Football fans may have been a little spooked by the weather forecast predicting heavy rain. Indeed, the game was falling apart before the referee’s first whistle, but the difficult “English” weather did not prevent the game from being played, although the players often struggled to keep their balance.
13th minute of bad luck for Katowice players
The guests were the first to attack and took the lead after 13 minutes. After Hilary Gong’s cross from the right, Imad Rondic beat the Katowice goalkeeper.
The relentless home fans had hoped for a draw, but the end of the first half made up for those difficult moments.
GKS took the lead before half-time
In the 38th minute, after a throw-in from Mateusz Kowalczyk, Oskar Repka made a quick reflex in the midst of the confusion in the Łódź penalty area and the score was 1-1. After some time, GKS goalkeeper Dawid Kudła made a spectacular save, stopping a powerful shot from Sebastian Kerk. Coach Rafał Górak’s team took the lead through Marcin Wasielewski, who confused the opposing defense, hit the ball and the ball ricocheted into Widzew’s goal.
The Katowice side kicked off the second half with Sebastian Bergier’s shot from 16 metres out. The visitors responded with several crosses into the GKS penalty area and in the 57th minute Kudła saved a low shot from Jakub Sypek.
Widzew’s team had trouble putting pressure on their opponents. The heavy, oppressive rain and the increasingly muddy pitch did not make things easier for the competitors. Juljan Shehu came close to equalising in the 73rd minute, sending the ball over the bar with his header. At the other end of the pitch, Bartosz Nowak fired past the post.
Łukowski saved a point for Widzew
In the end, the home side threatened Łódź’s goal several times. In the 90th minute, Rafał Gikiewicz saved a Borja Galan shot from close range. It looked like GKS would probably maintain their favorable result. Meanwhile, in added time, substitute Jakub Łukowski, introduced into the game in the second half, saved a point for the visitors with a 16-meter strike.
GKS Katowice – Widzew Łódź 2:2 (2:1)
Goals: 0:1 Imad Rondic (13), 1:1 Oskar Repka (38), 2:1 Marcin Wasielewski (42), 2:2 Jakub Łukowski (90+2)
Yellow card – GKS Katowice: Marcin Wasielewski, Alan Czerwiński. Widzew Łódź: Samuel Kozlovsky, Juan Ibiza, Said Hamulic
Judge: Paweł Raczkowski (Warsaw)
Spectators: 6,756
GKS Katowice: Dawid Kudła – Marcin Wasielewski, Marten Kuusk, Arkadiusz Jędrych, Lukas Klemenz, Grzegorz Rogala (80. Alan Czerwiński) – Adrian Błąd (90. Mateusz Marzec), Mateusz Kowalczyk, Oskar Repka, Bartosz Nowak (90. Jakub Arak) – Sebastian Bergier (73. Borja Galán)
Widzew Lodz: Rafał Gikiewicz – Lirim Kastrati (80. Marcel Krajewski), Mateusz Żyro, Juan Ibiza, Samuel Kozlovsky (80. Luis Silva) – Fran Alvarez, Juljan Shehu, Sebastian Kerk (71. Jakub Łukowski) – Hilary Gong (80. Kamil Cybulski) , Imad Rondic, Jakub Sypek (61. Said Hamulic)
