The first half of the two-legged match between Wisła Kraków and Cercle Brugge ended with a score of 1:6 in favour of the guests. The consolation goal for the Kraków team was scored by Ángel Rodado. The return match will take place in a week in Bruges at the Jan Breydel Stadion.
The fans, who were gathered in large numbers in the stands, sang Mazurek Dąbrowskiego, and referee Philip Farrugia started the first match of the two-legged match for promotion to the league phase of the UEFA Conference League. Wisła players came out for this match clearly without any complexes, but it was Cercle Brugge who started scoring that evening. First, in the 8th minute, Steve Minda cut well into the middle, and Kamil Broda was unable to reach his technical strike on the far post. The guests got to the White Star’s penalty area with quick attacks, not allowing the defensive formation to rebuild. The two-player action of Bruno Goncalves and Thibo Sommers surprised the Krakow defense and the captain of Cercle increased the Belgians’ lead to 0:2 in the 11th minute.
Kazimierz Moskal’s team did not give up and, faithful to their tactical assumptions, constructed an offensive game. Ángel Rodado was knocked down twice in front of the opponents’ goal, but the referee of today’s match did not see in these situations reasons to award a penalty. The ball stayed in the Black and Greens’ half for most of the time, but it was the visitors who unexpectedly scored the third goal after the confusion resulting from the corner kick. Christiaan Ravych headed the ball into the empty net from close range and from the 36th minute the scoreboard showed 0:3.
It was certainly a painful 45 minutes for the Cracovians. The dissatisfaction may be intensified by the fact that just before leaving for the locker room, Rodado unluckily hit the crossbar. The Spanish striker, as well as the entire Wisła attack line, find it difficult to fight against the low-set Belgian defense, which in the first half seemed flawless.
Show character
The second half started for Wisła Kraków in the worst possible way. The deflected ball went straight to the feet of the unmarked Kévin Denkey, who scored the 4th goal for Cercle Brugge with a shot from the air. It was the 47th minute of the match. The players in red shirts, who had nothing to lose, completely exposed themselves, exposing themselves to dangerous counterattacks. Unfortunately, this took its revenge in the 55th minute. Coach Muslić’s team launched a quick attack that ended with the score increasing to 0:5. The goal scorer was Kader Ouattara, who had been introduced earlier.
The pace of the game stopped, and both coaches decided to make numerous changes in the line-ups. Patryk Gogół made a good change, coming very close to breaking the spell of Warlesson’s goal in the 75th minute. The visiting goalkeeper did not allow it, moving the ball high into the stands.
In the 83rd minute, the guests were awarded a free kick in front of Kamil Broda’s goal, and Kazeem Olaigbe took advantage of the opportunity to strike from a good position, raising the score to 0:6. However, this was not the last scoring touch of the evening. The consolation goal for the White Star was scored a minute later by Ángel Rodado, establishing the final result of the first match.
Wisla Krakow – Cercle Brugge (0:3):
- 0:1 Mind 8′
- 0:2 Somers 11’
- 0:3 Ravych 37′
- 0:4 Denkey 47’
- 0:5 Ouattara 55′
- 0:6 Olayge 83′
- 1:6 Wheeled 84′
Wisla Krakow: Broda – Jaroch (62′ Wiśniewski), Uryga, Biedrzycki, Mikulec – Carbó, Duarte (71′ Dziedzic) – Starzyński (46′ Baena), Sukiennicki (71′ Alfaro), Kiss (62′ Gogoł) – Rodado
Brugge Circle: Stellion – Magnee, Ravyvh, Miangue (, Nazinho – Agyekum, Erick (62′ Augusto)- Somers (46′ Ouattara), Bruninho (62′ Enqwanda), Minda (71′ Olaigbe) – Denkey
Yellow cards: Jaroch, Rodado – Dankey, Agyekum
Judged by: P.Farrugia (MLT)
Attendance: 25,093
