The two managers shared their thoughts on the Hungarian Cup semi-final, first leg.
Marko Nikolic:
"My team deserve massive congratulations for the win. The run now stands at 12 wins and a draw from 13 games. The last 6 games have been derby matches and each of them have been won with two wins each over Debrecen, Ferencvaros and one against Ujpest and Honved. We could have scored the second goal today but we did not manage that. I do not think that Debrecen had a clear cut chance but they did have shots including chances inside the box. We defended well and also against dangerous set-pieces. We had four important players out with Akos Elek having a virus, Scepovic, Fiola and Milanov all missing through injury. I am very proud of my team this evening. We will prepare for Saturday's derby game at Ferencvaros and then switch our attention to the second leg against Debrecen next week. I told the players in the dressing room that they must never give up and lets fight to achieve our targets until the end of the season."
The press conference also included questions about the many yellow cards and Marko Nikolic being sent from the bench.
"All I said was that he should control the match without yellow cards. One bad word did not leave my mouth and I wasn't even that nervous during the game. I stood up perhaps three times from the bench. I felt that there was a show of strength, not only against me but also my players. We never ever complain and our club never make statements that include complaints or are negative. We always try to remain positive. Now I am being asked about why we did not get a penalty for the handball? Perhaps you are now used to me not commenting on these situations as I respect match officials. However, this should be a two way street."
Herczeg András:
"I am not satisfied with the result and we were slow in the first 15 minutes. Vidi did well to take advantage of our error. We then improved and were equal partners in the game and the players did plenty. Their attitude was good and they showed good solutions so I can only praise them. They came off the pitch with their heads held high. What we had promised - could be seen on the pitch with us giving our all. We would have been pleased to have scored a goal and it would make things easier on our home pitch. We need to remain composed in front of goal. MOL Vidi are a very good side and I did not think that they were too hard. Both teams played with plenty of desire and they both wanted to pick up a result. We will do all we can next week at home to make it into the final."
Author: David Rechnitzer