THE MTK-AMATEURE MATCH
— Frigyes Becske | 10/09/1925 —

We already know the result of the match and how it went, now we just want to comment on the game. The game started very nicely and hopefully for the Hungarians. For thirty minutes MTK dominated the pitch and produced a forward play that vividly recalled the almost forgotten memories of the great MTK of old.

Orth played phenomenally! His dazzling skill shone sovereignly over the entire field. His ingenious ideas, his soaring imagination and the elegance of his movements elicited a veritable round of applause from the spoilt Viennese audience.

Perhaps on no other occasion in Vienna have we seen this pride of Hungarian football played with such bravura and fought with such grace and virility.

He was also primarily responsible for the two goals that gave MTK the lead against their big-name opponents. Kaufmann, the referee of the day, who had been making error after error, awarded MTK a completely unjustified penalty in the 35th minute, which led their first goal. From that point on, the players, distracted by the inconsistent and impossible decisions of the referee, started to scramble themselves and the fight, which had started well, deteriorated to the level of an average match...

ORTH'S INJURY.

The Amateurs levelled in the 15th minute of the second half through Konrád II., who scored the Vienneses' second goal with a long shot from a free kick. MTK played more poorly in the second half than before the break, the tempo slowed down, with Orth alone struggling with unrelenting fervour. Molnár was his understanding partner, but Opata refused to do anything. Jeny's back injury prevented him from running up to his usual form, and Senkey II. had few useful balls. Kléber was the best in the half-back line, Rebró was rash in his actions and Nyul was out of form. In the backline, Senkey I. did his difficult task of holding off the dangerous Milnarik wing Wieser flawlessly. At this stage of the game, Amateure got a foothold and it was mainly the work rate and good play of midfielder Reiterer that gave the Vienna side some momentum. It was in the 35th minute of the match that this unfortunate accident occurred, the victim of which was the driving force and soul of the champion team, Orth.

The full-back Tandler collided so badly with Orth, who was about to shoot, that Orth was sprawled on the ground and was left lying motionless.

There was tremendous excitement on the field. The players crowded around Orth, the Hungarians escorting the team rushed onto the pitch, where Dr Schwartz, the well-known Viennese doctor, had already issued the order for Orth to be taken off. Orth was carried off the pitch on a stretcher and to the great consternation of the crowd, the match was stopped on the orders of Dr. Fodor.

In the cabin we were witness to scenes of heartbreak.

Many of the players were crying, the Hakoah players were also shaken by Orth's accident and among the many desperate sportsmen Orth himself was again the one who was most calm. 

He even consoled the others.

But the atmosphere remained extremely depressed and the crowd waited in deadly silence for the outcome. In the meantime, Orth was taken to the clinic and it was announced to the crowd that Orth's injury was not serious, but the match would not go ahead. This was a certain comfort and a murmur of regret ran through the crowd, which had just a few minutes before been enjoying the wonderful play of Europe's best centre-forward...

After the match, we gathered in the Ring Café. Here we once again discussed the great feat of Hakoah, the unprecedented dramatic turns of the fight, all our thoughts were once again on the clinic, where poor Gyuri Orth was lying with his dislocated knee. Before long, Master Hogan and Dr. Fodor appeared, and they brought the news that Orth was in a good mood and that his leg would be x-rayed tomorrow so that the doctors could determine the nature of the injury. We sat there sadly at our coffee house table and cursed the fate that had chosen this very pride of Hungarian football as its victim...

A VISIT TO THE HOHENEGG CLINIC.

Yesterday morning, we went to the clinic in the company of Dr. Fodor, Guttmann, Reiner and Nemes. In the waiting room of the X-ray examination room, Gyuri Orth waved his hand at us from afar, smiling, fresh and cheerful, and told us that he had spent the night partly sleeping and partly eating. His charming wife never closed her eyes for a moment, and even now she does not leave her husband's side, gently and motherly caring for her patient, who, judging by his mood, does not give us the impression of being sick.

Guttmann is warmly congratulated by Gyuri Orth on his victory against Slavia, and remarks: — At least this little consolation remains in our sorrow. Then, moving his right foot intact, he points to the blanket with a sly squint of his eyes: 


— Look, I can move my legs now.


I left the clinic reassured, and although the doctors' diagnosis is not encouraging, I have high hopes that in a few weeks' time this football phenom will once again lead his colleagues on a rampage for the further glory of Hungarian football and MTK.