Match Reports
2008/2009 Season
BUDAPEST CELTIC THWART VIKINGS IN EPIC TUSSLE FOR FINAL BERTH
The top two teams from Football Budapest met again for the second consecutive week after Vikings managed the league double over their championship counterparts last Sunday. In fact, going into this weekend's game, Celtic had only previously beaten the Vikings once in nine attempts in their history, a record which the hoops were keen to amend. The game set off at a frantic pace with chances at both ends but neither team could break the deadlock. It took until the 36th minute for Haakon Skeie Solberg to slot home after a defensive mix up in the Celtic box. The lead was doubled with an excellent solo strike from Vidar Nedrebø who volleyed home just before the half time whistle. The rain continued to thrash down during the team-talks which also gave time for Celtic to re-group. The second half saw a brighter start from the guys in green and white in which they were soon rewarded as an error this time from the Vikings keeper allowed Jasper Zebner to profit. Vikings who have such a great way of putting the oppostion on the back foot just when they think they are back into the game, restored their 2-goal cushion with Dan-Robin Wildsgård first to react to the ball coming off the inside of the post from Solberg's drive. Once again though Celtic refused to buckle and came back once more, Neil Evans striking a first time shot into the bottom corner of the net. The score was to remain 3-2 in favour of the Norwegians for another 15 minutes before substitute Paul Bartlett equalised from a tight angle. Moments later Evans, lashed home his second from a corner and Zebner also bagged a brace as he profitted from a half clearance to seal Celtic's place in the final against sister team Kaledonians.
VIKINGS BRING CELTIC CRASHING BACK DOWN TO EARTH, KALLY MAKE DEBUT FINAL
Only one week after being crowned A Liga champions, Budapest Celtic had a reality check from previous winners, the Vikings in a well fought encounter at Csepel on Sunday. The game might have been classed as a dead rubber with both teams confirmed of their top two positions in the table, but neither team wanted to give up 3 points to the other with a semi-final date the next weekend. Despite this, Vikings only came into the game with 10 men and weren’t up to the full 11 until 20 minutes into the match. The first half was like a sparring match with both teams going close but neither making the breakthrough. The second half though saw a 20 minute blitz from the Norwegians which shell shocked their rivals with some stunning finishing from one likely source in Dan-Robin Wildsgård and one not so likely, centre back Ruben Sandvik Fiskå. With Vikings setting the record straight in this match, it will be intriguing to see how Celtic respond next week. Manager Utd escaped relegation in emphatic style on Saturday after dispatching of Dinamo Torpedo by 4 goals to 2. Manager had two chances to get the points they needed to finish above Vezer but with Vikings in ominous form they wanted to get the job done in the match prior to that. Utd’s top scorer Csillag Gábor notched a hat trick with Pollák Márton adding a fourth. Korda and Oláh responded for Torpedo who maintain their finish of 4th in the table. The B Liga match between Zold Borzak and Szigeti Source started on the solemnest of notes, with a 1 minute silence being observed in remembrance of Zold Borzak founder member Olivier Percival who tragically passed away last weekend. Zold Borzak--who were wearing black armbands to honour their lost team mate—came into the game having been unbeaten in two games while Szigeti Source were looking for the win to keep themselves in the running for automatic promotion to the A Liga. The greens kicked off and looked to attack from the start but it wasn’t at all easy – with Szigeti’s well-drilled midfield and defense closing them down very quickly. A midfield stalemate ensued until Szigeti’s Samu Bernáth broke the deadlock with a brilliant solo effort: collecting a mishit goalkick on the right touchline, he cut inside at speed and, before the wrong-footed Borzak defense could close him down, he unleashed an unstoppable left-footed 25m drive into the bottom right corner of the goal. This took the wind out of the Borzak sails for but they soon regrouped and managed to launch a few attacks before half-time.- their best chance of equalizing falling to Attila Csaki who’s powerful 25m free kick sailed less than a metre over the bar. In the second half, Szigeti turned it up a notch in the midfield and showed why they are promotion contenders while Borzak, till recently, were at the very bottom of the league. But against the run of play, a quick counterattack resulted in Frantisek Wieden being upended in the box. Ray Gillespie stepped up to take the resultant penalty it but blew the opportunity to equalize, sending the ball hard, low, but wide of the post. 10 minutes later, Gillespie almost made amends for his mistake when he hit the upright with a powerful header from a Tibor Csizmadia corner. Unfazed, Szigeti continued to attack and came close to scoring a second on several occasions, most notably when Mark Downey came agonizingly close with an audacious lob. But despite this, Borzak continued to look for counter-attacking opportunities and the game remained competitive right up to the final whistle. In summary, the match was just the kind of highly-competitive tussle that Olivier would have relished. He will be sadly missed by his team mates in Zold Borzak, and everyone from the other Football Budapest teams who had the pleasure to play against him. Hellas also picked up 3 points with a sound 4-2 victory over BIS Old Boys. (scorers TBC) In the first semi final of the Duncan Shiels Vándorkupa many people were expecting A Liga’s Kaledonians to waltz through to the final against B Liga opposition Akadémia Orczy, but the second tier outfit made more than just a fist of it. Kaledonians won 2-1 on eventually with Turlough Adley scoring a brace. Kally missed the opportunity to go in front after only 5 minutes after missing a penalty. After some more pressing, Kaledonians didn’t have to wait long to actually move in front when Adley got his first goal 15 minutes into the match. A further chance went begging when a header was cleared off the line before Adley notched his second. Orczy really picked up the pace in the second half and pulled a goal back and were unlucky that their pressure didn't get them the equalizer they were so desperately after. Akadémia’s keeper made some fine stops in the second half later on as Kally tried to extend their lead but the final score was to finish 2-1 with Kally making the final of the cup for the first time in their short history.
Varsarnap 23 november
Szigeti Source 1v1 Budapest Celtic (Celtic won 2-4 on pens)
I
Budapest Celtic closed their winter season with a hard fought victory over Szigeti Source in the Duncan Shields cup. Despite what at times was an insipid and ineffectual display the Hoops showed great courage in sub zero conditions to set up a quarter final clash with Hellas in the spring. A stalemate in normal time was settled by a penalty shoot out that saw Celtic run out 4-2 winners. The Hoops again struggled against a determined and industrious opponent and Szigeti Source’s game plan was clearly to frustrate and deny Celtic any time or space on the ball. For the most part it worked, yet on a day when the majority of the green and white players failed to function, Celtic will be delighted that with so many below par performances they still managed to emerge victorious. Inspirational Celtic player coach Matthew Watson-Broughton was unavailable to take his place in either the dug out or in goal and Zafer Evren took his place in the starting line up. Captain Laurence Coen, Robin Hafner and Stanislav Ryjov all added to the lengthening Celtic casualties list. Winger Johny Bennett made his first start of the season and Celtic were able to welcome back Nigel Killeen after his long running battle with injury this season came to an end. Gabor Harsanyi was fit enough to take over the captains arm band for the day. A shambolic start to the match by the hoops saw Celtic over run by the raw energy of the Szigeti side. Celtic were second to almost every loose ball and Szigeti swarmed around the green and whites penalty area waiting to seize any chance that came their way.Only some poor finishing and flawless goalkeeping by Evren in this period prevented Szigeti from putting the game out of sight before Celtic had even come out of their early slumber. Celtic almost took an unexpected lead when a quickly taken free kick by Fergal Strumble caught Szigeti cold. The Irish man floated the ball into Vlad Panov and his shot came back against the bar with the blues goalkeeper Tibor Josza beaten. Almost immediately Szigeti were in front. sliced his way down the Celtic left and he cut the ball back for Cormac Meany who took a touch before slotting the ball under Evren’s body. Meany almost doubled Szigeti’s lead after some comical defending from Celtic in their own penalty area presented him with the ball. He twisted past a challenge, only to see his effort rebound off Evren’s near post. Neil Evans then went close for Celtic after neat work by Peti Janosi in the Szigeti danger area. The pint sized striker teed up Evans but Josza tipped his drilled drive out for a corner.The second half opened with a highly contentious and controversial moment with Celtic on the end of another perplexing decision at the hands of the match officials. There was a sense of déjà vu in the air when Dao was chopped down in the Szigeti box. Three weeks ago Celtic were awarded a penalty in their two nil win over Manager United and just as it happened then the referees initial decision was inexplicably over ruled by the near side linesmen at Csepel on Sunday. A rejuvenated Kardhordo on the right and the introduction of Celtic debutant Mark Servatius sparked the hoops into life in the second period and a superbly crafted move between the two almost produced the equalizer. The German striker Servatius’s clever through pass on the half way line deceived the Szigeti defence and sent Kardhordo in on goal. Kardhordo roared into the box and from a tight angle struck the up right.The duo combined again to draw Celtic level. Servatius found Kardhordo in an almost identical position as had earlier and this time Celtic were not to be denied. Leaving the defender for dead, Kardhordo forced the ball over the line eight yards out and although the shot took a slight deflection off an unfortunate defender, Szil more than deserved his fourth goal of the season.Celtic full back Joe McCann then stabbed a sumptuous pass into the space behind the Szigeti defence for Servatius to chase and the Celtic forward crashed a cross over the face of the six yard area where Panov was inches away from making contact.Panov went close again when he was the first to react after an Evans free kick was blocked but Josza in the Szigeti goal was equal to the Bulgarians effort from six yards.A long Paul Couling throw was then knocked on by Killeen and Dang Viet Tuan’s first time snap shot was well held by Josza.Szigeti had two excellent chances in the closing five minutes to win the game in normal time. Josza launched a long pass from his own box over the heads of the Celtic defence and Turkish substitute Bulent burst through on goal with only fellow country man Evren to beat. But as always the veteran keeper proved to be an unbeatable object and he pushed the shot away.An even better opportunity fell to the impressive Szigeti winger Bernath Samu in the final minute. Samu picked up the ball six yards from goal and with time to steady himself he curled his shot towards the top corner only to turn away in horror as Evren leaped to his right and pushed the ball over the bar. It was a brilliant and crucial save that kept Celtic in the match.
