Coaching duo: #WISLGD

Wisła Kraków lost three crucial points on Saturday after a fierce battle with Lechia Gdańsk, which they lost 3-4. Coaches Szymon Grabowski and Albert Rudé shared their opinions after the match.

Szymon Grabowski - Lechia Gdańsk

"I'm so sorry, but this comment of mine will be completely irrelevant. Let me start by saying that the entire Lechia Gdańsk community is incredibly lucky. What this group of people who ran through this, you could say, less than a year after this green turf has done is incredible. Today I can only say that if we're going back to the Ekstraklasa, in the case of some players, some people associated with the club, if we're going to be in the Ekstraklasa for the first time for some of us, it's in this style. It's incredible what we showed today at Wisła against such a good team, against such a renowned club. I think hats off to my players. It was incredible! We turned the game around twice. I think we could have scored much more goals. Possessing the ball, having fun at certain moments, it's rejoicing, because I think it also reached them that we're on the right track to celebrating today. This was rewarded today, and from here, I offer them warm congratulations and thanks. There will definitely be time for thanks later. "Congratulations, but we'll start doing it now, we'll start doing it today. This success is, above all, the success of president Paulo Urfer. Without this man, I wouldn't be sitting here today, in this position. These players wouldn't be as happy as they are now. This man trusted a group of people who created, above all, a collective on and off the pitch. It's evident everywhere. So I think this is his individual success, and I sincerely thank him and congratulate him. Congratulations to everyone at the club who believed in these young guys from the very beginning. They believed they could achieve such a result. Congratulations and thanks to my players. Ladies and gentlemen, believe me, my heart was filled with joy for most of this year, seeing them want to work, how they develop, how they want to grow. And seeing them having fun in the locker room today... it brings tears to my eyes, so this is their success," he said.

Albert Rudé - Wisla Kraków

"We've had a very complex and multi-layered match. I think we started very well. We took the lead twice, but then we mismanaged the game when we were in the lead. That was the moment when we needed to attack more often, have more possession, and control the game better. The opponent started playing very well. We suffered a bit in that part of the match. We couldn't hold on to our lead until halftime. In the second half, everything became very difficult. Two red cards, two penalties. This bad day happened at the worst possible time against the strongest team in the league. I must say that despite this, the team kept pushing forward. With ten men, then nine, we kept going for it. Right up to the end, we tried to attack, we tried to play our football. We scored a goal. We tried to play until the end to salvage at least a point. It wasn't enough, but I have to say we kept trying until the very last moment of the match," #WISLGD summed up the match.
When asked if he should have taken off David Junka earlier for a yellow card, the coach replied: "I don't think so. I think he played very well, with intensity in defense. He got the yellow card early, but he's an experienced player and he handled it well. Of course, when a player gets a yellow card and you have to replace him, it's often a difficult decision, but in this situation, everything was under control. These things can happen in a match, and it happened to David. That's all. We had to deal with it."

Joseph Colley received his second red card for the White Star team. How did the manager assess the situation? "You can't control things like that. There was a counterattack, he tried to clear the ball, I need to see the footage. I haven't seen it yet, but it seems he didn't touch the ball and got a red card. We'll have to wait to find out how many matches he'll be suspended for. He definitely won't play in the next match. We have other players ready, training very hard to get a chance. And the next match will be for them," he said.
Bartosz Jaroch, who had previously been injured in a fight, left the field as a result of the substitution. Was this a tactical change, or rather, a health issue? "No, it wasn't a tactical change. It was a physical issue that we need to investigate," he noted.
The Krakow team's second half left much to be desired. What was the reason for this? "I don't have an answer to that. I have to analyze the match carefully. I have to admit, it was difficult to manage the pitch when we got a goal like that to make it 2-2, in those circumstances, at the end of the first half, when we were almost certain to be 2-1 up with a minute left. And suddenly, boom, 2-2. It was difficult to manage. In terms of tactics and what happened, I have to analyze it carefully," he continued.
Wisła's situation in the table has become complicated again. When asked if the coach was able to lift the team mentally for the final two games of the season, he replied: "A very good question. Firstly, we have to understand that we got ourselves into this situation. It's no one else's fault. We haven't had consistent performances all season, and now we're in a situation where we have to win the last two games, so the first thing is to accept this situation. You have to be responsible for your mistakes. And secondly, as you saw today, despite playing with nine men, we tried to press, we tried to push forward, we scored a goal. It will be like this until the end, also in terms of attitude. If anyone thinks Wisła will give up, they're making a very, very big mistake, because we will never give up. We will continue to strive to achieve our goal. It's in our DNA. We've done it many times this season. We've done it in borderline situations, in various matches, including the Polish Cup final. We've proven that we can turn things around; I believe in my players. I believe in this locker room, and I believe we can do it."