At the post-match press conference, coach Szymon Grabowski answered journalists’ questions.
– At the start of my statement, I must apologize, as I’ll be repetitive again. A heartfelt thank you to the fans, not only those in the green stands but to everyone who cheered us on today and kept their fingers crossed for us, because, as always, you gave us a lot of positive energy, and we constantly feel your support, for which we are very grateful. As for the match itself, I think the first half from our side was good, at times very good, where we weren’t afraid of the idea Widzew presented in terms of ball movement. We pressed higher and managed to avoid giving the opponent any clear chances. We went into the break with a lead and were partially satisfied with that. We knew the second half, a tougher 45 minutes, awaited us, and that’s exactly what happened. The opponent brought on three players who provided a lot of positive energy and gave a boost to their offensive actions. On the other hand, after what I think were two chances that should have been more dangerous—I’m not saying they had to end in goals, although I think both Bohdan Viunnyk and Kacper Sezonienko had chances that should have been converted into goals—we dropped too deep in the following minutes and didn’t push higher into the middle zone, allowing the opponent to dominate us. The ball possession and game creation on our half were too much. There may not have been a huge number of clear-cut chances, but for sure, Szymon Weirauch’s final intervention saved that point for us. I would say, not too long ago, we would have lost in such a situation, but I hope this serves as a good sign that we will think even more clearly in the final minutes and not allow such opportunities for the opposition. If you can’t win, at least draw, which is why we treat this point as valuable. Now, all our efforts are focused on Stal Mielec.
About the positioning of players on the field
– There were a few situations where we indeed had problems with dropping forwards or positioning. We can break these situations down, as at certain moments, Bujar or Elias should have pushed higher with those players, but in some instances, Rifet should have been providing cover. We also talked about this during the break, showing Riki video of these situations, and we should be learning from them. The second half looked a bit different; we were more focused on defense. It didn’t completely bring the desired effect, but we saw that the cooperation in certain moments wasn’t working, so we had to make up for it.
Regarding the validity of the penalty kick:
– To be honest, I didn’t see the replay. The referee blew the whistle, so I assume it was the right call, and I don’t want to argue about it here.
About the end of the match:
– We will definitely analyze this situation from the very beginning. People are saying Bujar should have committed a foul, but I’ll go further and say that the players in the penalty area should have reacted differently. That counterattack should never have happened, so let’s start with the offensive players, who made this mistake—a bizarre, fundamental error that we cannot afford to make. In the final minutes, we had several such moments where, at this point, I don’t understand why we made those decisions, allowing the opponent to gain momentum from our simple mistakes. So, the second half certainly gives us a lot to review.
On the absence of Adam Kardaś from the squad:
– Adam Kardaś went to the CLJ team, where he played the full match. Here, he would likely have been on the bench with minimal chances of getting on the field. We want this young player to get as many minutes as possible with the senior team, but we also want each training cycle to end with him getting the maximum amount of time on the pitch.
On the Lechia’s goal balance:
– There are definitely many factors contributing to this poor result for us. I wouldn’t want to discuss it here; the owners know about it, the team knows, and the coaching staff knows what we need to work on. I won’t complain that the squad is thin or maybe less quality than our rivals. No, I think we need to draw conclusions and learn even more, and at least aim to achieve moments like today, where if you can’t win, at least draw.
