Arka Gdynia - Lech Poznań 1:4

The match began really well for the team from Poznan. Shortly after referee’s first whistle, Lech got the first goal scoring chance. Kownacki rushed into the penalty box and sent a good pass to Makuszewski, but the latter failed to redirect the ball into the back of the net. Jevtic could have corrected his teammate’s mistake, but he was successfully blocked by one of the defending players. However, it took Lech only 4 minutes to build another opportunity to score and, this time, succeed. Gajos received a well-timed pass from Majewski and with an effortless shot changed the score to 1:0.

The hosts had their chances to score as well. 2 minutes later, on the other end of the pitch Hofbauer cross from a corner kick reached da Silva, but luckily for Lech, the footballer was blocked before he could fire a lethal shot. However, there were no doubts about which of the two teams was better on the pitch that Friday night. In the 17^th minute, the score changed again. Majewski converted a corner kick into a cross that was blocked by Arka’s defenders, but the ball was recovered by Makuszewski. The midfielder was fouled and Jevtic took the ball, dribbled past three defenders and with a shot by the further corner set the score to 2:0.

Arka had no intention of giving up and, therefore, they started playing more offensive football. However, since Lech’s defense line made practically no errors, the hosts had problems causing a real threat to Putnocky and whenever they managed to force the goalkeeper to intervene, he had no problem stopping the ball. Before the referee announced halftime, Lech added another goal to their account. In the 44^th minute, Wilusz sent a great long ball to Kownacki who dribbled around Sobieraj and placed the ball in the back of the net for the eleventh time this season.

Shortly after the play was resumed, Lech created another opportunity to score, but this time Makuszewski’s attempt was off target. After that Arka started dominating the game. In the 51^st minute. the hosts scored and ended Lech’s great series of 541 minutes without conceding a goal. Siemaszko left two defending players behind and did not struggle to beat Putnocky one-on-one. A couple of minutes later Da Silva had a similarly good goal scoring chance, but this time Lech’s goalkeeper was faster.

Arka remained in possession of the ball for the majority of the time and forced Lech to adapt to the new situation which required the guests to defend rather than attack. However, every team knows that the best way to defend is to attack. Therefore, the team from Poznan attempted to play the ball on Arka’s half of the pitch and take control of the match with precise, careful passes.

Nonetheless, Arka remained determined to catch up to their rival. In the 79^th minute. the score changed again, but it wasn’t Arka that scored. Robak, who came on the pitch a couple of minutes before, converted Radut’s precise cross into his thirteenth goal of the season. Nielsen could have added a fifth goal to the tally, but his attempt was stopped by the goalkeeper. On the end of the pitch, Trytko had a chance to score, but his shot hit one of Lech’s defenders and Putnocky managed to stop the ball from rolling into the back of the net. Therefore, when the referee announced the end of the match, Lech had another 3 points on the account and moved to the first position in the league rank for the time being.

Arka Gdynia - Lech Poznań 1:4 (0:3)

Goals: Siemaszko (51) - Gajos (5), Jevtić (17), Kownacki (44), Robak (79)

Yellow cards: Sobieraj - Wasielewski

Arka Gdynia: Konrad Jałocha - Damian Zbozień, Krzysztof Sobieraj, Michał Marcjaniak, Adam Marciniak - Yannick Sambea (77. Michał Nalepa), Dominik Hofbauer - Marcus Da Silva (73. Miroslav Bożok), Mateusz Szwoch (62. Przemysław Trytko), Dariusz Formella - Rafał Siemaszko.

Lech Poznań: Matus Putnocky - Marcin Wasielewski, Lasse Nielsen, Maciej Wilusz, Volodymyr Kostevych - Maciej Gajos, Łukasz Trałka, Radosław Majewski (67. Mihai Radut) - Maciej Makuszewski (82. Szymon Pawłowski), Dawid Kownacki (76. Marcin Robak), Darko Jevtić.