Górnik Zabrze : Raków Częstochowa

Our trip to Poland concluded with the top-flight match between Górnik Zabrze and Raków Częstochowa. Zabrze were Polish champions 14 times between 1957 and 1988. Since then, however, major successes have been few and far between. This year, though, they are back in the title race, so this match was certainly important.

As the match wasn’t until the evening, we made the most of the sunny spring day beforehand with a tour of the Jewish quarter of Kraków and a cold drink on a boat in front of Wawel Castle. Afterwards, we planned to take the train to Zabrze. Unfortunately, it seemed that several other people had had the same idea, so although we managed to get tickets for first class, we ended up having to spend the journey standing in the overcrowded aisle. It is therefore advisable to book train tickets a few days in advance.

Once there, it was just a short walk to the Arena Zabrze. On the way there, we once again came across various stalls selling sunflower seeds by the bucketful. We’d seen this before in Spain or Hungary, but it never ceases to amaze us. The cleaning staff at the stadium, in particular, are certainly not to be envied. Outside the stadium, the kebab vans from Lukas Podolski’s company Mangal immediately caught our eye. Despite being 40 years old, he still plays in the top flight and has presumably had his second financial source of income written into his contract ;-)

Podolski had to take a seat on the bench for the time being, however. But even without him, Zabrze put in a lively first half following a fantastic pyrotechnic display by the home fans. The opposition were pinned back and rarely managed to break out of their own half . So it was only a matter of time before their superiority was reflected in goals. Lukas Sadilek and Lukas Ambros secured a comfortable and deserved 2-0 lead at half-time.

After the break, the picture was much the same, though the chances weren’t really taken. So it came as it had to, and Raków Częstochowa scored the equaliser virtually out of nowhere through Michal Ameyaw. But Zabrze didn’t let themselves be rattled and continued to play their game. And two minutes before the end, Lukas Sadilek restored the two-goal lead with a fine shot.

In the 90th minute, Lukas Podolski finally came on. He didn’t really get a chance to work up a sweat, though, as just two minutes later he was sent off with a red card following a clear foul. Presumably, he just needed to be at one of his kebab vans right on time after the final whistle…