Match Report: 0-0 draw away at Mezokovesd

Second in the table Mezokovesd were the hosts to MOL Fehervar FC on Saturday evening. Match 9 of the OTP league season saw first against second. It is the their highest position and were sure to provide stiff opposition. 

Marko Nikolic had to do without Juhasz and Patkai, who were both struggling with muscle strains. There was a place on the bench for 18 year old defender Tamas Oliver for the first time. The team ran out as follows: Kovácsik - Nego, Rus, Musliu, Hangya - Kovács I., Nikolov, Elek, Petrjak - Milanov, Hodzic.

Mezokovesd manager Attila Kuttor had a full squad to choose from and he started with: Szappanos - Farkas D., Katanec, Nesterov, Silye - Berecz, Karnitskiy - Pekár, Cseri, Molnár G. - Zivzivadze.

The first real moment in the game arrived after 7 minutes when Istvan Kovacs won the ball and he ran towards the home goal with Katanec fouling him. Milanov took a free kick from a dangerous place but the ball hit the wall. Nikolov found himself with a chance to shoot after 13 minutes. His low shot from 18 meters was collected by keeper Szappanos. Nego aimed for the far corner of the goal from a tight angle five minutes later but the ball went out for a goal kick. 

The match was 25 minutes old when Nikolov sent in a corner that found the unmarked Musliu, whose header found the keeper in the right place. The resulting counter attack from Mezokovesd went down the right but Hangya and Nego combined to clear the danger. A long range shot from Elek three minutes later rebounded off Pekar and went just wide of the right post. The resulting Milanov corner was saved by Szappanos. 

The action continued with the game around half an hour old when Rus also tried his luck with a shot but his effort from 30 meters did not cause danger on the home goal. Berecz and Molnar got in each others way after 37 minutes, which ended with Kovacsik saving. A powerful shot from Pekar was punched away for a corner. 

There was still time for a shot from Nego right on half time, which Szappanos picked out from the top left corner. This came after Nesterov required lengthy treatment. Neither manager made a change at half time and the second period began with a shot from Nikolov. However, the North Macedonian could not hit the target and the score remained without any goals. A nice move involving Milanov and Petryak on 52 minutes ended with the Ukrainian winger shooting over from 13 meters. Milanov came off to be replaced by Futacs with the game an hour old.

A cross from Nikolov went across goal and Szappanos came out of his goal well to deal with it. Cseri tried from 25 meters after 70 minutes but Kovacsik confidently saved. Pantics came on for Kovacs soon after as both teams pushed for the winner. Daniel Nagy shot wide of goal after 75 minutes while link up play between Nagy and Zivzivadze produced a save from Kovacsik. 

The final 10 minutes became tense and several yellow cards were shown by the referee. There was also a final substitution, which saw Daniel Zsori come on for Petryak. A free kick from Berecz close to the end went well over the bar. That proved to be the final moment of a game that ended 0-0. Vidi remain top of the table and will next entertain FTC next weekend.