Coaching duet #WISZNI

In the opening match of the spring round – played between Wisła Kraków and Znicz Pruszków – the visitors proved superior. Coaches Grzegorz Szoka and Mariusz Jop summarized Saturday's match.

Grzegorz Szoka - Znicz Pruszków

"I hold myself and the team accountable primarily for good play, for ensuring the players deliver what we train. I can't imagine anyone not being committed on the pitch, and I think that shows in every match," he began. "I'm not thinking about the play-offs, because at this point it's not appropriate. There are so many good teams with facilities, who invest a lot of money in building teams and running their clubs. I think they will fight for it, and we simply want to play football, and I'm hoping that if we manage to maintain a little faster than in the last round, we will show even more attacking football, and when there's no pressure to score, these guys will be able to play football well. And is the result a sensation? I don't know. We won the match against Wisła in that round, we also beat other teams fighting to advance or get into the play-offs. That's just the nature of the league. I don't know exactly what causes it, whether it's the quality of the players or the organization of the game, but it's not just today. For several years now, there have always been surprises in the first league. They always say it's a balanced league, that anyone can beat anyone. If we said it was a sensation, we would have several such surprises in each round." found," he added.

Mariusz Jop - Wisla Kraków

"The first half was definitely a failure on our part. We started the match poorly, weren't aggressive enough with the ball, didn't work hard enough without the ball, and there weren't enough moves to break down the opponent's tightly packed defense. In the second half, we were definitely the dominant side. The opponent defended low and with luck. Unfortunately, sometimes there are games when the opponent has one shot on target and scores, but according to the statistics, we probably created 29 scoring opportunities, none of which resulted in a goal. It's definitely disappointing and a huge disappointment, because we were hoping for three points," began coach Mariusz Jop. "The duels on the flanks were something that was lacking. We weren't winning enough of them. If you don't win the duels, it's hard to say you can break down the low defense, where it's flat. After a duel like that, someone always has to react, creating spaces, and then it's a matter of finding that space and being effective in the penalty area. That's probably what we lacked the most, especially in the first half," he continued.

Marko Poletanović, who could also help the team from set pieces, was not on the pitch: "We know Marko has taken set pieces before, he's good at it, so he's definitely an alternative for us," adding: "Marko is physically ready, but he needs a moment to get into the style of play we want, so he can get to know our attacking structure better. I think James did that quite well today as a number six. When we were losing, I don't think there was a need to bring in another player who was more defensive. We were looking for an attacking option, so that was the main reason he didn't appear. It's not because Marko isn't ready. I think he can even start if needed."

The next two questions also concerned personal details – Filip Baniowski's debut and Alan Uryga's absence from the match against Ruch due to his eighth yellow card, which the White Star captain saw during #WISZNIA. "There's Mariusz Kutwa, there's Biedrza, there's Skrobański, and these are the options for central defense. Filip made his debut – he's a player whose main strength is duels. He has good, quick first steps. It wasn't easy for him to come into a match like this, where you have to chase a result. He tried, he tried, but we know there's still a long way to go before he becomes a player who will be a strength in the senior team. We believe in him because he has great potential," he said.

Wisła's coach was asked by a journalist to analyze the situation after which the Kraków team conceded a goal: "We've already done the analysis. It was mainly about individual behavior. I don't want to point fingers here, because we'll do that internally. However, there was one element that was repetitive when it comes to the individual behavior of the Znicz players. One of us simply reacted incorrectly, and the opponent turned out to be very effective. It was practically their only scoring opportunity, but I'm telling you, I wouldn't want to personally say who made the mistake," he replied.

There's been a lot of buzz surrounding the R22 club lately, not for sporting reasons, but for potential ownership changes. Hasn't this noise been distracting the players? "I think we're in a place where there's always a lot of media coverage surrounding the club. I don't think it affects the players. There's news about the team, about Wisła Kraków, practically every week. I don't think it had any impact on our focus on the match or preparations for the match," he assured.

Despite numerous opportunities, the White Star team failed to find the back of the net. So shouldn't the coaching staff consider changing their attacking approach? "If the center is closed, there's a tight 5-3-2 defense, we look for wide play because it's very crowded in the middle. As I said at the beginning, I missed winning duels in that wide area to create an advantage and draw someone out of the defense, and to create an advantage elsewhere. If someone comes up with something more interesting, more effective, I'll gladly take advantage. However, if the opponent defends low and flat, there's little space in the middle. It's difficult to push through the middle. Of course, the solution in such a situation is long-range shots, set pieces, or winning a duel in the wide area, drawing someone out and finding space in the penalty area. I think these are standard things that can be used. We try to do this, but it's not always effective. It's obvious that it's always easier to defend than to attack. Furthermore, if you have a bit of luck in defending, you're effective. If you score a goal, you get a boost of energy and have more energy. "That's how it is. I know it's frustrating. It's frustrating for me too, and for the players as well. I know there's dissatisfaction. But sometimes it is. We're looking for other solutions. It's hard to come up with something that wouldn't be logical. I think the things we're trying are logical. Sometimes it's about effectiveness in certain sectors. Individual duels determine whether we can gain that advantage. That's my answer," he explained.

The coach was also asked about physical preparation: "I don't think physicality was the problem in today's match. I think it's quite natural that after the winter break, the fluidity of these actions is less. It's not just us; the players need to get into a match rhythm somewhere. I think it's just a matter of time before these actions become more fluid, faster, and played with more flair. This is something that often happens after the winter break," he replied.

According to one media representative, Wisła's play was somewhat livened up after Bartosz Jaroch came on. "I'm not sure I'd single out Bartek for his substitution, as Duarte also put in a good substitution. The other players looked quite good too. Bartek is a player with good offensive attributes, as he can create an advantage and has considerable attacking quality. Let's also remember that the opponent was already deep, so his characteristics are such that he was more suited there at that moment. That's why the substitution was made. However, 'Szocik' is a more defensive player, and we needed him from the start," concluded coach Mariusz Jop.