Our U17 team said goodbye to the cup competition with a fine victory away against U Cluj. Head coach Mitra Szilárd shares his thoughts on the match.

Our U17 team said goodbye to the cup competition with a fine victory away against U Cluj. Head coach Mitra Szilárd shares his thoughts on the match:

We approached this game with a depleted squad, as we provided players to both the U18 and U16 teams, while Bódi Lehel is sidelined with an injury. Meanwhile, U Cluj fielded their strongest lineup, including three national team players.

We started poorly in the first 15–20 minutes, lacking belief and aggression, which allowed the opponents to put us under heavy pressure. After that, we began to find our rhythm, and in the second half the game became balanced, with several promising attacking moves from our side. Tóth Pál Milán made a strong impact off the bench and won two penalties, giving us a 2–0 lead. As has happened before, we gifted the opponents a goal. While we could have conceded early in the first half, U Cluj did not create any chances in the second half.

The boys put in tremendous work against a very strong team. Although we had already lost our chance to advance, this match is a positive one for us, both physically and in terms of decision-making. It reinforces the belief that with hard work, we can beat anyone.

R. A.