Four games without a win and that’s it. Arka won 2:1 in Legnica and can enjoy their third victory of the season. Three points were secured by both yellow-blue strikers: Karol Czubak, who scored in the 31st minute of the match and Szymon Sobczak, who confidently executed a penalty kick… in the 101st minute of the game. Miedź took the lead after Grudziński’s goal in the 28th minute, but that day it did not allow the hosts to reach even one point.
8th round – Betclic 1 league
Copper Legnica – Arka Gdynia 1:2 (1:1)
Goals: Grudzinski 28′ – Czubak 31′, Sobczak 90’+11
Copper: Wrąbel – Kostka, Kwiecień, Grudziński, Hartherz – Chuca (69′ Drygas), Kaczmarski (87′ Szymoniak) – Podgórski (87′ Drzazga), Mioć, Antonik (87′ Tront) – Bogacz (74′ Mansfeld)
Back: Weglarz – Navarro (76′ Stolc), Hermoso, Marcjanik, Gojny – Gaprindashvili (57′ Skóra), Kocaba, Rzuchowski, Oliveira (67′ Lipkowski) – Sobczak, Czubak (76′ Vitalucci)
Yellow cards: Chuca, Hartherz, April
Judge: Marcin Kochanek (Opole), VAR: Tomasz Wajda (Żywiec)
Viewers: 4768
A week full of emotions and turmoil behind Arka. All because of the defeat by Górnik Łęczna and the consequences that Wojciech Łobodziński suffered. Already on Monday the coach left the Arka and talks about a new helmsman began in Gdynia. The team went to Legnica under the leadership of Łobodziński’s assistant, Tomasz Grzegorczyk.
As it turned out, coach Grzegorczyk decided on the option that his predecessor had reached for at the start of the season in Rzeszów, i.e. to play with two strikers. The result of that match was not favourable, but in recent matches, when Czubak and Sobczak appeared on the pitch at the same time, the Gdynia team’s play became more direct and things got very hot in front of the opponents’ goal. Perhaps Grzegorczyk did not want to wait until the second half for the Arkowcy to liven up and was counting on them to press hard on the Legnica team from the first whistle. There was also a certain surprise in the middle of the pitch, where Filip Kocaba, a nineteen-year-old recently brought from Zagłębie Lubin, appeared from the first minute. Damian Węglarz made his debut in goal.
Arka went on the attack from the first whistle of referee Kochanek. They did not leave the hosts’ half and this turned into a dream opportunity to score a goal already in the fifth minute, when Gaprindashvili took the ball 16 meters, brilliantly outplayed the defender and with only Wrąbel in front of him, he hit straight at the goalkeeper! In the tenth minute the yellow and blues again had a great chance, this time Oliveira, who used his speed and outpaced the defender, and after entering the penalty box kicked over the crossbar…
Gdynia maintained their advantage, controlled the game and tried to scare the Legnica players in their penalty area. In the 21st minute, one long ball to Bogacz could have changed the situation, because the Miedź striker fired a shot that narrowly missed the goal guarded by Węglarz. The hosts sensed their chance a few moments later, because it could have been dangerous after Antonik’s shot from 20 meters, but Kocab managed to block the ball.
In the 28th minute, Miedź’s better performance resulted in taking the lead. After Gaprindashvili fouled Antonik right on the sideline of our penalty area, Mioć took a free kick. The Croat shot the ball hard under the goal, where Grudziński put his header and the Miedź defender sank in the arms of his teammates.
The joy of the Legnica players lasted only three minutes. After a pass to the penalty box of Miedź, the ball bounced off Chuka and ended up at the feet of Czubak, who did not disappoint and hit it accurately towards the bottom left corner of the goal! The Arka sniper thus scored his third goal this season!
The match took on a colorful tone, because thanks to these goals both teams felt much more confident on the pitch. In the 35th minute, Antonik, a player with a past in yellow and blue colors, showed off a spectacular action in the Gdynia penalty area. Two spectacular feints by this player allowed him to find himself in a position to shoot, but Hermoso managed to intervene at the last moment. In response, Navarro shot accurately from a long distance, but Wrąbel had no great trouble catching the ball.
In the 41st minute Antonik came close to scoring again, as he effectively made a scissor kick after a pass from Kostka from the end line. Luckily for us, the ball went wide of our goal. A few moments later, the action moved to the other side of the pitch and could have resulted in a shot on Wrąbel’s goal, if only Czubak, Oliveira or Rzuchowski had decided to strike.
So, by half-time we had a draw after a pretty good three quarters of an hour, in which both teams were able to create situations and scored one goal each. It was hard to predict at this point what would happen after the break, because the chances of tipping the scales of victory in their favor could be estimated exactly equal.
The second half started with a good opportunity for Arka. Gdynia launched a 3v3 attack, taken over on the right by Gaprindashvili, who after entering the penalty area hit the ground towards the far post, but missed by a few dozen centimetres. The Georgian had several good opportunities to get on the scoresheet in the next match, but in Legnica he also failed to do so, which became clear in the 57th minute, when he was replaced by Kacper Skóra.
Miedź waited until the 61st minute for a shot on target. Rzuchowski had trouble controlling the ball 15 meters from our goal, which Kwiecień took advantage of and shot towards our goal. Węglarz was on guard in this situation and intervened confidently. Four minutes later, 24 meters from Miedź’s goal, Sobczak was fouled. The injured player himself decided to take a free kick, but the ball was sent straight into the wall of Legnica players.
The hosts responded in the 71st minute through Miocia, when his shot from outside the penalty area was parried by Węglarz. The set piece did not bring the expected results to coach Mamrot’s team, as it ended with the ball in our goalkeeper’s gloves.
The closer to the end of the match, the more changes in the Gdynia team. Among others, Vitalucci appeared on the pitch, who in the 82nd minute could have recorded a great assist if his piercing two Miedź formations had reached another substitute – Lipkowski. However, a sacrificial slide by the home defender thwarted the Japanese player’s intention.
We started the added time with a set piece in the Miedź half. A pass into the penalty area ended with the ball being kicked out of the penalty area, but straight into the feet of Vitalucci, who decided to shoot, but without success.
A few dozen seconds later, the Japanese player played into the penalty area, and the ball hit Hartherz’s hand! The VAR analysis was correct for a few minutes, but the referee ultimately indicated a penalty. The ball was placed at 11 meters by Szymon Sobczak, and the Arka striker scored in the 101st minute of the match for Miedź!
The match continued… In the 105th minute we couldn’t avoid a mistake, because Mioć controlled the ball in our penalty area and with only Węglarz in front of him, he only hit the post! Miedź had another corner kick, the ball danced in the penalty box again, and the referee listened to the VAR analysis for the umpteenth time in this match. This time it was definitely shorter and once again successful for Gdynia! Arka won in Legnica!
The victory in this match was needed by Arka like oxygen and they managed to catch it. Arka was rewarded for its offensive attitude, faith in the final success until the end. Once again, both Gdynia strikers scored one goal, Węglarz and Kocaba made successful debuts, and this time fortune smiled on our team. We have an international break ahead of us and we can work through this time with a little relief, because three points allow for this. Coach Grzegorczyk can also be happy that the team under his leadership finally enjoyed the victory. Whether he will be able to play as the coach of the yellow and blues again, we will certainly find out in the coming days.
Arkadiusz Skubek
Copper Legnica – Arka Gdynia
Goals
1
2
Shots
159
Customs
3
4
Corner kicks
7
6
Foul
22
15
Burnt
0
1
Possession of the ball
59%
41%
Yellow cards
3
0
Red cards
0
0
