Wisla Krakau : Miedz Legnica

Our first groundhopping trip to Poland took us to beautiful Kraków. After spending the day visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the deeply moving Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Wieliczka Salt Mine, we headed to the Henryk Reyman Stadium on Friday evening.

Wisla Krakow, a multiple Polish champion, plays there, though they have been in the second division since their relegation in 2022. However, they currently sit at the top of the table. Accordingly, the 24,113 spectators were in high spirits, keen to see another victory for their team. The team got off to a flying start too, taking the lead as early as the 8th minute through Angel Rodado. Even after that, Wisla were clearly the dominant side. They gave their opponents hardly any space and kept creating dangerous chances in front of goal. However, they were unable to add to their tally before the break.

However, the half-time team talk in the Miedz Legnica dressing room seemed to have paid off, as the opposition now approached the game with much more determination. Nevertheless, the equaliser by Bartosz Kwiecien came as something of a surprise. After that, however, it was a completely different game, with Kraków increasingly being pushed back. The missed chances in the first half came back to haunt them in the 65th minute, when Legnica even took a 2-2 lead through a tap-in by Mateusz Bochnak.

The fans’ hopes of staying at the top of the table faded, but the players on the pitch were not prepared to accept defeat. They picked themselves up again and repeatedly created dangerous chances in front of goal. The opposition did exploit the open spaces for counter-attacks, but these were not finished off decisively. In the 82nd minute, Kraków’s attacking efforts paid off and Jordi Sanchez, following a spectacular build-up, scored the much-celebrated equaliser in this thrilling match.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Wislaw now wanted more and pushed the visitors deeper and deeper into their own box. The goalkeeper just managed to parry a header, but Rodado was in the right place at the right time and secured the victory in the 88th minute. The players and coaching staff were already celebrating the win as if it were promotion. One can only imagine what the atmosphere will be like there if promotion is actually secured.