FTC-Telekom have continued their extraordinary dominance of Hungarian water polo, defeating Vasas 18-12 to win a ninth consecutive Hungarian Cup and lift the trophy for the 26th time in the club’s history.
The result extends an unprecedented run in the competition. Before FTC’s current streak, the longest sequence of Hungarian Cup victories belonged to UTE, who won six successive titles between 1931 and 1936.
But Sunday’s final at the Komjadi was considerably tighter than the final score suggested.
Only four days after FTC had demolished Vasas 22-11 in the opening round of the Hungarian league, Vasas produced a much stronger response and even threatened a major upset.
FTC led 4-2 after the opening period, but Vasas fought back impressively in the second. Bence Batori converted a penalty to put the red-and-blues 6-5 ahead before Dusan Mandic produced one of the moments of the final, scoring in the final second of the half to level the contest at 7-7.
The holders began to take control after the break.
Mandic, Krisztian Manhercz and Vendel Vigvari helped FTC establish a three-goal advantage in the third quarter, with Balazs Nyeki’s side moving 13-10 ahead heading into the final eight minutes.
Vasas could not maintain the intensity of their first-half performance. Konstantinos Kakaris and Edoardo Di Somma were among those to strike as FTC pulled clear, winning the final period 5-2 to complete an 18-12 victory.
The triumph continues a remarkable domestic run for FTC, who have not lost a competitive match in Hungary since March 2022. Their ninth straight Cup also comes after they comfortably defeated Kaposvar 28-10 in Saturday’s semi-final.
Vasas nevertheless leave the Final Four with silver after an impressive weekend which included a convincing 19-13 semi-final victory over BVSC.
Results
Final
FTC-Telekom 18-12 Vasas
(4-2, 3-5, 6-3, 5-2)
Third-place match
BVSC 18-11 Kaposvar
Semi-finals
FTC-Telekom 28-10 Kaposvar
Vasas 19-13 BVSC
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