In the 33rd round of the Betclic 1. Liga, Wisła Kraków welcomed Stal Stalowa Wola to their home ground - and delivered a resounding 5:0 victory!
The First Half
The first real chance fell to the hosts in the 6th minute, when Duarte received a superb through ball into space but rattled his effort against the post. It was a warning sign for the visitors, who had started the game with bold intent.
In their second opportunity, however, the White Star were ruthless. A cut-back found Rafał Mikulec in full stride, completely unmarked, and he calmly slotted home to give Wisła the lead in the 13th minute. The offensively-minded Stal had overlooked their defensive duties
.As the clock ticked past 30 minutes, with a second goal looking unlikely, Wisła broke free from Stal’s high press. A neat passing move ended with a dangerous cross into the box, and defender Dawid Niepsuj, in an unfortunate own goal, doubled the hosts’ advantage to 2:0.
In first-half stoppage time, Ángel Baena went one-on-one with the goalkeeper but was brought down illegally by Adi Mehremić - an offense worthy of a straight red card. From the resulting free kick, Rodado tested the crossbar but could not score. Wisła went into the dressing room in complete control, while Stal prepared to play the entire second half with ten men.
The Second Half
Wisła made a change at the break: Joseph Colley returned from injury for the first time since last August’s match against Rapid Vienna, replacing Alan Uryga. Early on, Stal had their best chance of the half when Walski struck powerfully from a set piece, only for goalkeeper Kamil Broda to gather the ball comfortably.
Leading teams often know how to calm a game, and Wisła did just that - until the 73rd minute, when Łukasz Zwoliński took a perfect touch and unleashed a thunderous shot to make it 3:0. The undermanned visitors were tiring, and the home side stepped up the pace in search of further goals. In the 81st minute, Jesús Alfaro cut inside from the wing and added a fourth with a precise finish.
The final word belonged to Tamás Kiss. Like Alfaro earlier, he cut in from the opposite flank and curled a confident strike into the net to seal a 5:0 triumph. Wisła Kraków could well have scored more, but the most important outcome was securing three valuable points in the race for the playoff positions.
Wisła Kraków – Stal Stalowa Wola (2:0) 5:0
- 1:0 Mikulec 13’
- 2:0 Niepsuj 34' (o.g.)
- 3:0 Zwoliński 73’
- 4:0 Alfaro 81’
- 5:0 Kiss 88’
Wisła Kraków: Broda - Jaroch, Uryga (Colley 46’), Łasicki, Mikulec - Poletanović (Zwoliński 63’), Carbo (Igbekeme 87’) - Baena (Kiss 63’), Duda, Duarte (Alfaro 71’) - Rodado
Stal Stalowa Wola: Piekutowski - Banach, Mehremić, Furtak - Niepsuj (Kukułowicz 76’), Walski, Bida (Wojtkowski 46’), Zaucha (Urban 76’) - Ibe-Torti (Gvozdenović 46’), Rodriques - Strózik (Svec 87’)
Referee: Marcin Kochanek (Opole)
Card(s): Łasicki, Colley, Poletanović, Duda, Carbo, Rodado - Walski, Mehremić (red)
Attendance: 24 314
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