The game was ultimately decided by a penalty shoot out. Evans, Trettel, Panov, and Servatius all kept their cool to slot home for Celtic. Meany and Szigeti skipper Mark Downey both dispatched their spot kicks however Timo Seufert and Mate Szucs could not hit the target and the hoops were through to the next round.
Szombat 15 november
Szigeti Source 4v2 Zöld Borzak
I It is always a welcoming sight when Ray Gillespie begins to appear on the horizon. Ray cycles to every game with his football gear on his back, always wearing his grey cycling helmet and a reflecting yellow top. Ray can rightly be considered as a “Football league” great as he sets a good example both on and off the pitch. He is always happy to share a few words and a laugh with you off the pitch, while making sure that the game is fair but competitive on it. A long time ago he also played for Szigeti, until he and fellow Borzakian Dennis Hamaker joined the formerly French, but now international Zsőld Borzak, to gain more playing time. Ever since that switch, he has led their defense with strength and determination hoping that one day Borzák may also reach Liga A. Unfortunately for Ray and Zőld Borzak, they may have to wait for another season as they currently lay rock bottom with only 2 points.
Szigeti, on the other hand, are enjoying a revival of sorts. At this stage last season, albeit in Liga A, they had played six games, winning none, losing four and only drawing two. Their current record however, is much more favorable with four wins out of six games played. Lee Ballantyne was eager to continue the run and set up his team accordingly. Despite losing his preferred central midfield pairing to injury and unavailability, General Lee chose to keep an attacking edge to his team by playing the attack-minded Cormac Meaney in midfield.
It paid off, as a mere 15 seconds after kick-off, Meaney had played in Felix to a dangerous position on the right of midfield from where the Spaniard found himself in a shooting position. Felix only had to pick his corner in order to secure the 1-0 lead. Was this going to be another demolition, not unlike the 7-0 against Orczy? Three minutes later Ray Gillespie and co. decided the answer to that question was no, as Petros Konstantinopolis played a wonderful through ball to the ever-present Nicolas Pineau. Pineau needed no invitation to score as he calmly beat the keeper despite a last ditch attempt by Szigeti defender Erlend Magnus Hansen to clear.
What a start to the game this was for the six or so curious fans. Unfortunately for them, that was the highlight for the next hour. Yes, more goals were scored but all in all this game proved to be a scrappy affair with long spells of lethargic Szigeti play and a host of wasted opportunities. Szigeti enjoy the dramatic side to football, and like to make things exciting, presumably for those six fans that had come to enjoy a spectacle of attacking football. Perhaps that explains why Szigeti, despite having seemingly wrapped up the game with a 3-1 lead early in the second half, extended by a second for Felix and one for Meaney, spontaneously decided to let Zsőld Borzak have another chance.
Tibor Jósza, basking in the late afternoon sun, had had a very quiet afternoon. He spent most of it looking for the remaining sunshine to keep warm, given the lack exercise he was experiencing. Perhaps Krisztian Mihaly, filling in at left-back, felt some sort of empathy for his keeper, when he left Nicolas Pineau completely unmarked for Borzak’s second noteworthy attack of the game. Borzak may not create too many chances in a game, but unlike Szigeti, they do know how to use them. A wonderful Pineau cross fell delightfully for Konstantinopolis, who only had to knock the ball over the line to make it 3-2.
For me personally, a question has now been answered. To play their best football, Szigeti craves excitement. This must be the reason why they cannot simply win 2-0 and go home, because the best football of the afternoon came after the 3-2, and it was Szigeti who showed it.
In the closing 15 minutes, Szigeti had close to 10 excellent chances by a variety of players, among them Felix, Meaney and Mihaly. But is was Mate Szűcs, Szigeti top scorer, who took his total to 6 goals in 7 games when he netted his goal of the day for the final score line of 4-2.
Overall, the thing that struck me most about this game, was the number of nationalities represented at this fixture. At least 12 European nations were represented as well as an American, a Turk, and a Georgian. A prime example that this truly is an international league!
Szombat 08 november
Szigeti Source 7v3 Hellas Cyprus
I am injured, and, as such, must weigh up the frustration of not being able to play, against the joy of supporting my team when I decide to watch Szigeti play. In most cases, I decide in favor of watching the boys, and so it was this weekend. Writing this match report, I can confirm that the decision to push aside that frustration and make the effort to go down to a 10am kick-off was the right one. Ten goals, one of the strikes of the season so far, and a man-of-the-match performance that netted that man four goals.
It all started with the Szigeti stand-in keeper Toni flashing back to 1984, and deciding it would be within the laws of the game to pick up a pass-back in his own box. He was quickly reminded by the referee that this law is no longer in place and is therefore cautioned with an indirect free kick. At this point, I will state that over the course of this season there have been a few quality goals, but the goal which resulted from this free kick has got to be in the season’s top ten. Hellas outthought the Szigeti wall by simply laying off the ball a couple of meters to the right, from where Hellas captain Antonios blasted in a curling shot. What a goal that was, and with it Hellas took a one-nil lead.
Szigeti are a strange team as it still hasn’t quite been determined what exactly is required to get them playing at their very best. Is it a question of confidence, a strong opponent, or maybe simply the boss giving them hell at half-time? Wherever the answer lies, today they put in an unstoppable performance. That is however, only after being two-nil down. For shortly after Antonios scored, his fellow midfielder Nikos saw the keeper off his line and let fly, arcing his shot perfectly into the back of the Szigeti net.
This must have ruffled a few feathers because after the second goal Hellas were quite simply overrun in an awesome Szigeti team performance. The improved performance was down to several factors, but one of them is the continued effort throughout the past year of Lee Ballentyne’s to get Szigeti playing football as a team with a game plan. Perseverance is key whether it is with a team or with a player. In this case, it was both, for the team played stupendously, scoring 7 goals, but on an individual level it was the man who contributed four goals, taking his total tally to five for the season, who has finally got his just reward. That man is imposing Mate Szücs. The other goals came from Cormac Meany (1) and Timo Seufert (2). Szigeti displayed energy, commitment, confidence, composure, intricate passing, and an almost killer instinct in front of goal. I say almost, because Krisztian Mihaly, despite having another great game, missed two sitters in front of goal.
It was not that Hellas had a bad game, as they also tried to produce football and showed bite and creativity, scoring a third from another fantastic free kick by Antonios, it was just that they were simply unable to keep up with the pace of the Szigeti attacks. As an observer I can say that this was the best Szigeti performance of the season up-to-date, although I do maintain that the real test comes November 23rd against Budapest Celtic in the Duncan Shiels Vándorkupa. Until then, let us hope that Szigeti continue their fine form, that Hellas remain as they are this season, a strong, fair, inventive side, and that this league continues to improve.
Vasarnap 9 november
Budapest Celtic 2v0 Manager Utd
For the second time in as many weeks Budapest Celtic faced a stern test that truly examined their Championship credentials. Despite eclipsing last weeks attacking performance by a long way, Celtic had to wait until deep into the second half before they would take the lead. In-between they were guilty of being extremely wasteful in front of goal and that is something that may be of concern to the Celtic coaching staff.
It has been a record breaking start to the season for Budapest Celtic; they boast a 100% record as well as a defence that has not conceded a goal in 270 minutes of football. However no one at the club will be under any illusions. Despite leading the league by 3 points, this Sunday’s top of the table clash with Vikings will see how far Celtic have come. Their Norwegian adversies will be intent on reclaiming first place in A liga and only a truly monumental performance by Celtic will be enough.
Celtic made five changes to their starting eleven that defeated Ratio 3-0 the previous Sunday. Zafer Evren, Paul Couling, Gabor Harsanyi, Kieran Fahy and Vlad Panov all began the match. Laurence Coen and Paul Bartlett had to be content with a place on the bench, whilst injuries to Stanislav Ryjov, Dean Bailey and Arick Trettel meant they missed the match altogether. Matt Watson-Broughton returned to the dug out to take up his coaching duties.
The first real opportunity of the match fell to Szilard Kardhordo when he managed to break into the Manger United box. However he was forced wide by a defender and he put the ball past Zsolt Juhasz’s post. Celtic were dominating possession and carving out chances at will, and it seemed only a matter of time before they would go in front. Fergal Strumble was magnificent in the centre of the park, brisk and pulsating in possession, tenacious and uncompromising in the tackle; the majority of the play was flowing through the Hoops metronome.
