FRADI TO THE FINALS
FERENCVÁROS—AUSTRIA WIEN, 6:1 (2:1)

The miracle happened, Ferencváros performed an unexpected comeback to advance to the finals — Dr. Sárosi back to his old form — An impressive second half for the whole Fradista team.

The result of the first match, initially, caused the Hungarian supporters of Fradi to highly doubt whether the team could comeback against F.K. Austria, which the team performed with authority in the first leg. Despite not playing badly, Fradi conceded four goals in the first leg of the semi-finals. While chosing Dr. Sárosi as centre-half, primarily as a method of nullifying the opponent's offensive actions, in Praterstadion, in addition to a defensive-offensive clash between Dr. György Sárosi & Matthias Sindelar. Consequently, to pursue a miraculous comeback, Ferencváros decided to appoint Dr. Sárosi as the team's centre-forward. However, by performing such a move, the team's defensive system would remain exposed.


Mitropa Cup, Semi-final: 25/07/1937, Sunday 18:00.
Ferencváros F.C. — F.K. Austria 6:1 (2:1)
Place: Üllői-út, Budapest — Referee: Generoso Dattilo (Milan).
Linesmen: Rosenberger II. and Mühlbauer.
Attendance: about 22.000.

Ferencváros F.C.
Coach: József Sándor.
XI: Háda — Tátrai, Korányi — Hámori, Polgár, Lázár — Táncos, Kiss, Dr. Sárosi(c), Toldi, Kemény.

F.K. Austria
Coach: Robert Lang, Walter Nausch & Matthias Sindelar.
XI: Zöhrer — Andritz, Sesta — Adamek, Mock, Nausch(c) — Riegler, Stroh, Sindelar, Jerusalem, Neumer.

Goals: Dr. Sárosi(2, 25min; 77min), Kemény(2, 7min; 63min), Kiss(57min), Toldi(83min) — Sindelar(43min).


The game already had a plot already foreseen by the vast majority of people. A week after the defeat in Vienna, the atmosphere at FTC-pálya was spectacular, with a hot and sunny day. Even with an excellent advantage from F.K. Austria, fans trusted that Fradi, through Dr. Sárosi, could perform a miracle on the field. With a much more offensive Ferencváros and F.K. Austria more guarded at the back, especially with both insiders playing a much more defensive role than an offensive one. However, this would eventually cause spaces for the F.K. Austria to explore through counter-attacks. Moreover, both wing half-backs of Ferencváros, in addition to having more offensive characteristics, were even more focused on attack. In such a way, the Viennese wingers would have more freedom.

The first goal, scored by Tibor Kemény, was accomplished quickly, therefore causing even more enthusiasm for the Zöld-Fehér team and their fans. Shortly after the second goal, scored by Dr. György Sárosi, even the most pessimistic of fans began to believe that a comeback could be possible. Ferencváros continued to put pressure on the Viennese team, but the shots are not achieved in goals. Just before the end of the first half, in a rare chance that Sindelar got, Die Violetten reduced the score to 2:1.

A SPECTACULAR SECOND HALF

In the second half of the match, Ferencváros boosted their game even more. If the F.K. Austria managed to contain the damage of the Hungarian team in the first half, the second half would be the embodiment of the miracle performed. They were already getting more for Fradi's advances. The performance of the Viennese players dropped a lot, especially the half-back game. Consequently, Ferencváros scored four goals in the second half and materialized one of the main chapters in its history.

Ferencváros played an excellent match, largely due to their performance in the second half of the match. Háda didn't have to work hard and wasn't even to blame for the goal scored by Sindelar. Tátrai highlighted in relation to Korányi. However, this new pair of full-backs still needed to find some game chemistry. Polgár was the best of the half-backs. As for Fradi's offensive line, Dr. Sárosi was the main name. He recalled his impressive former form of attacking command, as well as pursuing a more physical game in this specific match.

On the side of F.K. Austria, only a few momentary attacks were carried out, as the team remained, in a well-predicted way, in the defensive system almost throughout the match time. Even conceding two goals in the first half, F.K. Austria had good performances, especially the half-backs. Captain Walter Nausch was one of the best players in the match. In the Viennese attack, both wingers had more freedom, as Ferencváros' wing half-backs weren't able to come back to mark them. but they could not but they couldn't take advantage of it. Sindelar was not allowed to breathe, receive the ball. He was constantly being caught. As a testament to Sindelar's greatness, he only got a shot off almost once and that was the only goal which F.K. Austria scored. Both insiders did not have much of a say in their offensive roles.