Sunday 10th November 2013 ko 11.00

BLSZ (Budapest League) II Osztály

KŐBÁNYAI IFUSAGI SE 10 (Nagy 23 44 70 Galántai 34 Helmes 37 52 64 78 Lovász 68 Zeis 89)

ÚJUBDA KFT II 0

Att 33

Entry FREE

No Programme

It has to be said that an 11am kick-off on a Sunday is positively gentle! After the metro ride to Népliget and number 1 tram to MTK, Andy and I headed south-east on the number 37 tram to district 10, or Kőbánya.

Kőbánya, or Quarry if literally translated, started its existence as a centre for limestone mining and many of the beautiful buildings to be seen in the capital are built from materials extracted here. Later the area became known for its claypits, the clay being good for bricks, and later still for winemaking. During the Communist era brewing started up in Kőbánya and the Kőbányai Világos, a light beer became extremely popular throughout Hungary.

The district suffered greatly following the fall of Socialism at the end of the 1980’s, and the decay is there for all to see, and was poignant to follow the lines of disused tram tracks from the main 37 route into the factories, some open, some closed as the tram rattled its way along to Kocka útca, and the Merkapt Maraton Sportközpont.

Once you work out how to actually gain access to the place, the multi-sports facility is once of those places a photographer just has to walk around and explore. Yes, it’s obviously seen better days, perhaps representative of the district its in, but what needs to be spick and span is, and the welcome was as fulsome as Andy and I had become used to. We couldn’t fathom what the pools behind one goal were for, but knew that the lower league magnet would make a wayward shot veer off to where you really don’t want it to, and watching a player then try to retrieve the ball was comedic gold, whatever your language.

Gaining the morning’s line-ups proved to be interesting. I don’t speak any Hungarian, and the KISE manager spoke no English but we managed to hold a brief conversation. He made it clear that he expected to win and win well (he signalled 4-0 on his fingers), I grinned and Andy and I watched his side completely demolish the opposition.

It almost became a tale of two goalkeepers, Attila Mészáros for KISE and Ádám Várkonyi for Újbuda. In the first half Mészáros touched the ball once, to take a goal kick following a more enthusiastic Újbuda clearance. In the second half, that count rose a little, but Ádám Várkonyi’s  performance for the visitors was little short of heroic. The cliché says, “Without him it could have been double,” but in this case that’s exactly what could have happened. It seems odd to praise a goalkeeper who lets in double figures but he really was often for Újbuda, the only line of defence.

Whilst I’m no fan of games this one-sided, it was entertaining in a macabre kind of a way, and it did do wonders for our trip’s goal average. One thing we did spot as the game finished, was the proximity to Budapest airport. We made a mental note to sit on the left side of the plane, and out came the iPhone as we took off for home!