Coaching duo: #GKŁWIS

Tuesday's match in the outstanding 6th round of the Betclic 1 League brought no points to the White Star, who lost their first match under Mariusz Jop. The #GKŁWIS match was summed up by the coaches of both teams.

Mariusz Jop - Wisla Kraków

"A tough opponent. In the first half, we definitely lacked the right rhythm, the way we wanted to play. There were too many simple measures, too many simple turnovers that seemed to fuel the opponent – ​​especially around our penalty area. I think the second half was much better in terms of our build-up play, creating chances. We created a lot of them, but unfortunately, we were ineffective, and the opponent fired a powerful shot that resulted in a goal," he concluded.

This time, Angel Rodado didn't play the entire match, leaving the field in Łęczna in the 58th minute. What prompted the change? "Angel didn't travel with us on the coach to the pre-match training camp. The day before Monday's training session, he suffered from poisoning: vomiting, diarrhea, and a sleepless night, so we decided to let him stay home and recover. After consulting with the doctor and Angel on Tuesday morning, we concluded he was fit to play in the match, and he was brought to the hotel. This was due to his pre-match issues, where it was clear he was trying, but physically he wasn't performing as well as he used to. We planned for him to play a maximum of 45 minutes, but he managed another ten in the second half, and that was his maximum for today. That was the reason for his substitution," he explained.

Journalists asked if he regretted not making changes to the lineup, to which the coach commented: "No, I don't think I regret it. That's how the match turned out. It could have gone completely differently, because if we had capitalized on our chances, we could have scored a few goals in the second half, so no. That's the decision I made, and I think it's probably not the right way to think about it, at least in my opinion, that I regret it. Being a coach is about making decisions, and those are the decisions I made."

Alan Uryga received his fourth yellow card in the #GKŁWIS match, which eliminates him from the game against Wisła Płock: "It's a card he shouldn't have received. Alan knows it's a stupid and unnecessary card. He weakened the team in the match against Płock. That's it, more in the team, in the middle."

The final question concerned President Jarosław Królewski's support for coach Mariusz Jop. Does the first defeat change anything in the relationship? "I don't know if this affects our decisions, because we decided that I would be the head coach until the end of this calendar year and we agreed to talk after all the matches. I don't know how much of an impact this meeting will have, but I think we still have a lot of game time ahead of us, and that's what I'll be focusing on," he concluded.

Pavol Staňo - Górnik Łęczna

"Before the match against Wisła, we changed our formation. We decided on two strikers, knowing we would be playing on the counterattack. Our player selection was tailored to this strategy. In previous matches, we had trouble getting off to a good start. I think we played very well in the first half against the team from Kraków. We pressed dynamically, were dangerous and focused, so I can only speak highly of the team's performance in the first half. In the second half, it was a bit different. After conceding a goal, the visitors played more offensively and were often in their own penalty area, but we responded with dangerous counterattacks. We maintained our positive result against Wisła, which, in my opinion, has one of the best squads in the entire league, and I'm very happy that we secured all three points in this match. I have to praise the team for their performance, and now we can focus on preparing for the next match," said the Łęczna coach.

"The results of recent matches weren't what we expected, but we weren't disappointed with our performance. I'd say that in the drawn—or maybe even lost—matches, we performed better than at the beginning of the season, when we were picking up a lot of points. The changes to the lineup after the match against Odra were due to injuries, illnesses, and the late return of Dominykas Barauskas and Branislav Spacil from national team training camps. Everyone is training well, so we have no problem rotating the starting eleven. I'm happy because this team is working in such a way that, apart from two matches, we haven't lost. I know we're capable of competing against stronger teams. If a match goes as well as the one against Wisła, it'll be easier for us. We're now gaining confidence and have higher expectations of our own performance. As a representative of the coaching staff who observes the team at every training session, I believe the team is improving every week," he added.