A game of two halves

13th November 2010

Lech Poznan and Polonia Warszawa fought out an exciting 2-2 draw on Wednesday evening in front of packed stands of ultimately disappointed and disgruntled home fans. Polonia have lost their way since the first few games of the season when they topped the table under the leadership of Jose Maria Bakero, who they then fired and who last week took over as Lech’s new manager. Lech have been consistent all season - consistently bad, and the result leaves them second from bottom of the table, only above the truly abysmal Cracovia. The match was billed as Bakero’s revenge, that revenge failed to materialise, though, and at the final whistle it was the bitter jeers of the home crowd that remained, as they questioned the Catalan’s appointment.

The match started badly for the reigning champions when in the eighth minute Seweryn Gancarczyk decided to handle the ball in the area, Mierzejewski stepping up to ram the ball home from the spot. Lech pressed for a foothold in the game, but despite having plenty of possession could do nothing with it.

Then Polonia broke, stringing a series of passes together down the left until the ball broke to the Brazilian Bruno in the box who slotted calmly home under the advancing Kotorowski to make it 2-0 to the visitors. The home support seethed. Minutes later it could have been even worse, as Sobiech somehow managed to miss the target from three yards out.

Bakero took the half-time break to reorganise his side, making a raft of changes in personnel and positioning. They bore immediate fruit, too, as four minutes after the break Peszko went on a mazy run from the right-wing across the front of Polonia’s box. The ball eventually reached Stilic who threaded a pass through to Rudnevs who turned and slotted home.

The second half flowed, Lech on the front foot, Polonia breaking menacingly, then Bakero upset the home fans further by taking off Rudnevs and replacing him with the less than effective Tshibamba.

The first move after the substitution brought the equaliser, though. The ball somehow ended up with Stilic in a similar position on the edge of the box as with the first goal. This time he fed it wide to the unmarked Wilk who hit it first time left-footed into the top right corner of the goal.

The remaining twenty minutes were tense, both sides having opportunities to score, but neither managing to convert them. The final whistle brought little pleasure to either side, and Lec ...