Our 35-time champion men's football team hosted their arch-rivals Újpest in the quarter-finals of the MOL Hungarian Cup.

Our Irish head coach Robbie Keane voted for the starting line-up of Dibusz - Makreckis, Gartenmann, Cissé, Szalai, Civic - Tóth, Maiga, Zachariassen - Pesics, Saldanha.

Before the start of the match, our European and World Championship bronze medal winning athlete Attila Molnár was welcomed and presented with a gift by FTC President Gábor Kubatov.

First half

The visiting team, Újpest started the encounter. The first chance came for the purple and white, Mamoudou shot into the goal, but as it was an offside, the referee disallowed the goal. In the 13th minute Pesics headed towards goal but Banai saved to a corner. A minute later, Saldanha pulled away on the right but couldn't get the ball through the middle. Soon after, Alex Tóth was in a shooting position, but his attempt from 18 meters missed the Újpest goal.

In the 16th minute, first Pesics and then Makreckis' shots were intercepted by the Újpest defenders. In the 25th minute, Civic found himself in a shooting position inside the penalty area, but his attempt was saved by Banai. Three minutes later, Saldanha had a chance on goal, but Banai picked up the ball. In the 31st minute, Alex Tóth dribbled his way near the baseline, but his shot evaded Banai's goal.

In the 32nd minute we took the lead! Pesics shot from 14 meters with a beautiful move into the long bottom corner (1-0)! We did not have to wait long for the second goal as in the 40th minute we doubled our lead! After Pesics' pass, Makreckis raced down the right flank, beat a defender with a trick and fired a ruthless shot into the top left corner (2-0)! Saldanha was in a promising position shortly after, but slipped in a feint and the chance was gone. In the 46th minute, Civic's shot was blocked by the Újpest defence. There were no more situations in the first half, and we went into the break with a two-goal lead.

Second half
With a two-goal lead, we remained on the offensive at the start of the second half.
In the 51st minute, Saldanha shot towards the visitors' goal, but he was tackled by the purple-and-white defenders.

A minute later, however, our Brazilian striker succeeded! Zachariassen passed to the middle and Saldanha found the net with a confident move from 12 metres (3-0)! Alex Tóth, who had also been outstanding in this match, shot wide in the 70th minute, but Banai saved. Two minutes later, Pesics almost scored his second goal. His shot from 13 meters just missed Banai's goal. In the 77th minute, Abu Fani's powerful shot was cleared by Banai.

In the 84th minute, Geiger curled a free kick into the middle and Brodic headed home (3-1). Two minutes later, substitute Barnabás Varga shot from 22 metres out but Banai held the ball. In the minutes of extra time, Brodic shot from distance, but the attempt missed Dibusz' goal. There were no more chances and we went through with a confident 3-1 win! 

Tomorrow night's draw will decide which team we will face in the semi-final of the MOL Hungarian Cup.