Coaching duo: #SIAWIS

The Polish Cup Round of 32 match ended in Wisła Kraków's favor, defeating Siarka Tarnobrzeg 3-2. Coaches Mariusz Jop and Dariusz Kantor reviewed the match.

Mariusz Jop - Wisla Kraków

"It was definitely a difficult match for us. I think Siarka's team showed at times what they do at the third league level – interesting attacks in positional attacks and in transition. From our perspective, we also have to treat this as a lesson. At 2-0, we relaxed too quickly and thought the match was over too quickly. And looking for positives, we showed that you can score a goal with one less player. You can score from a set piece. In short – job done, congratulations to the players. However, it took a bit more effort than we expected because we played with one less player," began coach Mariusz Jop.

When asked if the Siarka team had surprised the White Star with anything, the coach replied: "We knew more or less how our opponents played, how they built their moves. We were prepared for that. Some of Siarka's attacks stemmed from the fact that we had a lot of turnovers. We hadn't experienced them before, and that also fueled the Siarka team," referring to the mistakes his players made: "I don't have any complaints, but it's something we need to learn from and pay close attention to, because it fueled the opponent, and we created a bit of a threat to ourselves in simple situations. Not in the context of complaints, but in the context of correcting it in the next match."

A question was asked about the quality of the pitch, which could have made the task more difficult, to which the coach replied: "The pitch was the same for both teams, so I absolutely do not want to look for excuses in this aspect."

Rafał Mikulec was forced off the pitch with an injury. What are the initial diagnoses? "We don't know for sure yet. He's already developed swelling around his neck and spine. He was reportedly hit by an elbow during a tackle during that set piece. It's the kind of situation we definitely want to see calmly on video. I hope he'll be ready for the next match," he said.
The coach sent Kacper Skrobański onto the pitch as the final substitution from the R22. "It was probably the last two minutes when Kacper came on, so the assumption was that the opposing team would have a large number of players in the penalty area, and with his height – and his aerial ability as an asset – we wanted to capitalize on that right at the end, because the opposition was also looking for crosses into the box. This was purely for tactical reasons," concluded coach Mariusz Jop.

Dariusz Kantor - Sulphur Tarnobrzeg

"Congratulations to the coach on winning and advancing to the next round. We felt that something big was happening here in Tarnobrzeg. From the very morning, whether in the week before, in the city or in the team, there was a festive atmosphere, and it was also visible on the pitch. The first half was difficult for us because we spent a lot of time defending low, but I think we fulfilled our tasks and objectives quite well. The first goal was Rodado's quality in the penalty area - a very big, clean shot, and we were losing 0-1. We came out in the second half even more determined, because I think we tried to play boldly from the start. We tried to impose our style of play as much as possible, trying to win the ball high up. I think we had a few tackles in the first half, especially those from Kosei Iwao. We managed to steal the ball from Wisła's players, but unfortunately, we didn't score. The second half begins and we get our second goal. It seems it might be difficult to get back into this match, but after a great team effort, we score. On the left wing, after a beautiful pass from Kosei Iwao, Dawid Lisowski scores a fantastic goal off the post. And we have our moment. We try to push for the equalizer. The equalizer is also excellent – ​​Kamil Ogorzały's cross into the area and Kosei Iwao finishes the move with a brilliant volley. It's a bit of a disappointment to see how it ended, because we're playing one more. We could have managed the match much better, switched ends more often, had more possession. We wanted to push the ball too much, and we definitely lacked some of that. It was also a big mistake with the throw-in, but I always say that a set piece doesn't matter whether we're balanced, underweight, or ahead. After the throw-in, the sun was still blinding the boys; they didn't see the ball. We conceded the goal, and there was too little time left. Wisła also played the minutes after the goal wisely and didn't create any more chances. It's a shame we didn't reach extra time, at least. I think that with eleven out of ten players, we still had a chance to win this match in thirty minutes. Despite everything, we're happy with our performance. There was no shame. We scored two fantastic goals, and I think many of the guys showed off their skills and also saw how thin the line is between players who normally play in the First League and could easily play in the Ekstraklasa, and players who normally play in the Third League. So I think a few of the guys really made a good impression. We, as a team, also advertised ourselves well, and I think the city also showed off their good side here. You can see there's a demand for matches like this," said the Siarka manager. "If the word 'shame' is most often used in the locker room, it means we've put up with Wisła and that each of these guys is feeling dissatisfied. So, it was definitely a great experience for us, a great lesson, because I think we won't be playing against a team like Wisła for a long time, especially in a match with something at stake." So we have to do everything we can to get to the central level as quickly as possible, or simply strive for it, and to have more matches like this," he added.