On the last day of August, Lechia Gdańsk faced Jagiellonia at Słoneczna 1 in Białystok. The Matchday 7 fixture of the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa ended with three points for the hosts, who defeated the Green & Whites 2:0.
Before kick-off, both teams posed together for a photo with the #StadionyBezBarier banner, an initiative promoting inclusivity and equality at Polish stadiums, with a special focus on the rights of people with disabilities.
Lechia entered the match without major changes to the starting lineup. Coach John Carver only rotated in goal, handing a debut to Alex Paulsen, the 22-year-old New Zealander who joined the team last week on loan from English side Bournemouth, replacing Szymon Weirauch between the posts.
Both teams started cautiously, gradually finding their rhythm. Lechia struck first in the 3rd minute when Bogdan Viunnyk capitalized on a defensive mix-up but struck too weakly to trouble the Jagiellonia keeper. A few minutes later, Camilo Mena’s pace created another chance, but Tomas Bobček missed an ambitious bicycle kick, and Kacper Sezonienko’s follow-up was blocked.
In the 10th minute, Lechia wanted again to speed up the play and surprise the home side with a wing attack. Rifet Kapić played one-touch and with a through ball released Camilo Mena “into the alley.” The Colombian won the footrace with Jagi’s full-back, crossed into the penalty area, and there Tomas Bobček attempted a bicycle kick, but unfortunately missed the ball. However, Kacper Sezonienko reached it, calmly controlled it, pulled off a neat technical trick, and wanted to shoot at Jagiellonia’s goal, but was blocked by a Yellow-Red defender.
One hundred and twenty seconds later, until then not very dangerous Jagiellonia finally came into the game and wanted to threaten the Gdańsk goal. After a good cross from the right side of the pitch, Jesús Imaz reached the ball hung into Lechia’s penalty area, but the Spaniard, despite a good position, headed off target.
In response, in the 16th minute, Green and Whites’ captain Rifet Kapić received the ball from Tomas Bobček on the edge of Jagiellonia’s penalty area, but although the Bosnian has a good shot, this time he struck very inaccurately and the ball flew high over the hosts’ goal.
In the 23rd minute, Jagiellonia again tried to surprise the Gdańsk players. Oskar Pietuszewski entered Lechia’s penalty area without major difficulty and shot, but was effectively blocked by the intervening Maksym Diachuk.
That did not mean Lechia gave up ground. Just three minutes later, John Carver’s players launched a quick counterattack, leaving Jagiellonia no time to rebuild its defensive line. Bogdan Viunnyk released Tomas Bobček on the wing, the Slovak with a phenomenal backheel gave the ball back in stride to the Ukrainian, and Viunnyk charged directly at goal. The Ukrainian decided to continue alone and struck powerfully from outside the box, but his placed shot along the ground narrowly missed the right post of the Pride of Podlasie’s goal.
The unconverted two-man action of the Green and Whites’ strikers was punished just a minute later. From a superb deep cross into Lechia’s penalty area, Greek Dimitris Rallis connected with a strong header, surprising debutant Paulsen and putting the ball into our team’s net.
Smoke from the home supporters and the pause in play it caused gave both teams a moment to breathe and plan the rest of the match. At Słoneczna 1 the smoke cleared, but the hunger of Jagiellonia’s players for more goals did not. Right after the forced break, in the 33rd minute, Pietuszewski shot opportunistically, but it was inaccurate and the ball sailed high over Lechia’s crossbar.
Lechia, however, did not lay down arms and, motivated by the desire to chase the score, attacked with their typical intensity. In the 37th minute, Rifet Kapić crossed with the outside of his foot into the hosts’ penalty area. In Jagiellonia’s box, the sharpest was Lechia striker Tomas Bobček, who escaped his markers and headed at Abramowicz’s goal. The Jagiellonia keeper, with some difficulty, managed to deal with the Slovak’s strike and tipped the ball over the bar.
Jagiellonia produced its second shot on target in the 43rd minute and immediately scored its second goal. Alejandro Pozo played the ball on the ground into Lechia’s box, where Jesús Imaz reached it and, with a beautiful strike off the crossbar, beat the Gdańsk goalkeeper.
Lechia desperately wanted to respond to Adrian Siemieniec’s team before halftime, but Jagiellonia’s goal seemed bewitched. In the 45th minute, from a free-kick delivered by Ivan Zhelizko, Bogdan Viunnyk headed towards Abramowicz’s goal despite a poor shooting angle. Unfortunately, once again the Ukrainian was unlucky and the ball narrowly missed the right post of Jagiellonia’s goal.
At halftime, despite continuous offensive efforts, the Green and Whites failed to score a goal back. Although the Gdańsk team played good football, created chances, and fought evenly with the pre-match favorites, Lechia went into the break trailing 0:2.
No changes after halftime
Both teams emerged for the second half without personnel changes. Lechia’s aim was clear – bombard Jagiellonia’s goal and score a quick goal back.
However, it was the hosts who started the second half better. After a well-built team move, Oskar Pietuszewski had a chance to extend the lead, but the young winger shot too weakly to trouble Alex Paulsen, who collected the ball confidently.
In the 57th minute, coach John Carver reached for fresh legs. Tomasz Neugebauer replaced Bogdan Viunnyk, and Mohamed Awad Allah came on for Kacper Sezonienko. The boss, by introducing new players, hoped – just as when Dawid Kurminowski came on in the Tri-City Derby – to pull an ace from his sleeve and change the picture of the game.
In the 67th minute, a still-hungry-for-goals Jesús Imaz tried again. After a good cross from the right, Imaz headed on goal, but Alex Paulsen intervened well, catching the ball safely.
In the 72nd minute, Lechia registered their first shot on target of the second half. After a foul by a Pride of Podlasie player, the Green and Whites won a free-kick around 30 meters out. Ivan Zhelizko stepped up and hit directly and powerfully, but Sławomir Abramowicz was alert and did not allow himself to be surprised.
In the last quarter of an hour, the picture of the game did not change much. Jagiellonia controlled the play and maintained their lead, while Lechia tried to score a goal back but often played too chaotically and inaccurately to threaten the Yellow-Reds.
Things could have changed in the last minute of the match. Mohamed Awad played a through ball to Tomas Bobček, who found himself one-on-one with the keeper. The Slovak, however, struck too lightly and predictably with the outside of his boot, and Abramowicz saved Jaga from conceding.
The score did not change in the second half. The best attack in the Ekstraklasa failed to score against Jagiellonia, and the hosts, keeping a clean sheet, won the match 2:0.
Jagiellonia Białystok – Lechia Gdańsk 2:0 (2:0)
1:0 Dimitris Rallis 27’
2:0 Jesus Imaz 43’
Jagiellonia Białystok: Abramowicz – Wojtuszek, Stojinovic, Vital, Wdowik – Romańczuk (60′ Flach), Imaz (77′ Cantero), Drachal – Pozo (88′ Polak), Pietuszewski (77′ Jackson) – Rallis (60′ Pululu)
Lechia Gdańsk: Paulsen – Jaunzems, Diaczuk, Olsson, Vojtko – Mena, Zhelizko, Kapić (86′ Głogowski), Sezonienko (57′ Awad Allah) – Viunnyk (57′ Neugebauer), Bobcek
