A loss in the first game

The friendly between Lech and LASK Linz was meant to have a unique format – two 60-minute halves with short hydration and tactical breaks every 30 minutes. However, because of heavy rain, it was decided that the game would end after 90 minutes.

The Polish and the Austrian teams live in the same hotel and train on neighbouring pitches, but they are at different stages of preparation for the second part of the season. LASK Linz has already played two training games and the one against Lech was their last friendly in Belek. Meanwhile, Mariusz Rumak’s squad has only just arrived in Belek. The difference was evident on the pitch. The Austrian team’s first attempt at scoring was easily stopped by Bartosz Mrozek. Meanwhile, Lech tried to create an advantage through set pieces but their attempts were imprecise.

LASK Linz scored their first goal in the 17th minute when Moses Usor received a perfectly-timed long ball and calmly beat Mrozek in a one-on-one situation. Lech Poznań quickly recovered from the shock and concentrated on equalizing. Afonso Sousa and Filip Marchwiński came close to scoring thanks to a good team effort, but the latter’s pass parallel to the goal was inaccurate. Shortly afterwards, Kristoffer Velde had a good opportunity to change the score but his shot missed the post by centimeters. The winger was very active in the friendly game and caused problems to LASK Linz’s defensive line, however, his attempts were off target.

In the 44th minute, the Austrian side got another goal after a similar team effort. Once again it was Usor who placed the ball in the back of the net, but this time the Nigerian player sent a lob over Mrozek’s head. The first half ended with a two-goal lead for LASK Linz. The second part of the game was less exhilarating, mainly due to the heavy rainfall which posed a challenge for the players as the ball didn’t roll smoothly on the rainy turf. In the 77^th minute, Filip Bednarek attempted a pass, but when the ball stopped before reaching the recipient, Lenny Pintor recovered it and effortlessly changed the score to 3:0 for the Austrian side.

Lech Poznań – LASK Linz 0:3 (0:2)

Goals: Usor (17., 44.), Pintor (77.)

Lech Poznań: Bartosz Mrozek (45. Filip Bednarek) - Joel Pereira (61. Alan Czerwiński), Bartosz Salamon (61. Antonio Milić), Antonio Milić (31. Miha Blažič), Elias Andersson (31. Barry Douglas), (61. Michał Gurgul) - Radosław Murawski (61. Nika Kvekveskiri), Afonso Sousa (31. Jesper Karlström) - Dino Hotić (61. Kornel Lisman), Filip Marchwiński (61. Afonso Sousa), Kristoffer Velde (61. Filip Szymczak) - Mikael Ishak (61. Artur Sobiech) (88. Maksymilian Dziuba)