The closing match of the 6th round of the Ekstraklasa saw two teams from the bottom of the table, who are among the relegation candidates, face off. In the previous round, Mielce secured their first win of the season, beating Piast Gliwice 2-0 at home. Kielce’s team also came close to that, winning 1-0 in Wrocław against Śląsk, and what’s more, they played with a one-man advantage. However, in injury time, Korona missed a goal and had to settle for a draw.
VAR saved Stal from penalty
Stal coach Kamil Kiereś, for whom this was his 150th top-flight game as a coach, named the same eleven as in the game against the Gliwice team. Jacek Zieliński made two changes from the game in Lower Silesia. Adrian Dalmau and Piotr Malarczyk entered the field from the first minute.
The guests were the first to attack and Ilya Szkurin checked the position of the Korona goalkeeper. Xavier Dziekoński saved a powerful shot from the Belarusian on the edge of the penalty area for a corner kick. The home fans waited fifteen minutes for the first dangerous action in front of goal. After Konrad Matuszewski’s shot, the ball hit Marvin Senger. Referee Sebastian Krasny initially awarded a penalty to Korona for handball by the Latvian, but after reviewing the entire situation on the VAR system, he overturned the decision.
There were no goals until half-time in Kielce
There was a lot of fighting on the field, both teams realized the importance of this match. However, this did not translate into the number of goal opportunities. As time went on, the home team gained the advantage, but were unable to find a way to counter the well-organized defense of Mielce’s team. Steel attacked sporadically, but his counterattacks were more dangerous.
In the 30th minute, Maciej Domański fired a shot into the Korona penalty area, but his shot was blocked by Kielce defenders. A few minutes later, Koki Hinokio found himself in a favourable situation, but the Mielce midfielder shot from 20 metres over the crossbar of Dziekoński’s goal. At the end of the first half, Kamil Kiereś’s players pressed more, but both teams went into the break with the score goalless.
Nuno a safe performer of the “eleven”
The hosts’ performance left a lot to be desired, but before the start of the second half, Zieliński decided to make just one change. Marcel Pięczek appeared on the field in place of Malarczyk. The first action of the Kielce team after the change of personnel brought success. In the penalty area of Stal, Krzysztof Wołkowicz brought down Evgeniy Szykawka and the referee pointed to number eleven. Pedro Nuno approached the ball and confidently beat Jakub Mądrzyk.
After missing the goal, the visiting coach immediately decided to make a triple substitution. Robert Dadok, Adrian Bukowski and Krystian Getinger appeared on the field.
Stal was playing to his full potential
The Mielce team wanted to make up for the defeats as quickly as possible and were dangerous in front of Dziekoński’s goal on several occasions. However, Korona’s defense performed impeccably. The home team looked for opportunities to counterattack, but above all they skillfully defended their advantage. However, as it turned out – only for a while. In the 86th minute, Maciej Domański decided to shoot from afar. The blow was so precise that Dziekoński had no chance for an effective intervention.
The guests wanted to do the same and win the entire prize. Getinger came closest to success, but his shot missed the Kielce team’s goal.
Korona left the relegation zone
However, the decisive blow was struck by the Crown. In injury time, the action of coach Zieliński’s team was finished off by Dawid Błanik, who had come on two minutes earlier. The ball bounced off Senger and into the net next to the surprised Mądrzyk.
The team from the capital of the Świętokrzyskie region achieved their first victory of the season and left the relegation zone for the first time since the start of the current competition.
Korona Kielce – Stal Mielec 2:1 (0:0)
Goals: 1-0 Pedro Nuno (48 penalties), 1-1 Maciej Domański (86), 2-1 Dawid Błanik (90+1)
Yellow card – Korona Kielce: Wiktor Długosz. Stal Mielec: Koki Hinokio
Judge: Sebastian Krasny (Krakow)
Spectators: 11,057
Kielce Crown: Xavier Dziekoński – Hubert Zwoźny (89. Wiktor Długosz), Miłosz Trojak, Piotr Malarczyk (46. Marcel Pięczek), Pau Resta, Konrad Matuszewski – Yoav Hofmeister, Pedro Nuno (89. Dawid Błanik), Martin Remacle (61. Shuma Nagamatsu) – Yevgeny Shykawka, Adrian Dalmau (70. Danny Trejo)
Stal Mielec: Jakub Mądrzyk – Marvin Senger, Mateusz Matras, Bert Esselink – Krzysztof Wołkowicz (57. Robert Dadok), Matthew Guillaumier (76. Fryderyk Gerbowski), Maciej Domański, Koki Hinokio (57. Adrian Bukowski), Alvis Jaunzems (57. Krystian Getinger) – Ilja Szkurin, Łukasz Wolsztyński (61. Ravve Assayag)