After being awarded a free kick twenty yards from goal there was only ever going to be one taker for Celtic. After finding the net from a similar position versus Ratio, Neil Evans approached the ball. His sweetly struck right footed shot collided with the post and was cleared to safety.
Manager defended in numbers and rarely threatened the Celtic goal; however last season’s top marksmen Gabor Csillag forced Evren into producing a world class save when he rifled in a shot from the edge of the penalty area. The returning Fahy then rampaged down the left before executing a perfect cross onto Dao’s head, however “Man on fire” could only knock the ball over the bar. Fahy then flicked an Evans corner across the six yard area where Dao was inches away from making contact. With Manager on the rack, Celtic were awarded a spot kick midway through the first half. Panov was up ended in the Manager area and as Celtic prepared to take their first penalty of the season the linesmen overruled the referee’s decision by claiming offside. It was a truly baffling call and it left the Celtic players completely bewildered.
Celtic introduced Bartlett to proceedings at the interval and his physical presence had an immediate impact. He battered his way through two challenges before picking out Dao in the six yard box, the Vietnamese hit man could not adjust his body in time and the ball collided off his torso and went behind for a goal kick. Just as Bartlett was unsettling the Manager defence tempers began to flare. Confronted by an irate United player who pushed the Celtic hit man twice, Bartlett retaliated by raising his hands. The referee brandished his red card to both players and the match was now ten versus ten. Although always in the ascendancy Celtic were creating few real opportunities. Dao met a delightful Kardhordo cross but his header was repelled by Juhasz. Evans then fired in a vicious free kick that the keeper beat away with both fists.
With 15 minutes left on the clock, Watson-Broughton made a bold tactical switch that ultimately swung the game in Celtic’s favor. Reverting to a back three the young coach demanded more urgency from his side and he was rewarded when Celtic eventually broke the deadlock nine minutes from time. Evans sent a teasing free kick deep into the penalty area and an unmarked Dao forced his header over the line at the back post. It was the Vietnamese striker’s sixth goal of the season and he is now joint top of the clubs scorers list with Bartlett. Still in shock from finally cracking, Manager soon conceded again. A quickly taken Panov throw had Fahy bearing down on a hopelessly exposed Juhasz in the United goal, and the Irishman slotted his shot into the net. Fahy later described his goal as a gift, however he showed terrific composure to slot home ten yards out. Celtic almost extended their lead when Evans met a swerving Panov cross, but the English man’s diving header was brilliantly saved.
Vasarnap 19 oktober
Szigeti Source 0v1 ACCOR
Two weeks ago we were left wondering how far Szigeti could go after an impressive start to their season with 3 wins out of 3. Today the answer is clear, not to the top of the table.
After losing 2 points in the last few minutes to a tough and intelligent B.I.S in game 4, Szigeti wanted to bounce back to top spot in the top-of-the-table-clash against ACCOR in game 5. To that they had to overcome still unbeaten ACCOR, who also happen to be the highest scoring team in Liga B.
In perfect weather and rather good pitch conditions, the two teams faced off at 10am at Rona utca. Despite a thin squad marred by injuries, Szigeti began sprightly against an aged but very well organized ACCOR side. So well did Szigeti start that several good chances were created in quick succession by Meany, Mihály and Szűcs in the first half. Even James Gaskell had a go after storming up from his right-back position to have a strong strike parried by the stand-in ACCOR goalkeeper. The half-time score was 0-0.
But to write that Szigeti had most of the chances in the first half would be a falsity, as ACCOR proved twice in the first half that they too could be dangerous. In fact, it is no coincidence that ACCOR led Liga B last season until they pulled out of the competition due to financing problems. ACCOR play an intelligent short passing game which allows some of their older team members to play a full 90 minutes against younger, more energetic opposition. Lee Ballentyne had been aware of this after the two team’s last meeting had proved to be disastrous for Szigeti with ACCOR having repeatedly left the Szigeti midfield stranded in that game, resulting in a 7-0 loss to Szigeti.
At half time, Lee Ballentyne, conscious of that previous experience made sure he kept Szigeti disciplined, and more importantly organized, sticking with the 4-2-3-1 formation he had used successfully in the first half to restrict space for ACCOR in midfield.
It worked well for Szigeti as they kept ACCOR from creating any clear-cut chances for the first 30 minutes of the second half, all the while putting the ACCOR defense under pressure. Again, Meany, Mihály and Gaskell contributed to chances, along with Szigeti’s Spanish winger Emilio who inexplicably missed a glorious chance after a dangerous driven corner from Timo Seufert.
But in the end, it was ACCOR who switched into a higher gear and with only 10 minutes left started to use their energy reserves creating several dangerous chances on the break, including a wonderful shot which clipped the Szigeti crossbar. The initiative now theirs, ACCOR forced Szigeti skipper Mark Downey into a mistake which was only just saved by stand-in Szigeti goalkeeper Des. And then, in a mirror image of the BIS game, Szigeti lost concentration one too many times and ACCOR found space and time on the left hand side of the Szigeti box to coolly volley an effort in off the Szigeti goalpost.
In the end, the top two teams of Liga B showed that there is some high quality football on show in their league. Judging the last two Szigeti games, maybe they are still a little too naïve to lead the league, but the performance was positive, and with a full-strength side Szigeti will give Budapest Celtic a challenge in next week’s first round of the Duncan Shiels Vandorkupa.
Budapest Celtic 8v0 Atletico Match
Celtic’s startling early season form continued as they maintained their 100% start to the season with a comfortable and convincing win over Atletico Match. On a day when the whole side gave an exceptional performance one man stood out and excelled. Dang Viet Duan or simply Dao was at his sensational best. He was unplayable, utterly compelling and the Atletico defence were perplexed from the opening whistle until the last.
Celtic went into the game without Vlad Panov who adds to the ever growing injury list at the club. Joseph McCann missed out through suspension and there was still no return to action for long term absentees Rob Longworth, Heike Bult, Martin Abel and Nigel Killeen. Celtic gave debuts to Abdul and Johny Bennett and both would have an impact. Little Istvan made his first team return after a stint in America.
Dani, on loan from Celtic Kaledoninas made his first start for Atletico.
Despite their excellent victory Celtic could have found themselves a goal down within the opening three minutes of the match.
Zafer’s attempted clearance was charged down by Antoine Clenet and the French man’s snatched shot collided against the bar. It would be along time before Atletico threatened Celtic’s goal again.
Celtic’s first real chance was craved by Arick who coolly and confidently dictated the pace of the match throughout. Collecting the ball just inside Atletico’s half the German stabbed a perfectly waited pass to Dao. The little striker floated around a hapless challenge before rushing his shot and skewing it wide.
Dao then produced a moment of breathless brilliance that even earned a round of applause from Atletico’s manager Francois Clement. The Vietnamese hitman was surrounded by countless blue and white shirts when he picked up possession on the the right hand side of the field. He roared effortlessly past two despairing defenders and just for fun he took on two more.
By now he was inside the box, Atletico’s goalkeeper Julien Paquin eyes were ablaze with fear and perhaps even a little anticipation. With one drop of his shoulder Dao dumbfounded Paquin and squared the ball to debutant Abdul who horribly sliced over. The piece of play more than deserved a goal but Abdul would make amends later.
The deadlock was eventually broken with ten minutes on the clock. Neil Evans stole possession and maneuvered away from two tackles, before bursting into the penalty area. He unselfishly slid the ball to Paul Bartlett and Celtic’s top goal scorer showed his appreciation by tapping into the empty net.
Celtic should have extended their lead a few moments later. Bartlett held off a challenge, swiveled and played a crisp reverse pass to put Dao in on goal. With more time and space than he perhaps realised, Celtics number ten’s weak shot was palmed away by Paquin.
Then a delightful Evans pass with the outside of his right boot freed Kieran Fahy down the left hand channel. The Irish winger, who was starved of possession for long spells during the match, cut inside and fired his shot straight into Paquin’s arms.
Another precise Arick through ball allowed Bartlett to burst into acres of room and advance on the goalkeeper. Paquin did just enough to ensure Bartlett hesitated and he screwed his shot inches wide of the post.
A second Celtic goal was inevitable and it duly arrived. Dao steered his way past three shell shocked and static defenders before realeasing Evans. The talismanic Englishman seized the opportunity by expertly placing his shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Atletico soon succumbed again to Celtic’s superiority. Szilard who gave a scintillating performance at right back, nonchalantly flicked the ball into Dao’s path eight yards from goal. Dao showed terrific composure to finish.
The Vietnamese forward then grabbed his second goal of the game. Arick showed his limitless range of passing by finding Dao on the right hand side of the area. Dao drilled his shot low across the face of the goal into the far corner of the net.
Celtic almost added a fifth on the stroke of half time however Arick’s low shot was cleared off the line by Atletico’s African defender Anha.
Celtic began the second half brightly and they were rewarded with an early goal. Arick imposed himself on proceedings firstly by winning possession and then by feeding Dao twenty yards from goal.
Dao rolled a pass to Bartlett and the burly striker needed no second invitation as he blasted the ball in off the post.
Moments later Laurence Coen fired a terrific forty yard pass over the top of the Atletico defence and into Stani Ryjov’s territory. Stani took a touch and at a seemingly impossible angle let loose a stunning unstoppable shot that exploded into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
Although Zafer had been a virtual spectator for the majority of the match, the former Turkish international was called into action when he brilliantly dived to his left and beat away a stinging drive from Atletico’s Matthew Parlour.
