John Carver’s players traveled to Łódź to face Widzew in the 27. round of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa. Unfortunately, the Gdańsk side was unable to repeat their success from the previous week and this time had to acknowledge the superiority of their opponents, losing 0:2.
Most of the first half was played in the midfield, with both teams trying to take control of the game. Both Lechia and Widzew attempted to attack but struggled to create real threats near the opposition’s goal. The first scoring chance belonged to Lechia. In the 18. minute, Tomáš Bobček received a long pass and attempted a header, but the ball missed the target.
Lechia looked more composed for most of the half, showing solid play and greater commitment to their game plan. However, as time went on, the hosts started to gain the upper hand. In the 38. minute, Samuel Kozlovsky delivered a pass into the box to Juljan Shehu, who precisely placed the ball into the net to give Widzew the lead. Lechia tried to respond quickly, but luck wasn’t on their side. In the 44. minute, Anton Tsarenko fouled Jakub Sypek in the penalty area, and the referee pointed to the spot. However, the home side failed to capitalize on the opportunity – Bartłomiej Pawłowski struck the crossbar, and the ball bounced back into play, where it was cleared by Lechia. The visitors breathed a sigh of relief, but their joy was short-lived. In added time, Widzew earned a free kick, which Fran Alvarez converted beautifully, sending the ball straight into the net.
Goalless second half
After the break, Lechia came out pressing hard, pushing Widzew into their own half and trying to create chaos near their goal. In the 46th minute, Tomas Neugebauer took a free kick, but Widzew’s goalkeeper won the aerial duel with Tomáš Bobček and neutralized the threat. Exactly ten minutes later, the home side had a chance for a third goal. Lubomir Tupta delayed his shot too long and was stopped by Bogdan Sarnavskyi, and Jakub Sypek’s follow-up effort went just wide of the post. Lechia remained motivated and did their best to reduce the deficit, but once again lacked clinical finishing.
In the 71. minute, Bohdan Viunnyk had a chance to score, but Rafał Gikiewicz read his intentions perfectly. Toward the end of regulation time, Kamil Cybulski tried to surprise the Lechia goalkeeper with a shot, but Sarnavskyi reacted well. Both teams continued to attack boldly until the final whistle, though the hosts had more chances. In stoppage time, Elias Olsson had a chance to pull one back for Lechia, attempting to finish off a header from a corner, but to no avail. On the other end, Hubert Sobol and Juljan Shehu also tried to beat Sarnavskyi again, but the score remained unchanged.
Widzew Łódź – Lechia Gdańsk 2:0 (2:0)
1:0 J. Shehu 38′
2:0 F. Alvarez 45+2′
Widzew Łódź: Gikiewicz – Therkilosen, Żyro, Volanakis, Kozlovsky – Sypek (67′ Cybulski), Hanousek, Shehu, Pawłowski (46′ Czyż) – Tupta (67′ Sobol), Alvarez (82′ Kerk)
Lechia Gdańsk: Sarnavskyi – Piła, Pllana, Olsson, Kałahur – Wójtowicz (52′ Zhelizko), Tsarenko (70′ Sezonienko), Neugebauer (83′ D’Arrigo), Khlan (83′ Głogowski) – Bobček, Viunnyk
Yellow cards: Hanousek, Żyro – Tsarenko, Pllana.
