Groclin - seem to be number one candidates to depose Wisla. A lot of decent players (including NT guys), especially in midfield and attack. It's a bit too early to judge them fully though. Two question marks are their defence and new Slovakian coach (Radolsky).
Wisla K. - despite losing Kosowski, Kuzba and Uche, they remain the power that will be dominating our league. As for Euro Cups, Kasperczak is turned back to the starting point.
Amica - I don't think they'll be the champions this season, but with Kryszalowicz and Dawidowski (currently injured) Amica are capable of beating any team in Poland. Talented midfielder Burkhardt may leave any time.
Gornik Z. - new owner Marek Kozminski signed with some experienced Polish players and youngsters who were loaned from Serie A teams. Such mixture may lead to a surprisingly good result, but a failure is possible as well.
Gornik L. - greenhorns who started without any respect for big names. Seem to be stronger than other new teams.
Gks - last year's achievement was nothing but a fluke. I think they'll be a mid table team.
Legia - more in Legia thread soon It doesn't look good for the moment.
Widzew - they seemingly have enough good players to sleep well, but the results are very poor. The reason is the number of financial and managemental problems the club is suffering from.
Wisla P. - another team that employs many well-known players, but permanently fails to impress. Players who have left Plock claim there is 'no atmosphere for football'.
Polonia - just like last year, levy in mass to save the club. The team have a lot of youngsters and no stars in their line-up, but I think they'll avoid relegation.
Swit - 'Szczakowianka affair' surprisingly promoted them to the top division. Being pressed for time and limited with money, they were unable to build a strong team. For many people the main candidate to be the whipping boys of Ekstraklasa, but I think they may beat one or two higher ranked teams.
Odra - a solid league team. Relegation isn't an option for them - and Euro Cups either.
Lech - a puzzle to solve. There are some good players, an ambitious coach and a huge crowd of dedicated fans. Lech have been very disappointing so far though. I think it can only be better now. Swierczewski will help them a lot, that's for sure.
Gornik P. - they'll fight hard, but have no guns to scary the strongest and more experienced teams of Ekstraklasa.
Last edited by Prewitt : August 24th, 2003 at 10:50.
Day 3 review.
Warsaw derby focused the attention of football fans in Poland. Polonia should have won the game as they played 11 against 10 after Marek Jozwiak was sent off early in the first half. However, they hadn't any idea how to force Legia's defence. The number of inaccurate passes mulitiplied, no one was able to lead the host side to more determined attacks. And if one could not take advantage of someone else's weakness... "Aco" Vukovic made the score 1:0 for Legia with a perfect volley. Polonia didn't manage to answer and 3 points went to Kubicki's team.
As for the other games - Wisla Krakow made another step in their way to keep the title. Three games, three victories, zero conceded goals - great start! Groclin lost in Leczna, but it was just an accident in my view. Odra, Gornik P. and Lech won for the first time in the season. "Kolejorz", the team which has been probably the biggest disappointment so far, finally coped the demands of Poznan fans. GKS only drew to Swit what confirms Prewitt's theory about their fluke last season
Day 4 preview.
Legia Warszawa - Lech Poznan. A Polish football classic. Two teams of similar potential. In Poznan, we seek our chance in a fact that Saganowski & Co. have been in a quitte poor form lastly, nevertheless, most of us don't remember the year of the last victory at Lazienkowska for Lech (it was 84/85 season btw). Legia will be without Jozwiak (red card) and Choto (injury) in the defensive line.
Amica will try to stop the reigning champion in Wronki and they really can do it. A rivalry between Szymkowiak and Burkhardt could be very interesting. Groclin Grodzisk take on Polonia Warsaw - 3 points for them are almost sure.
Day 6 review
Legia - Wisla clash was obviously the main event here. Kubicki decided to play 3-5-2 this time and it was a great decision. It's a simple method to limit Wisla's offensive outbursts as it allows to stop Szymkowiak. And without his vital through passes or crosses, Zurawski is not such a dangerous striker. "The magical two minutes" assured the victory of the Warsaw team for the second time of the season. Serbian duo made the score 2:0, Magiera and Surma added two nice goals to complete the work. Brozek's header from the close range was the late answer. 4:1 for Legia - it wasn't easy to predict...
Gornik Leczna lost their first game of the season and Amica Wronki replaced them on the top. Jan Zurek's come-back to Katowice ended with the draw. Groclin outclassed Gornik Polkowice with annother outstanding team performance.
Day 7 preview
Wisla - Groclin - should I say something more? It's not an easy task for the visitors to gain any points at Reymonta but Groclin seemed to be sure of their worth. Lech take on GKS Katowice in a "must win" game for the home side. Swit will look for their first win in Leczna and Polonia on their own ground against Odra. Gornik Polkowice and Widzew Lodz also need the points so their contest may be interesting.
Gornik Zabrze and Legia Warsaw shared the points yesterday (2:2).
Day 7 review.
"The game of the day" in Cracow was extremely entertaining. Lots of goals, lots of excitement and thrilling moments - noone could get bored. Rasiak and Sobolewski shocked the domestic fans with two early goals and Zajac could have made the score 0:3. He didn't and it was a costly mistake. Wisla started to create one scoring chance after another. Liberda was at his best but he couldn't do nothing when Zurawski made a left-footed shot from inside the box. And it was Wisla's striker who equalized four minutes before the break. His goal was precided by a great individual effort by Piotr Brozek. Groclin was the dominating side in the second half but neither Rasiak nor Zajac found a way to beat Piekutowski. If one doesn't score the goals, one lose them... Pawel Brozek scored a winning goal for the hosts.
It wasn't the only interesting event of the week. Widzew Lodz won in Polkowice despite losing two goals in the early minutes of the game. Stanko Svitlica rescued one point for Legia in Zabrze. Amica retained their leading position thanks to a substitute Mamia Jikija whose header in the final minutes gave three points for the home side. Lech Poznan disappointed their fans once again...
Day 8 preview.
This time everbody is awaiting Legia - Amica game. Legia haven't lost so far this season, Amica will try to keep their first place. Every result is possible here... Other teams from the top, Wisla, Groclin and Gornik Leczna have much easier tasks. Swit expect their historic league win, over Wisla Plock this Saturday.
Day 8 review.
We have a new-old leader. Gornik Leczna profited by Amica Wronki's defeat in Warsaw. The ex-leaders were without their best striker, Pawel Kryszalowicz and it was definitely one of the reasons why they started the game very defensive-minded. When Zienczuk finished a great counter-attack after half an hour it seemed that it would be a successful strategy. But there was a man whose performance was crucial in this game - Stanko Svitlica (n.b. - "(...) w niektorych szkolach zmieniono nawet nazwę 'Swietlica' na 'Svitlica' (...)" ). Two goals made him a hero of the day. Saganowski also netted in the final minute.
Gornik won their game in the very unusual circumstances. First, Czereszewski put the home side ahead soon after the game got underway. Then, Rafal Szwed answered with a fantastic shot from about 40 meters At last, when it was almost over. Robert Gubiec, Polonia's keeper, started some useless discussions with assistant referee with the ball rolling next to him. Grzegorz Skwara run up, took possession of the ball and... scored a decisive goal. What did Gubiec think about?
Other events... Widzew Lodz couldn't stop Wisla Krakow. Maciej Zurawski scored for the sixth time this season. Groclin Grodzisk managed only to draw with Gornik at home. Lech... Another good game for Zurek's crew
Day 9 preview.
We are starting with tomorrow's game in Poznan where the leader arrives. On Tuesday, Lech won a friendly game against Kotwica Kornik (5th league team) 19:1 (!). Is it a good sign? Wielkpolska derby in Wronki: Amica - Groclin. We shall see an atractive football from both sides. GKS Katowice goes to Krakow and I suppose their run of good results will end there... I expect Wisla P. - Legia to be an interesting game as well.
Wisla Krakow - a formidable team on paper but something tells me it won't be a stroll in a park for them
Amica - as usually a puzzle. Can make a stand against Wisla?
Legia - no Svitlica, no new defenders... Still quite a strong team, but its future depends on finding a new owner
Gornik Leczna - a curiosity of this season. Will they be able to play as well as in autumn?...
Groclin - excellent schedule, but eight points is probably too much to hope for winning the title
Wisla Plock - good football at last. This round will probably be decisive for fixing their future plans
Gornik Zabrze - how will Kozminski's business develop?
Gks - another team that balances on the edge due to disastrous financial situation
Odra - I look forward to Nowacki proving I'm wrong with judging his skills
Lech - very disappointing for most of the autumn round. It should be better now
Polonia - do their best to avoid drowning, but probably it's only a matter of time
Widzew - will they find someone to clean up the mess?
Gornik Polkowice - cooperation with Wisla Krakow may save them, but it hard work is to be done
Swit - will they win a game?...
I look forward for this season to be over as soon as possible. So many teams that should not be there either because of their insufficient sporting level or wretched financial situation...
Swit gave Wisla a surprisingly tough fight, but they just don't have enough classy players to win such games. Wisla shows nothing of "Polish galacticos", but they won and that's what matters
Gornik Polkowice - Gornik Zabrze 3:1
An awful start for Kozminski's bunch of foreigners. Polkowice, on the other hand, play far better than in fall
Lech Poznan - Amica Wronki 0:0
Kicker, where's your report? Not a very exciting game. Two red cards, a lot of fight, but little of good football
Polonia Warszawa - Wisla Płock 0:0
Jelen should have secured three points for the visitors, but he had a terrible miss in dying seconds of the match
Odra had their chances, but Wos and Kubisz failed to score, while Wieszczycki's and Sikora's finishing was much better. Two assists by Mila and 99th league goal by Wieszczycki
GKS Katowice - Widzew Lodz 2:0
Widzew coach decided to quit and Franz Smuda is quite likely to replace him. He led Widzew to CL a few years ago, will he lead them to 2nd division now? A solid performance by Brozek (on loan from Wisla)
Day 16 review.
7 games - 32 goals , including 9 in Warsaw derby. Legia doesn't stop to impress. This round, they have been playing their best football since Okuka's departure. Svitlica has a great successor, Piotr Wlodarczyk, so the hypothesis that his transfer to Hannover will be a nail to Legia's coffin fell down. A battle for the championship title and UEFA Cup spots is very interesting. None of the top teams lost points last weekend. Wisla didn't give Gornik any chances and won 4:0 in Zabrze, despite playing the whole second half with ten men against eleven. Same result in Grodzisk Wlkp., Groclin proved their excellence and Gornik Leczna... their disability. And a historical event - first victory of Swit Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki in Ekstraklasa!
Day 17 preview will follow in the coming days. Game reports from Lech games too
Last edited by kicker : March 30th, 2004 at 22:48.
Kozminski's boys won this one mainly due to ref's help. However, they have been so disappointing this round that this victory didn't help their coach, Waldemar Fornalik, who was sacked and replaced by Verner Liczka.
Wisla Krakow - Amica Wronki 2:1
Wisla made a very important step towards securing this season's title. They were one down in 77th minute, yet they managed to score twice and win it Full credit to Wisla, who showed detrmination and passion, shame on Amica, who set themselves to defence and were punished for that.
Gornik Polkowice - Wisla Plock 1:2
There's a progress in Wisla's style and results. It's probably too late though to fight for UEFA Cup place.
Lech Poznan - Legia Warszawa 0:1
A very difficult game for Legia, but the score exactly as it should be.
Polonia Warszawa - Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski 3:1
A shocking score. Two big slips by visitors' keeper Liberda, amazing incapability of their forwards and a great determination shown by Polonia players.
Gornik Leczna - Widzew Lodz 2:1
Widzew is going down. Is Franz Smuda able to save them? I doubt it...
Odra Wodzislaw - Gks Katowice 1:0
Nothing to write home about, apart from the fact that Odra won it having been down to ten men for 60 minutes.
Not a very impressive performance, but well deserved three points
Amica Wronki - Gornik Zabrze 2:0
Liczka couldn't help much. Gornik are just not good enough to contest Amica.
Wisla Plock - Wisla Krakow 4:4
What a game Krakow were losing 4:1, yet they managed to equalize - and could've won it but Uche's shoot was cleared off the line in the last minute. This result makes the race for the title even more entertaining
Groclin Grodzisk - Lech Poznan 2:4
Groclin do not look like the team that beat Hertha and City at all. They are slow and play with no concept. Radolsky's praised tactical skills are brought in question. Lech showed determination and many really decent plays.
Swit Nowy Dwor - Odra Wodzislaw 3:1
A man in charge in Nowy Dwor is Janusz Wojcik now. He's the fourth or fifth coach of Swit this season Apparently there are people who believe that he can work miracles, but there will be ones who will question his methods, that's for sure.
Polonia Warszawa - Widzew Lodz 1:1
A draw that satisfies none of the sides.
Gks Katowice - Gornik Leczna 1:1
A game of practically no importance. Another nice goal by Pawel Brozek.
How come? A team that still fights for the championship only draws with a team that occupies the bottom of the table. What's more, it's Swit that could've won (despite the fact that they were down to ten men), but the ref made a mistake and disallowed a goal by Mierzejewski.
Gornik Zabrze - Wisla Plock 1:1
Another spectacular goal by Ireneusz Jelen from Plock. Gornik scores only from penalty spots this round.
Wisla Krakow - Legia Warszawa 1:0
A more entertaining game was expected, but I don't think anybody in Krakow cares. They are in a five-point lead now and are championship is within their grasp.
Gornik Polkowice - Groclin Grodzisk 0:3
Groclin outplayed the hosts. Players like Drobnjak and Slusarski proved that they should be given more playing time.
Lech Poznan - Widzew Lodz 1:1
A rather surprising draw. Or is it not?...
Polonia Warszawa - Gks Katowice 1:0
Polonia are rather unlikely to leave the Ekstraklasa after their string of good results. Gks' coach, Jan Zurek, has been sacked.
Gornik Leczna - Odra Wodzislaw 0:1
Both teams fight for nothing now, but the game was quite entertaining. A deserved visitors' victory, who played in somewhat renewed lineup after last week's humilitaion in Nowy Dwor.
Originally posted by Prewitt Gornik Polkowice - Groclin Grodzisk 0:3
Groclin outplayed the hosts. Players like Drobnjak and Slusarski proved that they should be given more playing time.
I partially disagree Drobnjak scored a goal, he had some decent plays but in general he didn't impress. Why Nowacki doesn't play much?
Quote:
Originally posted by Prewitt Lech Poznan - Widzew Lodz 1:1
A rather surprising draw. Or is it not?...
Lech Poznan thread will revive soon (), now only a few words. I don't remember equally "hot" post-match discussion (?) on Lech Poznan forum. The ones who knew the score before the game (basing on the press insinuations about the probable draw, Lech debts to Grajewski etc.) are insulting the others who don't accept any speculations of that kind and vice versa. For me, the situation is clear: no proof, no matter. Besides, it's better to believe in honesty, isn't it?
- this is a good comment to this match. There will be an "earthquake" in Grodzisk, that's for sure. A lack of commitment is something that Drzymala can't accept. As for Wisla, they are better with every game. Zurawski and Frankowski are again an unstoppable duo. If Kasperczak finds a good left midfielder, "The White Star" can be successful in CL qualifications next season. The first place in the league at the end of the season is almost assured.
Wojcik "The Magician" (?) caused that they can still belive in avoiding relagation in Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki whereas in Leczna they wonder what happened to the autumn's revelation? Czereszewski's sustained injury has been big blow for them.
Odra Wodzislaw - Polonia Warszawa 1:0
1:0 -> 85' Wos
Fortunately there was no "miracle" in Wodzislaw. However, if Beben hadn't saved the penalty in 88th, the discussions on honesty in Polish league would have raised again.
A comfortable win for Lech. Golinski is becoming better and better and his influence on the team is almost as great as Reiss'. And GKS fans are unpatient. Hopefully they won't repeat last years' "motivating meeting".
On Monday Miroslaw Dragan lost his coaching position in Gornik. After an inspiring start something went wrong and the team from Polkowice is at the very bottom of the table now. The atmosphere in Widzew, despite the victory, isn't good as well. Great goal by Juliano
Wisla Plock remained undefeated at their own ground. Their leading striker Jelen is starting to remind me Zurawski with some of his moves And Amica... well... this case requires a separate thread...
Legia Warszawa - Gornik Zabrze 2:0
1:0 -> 12' Sokolowski I
2:0 -> 73' Saganowski
Considering their weakness, Gornik should be happy to have lost only two goals in Warsaw. Luckily for them, Legia haven't played that good lately.
It doesn't look good for the moment.
). Two goals made him a hero of the day. Saganowski also netted in the final minute. 
At last, when it was almost over. Robert Gubiec, Polonia's keeper, started some useless discussions with assistant referee with the ball rolling next to him. Grzegorz Skwara run up, took possession of the ball and... scored a decisive goal. What did Gubiec think about? 
Another good game for Zurek's crew 
), now only a few words. I don't remember equally "hot" post-match discussion (?) on Lech Poznan forum. The ones who knew the score before the game (basing on the press insinuations about the probable draw, Lech debts to Grajewski etc.) are insulting the others who don't accept any speculations of that kind and vice versa. For me, the situation is clear: no proof, no matter. Besides, it's better to believe in honesty, isn't it? 
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