Europa League: Ferencváros Triumphs over Nice in Hard-fought 1-0 Win

Ferencváros (also known as Fradi or FTC) defeated OGC Nice 1-0 at home on Thursday in the third round of the UEFA Europa League‘s first leg to claim their first points.

The home side, who started off better, took the lead after a quarter of an hour through Canadian Moïse Bombito’s own goal, and held on to their minimal advantage until the break when Pablo Rosario’s sending off reduced the French rivals to ten men.

Ferencváros will host FC Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine in Hamburg in the fourth round in two weeks’ time.

The Hungarian team started the match with more energy and determination than their opponents, waiting just two minutes for their first shot on goal, but it was saved by the French goalkeeper. FTC clearly dominated, with a succession of home actions, the most dangerous being Kady’s shot, which just missed the bottom right corner.

The first real chance was missed by OGC Nice, with Sofiane Diop’s effort being saved by Dénes Dibusz. After taking the lead through their own goal, the Green and Whites did not force their attacks as much and the match became level.

Although FTC’s slowing down of the tempo slightly dragged their opponents down, it was not until the break that they tried to take revenge, with Nice’s Marcin Bułka again saving Kady’s free-kick and Mohammed Abu Fani’s shot into the bottom right-hand corner just before half-time.

After the break, the visitors posed more of a threat, and although Dibusz had to make two saves, the Hungarian goalkeeper had no problems with either of them. After the initial French onslaught, Ferencváros had their moments, but most of the home attempts avoided the goal.

Both sides played with energy in an intense game, and the home fans could not be complacent with a minimal lead.

Nice went a man down and from then on, Ferencváros had no trouble keeping the score level and deservedly collected the three points.

Via MTI; Featured image via MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt