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March/April- Coming In Strong
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Marcin Robak returned in April and made an instant impact
The regular season is over, with our final 4 games stretching across 2 months. We may not be in the championship stage, and we may be fighting it out with 7 other unlucky teams for relegation, but our form going in was great and I'm hoping that can carry over into the next stage. Here's our final 4 games in detail.
Gornik Zabrze had surprised the comp all season by running in the top 5 and hosting them would be no easy game. Wojciech Golla gave away a penalty in the 10th minute and we started badly as Marcus Piossek converted it to give Gornik an early lead. We hung on grimly for 60 minutes until we started to go on the attack and scare the Gornik defence a little. In the 85th minutes, Bartosz Lawa lofted a high ball over a Zabrze defender and landed it in the path of Grzegorz Kuswik. One on one with the keeper, and on an angle, Kuswik calmly slotted it home and got us a momentous 1-1 draw.
Positives Kuswik had a horrible goal drought coming into the match so it was good to see him break it.
Negatives We could have won the match were it not for Golla's mistake and the youngster will need to work on his aggression in the box.
Cracovia away was another task that was hard, but also a winnable game. They sat 3 spots above us and this was the kind of game we needed to win to give ourselves some form going into the Relegation Phase. We started perfectly when Grzegorz Kuswik finished a great, fast counter attacking move by flicking the ball past the keeper with his head. 5 minutes later in the 15th minute Dominik Kun kicked a penalty to make it 2-0 and then our combination of defence and lightning fast counter attacks broke Cracovia down. We were unable to score again but neither were Cracovia and we walked away from their home ground with 3 points in the bag.
Positives Counter attacking football came into play today and it was great to watch.
Negatives None really, this was a great result with good looking football away from home. Can't really complain about that.
For the first time in a while we were favourites for a match as we hosted the bottom placed Dolcan Zabki. The return of Marcin Robak meant I was very confident of our chances and expected the win. After an idle first half hour, Robak came to the party with a beautifully executed header in the six yard box on 39 minutes. After the break, complacency seemed to creep in as Dolcan opened us up a couple of times. Luckily the defence scrambled and stopped everything but we really shouldn't have let them in so easily. The game ended in a 1-0 win for us but Dolcan played very well and deserved better.
Positives Robak is back and with a bang!
Negatives Complacency was an issue and until we're winning the Ekstraklasa we should never consider a game won before we've begun.
The last game of the regular season would be against Zawisza, who had already secured their spot in the Championship Phase. This would be a great test to see how we could do against a much better team but I feared for the worst when winger Michael Jakobowski tore through my defense after 28 minutes. However, Dominik Kun equalised for us just 5 minutes later with a RVP-esque diving header. In the second half, we gave away another worthless penalty and Jakobowski scored his second to get his team back in front. In the 65th minute the topsy turvy game was back on terms when Radoslaw Wisniewski seized on a Zawisza mistake and knocked it into the net. But the away team had the last laugh when Jakobowski moved into an attacking position again and sealed his hat trick and a win for his team.
Positives In the end they were a better team, but it was nice to see that fighting spirit as we equalised twice.
Negatives Kike Tortosa was wrecked by Jakobowski and may have cost us the game.
So the regular Ekstraklasa season has drawn to a close, and after a positive turnaround in the last 9 games we have risen to 11th. We are still in the Relegation Group but our morale is up and I reckon we should survive.
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This month(s)'s best player was Grzegorz Kuswik, who although only started in 2 games made a huge impact and filled a massive hole left by Marcin Robak. He's been pushed back to the bench for now but he's a reliable member of the squad now.
Next time on Pogon: Polska Power, it's time for the Championship/Relegation Phase preview!
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