Summary of the Academy weekend: 23-24.03

Another league weekend is behind us, with plenty of matches featuring young players from the Wisła Football Academy. Here's a quick summary of the results for the CLJ U-15, CLJ U-17, and CLJ U-19 teams .

U-15: Derby defeat against Cracovia

Five goals and plenty of twists and turns marked the derby match against Cracovia in Round 4 of the U-15 Central Junior League Group D. Wisła took a 2-1 lead after the break, but ultimately had to concede to their local rivals 2-3. The decisive goal came in stoppage time. Oliwier Kozak (from the penalty spot) and Alan Bąk were among the scorers for the White Star.

The derby match against Cracovia, played in Round 4 of the Central Junior League U-15, Group D, was a thrilling affair. The White Star bravely faced their cross-country rival, undefeated in the spring round, and dominated Rączna for a long time. However, it was their opponents who opened the scoring with a penalty kick. Wisła responded before the break, as Oliwier Kozak equalized with a shot from eleven meters.

An exciting ending and a missed opportunity

After the break, coach Krystian Żakowicz's men added a second goal. After winning the game in their own half, Wisła launched a swift counterattack, and after a pass from the outside, goalkeeper Alan Bąk beat Pasy Na Rataj. Wisła didn't let up and had two further chances to increase their lead, but their execution was lacking.

This backfired in the final minutes, when the hosts took the lead. Cracovia first equalized the score, then tipped the scales in their favor in stoppage time.

"I hope this match will be a valuable lesson for us, but it must be admitted that youth football teaches us a lot of humility, and that was the case for us in this match. Both the coaching staff and the players were filled with frustration after this match, but I deeply believe that once emotions subside, we will draw the right conclusions. I must admit that our first half was fantastic. We implemented what we work on in training – we played in our own style, boldly with the ball at our feet. We had a good mental attitude, and you could see the aggression in our reception. We would like our game to be like this every time. There's no denying that we have a lot of blame for the second half, because we weren't able to maintain such quality, composure, and dominance throughout the match. We allowed our opponent to rebuild, and in the end, we paid a high price for it. The players certainly deserve praise for the way they played, especially in the first half. I hope we will transfer this sporting anger into the next matches," said the coach. Krystian Żakowicz.

And Wisła will soon have a chance to break through and secure their first spring victory. This coming Thursday, Wisła's youngest team playing in the CLJ will face Garbarnia Kraków at home. Kick-off is at 12:30 PM.

CLJ U-15: Cracovia - Wisła Kraków 3:2 (1:1)
Goals: Oliwier Kozak, Alan Bąk

Wisła Kraków U-15 (starting lineup): Szymon Koładka - Karol Łakomy, Kacper Kopijka, Radosław Krasek, Przemysław Gołąb - Oliwier Kozak, Jakub Idziak, Bartosz Wajda - Mateusz Pałka, Alan Bąk, Piotr Hejmo.

Also playing were: Patryk Cichy, Michał Pałka, Jan Szczepaniak, Dawid Kubik, Oskar Kukuła and Wiktor Maziarz.

U-17: Confident victory against Wisła Płock

Coach Patryk Jałocha's side faced Wisła Płock on Saturday afternoon in the 21st round of the Central Junior League spring round. The Kraków team claimed victory, defeating their opponents 4-1 thanks to two goals from Nathan Lis, including one from the penalty spot, and two penalty kicks from Aleksy Rokosz.

In the first half, the White Star team repeatedly gave their opponents a hard time, dictating possession and maintaining control. The visitors quickly began to attack, and around the 15th minute, they put together a cohesive attack, culminating in a goal. Dawid Szczepaniak passed the ball behind the Płock defenders, then Nathan Lis found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, lobbing the ball past the opposing goalkeeper, and thus opening the scoring. The Kraków team, fueled by their early advantage, created further scoring opportunities, but lacked a solid finish. The home side, however, attempted to respond to Wisła Kraków's efforts with counterattacks, but failed to create a real threat in front of Kacper Pisarek's goal.

Three more goals and three points

After the break, the Kraków team continued to fight back, gaining possession more frequently and putting pressure on their opponents. The visitors continued to create chances in the penalty area, and after one of them, due to a foul by a home player, the referee awarded a penalty, which Nathan Lis took. The goalkeeper saved the shot from the set piece, but Wisła found the back of the net, scoring from the rebound. Shortly after, a Wisła Płock player was shown a second yellow card, leaving the home side to fight for a man down for the remainder of the match. Playing on the power play had overwhelm the young Kraków players, and as a result, despite the disadvantage, the home side began to assert themselves and finally scored a goal. However, coach Patryk Jałocha's men managed to get back on the winning track, regaining control of the game. In the second half, Bruno Skoczek received two through balls into the penalty area, only to be fouled. Aleksy Rokosz confidently converted the subsequent penalties, making the score 4-1. Besides the aforementioned shots on target, the Kraków side also had other opportunities to extend their lead. Bruno Skoczek, for example, had a chance to do so, finding himself in two one-on-one situations but failing to find the back of the net.

