We're in the final! Wisła - Piast 2:1

What a thrill it was! Emotions worthy of reaching the final! Wisła Kraków defeated Piast Gliwice in the Polish Cup semi-finals, and they will play at the National Stadium in May.

Even before the fans had fully settled into their seats, Szymon Sobczak opened the scoring. Wisła won a free kick on the right flank. Szot brilliantly played the cross, which found its way straight to our striker, who gave the White Star the lead in the 44th second. From that moment on, the score was 1-0! The hosts struggled to find their rhythm, primarily by attacking from the wings. However, Wisła's defenders controlled the situation well, effectively managing the aerial game.

The White Star, meanwhile, sought opportunities in midfield, quickly passing the ball between their formations. The first quarter of the game passed in this fashion. Fabian Piasecki was extremely active on the visitors' side. He repeatedly attempted to penetrate the home side's goal with solo runs, but his efforts were met with failure.

The Kraków team created numerous chances from set pieces, which had been noticeably over-practiced before this match. Piast's first dangerous attack came in the 22nd minute. After holding the ball for a while, Pyrka fired a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, which was parried away by Raton for a corner. This heralded a new phase of play – improved play from Gliwice, who from then on enjoyed more possession, primarily through aggressive pressing. They created numerous dangerous situations, and Wisła attempted to counter them with counterattacks.

Second goal

In the 37th minute, Wisła launched one of their attacks. The ball from midfield was distributed to the right wing, falling to Jaroch, who was joining in. He opted for a cross. The extended ball fell straight to the feet of Jesus Alfaro, who delivered a technical shot past the far post, leaving the goalkeeper no chance. We had doubled the lead, making it 2-0!

In the last minutes of the first half, the referee was forced to stop the game quite often and despite two added minutes, the first half ended without much excitement on the pitch.

A long 45 minutes.

The second half soon began, and the visibly motivated visitors rushed to make up for the deficit. Unfortunately for the hosts, their efforts quickly yielded results, and in the 52nd minute, Piast scored a goal from a corner kick – from that point on, it was 2-1.

The visitors were eager to press the attack, often exposing themselves to counterattacks. After one chance in Wisła's goal area, Goku collected the ball and ran with it practically the entire length of the pitch. Before he could test the opposing goalkeeper's position, he was stopped by a Gliwice defender.

Both coaches decided to make their first substitutions. On the Krakow side, Goku, the hero of the previous campaign, left the field and Bregu came in. We had already completed an hour of play.

The final stretch to the final

The pitch was relatively even, with neither team able to create a clear advantage. Baena came on in the 69th minute to support the attack. Piast's players eagerly tried their luck with long-range shots, but their attempts fell quite wide of the goal.

In the 73rd minute, Baena had a golden opportunity to increase the score. He received a clever through ball from Carbo and found himself face-to-face with Plach. However, Plach, with an instinctive parry, parried his shot beyond the penalty area.

Coach Vukovic and his players were aware of the passing minutes, as evidenced by the numerous throw-ins and corner kicks near Wisła's penalty area. Their set pieces may have caused some concern among the fans, but they failed to deliver the visitors' desired equalizer.

Around the 90th minute, Kacper Duda could have scored the decisive goal. The opposing defense faltered in their attempt to restart play from the back. After considerable confusion, our central midfielder even managed to get past the goalkeeper, but the scorer, Ariel Mosor, cleared the score on the goal line.

The one-goal gap remained. The Gliwice team attacked relentlessly, even inviting their goalkeeper into the attack. However, it was to no avail, and after four minutes of additional time, the referee waved the ball to the center of the pitch, ending the match.

WE ARE IN THE FINAL!!!

Wisła Kraków - Piast Gliwice 2:1 (2:0)

★ 1:0 Sobczak 1'

★ 2-0 Alfaro 37'

★ 1:2 Mosór 54'

Wisła: Raton - Jaroch, Uryga, Colley, Szot - Duda, Carbo - Villar (69' Baena), Goku (58' Bregu), Alfaro (90'+1' Kutwa) - Sobczak (90'+1' Żyro)

Piast : Plach - Pyrka, Mosór, Czerwiński, Huk (46' Mokwa) - Dziczek, Tomasiewicz (46' Szczepański) - Kądzior (59' Krykun), Kostadinov, Ameyaw - Piasecki (77' Wilczek)

Judge: Bartosz Frankowski (Toruń)

Yellow cards: Colley, Bregu, Carbo - Czerwiński, Kostadinov

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