Coaching duo: #WISARK

Wisła Kraków and Arka Gdynia each earned one point in their 5th round of the Betclic 1 League on Monday. Coaches Kazimierz Moskal and Wojciech Łobodziński shared their opinions after the match.

Wojciech Łobodziński - Arka Gdynia

"A lot of emotions, firstly, my own, because I'm returning here after many years in a different role. Secondly, this match was very intense in terms of the emotions and commitment of both teams. We were perhaps a little scared by the pressure in the first half, but then it looked better and better with each passing minute. When we had good moments, Wisła scored. Well... with a player like Rodado, you can do individual, tactical analyses, but this quality was especially cruel for us. I'm glad we were able to show that grit in the second half, and with a bit of luck, we could have still won this match. I also think many players passed the character test," he began. "We generally wanted to play a lot from the wing, because we know our offensive quality on the wings, and we tried to create attacks there. I think João Oliveira is in such good shape right now that he could be, if not the best, one of the best players in this league, so yes – we were counting on that," he added.

Kazimierz Moskal - Wisla Krakow

"I think there were two key moments in this match. The first was conceding a goal to make it 2-1 when we had a set piece and were in the opponent's penalty area. The player was one-on-one from the halfway line with two easy passes, and then conceding a goal quickly after our goal to make it 2-0. The second key moment was, of course, the red card and playing with ten players. After a match like we played on Thursday, 120 minutes plus penalties, playing with ten players isn't easy, but we still had a 3-1 win. I don't want to comment on this or the referee's work in general, but I simply don't understand the decision. That's all I understand," he said.

The lack of a red card for Martin Dorotka is a major controversy in the #WISARK match. The Arka player only received a yellow card after a foul on Starzyński, despite VAR officials calling for a red card. Did the coach have a chance to exchange a few words with the referee? "Yes, I spoke, and there was this strange explanation. However, when he returned from the VAR and reached into his pocket, I was convinced it was a red card. If he pulled out a yellow card, it was a huge surprise to me. I don't know why he made that decision. I don't know what the referee said on VAR, but if you watch and decide to give a card, it was logical for me that it was a red card," he said.
Łukasz Zwoliński was missing from the match against the Yellow-Blues. Why is he missing? "Łukasz suffered a quadriceps injury after Thursday's match, and we thought we could get him back on track, but the doctor decided he had no chance of playing. Will he be ready for Thursday? We'll see, we have two days, we'll see how it goes. There's a significant improvement, but we have to wait," he announced.

When asked if the draw meant Wisła lost two points or gained one, the coach replied: "I think it's two points, though, because especially in the first half, we had plenty of chances that we should have capitalized on. Of course, Arka were also dangerous in the first half, but we definitely created more of those chances, and we should have gone to the locker room with at least a two-goal lead. That's why I think it was a loss. Afterward, the match was a bit strange to watch, to see what was happening on the pitch." "The first half should have ended more impressively for us, and it's a shame. However, when you're also leading 2-0, you always regret not winning and taking those three points, because they would have been very valuable points for us. In the context of what happened before this match, and I'm talking about this cup match," concluded Kazimierz Moskal.