In the first Ekstraklasa match after the international break, Lechia Gdańsk faced GKS Katowice in front of their own fans at the Polsat Plus Arena. In the starting lineup of the White-and-Greens there were two debutants: in central defense Croatian Matej Rodin, and at right-back Bartłomiej Kłudka. In addition, another new signing of our team, Aleksandar Cirković, remained on the bench at the disposal of coach John Carver.
Many experts predicted before the match that this would be one of those open encounters in which both teams play rather offensive football and pay less attention to defending their own goal. From the referee’s first whistle both teams played with great intensity and everything indicated that this evening we would not have to wait long for good chances. In the first 15 minutes of the match, despite much commitment in the fight for the ball, both teams played too inaccurately and chaotically to create good scoring opportunities. Both Alexander Paulsen and Dawid Kudła had nothing to do in the opening quarter of an hour.
In the following minutes it was Lechia who tried to take the initiative and kept possession of the ball for a long time, looking for a chance to surprise the opponent. The first acceleration of play by the White-and-Greens came in the 17th minute Rifet Kapić played excellently outside the penalty area to Tomasz Neugebauer, the Polish Lechia midfielder shot at the Katowice goal, but the shot was blocked by a defender of the visitors. The ball rebounded and again fell at the feet of Rifet Kapić, the Bosnian sent it into the visitors’ box, where Dawid Kurminowski was very close to reaching the ball, but he was effectively blocked by GKS defenders.
Lechia patiently waited for more opportunities and still operated with the ball more than the visitors. The chance to open the scoring came already in the 19th minute, when Tomasz Neugebauer sent a long ball from his own half behind the back of the “Gieksa” defenders. Both Dawid Kurminowski and Katowice goalkeeper Dawid Kudła went for the high ball, with the latter running out far beyond his own penalty area in an attempt to clear the danger. However, the visitors’ goalkeeper headed very poorly, and his mistake with tragic consequences was taken advantage of by Dawid Kurminowski, who like a true striker was waiting for a chance to shoot. After the blunder of the visitors’ goalkeeper, the Lechia forward had an empty net before him and with a header from outside the box he placed the ball in the net of the visitors from Katowice.
Lechia did not intend to stop at one scored goal and wanted to immediately go for another. The Gdańsk team controlled the course of the match and calmly moved the ball around. In the 24th minute the players in white-and-green shirts had a chance to increase the lead. Matej Rodin passed the ball to Tomasz Neugebauer, who, completely unchallenged by the opponents, carried the ball for at least 20 meters and then spotted Camilo Mena in an excellent position. Neugebauer served the Colombian with a perfect through ball. Mena controlled the ball inside the Katowice box, but his first touch was not ideal. Despite the poor control, the Colombian shot from a sharp angle, but his effort was stopped with difficulty by Dawid Kudła.
Minutes went by and Lechia still controlled the game. Further scoring chances for our team were in the air. In the 33rd minute the White-and-Greens had a free kick near the GKS penalty area. Rifet Kapić sent a floated ball into the opponents’ box but none of the Lechia players finished the action with a shot. The Gdańsk side did not give up after this situation and sent another cross into the “Gieksa” penalty area. Rifet Kapić played in tempo to Camilo Mena on the right wing. The Colombian used his speed to reach the ball before it went out of play and then sent it into the Katowice box. The ball passed the “Gieksa” defenders and reached Bogdan Viunnyk, but the Ukrainian mishit and his attempt went wide.
At halftime, Lechia were firmly on top. They had taken six shots (two on target), while GKS managed only one tame effort straight at Paulsen. It looked unlikely that Katowice could stop the hosts from Until halftime the pattern of play did not change. Lechia still had the optical advantage and the game under control. After 45 minutes it seemed that GKS Katowice were not able that evening to stop the Gdańsk side from taking all three points. By halftime our players had taken six shots – two on target – while GKS Katowice had only one, which posed no threat at all to Alexander Paulsen, who safely caught the ball coming straight at him. all three points.
