On Sunday, 24 August, at 5:30 p.m. at Polsat Plus Arena, we will face Arka Gdynia in the Tricity Derby. We are looking forward to a unique match, which has been generating great excitement among our fans and the entire region for years.
After our last away match against Zagłębie Lubin, in which we had to acknowledge our rival’s superiority, we are now facing Arka Gdynia in the Tricity Derby. This is a special match for our fans, and the players will have the opportunity to redeem themselves for the previous result and fight for important points in the season.
This will be a very important match for the entire community. This match excites not only the fans, but also the coaches and neutral supporters. This is what football is all about – playing in front of a full stadium against a local rival. I can see that people in the city are very interested in this match. Our preparations also went smoothly. We had more time than last time. I spoke openly about how important this time is. We analysed our rivals – they also had a disappointing result last week. We know their strengths and weaknesses. We did a good job. I’m waiting for a reaction after the last match, and what better moment than a match against a local rival? – said coach John Carver at his pre-match press conference.
The fans are supporting us, as always. This will be my first time here in front of a full stadium. I know what it’s like to play in front of, say, 20,000 people. It’s loud then. I can only imagine how loud it is with almost 40,000 people. We need you, the fans, and your support. There are reminders of the Tri-City Derby everywhere in the club. Here in the conference room, we have photographs, and there are newspaper clippings near the changing rooms. I’ve also seen some amazing shots from the last derby match. I can’t wait for this match, and there’s only one result that interests us – a win. Everyone cares a lot about this match, even though we are not from here. We want to play such matches, that’s why we have been in football for so many years. We need to approach this match with a cool head. Yes, motivation is important, but calmness will give us courage and make us enjoy the match. You can’t play football without joy. We’ve done a lot of work over the last nine days. We’ve learned from our defeat against Zagłębie, but now it’s Mission: Derby. Of course, apart from the derby, it’s just a regular match. If I had a different approach to the match, the players would see it too and wonder why that was the case – added the White-Greens coach to the statement.
I don’t think you need any special preparation for a match like this. Everyone who plays football dreams of playing in a match like this, in front of an audience like this. Everyone knows it will be a tough match and they are ready for it. Although I have played in derby matches before, everyone knows what these games are like and that it will be a difficult match. We have to go out there with the mindset to win – said Tomasz Neugebauer at a press briefing.
RIVAL PROFILE: ARKA GDYNIA
The team from Gdynia returned to the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa after a five-year break. Arka started the season with a 0:1 away defeat to Motor Lublin. They then drew 1:1 at home with Radomiak and 0:0 with Legia Warsaw. In their home match in the 4th round of the competition, they defeated Pogoń Szczecin 2:1, while in an away match they lost to GKS Katowice 1:4. Currently, the team from Gdynia is in 14th place in the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa table.
LAST MATCHES AGAINST ARKA
We last faced Arka on 19 May 2024 in the 33rd round of Fortuna 1 Liga. The match ended with a 2-1 victory for our team. Kacper Sezonienko and Camilo Mena were the scorers. The last league match at the Ekstraklasa level took place on 31 May 2020. The Tricity Derby ended with a 4:3 victory for our team. Flavio Paixao scored three goals in that match, and Łukasz Zwoliński added one.
OVERALL RESULTS OF MATCHES AGAINST ARKA
So far, we have played 46 matches against Arka. We have won 18 matches. Sixteen matches ended in a draw. On the other hand, we were defeated 12 times. The goal balance is 50-38.
At the Ekstraklasa level, we have faced Arka 15 times. We have won 11 matches and drawn 4 times.
REFEREES PANEL
The Tricity Derby will be refereed by Paweł Raczkowski from Warsaw. Marcin Boniek and Filip Sierant will assist the main referee on the lines. Albert Różycki will serve as the technical referee, while Paweł Pskit and Piotr Urban will be responsible for the VAR system.
WHERE TO WATCH THE MATCH?
If you are unable to attend Polsat Plus Arena on Sunday, we encourage you to watch the broadcast of the match, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. The match will be available on Canal+ Sport 3, Canal+ Premium, Canal+ 4K Ultra HD, in the app and on the Canal+ online website. The pre-match studio will begin at 5:00 p.m. The match will be commented on by Adam Marchliński and Tomasz Wieszczycki.
