While his performance earned plenty of praise from his head coach at West Ham United, it was only once the footage became available that the brilliance of his display really shone through.
And no, this is not a reference to Alphonse Areola’s fine showing in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Newcastle at the London Stadium.
Alongside Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the West Ham goalkeeper produced his best display of the Premier League campaign as Nuno Espirito Santo finally got off the mark.
Post-match, Areola talked up the togetherness which underpinned a rare Hammers victory.
The character and the resolve to not only dig in when Newcastle stormed into a fourth minute lead, but to bounce back and protect a victory they secured in stoppage time via a sliding Tomas Soucek.
West Ham United’s Under-21s needed to display plenty of character and resolve of their own around 24 hours later, meanwhile, as they also recovered from a deficit to claim a point at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On a day when the swashbuckling Emeka Adiele channelled his inner-Malick Diouf again, when George Earthy took a big step towards a first-team comeback, and Callum Marshall missed the chance to seal a smash-and-grab win with a late penalty miss, Krizstian Hegyi served up a masterclass of shot-stopping.
All the while suggesting that, when the time comes to move on from Areola, West Ham may be advised looking within.
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Krisztian Hegyi bounces back for West Ham United on Premier League 2 stage
West Ham signed Hungary Under-21 international Krisztian Hegyi all the way back in 2019, from Szombathelyi Haladas in his homeland.
In those six years, he has played 38 matches during a variety of loan spells at Stevenage, Den Bosch, Motherwell and Debrecen. An unfortunate injury brought about a premature end to his time at Debrecen in March, just as he was starting to really make a name for himself.
An injury which would also keep Hegyi out for the duration of West Ham’s pre-season plans.
The now-23-year-old glovesman only made his belated return in October, during the EFL Trophy victory over Swindon Town.
And while the always quote-happy Ian Holloway was left ‘seething’ by what he viewed as some pretty shameless play-acting, the magnificent reaction save he pulled off to secure the victory was as good as anything Areola or Mads Hermansen managed under Nuno or Graham Potter.
In his first Premier League 2 outing since March 2023, even better was to come just a handful of days later.
Hegyi, wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Airidas Golambeckis, produced a display reminiscent of the form which saw goalkeeper West Ham’s official website label him a ‘sensational’ talent two years ago, just before he was handed a first-ever run in senior football with Stevenage.
“It was a collective effort,” Under-21 coach Lauris Coggin said after Hegyi’s heroics laid the platform for Adiele to cancel out Wolves’ 24th minute opener on Monday.
“We talk about being efficient and effective in and out of possession as a team. You need absolutely everybody, so I think we’ve done that well.
“Hegyi made some great saves at times, so all credit to him.”
Hegyi faces a battle with Finlay Herrick in Hammers Under-21 side
His first of those ‘great saves’ came early on, at 0-0.
Josh Briggs and Dimitri Colau, who endured a difficult evening throughout, were left chasing shadows but Hegyi came to their rescue to palm aside a stinging left-footed drive.
There was nothing he could do about Tawanda Chirewa’s rasping opener, though. But just when Hegyi looked to have gifted Wolves the lead – he raced off his line and failed to cut out a high ball – he showed outstanding reactions and awareness to get back and block the resulting effort.
He then twice denied a Wolves attacker one-on-one in the second 45 – making himself big and using every part of his body to clear the danger – although Hegyi’s standout moment came when he tipped a curling shot onto the bar.
Sensational, indeed.
“For Krisztian, the thing that catches the eye of people who see him is how well equipped he is mentally,” Xavi Valero, the club’s former goalkeeping coach, said back in 2023, via the official website.
“He has a top mentality to play the game and to match the emotional demands of the game. He is very mature and is ready, so he just needs to keep building his capabilities and physicality, but he has all the tools needed to play at the highest level.”
More top stops from our lads between the sticks in April ⛔️
• Fabianski vs Brentford
• Hegyi vs Spurs
• Fabianski vs Chelsea
• Areola vs Lyon
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Hegyi needed all of that maturity and that mentality to come back following that long-running injury absence which derailed his impressive beginning on loan at Debrecen.
Now, after West Ham controversially recalled Finlay Herrick from a temporary stint of his own with Boreham Wood, the Hungarian will need to demonstrate further resolve as he looks to reestablish himself as their first-choice at Under-21 level.
At the age of 23, this is also a very big season for a man who will soon be ineligible for reserve-team football.
But regardless of whether his destiny lies at West Ham – Hegyi’s contract expires in 2027 – performances like that in Wolverhampton should ensure a bright future somewhere in the professional game.