A Nemanja Nikolics penalty gave Videoton a single goal first leg win over Debrecen
Videoton will take a 1-0 first leg lead into the second leg in two weeks time. Two of the stronger sides in Hungarian football came face to face in an early encounter, with the Fehervar side emerging winners, thanks to a second half penalty from Nemanja Nikolics. Both sides went in to the match having won their last games by a comfortable margin. Debrecen enjoyed a 10-0 win over third division side Letavertest, while Vidi saw off ZTE by a 4-0 scoreline in the Hungarian cup, which they followed up with a good 6-3 second leg away win.
The first chance of the match fell the visitors after only 2 minutes. Szakaly curled a ball into the box, which required a save from Vidi keeper Bozsovics. Vidi pressed forward a minute later, with Nikolics playing a one-two with Kovacs, which saw the former shoot at goal, only to see his effort well saved by the visiting keeper. The action continued to come thick and fast in front of both goals. Bodi crossed for Coulibaly to hit wide after 16 minutes. A Debrecen defender appeared to handle inside the area on the half hour, but the match official waved away the appeals of the Videoton players.
Toth then shot a long range free kick over the bar, while Nikolics just failed to connect with a cross from the right from Brachi, after 40 minutes. Niko was again in the action on 42 minutes, with the forward eventualy doing well to shoot from a tight angle, but keeper Verpecz was on hand to deal with it. Nikolics was seeing plenty of the ball in the final moments of the first period, and once again he was just inches away from giving Videoton the lead. The final main talking point of the first half came in the 45th minute, with Debrecen midfielder Ramos receiving his second yellow card for a challenge on Toth. Referee Ivanyi had no alternative but to produce the red card and Debrecen were suddenly down to ten men.
The second half began with a shot from Czvitkovics, which Bozsovics comfortably dealt with. Gyurcso had a powerful shot on goal in the 53rd minute, which saw Verpecz produce another good save. Their keeper kept Debrecen in the tie. The post came to the rescue of the visitors in the 58th minute after another Gyurcso effort. It seemed as if it was going to be one of those frustrating days with Vidi trying hard to get in behind the Debrecen defence. Istvan Kovacs was brought down inside the area, and referee Ivanyi pointed at the spot on the hour mark. Nikolics kept his composure to place the ball into the bottom corner of the net to give Vidi the lead.
There were several substitutions made by both managers in the final 25 minutes of the game. The two teams continued to test each other, ensuring that the match remained an exciting affair for the home crowd. Coulibaly could have levelled for Debrecen in the 87th minute, but he could only find the outstretched knee of Bozsovics. The final effort of the match fell to Kovacs, who produced a great save from the impressive Verpecz. Ivanyi blew for full time and Vidi will take a single goal advantage into the second leg.
Szerző: David Rechnitzer