Both teams started the second half with no changes. It was Lechia who attacked first after the break. Rifet Kapić once again spotted his teammate on the wing and this time sent a through ball to Bogdan Viunnyk. The Ukrainian raced down the flank and delivered a penetrating ball into the Katowice box. There Camilo Mena reached it, beating the “Gieksa” defender, but unfortunately the Colombian could not direct his shot on target.
In the 55th Lechia had another chance in this match. Camilo Mena once again brilliantly outpaced the visitors’ defenders and stormed into the Katowice box. Right by the byline the Colombian crossed, the ball was unfortunately poorly cleared by Dawid Kudła and fell to Tomasz Neugebauer. This time, however, the Lechia midfielder did not hit the ball well and failed to shoot on goal. Attempts by Bogdan Viunnyk and Ivan Zhelizko followed, but their shots were effectively blocked by the Katowice defenders.
The coach of GKS Katowice, wanting to enliven his team’s play, made a triple substitution in the 58th minute. Jesse Bosch, Marcel Wędrychowski and Adam Zrelak left the pitch, replaced by Adrian Błąd, Mateusz Kowalczyk and debutant Illia Shkurin.
In the 64th minute Lechia coach John Carver also decided on a change. Very active Tomasz Neugebauer left the pitch and debutant winger Aleksandar Cirković came on.
In the following minutes the until-then passive Katowice side attacked. In the 66th minute midfielder Bartosz Nowak struck from distance, but Lechia goalkeeper Alexander Paulsen confidently intervened and was not surprised.
In the 86th minute John Carver brought on more fresh legs. Bartłomiej Kłudka and goalscorer Dawid Kurminowski went off, replaced by Alvis Jaunzems and Kacper Sezonienko.
Carver’s changes proved correct and added vigor to Lechia’s play in the final phase. Jaunzems crossed low from the right wing, Sezonienko controlled, turned and shot powerfully, but unfortunately missed by a narrow margin. The move by the two substitutes could have brought Lechia the long-awaited second goal.
Added time lasted 16 minutes due to a stoppage in play caused by smoke in the stadium. In the first minutes of stoppage time Carver brought on another substitute, Michał Głogowski, who replaced Bogdan Viunnyk.
In the last minutes GKS Katowice twice tried to threaten Lechia with crosses into the box, but the Upper Silesian side’s play was too predictable. Our defenders calmly dealt with keeping Shkurin under control in the penalty area.
When GKS Katowice threw everything forward in search of an equalizer, Lechia patiently waited for the right moment and in the 107th minute of play delivered the knockout blow. Camilo Mena picked up the ball in the Katowice half, outran Mateusz Kowalczyk, created a good shooting position and with a precise shot into the right corner sealed the deal.
Lechia ultimately defeated GKS Katowice 2:0. It was not a particularly spectacular match filled with beautiful goals, but the most important thing for our team are the certain three points and the clean sheet. For the Gdańsk team it was the second win of the season, both at home. GKS Katowice, on the other hand, failed to break their dreadful away run and lost their fourth away game of the season.
Lechia Gdańsk – GKS Katowice 2:0 (1:0)
1:0 Kurminowski 10’
2:0 Mena 90’+17’
Lechia Gdańsk: Paulsen – Kłudka (86′ Jaunzems), Diachuk, Rodin, Vojtko – Mena, Kapić, Zhelizko, Viunnyk (90+’ Głogowski)- Neugebauer (64′ Cirković), Kurminowski (86′ Sezonienko)
GKS Katowice: Kudła – Czerwiński, Jędrych, Rogala (90+’ Klemenz) – Wędrychowski (57′ Błąd), Wasielewski (90+’ Marković), Bosch (57′ Kowalczyk), Milewski – Nowak, Galan, Zrelak (57′ Shkurin)