With time running out Celtic went in search of more goals. A clever Bennett pass split the Atletico defence and Evans held his nerve to round the goalkeeper and score his second and Celtic’s seventh goal of the game.
The duo combined again when Bennet’s delicate floated cross was headed against the bar by Evans.
With minutes left on the clock, Zafer was alive and alert to deny Dani six yards out. The final goal of the game belonged to Abdul who made up for his earlier miss by taping home the rebound after an Evans effort had richoted off Paquins legs.
Szombat 4 oktober
Vasarnap 23 november
Szigeti Source 1v1 Budapest Celtic (Celtic won 4-2 on pens)
The game was ultimately decided by a penalty shoot out. Evans, Trettel, Panov, and Servatius all kept their cool to slot home for Celtic. Meany and Szigeti skipper Mark Downey both dispatched their spot kicks however Timo Seufert and Mate Szucs could not hit the target and the hoops were through to the next round.
Budapest Celtic closed their winter season with a hard fought victory over Szigeti Source in the Duncan Shields cup. Despite what at times was an insipid and ineffectual display the Hoops showed great courage in sub zero conditions to set up a quarter final clash with Hellas in the spring. A stalemate in normal time was settled by a penalty shoot out that saw Celtic run out 4-2 winners.
An even better opportunity fell to the impressive Szigeti winger Bernath Samu in the final minute. Samu picked up the ball six yards from goal and with time to steady himself he curled his shot towards the top corner only to turn away in horror as Evren leaped to his right and pushed the ball over the bar. It was a brilliant and crucial save that kept Celtic in the match.
Szigeti had two excellent chances in the closing five minutes to win the game in normal time. Josza launched a long pass from his own box over the heads of the Celtic defence and Turkish substitute Bulent burst through on goal with only fellow country man Evren to beat. But as always the veteran keeper proved to be an unbeatable object and he pushed the shot away.
A long Paul Couling throw was then knocked on by Killeen and Dang Viet Tuan’s first time snap shot was well held by Josza.
Panov went close again when he was the first to react after an Evans free kick was blocked but Josza in the Szigeti goal was equal to the Bulgarians effort from six yards.
Celtic full back Joe McCann then stabbed a sumptuous pass into the space behind the Szigeti defence for Servatius to chase and the Celtic forward crashed a cross over the face of the six yard area where Panov was inches away from making contact.
The duo combined again to draw Celtic level. Servatius found Kardhordo in an almost identical position as had earlier and this time Celtic were not to be denied. Leaving the defender for dead, Kardhordo forced the ball over the line eight yards out and although the shot took a slight deflection off an unfortunate defender, Szil more than deserved his fourth goal of the season.
A rejuvenated Kardhordo on the right and the introduction of Celtic debutant Mark Servatius sparked the hoops into life in the second period and a superbly crafted move between the two almost produced the equalizer. The German striker Servatius’s clever through pass on the half way line deceived the Szigeti defence and sent Kardhordo in on goal. Kardhordo roared into the box and from a tight angle struck the up right.
The second half opened with a highly contentious and controversial moment with Celtic on the end of another perplexing decision at the hands of the match officials. There was a sense of déjà vu in the air when Dao was chopped down in the Szigeti box. Three weeks ago Celtic were awarded a penalty in their two nil win over Manager United and just as it happened then the referees initial decision was inexplicably over ruled by the near side linesmen at Csepel on Sunday.
Neil Evans then went close for Celtic after neat work by Peti Janosi in the Szigeti danger area. The pint sized striker teed up Evans but Josza tipped his drilled drive out for a corner.
Meany almost doubled Szigeti’s lead after some comical defending from Celtic in their own penalty area presented him with the ball. He twisted past a challenge, only to see his effort rebound off Evren’s near post.
Almost immediately Szigeti were in front. ? sliced his way down the Celtic left and he cut the ball back for Cormac Meany who took a touch before slotting the ball under Evren’s body.
Celtic almost took an unexpected lead when a quickly taken free kick by Fergal Strumble caught Szigeti cold. The Irish man floated the ball into Vlad Panov and his shot came back against the bar with the blues goalkeeper Tibor Josza beaten.
Only some poor finishing and flawless goalkeeping by Evren in this period prevented Szigeti from putting the game out of sight before Celtic had even come out of their early slumber.
A shambolic start to the match by the hoops saw Celtic over run by the raw energy of the Szigeti side. Celtic were second to almost every loose ball and Szigeti swarmed around the green and whites penalty area waiting to seize any chance that came their way.
Inspirational Celtic player coach Matthew Watson-Broughton was unavailable to take his place in either the dug out or in goal and Zafer Evren took his place in the starting line up. Captain Laurence Coen, Robin Hafner and Stanislav Ryjov all added to the lengthening Celtic casualties list. Winger Johny Bennett made his first start of the season and Celtic were able to welcome back Nigel Killeen after his long running battle with injury this season came to an end. Gabor Harsanyi was fit enough to take over the captains arm band for the day.
The Hoops again struggled against a determined and industrious opponent and Szigeti Source’s game plan was clearly to frustrate and deny Celtic any time or space on the ball. For the most part it worked, yet on a day when the majority of the green and white players failed to function, Celtic will be delighted that with so many below par performances they still managed to emerge victorious.
Varsarnap 27 Marcius
Atletico Match 1v6 Ratio Homini
I
Le match commence par une domination trés claire des RHPTE dans ce derby francais, entre deux équipes au role inversé : si les Atletiko ( vainqueur de trois coupes ses trois derniéres saisons, trois podiums en trois ans) avaient de fortes ambitions en début de saison ( nouveau sponsor, nouvelle équipe), les blessures et défections l’ont considérablement affaibli, et malgré de bons joueurs, les atletikos se battent pour le maintien ( actuellement dernier, avec 3 points) et ce match ressemblait pour eux á une derniére chance.
Inversement, les RHPTE, promis á une difficile lutte pour le maintien, sont á la 3éme place, et s’ils ne pourront difficilement que chatouiller les deux premiers, l’objectif de la demi saison est de conserver cette place sur le podium. Et cela passe par un résultat dans ce match, aprés le cinglant 6-1 de la semaine derniére contre les Celtics.
Match á sens unique? Pas vraiment, car aprés 15 minutes, les Atletiko placaient plusieurs contres intelligents, et commencaient á prendre leur marque. Si le milieu de terrain des RHPTE, emmené par Inigo A. et Laszlo S., était impérial, l’ attaque et la défense semblaient soudainement plus fébriles.
Le score de 0-0 á 10 minutes de la fin de la mi temps semblait tout compte fait équilibré, mais c’était sans compter avec un coaching gagnant et la profondeur de banc des RHPTE. L’entrée de Tamer D, aprés un travail de sape de Zoltan S pendant plus d’une demi heure, débloquait la situation sur une ouverture en profondeur.
Les atletikos furent ici atteint dans leur principale faiblesse, la confiance, et Jerome Rattoni et Sylvain Jaulin, et Laszlo Siklosi profitaient de ce passage á vide pour corser l’addition avant la mi temps ( 4-0).
La rentrée d’Hisham et le replacement de Sylvain Blondel chez les atletiko leur redonnaient du mordant, mais le match tournait rapidement en attaque défense, et il fallut une défense solide de Sylvain Blondel pour éviter une déroute. Une longue course dans la profondeur et dans la défense des Atletiko de Jerome Rattoni se soldait par un magnifique 5éme but, en dribblant le gardien.
Le but des atletiko á 10 minutes de la fin, comme le 6éme but de Sylvain Treguer, sur une passe de Jeremy Montesinos du plat du pied, ne sont qu’anecdotiques.
Szigeti Source 7v0 Akadémia Orczy
The whistle of the classic Akademia Orczy vs Szigeti Source derby had gone, when Orczy manager Gordon Cross looked across to his Szigeti counterpart Lee Ballentyne and said „You are a very good team, congratulations. But how did you end up in Liga B?”. The end-score had been a comprehensive 7-0 victory by Szigeti, their third win in three games and their second clean sheet in a row.
But the question does remain, how did Szigeti end up in Liga B? Champions just two years ago, in the spring season of 2006, Szigeti endured a nightmare season last year and have subsequently found themselves playing their old rivals Orczy in Liga B.
The encounter was the first competitive game between the two teams, and judging by the high tempo of the first few minutes both teams wanted to win. Although relegated Szigeti were favorites for this game, Orczy had shown in the past that they like to give their bitter rivals as good as they get.
And so they did, at least for the opening 15 minutes. Good initial pressure by Orczy forced Szigeti on the back foot and the first couple of chances went to the underdog, with Dan McLaughlin having a dangerous snapshot saved by the giant Tibor Jósza guarding the Szigeti goal.
However, recovering from the initial bout of lethargy, Szigeti began to impose themselves strongly on the game with the main drive coming from the central midfield pairing of new recruit Erlend Magnus Hansen, of Norway, and Szigeti old boy Mark Downey.
