shot from around 12 yards out towards the bottom near corner, but Dénes Dibusz was able to get down and deflect the shot.
In the last minute before halftime, Górnik Zabrze were awarded a penalty after Rommens pulled his opponent down to the ground inside his own box after a cross from a free kick. Kacper Urbanski converted the PK and levelled the score on aggregate.
Górnik Zabrze had more of the ball in the second half, but threatened little. In the 82nd minute, Kristoffer Zachariassen headed the ball towards the net after a corner. It was saved by Schulze, but the rebound hit the helpless Michal Sáček on the thigh, and he unwittingly guided it into his own net.
After the Hungarian side retook the lead in the tie, they had two chances to settle to score for good, but Lenny Joseph’s chance was saved by Schulze, then Zachariassen hit the post.
However, in the end, it didn’t even matter: Ferencváros advanced with 2–1 on aggregate. As we wrote above, this means that no matter what happens against Trabzonspor, head coach Balázs Borbély’s boys are guaranteed to spend the fall season at least in the Conference League; and if they manage to get past the next opponents as well, then even in the Europa League.
Another Hungarian team competing in European qualifying, Debrecen, were easily knocked out by the prestigious Danish club FC København in the Conference League the day before. The Danish won 3–0 in Debrecen, Hungary; then delivered a 5–1 blow in the return fixture in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