Wisla Płock U-17 – Wisla Kraków U-17 1:4 (0:1)
Goals for Wisła: Nathan Lis, Aleksy Rokosz

Wisła Kraków U-17: Kacper Pisarek – Eryk Daczewski, Dawid Szczepaniak, Kacper Symula – Nathan Lis, Jan Molenda, Filip Michałowski, Mateusz Kania – Łukasz Staniów, Szymon Kawała, Maciej Szmydt.

Substitutes' bench: Karol Dołkin, Jakub Czubernat, Jakub Małek, Dawid Rataj, Aleksy Rokosz, Bruno Skoczek, Kacper Trznadel.

U-19: Points shared in the clash with Jagiellonia Białystok

The U-19 team faced Jagiellonia Białystok away on Saturday afternoon in the 20th round of the Central Junior League. Coach Karol Nędza's men shared the points with their rivals, drawing 1-1. Wiktor Benedyktowicz scored the goal for the White Star.

Wisła opened the match against Białystok with a powerful shot from Yehor Khromykh, who, moments after the referee's first whistle, tried to surprise the home goalkeeper. A few minutes later, the White Star had another opportunity to quickly take the lead when Bartłomiej Sowa fired a powerful shot on goal from the corner of the penalty area. However, the Kraków midfielder's shot deflected off the crossbar, leaving the score tied. The home side then began to assert themselves, with Jagiellonia attempting to break through the Wisła defense on the wings and playing the ball into positional attacks. After fifteen minutes, the opposition tested Wiktor Sierda's alertness, forced to save a powerful shot from around eleven meters out. The White Star goalkeeper was also alert on the home side's next opportunity, also keeping out the striker in the penalty area. A few moments later, however, the opponents achieved their goal and put the ball into the Wisła net, carrying out a quick attack on the wing, which ended with a shot that was not received.

Valuable point

Tomasz Dusik had two chances to equalize early in the second half, but his forays down the left wing failed to produce the desired result. Shortly afterward, the Kraków team was able to celebrate a goal. The ball was passed into the Jagiellonia penalty area, where Wiktor Benedyktowicz found his feet amidst the chaos. The ball fell directly to the Wisła striker, who leveled the score with a powerful shot into the top corner. Coach Karol Nędza's men followed up, and moments later, Michał Prochwicz, who had been introduced earlier, had his chance. He outplayed two opponents and tried his luck from distance, but the goalkeeper caught him. Sierda, however, had to remain alert, and a little later, he saved his team from conceding a second goal with a superb save. Mateusz Stanek also had a good opportunity, trying to surprise the Jagiellonia goalkeeper with a long volley, but it failed to produce a goal. The home side's final minutes saw them attempt to regain the lead, but ultimately failed to do so thanks to the excellent defensive organization of the White Star players. Wisła's oldest CLJ team earned a valuable point.

"We leave a lot of heart on the pitch in every match, which is essential for every player representing this club. We earned a point, even though we fought for the full amount until the very end. Even before conceding, we had two great chances to take the lead. However, the match unfolded differently, and we had to fight back. The next match against Legia Warsaw will be extremely demanding for us. We will do everything in our power to prepare for this match as best as possible and spring a surprise," said team coach Karol Nędza.

The CLJ U-19 team will face the third-placed Legia Warsaw at home next week. The match is scheduled for Holy Thursday at 2:00 PM.

Jagiellonia Białystok U-19 – Wisła Kraków U-19 1:1 (1:0)
Goal for Wisła: Benedyktowicz

Wisła Kraków U-19 (starting lineup) : Wiktor Sierda (RB) – Maciej Pachel, Radosław Skała (C), Marcin Górkiewicz, Maciej Jania (46' Michał Prochwicz) – Yehor Khromykh (46' Dawid Gap), Bartłomiej Sowa, Maksym Tsymbaliuk, Tomasz Dusik (70' Filip Kowalski) – Mateusz Stanek (82' Jakub Bigosiński), Wiktor Benedyktowicz (70' Radosław Wójcicki)

Substitutes' bench: Jakub Kowalski (BR), Adam Klimczyk, Karol Kurczyna, Borys Płotka