And it was to be Downey who struck first with a sweet half volley inside the Orczy box. Szigeti had tasted first blood and became hungry for more. Despite the heroic efforts of Orczy Captain Steven Wootton, who tried in vain to stop the ever-increasing Szigeti attacks, Downey struck again, this time with an excellent left foot shot from the edge of the penalty box. Andy Cartwright could only watch in disgust as he picked up the precise effort out of his own net. Unfortunately for Orczy, Cartwright was at it again just minutes later, as burly Szigeti striker Mate Szúcs somewhat fortunately finished off another Szigeti attack scooping a shot into the top-left corner of Cartwright’s goal.
Halftime gave both teams an opportunity to regroup and rethink some of their tactics. However, Lee Ballentyne must have had a few more aces up his sleeve, for Szigeti gave Orczy no respite in half number 2. Four more goals were scored, all by Szigeti. Downey secured his hat-trick, the excellent Bülent Karakis and Krisztian Mihaly both got deserved goals, and to finish it off Spanish substitute Félix completed the rout. Only a nasty ligament injury in the last minute of play to another Szigeti old-boy Nick Magyar-Zimmerman spoilt the celebrations for Szigeti.
The derby was over, Szigeti was jubilant, Orczy deflated.
The initial question, however, does remain, how did Szigeti get to be here? Because, on this form, the aggressive, clever, and lightning quick attacks that Lee Ballentyne’s team is currently creating would be a match for any of Liga A’s defenses.
Perhaps the Celtic vs Szigeti cup tie on October 26 will give us a better insight as to how strong Szigeti really are.
Summer 2008 Friendly matches
Postás SE, 5 July: football budapest XI 5-2 FCO (British Foreign and Commonwealth Office) (half-time: 3-1)
Football Budapest XI (4-4-2): József Kapusi (Szigeti Source); József Molnár (Manager United); Steve Wooton (Akadémia Orczy), Csaba Gidró (Szigeti Source), Des McGrath (Szigeti Source); Dean Marshél-Courté (Szigeti Source), Mark Downey (c) (Szigeti Source), Timo Seufert (Szigeti Source), Sanyi Kovács (Manager United); Cormac Meaney (Szigeti Source), Gábor Csillag (Manager United). Subs: Kevin Nejedly (Szigeti Source), James Gaskell (Szigeti Source), Árpád Godányi (Manager United) Mate Szocs (Szigeti Source). Goalscorers: Kovács, Csillag, Marshél-Courté, Meaney, Meaney. Manager: Lee Ballantyne (Szigeti)
Postás SE, 17 May: Football Budapest XI 5-3 Old Ignatians (London)
football budapest XI: Nejedly (Szigeti); Sitter (Orczy), Gillespie (Borzak), McGrath (Szigeti), Petró (Szigeti); Nistor (Orczy), Marshél-Courté (Szigeti), Wieden (Borzak), Mihályi (Szigeti), Johnson (BIS); Árgyelán (Szigeti). Subs: Meaney (Szigeti), Zimmerman (Szigeti), Gaskell (Szigeti), White (Orczy). Goalscorers: Gaskell, Mihályi, Johnson, Wieden, White. Manager: Lee Ballantyne, Szigeti
2007/2008 Season
10/11 May 2008
A Liga
AGS Paprikas 8v3 Szigeti Source
Vikings 7v2 Manager Utd
(Ruben S. Fiskå, Arne Krogstad(penaly), Morten Nossen, Per Cachrimanidis, Lars Erik Heggen, Vidar Nedrebø(2))(Csillag Gábor, Molnár József)
A reduced Vikings managed to keep up with Manager's pace early on in the match and even saw some great chances fail to become goals. After the close opening, Vikings managed to grab a lead after a fine 40 meter pass from Runar Aune to Lars Erik Heggen, who finished with a volley at the corner of the box. A great move! In the beginning of the second half Vikings stepped up their game and saw two goals from Nedrebø the first an aggressive finish from a corner from Ruben Fiskå and a penalty taken safely by Arne Krogstad. The most memorable goal of the day came after Per Cachrimanidis stole the ball in midfield. He passed it to Vidar Nedrebø who passed a player, gave it back to Per who directly gave a nice through pass, for Vidar, into the box. Vidar and Per was alone against the keeper and Vidar heroically passed it back for a easy finish for Per Cachrimanidis, making it 6-1. Morten Nossen had a try in the final minutes from 18-20 meters and the shot was placed in the upper corner of the goal, unreachable for Man Utds keeper - This made the final score 7-2.
Vikings:G: Øystein Fossdal, D: Ruben S. Fiskå, Anders Svindland, Runar Aune, Haakon S. Solberg, Morten Goa, M:Lars Erik Heggen, Morten Nossen, Arne Krogstad, Øyvind Ervik, Dave Clarke, F: Sverre Enkerud, Per Cachrimanidis, Vidar Nedrebø
Manager Utd: G: Rácz Zsolt; D: Turiák Tibor, Schneider Gábor, Molnár József, Beleki Szilárd; M: Pollák Márton, Farkas Balázs, Görög Flórián, Cséffai Zoltán; F: Csillag Gábor, Godányi Árpád (captain);
B Liga
Celtic Kaledonians 0v5 Akadémia Orczy
Vezér F.C. 2-3 Hellas Cyprus
(Víg András,Nagy Lajos)
Vezer: Faragó Zs-Tóth K,Nagy L,Horváth F,Szabó Gy,-Müller H,Víg A,Balogh K,Bernáth Cs,-Fáy L,Tóth L
3/4 May 2008
A Liga
Budapest Celtic 3v1 Ratio Homini
(Adrian Courage, Nigel Killeen, Kálmán Kovács), ()
Budapest Celtic:G: Bence Zoltán, D: Gábor Harsányi, Laurence Coen, Rob Longworth, Joe McCann, M: Nigel Killeen, Fergal Strumble, Adrian Courage, Chris Pohlad, F: Stanislav Ryzhov, Kálmán Kovács
Ratio Homini:
AGS Paprikás 2v4 Manager Utd
(), (Csillag Gábor 3, Pollák Márton)
AGS Paprikás:
Manager Utd:G: Pollák Márton; D: Schneider Gábor, Molnár József, Tancsik Attila, Szenjobi Zsolt; M: Kovács Sándor, Farkas Balázs, Turiák Tibor, Szabó Zoltán; F: Csillag Gábor, Cséffai Zoltán;
B Liga
Vezér 8-1 Zöld Borzak
(Hanula Zoltán 3, Bernáth Csaba, Sánta Balázs, Müller Henrik, Tóth László, Faragó Zsolt (pen)),(Nicola Pineau)
Vezér: Faragó Zs; Soós A, Nagy L, Horváth F, Tóth K; Hanula A, Sánta B, Müller K, Bernáth Cs; Müller H, Tóth L. Subs: Hanula Z, Szabó Gy.
Zöld Borzak:G: György Budai, D: Alex Stan (Francis Marquier) Zeljko Vokic (Emmanuel Philis) Laurent Comas Gábor Marosvári (Ray Gillespie)
M: Lars Caesar, Nuno Dos Passos (Pietro Vacchiano), Frantisek Wieden (Olivier Louis-Phillipe) , Laurent Bobowski, F: Nicola Pineau (Captain), Dennis Hamaker (José Osete)
Yellow Cards: Ray Gillespie, Gabor Marosvári
Dinamo Torpedo 2-1 BIS Old Boys
(Levente Szirony, Imre Koncz),(Daron Neal)
Dinamo Torpedo:G: Csaba Boday; D: Michal Lukasik, Attila Probáld, Krisztián Wolf; M: Szabolcs Szirony, Imre Koncz, Levente Szirony, Zsolt Czeizler (Ferenc Tóth), Balázs Simon; F: Balázs Brávácz, Péter Oláh
Yellow Cards: Zsolt Czeizler, Michal Lukasik
BIS Old Boys:G: Caglayan Acikalin, D: Ian Sellers, Daron Neal, Gordon Reid, Mike Edwards; M: Rory Johnson, Mark Jenkins, Balazs Kiss, Alex
F: Haim Golan, Csaba
Yellow Cards: Haim Golan, Gordon Reid
27 April 2008
A Liga
Budapest Celtic 8v2 Manager Utd
(Neil Evans 2, Peti Janosi 2, Heike Bult, Imre Varga, Chris Pohlad, Vladisav Panov)(Csillag Gábor, Cséffai Zoltán)
A customary slow start by Celtic could have led to a very different outcome. Csillag Gábor sped through the heart of Celtic’s defence but Celtic’s keeper fisted the ball away. The ever alert Fergal Strumble headed off his own goal line after a poor clearance by Joe McCann was pounced upon by Kovács Sándor. Celtic’s answer to those let offs was swift and emphatic. Chris Pohald harried and harassed Rácz Zsolt, forcing him to skew his clearance straight to the feet of Neil Evans. Evans did not need to take a touch; he sent a swerving side footed shot slamming into the empty goal. Celtic were creating chances at will and the second goal was on the cards. Gabor Harnsay launched a colossal throw into Peti Janosi. Peti turned away from his marker and picked out Panov who was just inside the penalty area. Panov collected the pass, steadied himself before stroking the ball into the net. Celtic came out after the break determined to finish off Manager United and they did just that 5 mins into the second half. A lighting counter attack ended with Heike Bult unselfishly squaring to Evans unmarked six yards from goal and the midfielder made no mistake as he side footed his 12th goal in 9 games home. It seemed as if every time Celtic broke forward they would be rewarded with a goal and Pohald made it four nil soon after. Killeen stormed down the left and whipped the ball across the face of goal. Rácz looked to have clutched the ball out of the air but he dropped it at the grateful Pohald’s feet and the American accepted his gift by grabbing his second goal of the season.
