Our women’s team are preparing for the first senior international home fixture in the club’s history: Péter Kollár’s side will welcome 20-time Icelandic champions Breiðablik to the Municipal Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Our women’s team are preparing for the first senior international home fixture in the club’s history: Péter Kollár’s side will welcome 20-time Icelandic champions Breiðablik to the Municipal Stadium on Wednesday evening. Drawing on the experience gained in the first leg in Iceland, we want to show that we are capable of more through more solid defending, braver football and a closer result.

FK Csíkszereda are about to open another historic chapter: at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, 2 September, our women’s team will play a senior international fixture in front of their home supporters for the first time. In the second leg of the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup first qualifying round, Breiðablik, the most successful club in Icelandic women’s football, will take to the pitch at the Municipal Stadium in Miercurea Ciuc.

By winning the silver medal in the previous season, our club secured the right to compete internationally for the first time. The opening match of this historic tie was played in Kópavogur on 26 August, where the vastly more experienced Icelandic side claimed an 8–1 victory. We paid a heavy price for every loss of possession and positional error early in the match. Breiðablik established a two-goal lead inside the opening ten minutes and were 5–0 ahead at half-time.

The second half, however, brought our club’s first senior goal in European competition. Csilla Balázs found the Icelanders’ net in the 79th minute, scoring from around 20 metres following a corner.

“The Icelandic team headed the ball clear after the corner, but it came back to me after three passes and I shot from approximately 20 metres. Of course, it feels good to have scored, but the heavy defeat also left me with a sense of disappointment,” Csilla Balázs said as she recalled her historic goal.

During the week since the first leg, the coaching staff have primarily sought to help the team process what happened in Iceland, draw the necessary conclusions and approach the home leg with greater determination.

“A week ago, we had an experience that may have been difficult to process. We encountered a different world, different circumstances and a different approach. I hope the experience we gained there will allow us to approach the home match better prepared,” head coach Péter Kollár said.

According to the coach, the team were unable to execute their plan to play more attacking football in Iceland, while the opposition ruthlessly punished every mistake.

“We wanted to play more attacking football, but Breiðablik capitalised on every ball we gave away and every positional error. Our defending did not come together properly either, and at times we gifted our opponents easy goals. It was interesting to see that we conceded the kind of goals in Iceland that we then scored ourselves in the weekend’s league match. In the second leg, I want to see more solid defending from which we can launch quick attacks,” Péter Kollár explained.

Our women’s team were also in league action between the two European fixtures. On Sunday, they defeated Universitatea Craiova 11–1 at the Municipal Stadium, with substitute Anna Ezer scoring a hat-trick in just 13 minutes. The emphatic victory may also have provided an important confidence boost ahead of Wednesday’s second leg.

Breiðablik arrive in Miercurea Ciuc with 20 Icelandic league titles, 14 Icelandic Cups and considerable European experience to their name. Having analysed the footage from the first leg, Péter Kollár believes that our team must primarily improve in recognising and resolving match situations more quickly.

“I would leave the physical attributes aside for now. They were ahead of us tactically and had already experienced the pressure and significance of a match like this. That was where they were better than us. Watching the footage back, I feel that we could even have matched them in terms of our play, but there were certain situations we did not recognise or resolve in time. Perhaps that was the most important difference,” our head coach assessed.

With the team trailing by seven goals, the main objective for the second leg is to demonstrate progress through our overall play, individual performances and management of match situations.

“I would be satisfied if we could take another step forward. I want to see individual solutions, an understanding of the game and build-up play that show we have learnt from the first match. I would like to thank the club’s management for doing everything possible to provide the conditions we need to finish this home fixture with a good result,” Péter Kollár added.

Csilla Balázs believes that achieving this will first require the team to approach the duels more bravely and eliminate the mistakes made in Iceland.

“We want to compete with them, be more assertive in the duels and give everything we have. If we can eliminate the mistakes that led to the goals we conceded in the first leg, I think we can achieve a good result against them,” our player said.

Anna Ezer also feels that the result in Iceland did not reflect the team’s true ability.

“I am disappointed by the heavy defeat, but simply being able to take part in the Europa Cup is a huge motivation in itself, and we have another opportunity to show what we are truly capable of. I expect everyone to give their maximum because we are capable of much more than this. Personally, I would of course be delighted to score again, but I would also be satisfied if we could play a much closer match than we did in Iceland,” said the forward who scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s league fixture.

The team are also counting on the support of the home crowd on this special evening.

“We warmly welcome our supporters, family members, parents, relatives and everyone in Miercurea Ciuc who is interested in the match. It is a special occasion to welcome an internationally recognised women’s football team to our city,” Péter Kollár emphasised.

The FK Csíkszereda–Breiðablik match will kick off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, 2 September, at the Municipal Stadium in Miercurea Ciuc. Admission is free. We are planning to broadcast the match live on FK Csíkszereda’s YouTube channel.

Attila Rédai
Photo: Zoltán Pál