They played patiently and effectively, which resulted in the long-awaited three points at home. Widzew Łódź players defeated Górnik Zabrze 3-1 at home in the 22nd round of the PKO Ekstraklasa.
Krzysztof Sędzicki
February 25, 2024, 16:57
PAP / Marian Zubrzycki / In the photo: Widzew Łódź players’ joy following Juan Ibiza’s goal. Widzew players started this match a week following winning the Łódź derby once morest ŁKS 2-0. In turn, Zabrze left the field as losers for the last time in the league on a cold November evening following the clash with Puszcza Niepołomice. However, on Friday, the players went on strike once morest delays in pay and did not go to training. However, they had to double up for the match.
– I watched Górnik’s last match. His strong point is definitely his speed at the front – the two wingers and the striker are very fast, and Lukas Podolski plays underneath them. I think these are their greatest advantages. And since they have a good offense, we have to provide good security. Taking into account our offensive strength, I also believe that we are able to score goals, announced Dominik Kun, a midfielder from the Łódź team, before the match.
In the first part of the game, the hosts were much more active. Already in the second minute, Fran Alvarez checked the crosshairs and shot from 20 meters above the goal. Ten minutes later, the ball was intercepted by Bartłomiej Pawłowski in the midfield, then he launched a pass from Antoni Klimek, but the shot from a sharp angle was deflected by Daniel Bielica.
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Only in the 24th minute did the miners have a chance. Dani Pacheco took the free kick, but it was so harmless that Rafał Gikiewicz calmly caught the ball and immediately launched Widzew’s counterattack. A long play towards the escaping Jordi Sanchez, Belica comes out of the goal, the Spaniard lobs the ball and… at the last moment Lawrence Ennali kicks the ball away.
Until the 30th minute, it might be said that the players from Łódź were looking for crosses, but to no avail. In the end, however, the throw-in resulted in a threat and… a goal. Fabio Nunes centered from the left, although the original recipient was Jordi Sanchez. The Spaniard touched the ball with his shoe, it bounced off Rafał Janicki and then went to Antoni Klimek’s feet. The Widzew youth player did not calculate, but shot from the eighth meter right at the post of the Zabrze goal.
And following a while, the team might already be leading 2-0. Klimek played the main role once more, this time he took a soft shot from the penalty area line, and the ball went over Dominik Szala’s head and then hit the crossbar. This led to a corner kick, which actually resulted in the second goal for the Łódź team. Nunes crossed the ball, the ball flew across the goal area, but went straight to Juan Ibiza’s leg. The Spaniard thus scored his first goal in his career for the red-white-red team.
Górnik’s first dangerous situation occurred only in the 40th minute. Lukas Podolski received the pass from his partner. The world champion crossed the corner of the penalty area and shot, but not even into Rafał Gikiewicz’s goal.
Immediately following the break, coach Jan Urban introduced Soichiro Kozuki, Szymon Czyż and Paweł Olkowski onto the field, and in the 51st minute the Zabrze team scored a goal. The Japanese crossed the ball from a corner kick, and Rafał Janicki closed the action with a low header.
After another six minutes it should be 3:1 for the hosts. However, Fran Alvarez shot right past Górnik’s goal. This might have backfired in the 65th minute when Adrian Kapralik threw the ball perfectly onto the head of Lukas Podolski, who hit it unpleasantly – so that the ball was supposed to dribble before entering the goal. Rafał Gikiewicz prevented everything.
Bartłomiej Pawłowski might have closed the match in the 80th minute when he had two opportunities within 30 seconds, but in both cases he shot straight at Daniel Bielica. In the 85th minute, Dawid Tkacz, who had been introduced from the bench a moment earlier, was happy to score a goal, but he was offside. 180 seconds later, Janicki was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Imad Rondić, and Pawłowski narrowly missed the free kick awarded for this offense.
The Widzew team decided to take advantage of the advantage of one player and when in added time they started with four players on a counterattack, it almost smelled like a goal. An unattended Weaver demanded a pass, but Noah Diliberto decided to choose the more difficult option and solve the action himself. Two defenders ran up to him, but the Frenchman preferred to finish the action himself with a shot into the window. This set the match score at 3-1.
For Widzew, it was the first home victory since November 18, when the Łódź team won once morest Ruch Chorzów. Now the league competition is being sidelined. On Wednesday in Krakow, they will face Wisła in the quarterfinals of the Fortuna Polish Cup. And then on Saturday, an away match once morest Śląsk Wrocław in the 23rd round of the PKO Ekstraklasa. Górnik will then play at home once morest Jagiellonia Białystok.
From Łódź – Krzysztof Sędzicki, WP SportoweFakty
Widzew Łódź – Górnik Zabrze 3:1 (2:0)
1:0 – Antoni Klimek 30′
2:0 – Juan Ibiza 35′
2:1 – Rafał Janicki 51′
3:1 – Noah Diliberto 90+4′
Compositions:
Widzew: Rafał Gikiewicz – Paweł Zieliński, Mateusz Żyro, Juan Ibiza, Luis da Silva – Fran Alvarez, Dominik Kun (87′ Noah Diliberto), Bartłomiej Pawłowski – Fabio Nunes (87′ Kamil Cybulski), Jordi Sanchez (76′ Imad Rondić), Antoni Klimek (66′ Dawid Tkacz).
Miner: Daniel Bielica – Boris Sekulić (46′ Paweł Olkowski), Dominik Szala, Michal Siplak (74′ Erik Janza), Rafał Janicki – Adrian Kapralik, Dani Pacheco (46′ Szymon Czyż) – Lukas Podolski, Damian Rasak (74′ Filipe Nascimento) , Lawrene Ennali – Sebastian Musiolik (46′ Soichiro Kozuki).
Referee: Daniel Stefański (Bydgoszcz).
Yellow cards: Zieliński (Widzew) – Janicki (Górnik).
Red card: Janicki (88′ – for the second yellow)
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