Janosi then got himself in on the act. Panov did brilliantly well to clip Harnsays ball back into the six yard area and the smallest man on the park Janosi somehow managed to out jump Rácz and glance his header into the goal. Celtic’s sixth of the afternoon also belonged to Janosi. He benefited from a defensive blunder by Manger United’s defender and he rolled in his second of the game. Killeen played an important role in the seventh goal as he fed Jamie Donachie into the box. Donachie’s shot deflected to Imre Varga and he poked the ball under Rácz’s legs. The final goal for Celtic came 20 mins from times. Bult timed his run perfectly to get on the end of Zoltan Bence cracking pass and the Dutchman coolly rolled the ball under Rácz’s body. Celtic then went into cruise control for the closing moments of the game and Manager took advantage. Csillag Gábor got in behind the Celtic defence and easily slotted home his 10th goal of the season. Cséffai Zoltán got the closing goal of the afternoon after he ran from the half way line before lashing his shot past Gabor. But nothing could contain the joyous celebrations at the final whistle as the Celtic players savored their best performance of the season.
Budapest Celtic: G: Gabor; D: Laurence Coen, Joe McCann, Gabor Harsanyi, Rob Longworth; M: Neil Evans, Heike Bult, Fergal Strumble, Stanislav Ryjov; F: Chris Pohlad, Vlad Panov: Subs: Nigel Killeen, Zoltan Bence, Imre Varga, Peti Janosi
Manager Utd: G: Rácz Zsolt; D: Híves Gábor, Molnár József, Tancsik Attila, Gárgyán Attila (Beleki Szilárd); M: Kovács Sándor, Schneider Gábor , Farkas Balázs, Szabó Zoltán(Szenjobi Zsolt, Pollák Márton, Turiák Tibor); F: Csillag Gábor, Godányi Árpád (captain), (Cséffai Zoltán);
19/20 April 2008
A Liga
Vikings 3v3 Szigeti Source
AGS Paprikás 2v1 Ratio Homini
B Liga
Dinamo Torpedo 3V2 Zöld Borzak
(Péter Oláh (25 (penalty), 50, 72 minutes)
Zöld Borzak took the early lead, when the Borzak striker was adjudged to have been brought down inside the box after a corner kick (0-1). Almost immediatlely, Dinamo got a penalty, after a right cross from Árpád Szlávik hit an unlucky defender on the hand. Péter Oláh kept his cool, and scored (1-1). After the break Dinamo took the lead, after a corner kick by Péter Brauner, Péter Oláh scored his second goal of the game (2-1). Zöld Borzak had a lot of good chances, they were struggling to equalize, it was through a real misfortune, that they didn’t. However after a mistake, Péter Oláh scored his third goal, from outside the box (3-1). Zöld Borzak didn’t give up, they created chances after chances, but could score only once, and left it too late (3-2). The fortune was with Dinamo.
Dinamo Torpedo: G: Csaba Boday; D: Michal Lukasik, Attila Probáld, Krisztián Wolf; M: Szabolcs Szirony, Imre Koncz , Levente Szirony, Csaba Laudán, Balázs Simon (Árpád Szlávik); F: Péter Brauner (Márk Cseh), Péter Oláh (Zsolt Czeizler)
Vezer 3V2 Celtic Kaledonian
()(Cian O’Connell (1), James Phelan (12))
Caledonians got off to a terrific start as Cian O’Connell converted Ala’s cross inside a minute of the game starting. Caley kept up the pressure and James Phelan and Cian O’Connell were unlucy to see chances blocked before James finished off a lovely team move to make it 2-0. Against the run of play Vezer got a goal back, yet another Caley attack broke down and Caley’s midfield didn’t track back enough and allowed Vezer to make it 2-1. They quickly equalized after a Caley player was caught in possession on the halfway line Vezer raced up and Paul Ensor was unlucky to see the attackers weak effort slip past him. Unfortunately the game was marred by an injury to one of the Vezer players. Both he and the Caley player contested a 50-50 ball and unfortunately the Vezer player came out the worst and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance for an X-ray. After the restart Caley struggled to find their passing rhythm and were further depleted by an injury to Ben Smith forcing them to re-shuffle at the back. Shortly after this they were once again punished on the counter-attack as Vezer took the lead. Caley pressed hard late on and had a number of free-kicks and corners but they just couldn’t make the pressure tell. There were good performances from Antonio Domingues, James Phelan and Ben Smith.
Everybody involved with Football Budapest wishes a speedy recovery for the Vezer player.
Kaledonian:G: Paul Ensor, D: Victor Bennett, Jamie Donachie, Ben Smith, Michael Collins, M: James Phelan, Liam Carroll, Antonio Domingues, Roland Kovacs, F: Cian O’Connell, Alan. Subs: Daniel Crowley, Chris Cronin, Daniel Dan, Zac McCue, Arpad
Yellow Cards: Jamie Donachie, Cian O’Connell
Vezer:
Hellas Cyprus 3V3 BIS Old Boys
(Nikos Davaris(10), Stavros Stavrou(70), Nikolas Pechlivanis(85))(John Murphy (5, 65), Gabor (80)
B.I.S stated the game with an offensive attitude and found a goal in the 5 minutes of the game. A perfect corner from Szabolcs Kovacs was rewarded by a perfect header by John Murphy that went to the left top corner of the Hellas post. Hellas came back to the game quickly. In the 10th min, a long ball from the center half caught the B.I.S defense in the line. Nikolas Pechlivanis had a good first touch on the right edge of the B.I.S penalty box and crossed the ball. It wasn’t that difficult for Nikos Davaris to tap the ball in and score the 1st Hellas goal. The rest of the 1st half, both teams had chances to change the score but couldn’t succeed. On the 35th min B.I.S player Ron Williams was injured and had to leave his position to Colin White. Second half started with both sides trying to hold on the ball at the center half. Although Hellas has managed to get the ball in the penalty box more, the B.I.S defense and B.I.S keeper Peter Vouskasz fought hard not to give away another goal. On the 65th minute, B.I.S broke from their half, with couple of passes they were just out the penalty box of Hellas. Haim Golan serviced a ball to the left of John Murphy and Murphy had a superb left volley to the left of the Hellas keeper Giannakis Georgiou. Although Hellas keeper stretched very well, his effort was not enough. The balled ended up at the very top left corner bars of the post. After the second goal, Hellas kept on their ambitious attacks and pressure. On 70th min. B.I.S swiper Mark Jenks lost a ball close to his penalty box. Stavros Stavrou took him on well and entered the penalty box. Mark’s attempts weren’t enough to stop the goal. Stavros Stavrou had a good finish and scored Hellas’ second goal. Upcoming minutes, both teams had chances and made the game entertaining. On the 80th minute, the 3rd B.I.S goal came. After a 15 meters of penetration from the center half, Haim Golan has laid the ball in front of Gabor. Gabor has entered the penalty box and had a lovely finish to the left of the Hellas keeper. B.I.S sat too deep after their third goal. And caught the defense caught one to one couple of times in the last 10 minutes of the game. On the 85th minute Nikolas Pechlivanis got the ball on the left edge of The B.I.S penalty box. He took Caglayan on with a quick pace and scored the Hellas 3rd goal. Although Nikolas Pechlivanis had got a second chance to score in the last minute of the game from a short goal kick of Conneach Morrison. B.I.S was lucky enough not to let the one point to go away on the last minute.
Hellas Cyprus: G: Giannakis Georgiou, D: Antreas Solomonidis, Dimitris Archeos, Marios, Periklis, M: Antonis Kyriakou, Nikos Davaris, Antreas Aloupos, Nikos, F: Stavros Stavrou, Nikolas Pechlivanis
Yellow Card:Antreas Solomonidis
BIS Old Boys:G: Peter Vouszkasz, D: Ron Williams (Colin White), Caglayan Acikalin, Mark Jenkins, Conneach Morrison; M: Rory Johnson, John Murphy, Daron Neil, Szabolcs Kovacs, F: Haim Golan, Gabor (Csaba)
12/13 April
A Liga
Vikings 5v0 AGS Paprikás
(Lars Erik Heggen (2), Sverre Enkerud, Per Cachrimanidis, Vidar Nedrebø)
An early header by Per Cachrimanidis after a wonderful crossover by Marc Magnusson gave Vikings the lead after just 3 minutes played. The rest of the first half Vikings ran the show more or less by themselves, going to midtime 4-0 to the good after goals scored by Lars Erik Heggen, Sverre Enkerud and Vidar Nedrebø. This could have changed slightly had Paprikas not missed a great opportunity from the penalty spot with the score at 3-0. The second half was a lot tighter affair with AGS Paprikas improving and playing their way into the match. Paprikas had a number of opportunities reduce the defecit, but had no luck with their finishing. The game was done and dusted late on, when Haakon S. Solberg managed to play through Lars Erik Heggen with a long ranged pass, allowing him to complete his brace.
