The home side took the lead in the first half, but we equalised before the break with a goal from Christensen and Spandler's winner gave us a 2-1 win in our first match against Sumqayit.
After a promising pre-season period, our team has now started its competitive matches for the 2024/2025 season. The opener for Tamás Pető was an away Conference League qualifier against Sumqayit.
Sumqayit FK
![Sumqayit FK](https://fehervarfc.hu/api/image-cached/original/0/7509a69ac3ac/149948.png)
- ⚽ Abdullazade
1-2
Mehdi Huseynzade Sumqayit City Stadium Sumqayıt
Fehérvár FC
![Fehérvár FC](https://fehervarfc.hu/api/image-cached/original/0/f1fe90d6c651/149727.png)
- ⚽ Christensen
- ⚽ Spandler
Sumqayit FK
Dzhenetov Mekhti - Radovic Slavisa, Muradov Rovlan, Abdullazade Sabuhi, Vujnovic Nikola (Ahmadzada Nihad 46'), Sadikhov Rahim (Guliyev Kamran 84'), Medeiros Fernando (Mossi Tresor 84'), Badalov Elvin, Khachaiev Murad, Kehat Roi, Rezabala Jordan
Fehérvár FC
Tóth Balázs - Bohdan Melnyik, Nikola Serafimov, Spandler Csaba, Schön Szabolcs - Csongvai Áron, Tobias Christensen - Katona Mátyás (Kovács Mátyás 57'), Bedi Bence (Kasper Larsen 66'), Pető Milán (Babos Bence 66') - Nejc Gradisar (Kovács Patrik 84')
Florjan Lata
Xhulio Mani, Rejdi Zaimi, Kreshnik Cjapi
Our head coach named the eleven of Tóth - Melnyik, Serafimov, Spandler, Schön - Csongvai, Bedi - Katona, Christensen, Pető - Gradisar in the starting eleven. Dala, Veszelinov, Larsen, Stefanelli, Kovács B., Kovács P., Kovács M., Simut, Huszti, Ominger and Babos were on the bench.
In the first quarter of an hour, the teams got to know each other, with the goals hardly coming under threat. In the 10th minute Christensen curled a free kick over, while Sadikhov's shot hit the side netting. The many fouls were not conducive to a steady flowing game, with referee Florjan Lata handing out yellow cards. In the 17th minute, Gradisar shot at goal from 16 yards, the Azeri goalkeeper having no trouble to deal with it.
In the 20th minute, Sumqayit took the lead: Serafimov headed a corner out but it fell to Abdullazade, who scored a great goal from 18 meters (1-0). After the goal, we immediately stepped up and took control of the game. In the 28th minute, Gradisar found himself in position inside the box but he bombed over from a good position and Schön's dangerous cross sailed inches over everyone's heads. Bedi's left-footed shot was followed by Dzhenetov's quick save to the bottom right.
In the 33rd minute, Khachaiev elbowed Gradisar and received his second yellow card, and was sent off by the referee. With a man advantage our team increased the pressure even more, a great cross from Pető was met by Katona, his header narrowly missed the goal.
In the 39th minute our efforts were crowned with success: Schön set up Bedi, whose cross was headed into the net by Christensen (1-1). The home goalkeeper kept his side in the game before the break: a 17-metre shot from the superb Pető was tipped over by the home goalkeeper, who also saved Katona's effort in the break, but only for the second time.
The second half also started with a Vidi chance: Bedi's shot from a sharp angle hit the post.
In the 52nd minute, the superiority was converted into a goal: Katona's free kick was headed into the Azeri goal by Spandler (1-2). Tamás Pető made some substitutions, replacing Katona, Pető and Bedi with Mátyás Kovács, Babos and Larsen. The home team came out the better, in the 70th minute Tóth scooped the ball from the Azeri forwards with a determined save. Csongvai played with patience, passing around the Sumqayit defence and waiting for the opportunity.
The game picked up again before the end, with Larsen hitting the post in the 79th minute. Csongvai's overhead kick and Gradisar's header were the last straw, and the result remained the same, as we ended the tour of Azerbaijan with a 2-1 win.
There is no time to rest, on Sunday our team will play at the home of Kecskemét in the OTP Bank Liga NB I, followed by the Conference League return match against Sumqayit next Wednesday.
Author: David Rechnitzer