Lech Finally got themselves a #1 Keeper

The powers of the Ekstraklasa have been loading up on talent this summer, trying to stack a roster for what should be a very competitive 2009/10 season. Such moves like Arek Radomski from NEC in the Dutch league to Lech Poznan, Carlo Costly returning from his load deal to GKS Belchatow from Birmingham City, Marcin Mieciel going back to Legia Warsaw from German VfL Bochum and Wisla Krakow bringing in Lukasz Gargula and Andraz Kirm. However, the biggest signing of them all may have been this past week when Lech Poznan signed goalkeeper Grzegorz Kasprzik from Piast Gliwice.

Wisla Krakow wins Title; Gornik relegated

I will begin by congratulating Wisla Krakow on becoming the champions of Polish soccer today, with a 2-0 win over Slask Wroclaw, Krakow wins it’s 13th league title in their history. I also want to congratulate the clubs who survived relegation. I usually try not to be biased, and anyone who reads my blogs can vouch for me that I try to speak about all the clubs and never hold a bias towards my team. It’s no secret that I’m a Gornik Zabrze supporter from birth and today, well, is a very sad day for me and the entire Gornik Zabrze community. For the first time in my life-time and the first time since 1978, Gornik Zabrze is getting relegated to the second division and they only have themselves to blame.

Ekstraklasa Round 22 Wrap-up

The Polish Ekstraklasa returned after a week off due to international duty. Piast Gliwice can finally they they “arrived” to the Ekstraklasa, as they hosted their first game in Gliwice since getting their promotion. Piast Gliwice has been playing in Wodzislawiu Slaskim as their stadium was getting fixed to meet Polish FA regulations. And Piast did not disappoint, beating their rivals, Gornik Zabrze, 1-0, which also moved Piast from regulation battle to 9th place. The premier match of the weekend was in Poznan, between Wisla Krakow and Lech Poznan. In a very physical match, Krakow took the lead early in the 2nd half with a goal by Peter Singlar. Lech Poznan tied it though, in the 83rd minute, on a Semir Stilic strike to give his club the draw. Legia Warsaw got full points, in a tight game against Arka Gydnia, but a solid road victory for the capital team. Goal scoring machine Takesure Chinyama gave his team the advantage, which now moves Legia just 1 point behind leader Lech Poznan.

Ekstraklasa Round 21 Wrap-up

Gornik Zabrze and Legia Warsaw started the weekend off on Friday in a 0-0 draw. Legia outplayed Henryk Kasperczak’s squad but were unable to connect on a goal, in a game watched by national team coach Leo Beenhakker. Zabrze’s goalkeeper Sebastian Nowak played a great game and was the main reason why Gornik got a very valuable point.  On Saturday, Ruch Chorzow’s struggled continued as they lost yet again, 1-0, to Odra Wodzislaw and Lech Poznan still has troubles scoring goals, as they tied Arka Gydnia 0-0. Wisla Krakow after being down 1-0 at half-time to Cracovia in the Krakow derby, had an offensive attack in the second half, scoring four goals. Here’s the rest from the weekend from the ekstraklasa.

Ekstraklasa Round 20 wrap-up

This week can be described easily by just one word: Upsets. The upsets started Friday, with Polonia Warsaw and Legia Warsaw both losing. Polonia lost 3-1 to LKS Lodz, while Legia lost 2-1 to Jagiellonia. Upsets continued on Saturday, as Wisla Krakow tried to get a win and jump over both Warsaw clubs into second place, but was unable to score at GKS Belchatow and tied 0-0 in a game where Wisla star Pawel Brozek left on a stretcher after colliding with Belchatow’s goalkeeper Lukasz Sapela. The upsets didn’t stop there, on Sunday, Gornik Zabrze shocked Lech Poznan and tied the first place team 1-1. Lech tried to get a very solid lead on the standings but couldn’t score on the last place Zabrze side until the 92nd minute, when a own-goal by Pawel Strak cost the home side a full-3 points.

Ekstraklasa Round 18 Review

Round 18 is officially over, and the Polish Ekstraklasa is under way. The weekend featured two big derbies in Polish football, a 0-0 match between Polonia Warsaw and Legia Warsaw, and a 1-0 victory for Gornik Zabrze over Ruch Chorzow. A confident Lech Poznan team, over came a heart breaking end to their UEFA Cup run last Thursday after a 2-1 loss to Udinese, with a 3-2 victory over GKS Belchatow on Sunday. Poznan now sit in first place, 2-points clear of their closest competitor, Legia Warsaw. Here’s some of the best, and worst, from around the Ekstraklasa from the weekend.