Uryga: Big thanks to the fans for what they presented

Wisła Kraków lost the first leg of their fourth qualifying round match for the UEFA Conference League with a 1-6 defeat to Cercle Brugge. Captain Alan Uryga led the team's defense against the Belgians, summing up the match on the right.

"How can I sum it up? A 1-6 loss... A heavy defeat. It's a shame and a shame we didn't give the fans more of that excitement, even if it was a close result. A heavy defeat, too easy, too easy..." Uryga began. "With such a number of goals, you can always do something better. Of course you can. I don't know, it's hard to say right now if there were any mistakes with those goals that could be clearly blamed on anyone. I'll have to analyze all the goals and the entire match. I know that with a result like that, everyone thinks about the terrible defense, but if we win together, we lose together. And I hope everyone would be willing to objectively evaluate matches like this, when it's easy to focus on criticizing the defense. As I said - we win together and we lose together. That's how a team should work," he added.

Was the heavy defeat the result of the superior skill of individual opponents, or perhaps better-adapted tactics on Cercle's part? "I think it was primarily individual strengths, because we were prepared for Brugge's style of play. We knew they were rather direct, that they weren't known for building plays from the back, keeping possession for long periods, and forcing the defense with short passes. It was just clear they relied on those fast, strong players up front, and those individual strengths, which we also mentioned in the analysis, to win the match," he said.

Wisła Kraków's fans, on the other hand, put on a great performance, cheering the team on throughout the match, despite a heavy defeat. "It's incredible that with this result and the way the match went, when the fans didn't have many moments of joy, or rather, were constantly faced with moments that were bittersweet, they absolutely supported us until the very end. There was also incredible support after the match, even though it was over. On behalf of the entire team, I'd like to thank the fans for their performance, because it was truly magnificent," he noted.

The match against Miedź Legnica will not take place on the original date, which means that the R22 players will have a little more opportunity to recover after an intense period. "Such a breather is useful. It's true that players like to play every three days, because that's what football is all about, which is playing matches and there's no long wait for the next competition, it's just the essence of football, which is meeting an opponent and playing for something. But there are probably some things you can't avoid, so fatigue inevitably accumulates. I don't want it to sound like we're looking for excuses again, because I know it's a popular topic and it's easy for everyone to pick up on such statements and laugh later that players don't have the energy after a dozen or so matches. I'm anticipating people's reactions because I know how the world is constructed. Certainly under normal circumstances, or simply around September or October, such a number of matches would be reached. Now, everything happens very quickly. I reminded them in previous interviews that physical fatigue is physical fatigue, but there's also a lot of overlap when it comes to mental fatigue, when after these matches or victories there's no time to console yourself, to breathe, or after losses to recover. To sum it all up - it seems to me "This weekend will be good for everyone. Although, on the other hand, we'll have to make up for these matches someday, so we'll have some mini-marathons in store for us in the coming months," concluded Alan Uryga.