On Tuesday, Ferencváros began its appearance in the Champions League qualifiers with convincing success: it beat the Welsh team The New Saints 5-0 in the first home leg of the second round.

The green and whites, managed by the head coach Pascal Jansen, who was appointed in the summer, decided the match already in the first half, because they gained a three-goal advantage with Adama Traoré's double and Kristoffer Zachariassen's goal. The FTC did not stop in the continuation, Traoré achieved a hat-trick, and the final result was set by Marquinhos from the 11th after two assists.

The rematch, which seems like a formality, will be held next Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the island country. The winner of the match will meet the runner-up of Denmark's Midtjylland and Andorra's Santa Coloma in the third round, the loser will continue their participation in the Europa League qualification. The Hungarian champion must win three rounds to reach the main draw in the most prestigious European cup series.

Champions League, qualifier, 2nd round, first match:
Ferencvárosi TC-The New Saints (Welsh) 5-0 (3-0)
————————————————-
Groupama Aréna, 16 231 spectators, v.: Guillermo Cuadra (Spain)
scorers: Traoré (15th, 21st, 54th), Zachariassen (24th), Marquinhos (62nd, from 11th)
yellow card: Marquinhos (63rd), and Williams (50th)

Ferencvárosi TC:
—————-
Dibusz – Makreckis (Botka, 76), Cissé, Gustavo (Knoester, 83), Ramírez – Rommens, Maiga (Tóth, 76) – Traoré, Zachariassen, Marquinhos (Owusu, 76 .) – Pesic (Kady, 76.)

The New Saints:
—————
Roberts - Daniels, Pask, Bodenham, Davies (Baker, 89) - Clark (Bradley, 89), Smith, Redmond (D. Williams, 63) - Brobbell, Young (McManus , 76.), J. Williams (Holden, 63.)

As promised by the Dutch specialist, Ferencváros started with great momentum and energy, which pinned down its opponent from the first minute. The Hungarian champion tried a lot of passes from the wings - especially Marquinhos was in his element on the left side - but at first these were neutralized by the Welsh defense. It was only a matter of time before the green and whites took the lead, and in the end the fans only had to wait a quarter of an hour for that. The first goal conceded immediately broke the rival's resistance, as FTC had already gained a 3-0 advantage by the time of the drink break, Traoré's second goal came after a great action. The visitors were only able to keep possession of the ball for a long period of time, and they reached Dibusz's goal even less often, but Ferencváros let loose in the minutes before the break, as indicated by Williams' shot that hit the crossbar.

Even after the half-time change, the Hungarian team played football with an overwhelming advantage, which actually decided the duel with the new goal - Traoré's third goal. The energy of the islanders was completely consumed by the defense, but even then they could not avoid a knockout defeat, because Marquinhos, who played football with great enthusiasm and had two assists, also scored from the penalty spot. In the remaining short half hour, both sides waited for the blow, Dibus had to defend only once during the meeting. There was a class difference between the two teams, so Ferencváros won a well-deserved victory in this ratio.

MTI

Cover photo: José Marcos Marquinhos (l) of Ferencvárosi TC and Josh Daniels of Wales' The New Saints played in the 2nd round of the football Champions League qualifying match Ferencvárosi TC - The New Saints at the Groupama Arena on July 23, 2024.
MTI/Zsolt Szigetváry