Vikings: G: Einar Bekken, D: Stig Krüger, Øystein Fossdal, Ruben S. Fiskå, Anders Svindland, M: Haakon S. Solberg, Runar Aune, Lars Erik Heggen, Johan Gustafsson, Morten Nossen, Arne Krogstad, Øyvind Ervik, F: Sverre Enkerud, Per Cachrimanidis, Dave Clarke, Vidar Nedrebø, Marc Magnusson
Booked:
AGS Paprikás:
Booked: No.9
Budapest Celtic 1v1 Szigeti Source
(Stanislav Ryjov)(Krisztián Mihályi)
Budapest Celtic’s Championships hopes are all but over after they failed to beat bottom side Szigeti at Rona Utca on Sunday. Neil Evans, Keiran Fahy, and Heike Bult’s absence through illness coincided with a welcome return to the side for Fergal Strumble. Celtic had started the game at quite a pace; however the first chance belonged to Szigeti. Mihályi burst through the center of Celtic’s defence but Broughton bounded brilliantly from his line and the shot collided against the keeper’s chest. Without the influence of Evans, Celtic were finding it difficult to break down Szigeti’s back line. Adrian Courage was surrounded by two Szigeti midfielders every time he got on the ball and he could not dictate the game the way he would have liked in the first half. Szigeti had made it to half time all level and they grew in stature as the second half began. It was going to take something out of the ordinary to break the stalemate and Celtic were fortune to be the recipients. Bence found room in the middle of the park and he fired the ball out to Courage who had evaded his marker on the right. Ryjov collected a pass from Courage and twisted past his marker. The Russians right footed shot looked like it was sailing wide but it deflected off Csaba Gidró and past József Kapusi in goal. It was an undeserved lead however it was one Celtic failed to hold onto or extend. Szigeti broke well on occasions and Meaney flashed a shot just wide after being left unmarked at the back post. Szigeti had persevered and they always felt like they would get a chance to draw level. With thirty seconds on the clock a cross from Celtic’s left was controlled by Mihályi just inside the box. He was afforded all the time he needed to spin and shoot and with Broughton caught on his heels the ball crashed in off the underside of the bar into the net.
Budapest Celtic: Matt Watson-Broughton, Gabor Harsanyi, Laurence Coen, Rob Longworth, Joe McCann, Imre Varga, Adrian Courage, Fergal Strumble, Chris Pohlad, Vlad Panov, Stanislav Ryjov (Kalman, Nigel Killeen, Bence Zoltan, Peti Janosi)
Szigeti Source: Kapusi - Nejedly, Collinge, Gidró, Petró - Gaskell (Marshél-Courté), Downey, Seufert, Meaney, Mihályi - Ward (Szûcs).
05/06 April 2008
A Liga
Ratio Homini Paprikás 3v1 Szigeti Source
( ) (Bülent Karakis)
Ratio Homini:
Booked:
Szigeti Source: Kapusi - Gaskell (Petró), Collinge, Gidró, Nejedly - Marshél-Courté, Seufert, Szûcs (D'Alessio), Mihályi - Meaney, Karakis (Balogh)
Booked: Collinge, Sent-off: Kapusi
Budapest Celtic 2v2 Manager United
(Harsanyi, Evans), (Godányi, Kovács)
Budapest Celtic squandered their opportunity to go to the top of the league on Saturday, after being held at Rona Utca by Manager United. United who rarely threatened the Celtic goal all afternoon were gifted the lead 10 minutes into the match. The referee awarded a free kick on the edge of the area after Joe McCann was adjudged to have raised his studs. Agoston, the United midfield playmaker’s effort from 25 yards was spilled by Zoltan and the unmarked Kovács Sándor fired high into the roof of the net from eight yards out. A goal for Celtic at this stage seemed highly unlikely after squandering so manz opportunities, but they managed to compose themselves and find a way back into the match. Neil Evans swung in a ferocious corner that was met by Gabor Harsanyi. The defender’s terrific header gave him his 3rd goal in as many starts. Celtic were rejuvenated and they were now asking their own questions of the United defence. Keiran Fahy dashed from the centre of midfield, discarding three defenders in the process, but his final shot was rushed and easily claimed by United’s goalkeeper. Imre Varga then had an attempt from the edge of the area after Adrian Courage had hassled possession, again though the keeper was not troubled. Nigel Killeen’s shot from 30 yards, left the United keeper scrambling across goal but it was just wide in the end. Evans almost put Celtic ahead when he won back possession, cut inside the United defence and twisted a left footed shot inches wide. United were being pinned back and they had created very little since they scored. They needed a helping hand and Celtic duly obliged. When a simple pass was all that was needed Celtic were guilty of over elaborating on the edge of their box. Godányi Árpád stole in and chipped Zoltan leaving the Celtic defence to argue amongst themselves. It was a catastrophic end to the half for Celtic and they came out chasing an early equalizer as the second period began. Fahy floated a free kick in from the right that collided off the top of the cross bar and fell to Courage. His header from six yards out hit the bar giving him a second bite of the cherry, this time it drifted over the goalkeeper and the upright. Courage went close again moments later when he met Harsanyi’s inswinging cross, but this time he could only head straight at the goalkeeper. Celtic did not have to wait long for the equalizer they sought and it came from a familiar source. Chris Pohlad who was outstanding for the majority of the match, sidestepped a defender before curling a tantalizing cross into the area. Evans who had made a fantastic run drawing United away from goal, planted a pinpoint header past the goalkeeper. It was Evans ninth goal in as many games, a good return especially for a midfielder. Celtic wasted no time at all in pushing for their third goal. Courage was unfortunate not to put Celtic ahead when his turn and shot went narrowly past the post. Kalman headed the ball against the post after Laurence Coen had found him unmarked twelve yards out. McCann was breaking forward from left back frequently and he combined effectively with Pohald for the majority of the match. He fed Pohlad and the American threw another fine ball into the area for Evans to meet. This time though his header was off target. Celtic’s last chance came in the final minute. Rob Longworth’s diagonal free kick from just inside the United half wrecked havoc in the United goalmouth. The goalkeeper dropped the ball at Harsanyi’s feet but it was an awkward angle and the defender could not grab his second goal of the match.
Manager Utd: G: Rácz Zsolt; D: Hársfai Adolf, Láng Tamás, Molnár József, Tancsik Attila, (Híves Gábor); M: Farkas Balázs, Görög Flórián, Kovács Sándor, Pollák Márton (Schneider Gábor, Turiák Tibor); F: Csillag Gábor, Godányi Árpád (captain), (Szabó Zoltán);
Budapest Celtic: Zoltan, Harsanyi, Coen, Longworth, McCann, Bult, Varga, Courage, Evans, Pohlad, Panov (Kalman, Killeen, Fahy)
B Liga
Hellas Cyprus 1v0 Akadémia Orczy
BIS Old Boys 1v0 Zöld Borzak
Zöld Borzák's hopes to secure their first victory over division 2 rivals BIS Old Boys were delivered a major setback 15 minutes into the encounter, when, after a period of sustained BIS dominance, a Borzák defensive mixup lead to an indirect free kick to BIS some 10m From goal. Kiss Balázs flighted in the perfect cross from the kick and an unmarked Iain Sellers made no mistake to head in. BIS tails were up and they piled on the pressure, BIS forwards Tamascka Tamas and Zoltan in particular setting the Borzák defence all kinds of problems with their pace and movement. However, the Borzak defence held firm with stand-in goalkeeper, Gio Chikhladze more than atoning for his involvement in the earlier mixup (illegally handling a throw-in) with some solid keeping. So 1-0 to BIS at half-time. Having weathered the storm, Borzák came out fighting in the 2nd half, with the central midfield partnership of Pietro Vacchiano and Olivier Louis-Phillipe beginning to see more of the ball. Nicolas Pineau twice came close with shots from the edge of the BIS penalty box, and Laurent Comas had a strong header on goal comfortably saved by Vouszka Petér in the BIS goal. But as Borzák pushed forward looking for the equaliser, BIS looked more and more dangerous on the break -almost getting their second in the dying minutes when Rory Johnson broke free at pace from his own half and linked with Tamascka Tamas, only for some last-ditch defending preventing what looked like a certain goal. The final whistle blew shortly afterwards to leave the Old Boys the victors.
BIS Old Boys:
Zöld Borzak: G: Giorgi Chikhladze, D: Alex Stan Ray Gillespie (Captain) Laurent Comas Dezsi Becsagh, M: Lars Caesar Olivier Louis-Philippe, Pietro Vacchiano Dennis Harmaker F: Nicola Pineau, Dániel Gerö
Vezér F.C. 2v1 Dinamo Torepdo
( ) (Balázs Brávácz)
Vezér won the battle between the promotion favourites in the B Liga top ot the table clash at th weekend. Vezér took an early lead in the 10th minute. Vezér played at a high tempo and created several goal scoring chances, however in the 25th minute Brávácz equalized with a direct free kick to level the scores. Vezér´s second half pressure paid off just before the end, when they scored from outside the penalty area to take a 5 point lead at the top of the table and must now be red hot favourites for automatic promotion.
Vezér F.C.:
Booked:
Dinamo Torpedo: G: Csaba Boday; D: Michal Lukasik, Attila Probáld, Imre Koncz; M: Szabolcs Szirony, Zsolt Czeizler, Levente Szirony, Csaba Laudán, Tibor Matolcsi (Márk Cseh; F: Balázs Brávácz (captain), Péter Oláh
Booked: Collinge, Sent-off: Kapusi
Duncan Shiels Vándorkupa (quarter-final)
AGS Paprikás 4v1 Celtic Kaledonians
29/30 March 2008
A Liga
Budapest Celtic Vs Vikings 3-2 (Gábor Hársányi, Neil Evans, Vladislav Panov) (Vidar Nedrebø, Marc Magnusson)
Budapest Celtic got sweet revenge after their 6-0 reverse at the hands of the Vikings in the Ducan Shiels Cup last December. In the opening stages of the match, Celtic played like that 6-0 defeat was still very much fresh in their collective memories. A diagonal ball flung in from the right channel fell in between Celtic’s two centre-halves. The tenacious Vikings striker Vidar Nedrebø broke into the space and found the inch of daylight between Matt Broughton’s legs to squeeze home. Celtic did well to hold on. Celtic made the game 1-1 after their first real attack. Neil Evans’ corner from the right was only half cleared, allowing Gabor Harsanyi to blast goalward past the goalkeeper. The green and white hoops of Celtic started to build momentum and in their next real attack, Evans played an incisive one two with Nigel Killeen on the corner of the box, and the Englishman’s cross was blocked by a defender’s arm. Evans dispatched the penalty. Celtic sought to kill the game and they got the crucial third goal 20 minutes into the second half. Evans chipped the ball into the path of Vlad Panov, who cheekily lobbed the oncoming keeper to make it 3-1. Two minutes later Panov should have had a second goal. He found himself eight yards out with only the keeper to beat, but he failed to give Dobson’s delightful through ball the finish it deserved by firing wide. Vikings almost reduced the deficit. Marc Magnusson watched in disbelief as his long range effort came back against the bar. Magnusson wasn’t to be denied for long. His glorious shot from thirty yards out swerved over the deceived Broughton’s head, leaving the goalkeeper grasping at air. Celtic managed to hold on for a 3-2 victory.
Ratio Homini Vs Manager Utd 5-2
(B. Charpy, Sebastien Pornot 2, Inigo Arrimburu, Balász Egresits) (DénesBrezovszki , Gábor Csillag )
Le premier match de reprise dégage toujours un parfum étonnant : nouveaux joueurs, mise en place parfois imprécise, un collectig encore á roder, mais un enthousiasme intact, et une nécessité de victoire pour ces deux équipes mal classées, avec un avant gout de match couperet. Rapidement, les Paprikas prirent le match en main, et dés la 15éme minutes, sur un centre chanceux, Boris Charpy, recrue du mercato ( du SC Aszod) loba le gardien. Les manager united tentérent de réagir par Arpad Godanyi, mais un un but d'école de Sebastien Pornot sembla sceller le sort de la rencontre, et le troisiéme but d'inigo Arrimburu laissait croire á une victoire facile. Mais les Manager, équipe solide, profita de la déconcentration des joueurs pour revenir au score. La deuxiéme mi temps, avec un quatriéme but de Balasz Egresits - la encore, nouvelle recrue du mercato ( directement du Em techno TE)-, d'un tir puissant des 16 métres, reprit sur la méme domination en milieu de terraind es RH Paprikas. Mais la réaction des Manager United, qui marquérent un deuxiéme but, et par deux fois, se présentérent seul face au gardien, semblait laisser présager une deuxiéme mi temps plus difficle. Il fallut tout le brio de David Bajomi Lazar pour ecoeurer définitivement les attaquants en noir. Un cinquiéme but de Sébastien Pornot conclut les débats. L'enseignement de ce match est que si les RH Paprikas ont fait un grand pas vers le mantien en Ligue 1, avec 9 points, dépassant au classement leur adversaire du jour, il leur faudra plus de constance pour espérer vaincre un autre adversaire direct pour la descente, les Szigeti Source, le week end prochain.
B Liga
Dinamo Torpedo 2v2 Celtic Kaledonians
(Péter Olah 2) (Liam Carroll, Roland Kovács)
The battle at the top of B Liga saw Kaledonian take on Dinamo Torpedo who coming into the match were the only team in either league boasting a 100% record. Kaledonian dominated the opening exchanges in what was turning out to be a midfield battle. Dinamo struck first after Tony Dunne brought down Olah Peter, who then cooly slotted away the penalty. However, a few minutes later saw the Kaledonian receive a penalty of their own after Ross Kelly was adjudged to have been brought down inside the box. Liam Carroll slotted home the penalty to leave the scores level 1-1 at half time. The ‘Kally’ enjoyed a good 10 minute spell after the break and Roland Kovacs saw a miscued cross sail over the goalkeeper and into the net. After this however Dinamo Torpedo began to dominate and Kaledonian began to defend deeper and deeper. Finally with about 3 minutes to go in the game, Olah Peter scored his and his teams second with a shot from outside the box which managed to squirm under the unfortunate Paul Ensor to level the game at 2-2 leaving for a nervous finish. Dinamo went in search of a winning goal, but a draw was probably a fair reflection of the game.
Zöld Borzak Vs Orczy Akadémia 2-0 (Olivier Louis-Phillipe, o.g.)
Zöld Borzak took on Orczy Akadémia in a bottom of league 2 encounter. Orczy dominated possession throughout the first half but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. The deadlock was broken in the 70th minute when Olivier Louis-Phillipe, in a rare Borzak attack, lobbed home superbly from 25m. Orczy pressed hard for the equalizer but were undone when an unfortunate Orczy defender mishit a clearance into his own net under pressure from Nicolas Pineau. Final score, Borzak 2 - 0 Orczy.
Zöld Borzak: G: Albert Németh, D: Alex Stan Ray Gillespie (Captain) Frantisek Wieden Dezsi Becsagh, M: Lars Caesar (Dennis Harmaker) Olivier Louis-Philippe, Pietro Vacchiano Dániel Gerö (Giorgi Chikhladze) F: Nicola Pineau, Jose Osete)
Vezer 8v1 BIS Old Boys
Vikings 3v3 Szigeti Source
AGS Paprikás 2V1 Ratio Homini
B Liga
Vikings 5v0 AGS Paprikás
(Lars Erik Heggen (2), Sverre Enkerud, Per Cachrimanidis, Vidar Nedrebø)
An early header by Per Cachrimanidis after a wonderful crossover by Marc Magnusson gave Vikings the lead after just 3 minutes played. The rest of the first half Vikings ran the show more or less by themselves, going to midtime 4-0 to the good after goals scored by Lars Erik Heggen, Sverre Enkerud and Vidar Nedrebø. This could have changed slightly had Paprikas not missed a great opportunity from the penalty spot with the score at 3-0. The second half was a lot tighter affair with AGS Paprikas improving and playing their way into the match. Paprikas had a number of opportunities reduce the defecit, but had no luck with their finishing. The game was done and dusted late on, when Haakon S. Solberg managed to play through Lars Erik Heggen with a long ranged pass, allowing him to complete his brace.
Vikings: G: Einar Bekken, D: Stig Krüger, Øystein Fossdal, Ruben S. Fiskå, Anders Svindland, M: Haakon S. Solberg, Runar Aune, Lars Erik Heggen, Johan Gustafsson, Morten Nossen, Arne Krogstad, Øyvind Ervik, F: Sverre Enkerud, Per Cachrimanidis, Dave Clarke, Vidar Nedrebø, Marc Magnusson
Booked:
12/13 April 2008
A Liga
B Liga
Vezér 8v1 Zöld Borzak
(), (Nicola Pineau)
Vezér:
Zöld Borzak:G: György Budai, D: Alex Stan (Francis Marquier) Zeljko Vokic (Emmanuel Philis) Laurent Comas Gábor Marosvári (Ray Gillespie)
M: Lars Caesar, Nuno Dos Passos (Pietro Vacchiano), Frantisek Wieden (Olivier Louis-Phillipe) , Laurent Bobowski, F: Nicola Pineau (Captain), Dennis Hamaker (José Osete)
Yellow Cards: Ray Gillespie, Gabor Marosvári
Dinamo Torpedo 2v1 BIS Old Boys
(Levente Szirony, Imre Koncz), (Daron Neal)
Dinamo Torpedo: G: Csaba Boday; D: Michal Lukasik, Attila Probáld, Krisztián Wolf; M: Szabolcs Szirony, Imre Koncz, Levente Szirony, Zsolt Czeizler (Ferenc Tóth), Balázs Simon; F: Balázs Brávácz, Péter Oláh
Yellow Cards: Zsolt Czeizler, Michal Lukasik
BIS Old Boys:G: Caglayan Acikalin, D: Ian Sellers, Daron Neal, Gordon Reid, Mike Edwards; M: Rory Johnson, Mark Jenkins, Balazs Kiss, Alex
F: Haim Golan, Csaba
Yellow Cards: Haim Golan, Gordon Reid
The derby was over, Szigeti was jubilant, Orczy deflated.
The initial question, however, does remain, how did Szigeti get to be here? Because, on this form, the aggressive, clever, and lightning quick attacks that Lee Ballentyne’s team is currently creating would be a match for any of Liga A’s defenses. Perhaps the Celtic vs Szigeti cup tie on October 26 will give us a better insight as to how strong Szigeti really are.