Football. Dawn weakened and defeated

In the opening of the second front, the Szczecin team, weakened by injuries to key players, was unable to cope with the very good-performing Kalisz team and deservedly lost, although, judging by the course of the match, the final score was probably a bit too high.

Second football league: ŚWIT Szczecin - KKS 1925 Kalisz 0:3 (0:0); 0:1 Bartłomiej Putno (52), 0:2 Karol Danielak (64), 0:3 Przemysław Zdybowicz (80).

DAWN: Jakub Raczykowski - Szymon Nowicki, Rafał Remisz, Robert Obst, Sebastian Rogala (79 Jędrzej Góral), Kacper Nowak (79 Aleksander Woźniak) - Kacper Gołębiewski (59 Alan Dziuniak), Jurij Tkaczuk (68 Kacper Wojdak), Dawid Kort - Grzegorz Aftyka, Szymon Kapelusz (79 Kacper Żendełek)

Judged by: Szymon Rutkowski (Bydgoszcz). 300 spectators, including a 20-person group from Kalisz.

An hour before the match, heavy rain began to fall at Skolwin, and a real downpour occurred when three Bydgoszcz referees entered the pitch for their pre-match warm-up. The difficult weather conditions meant that significantly fewer fans were in attendance than usual last season. The rain stopped with the start of the match, and after halftime, the sun even appeared, though it shone mainly on the visitors. Before kick-off, a ceremonial farewell was given to Adam Ładziak, who grew up in northern Szczecin. After years with Świt and Hutnik, he left for the third-division side Błękitni Stargard and, of course, didn't play on Friday. Besides him, three key players were also absent due to injuries: Krzysztof Ropski (he's facing ankle surgery and a two-month layoff, which is a significant setback for the team), Maciej Koziara (who will return in two to three weeks), and Dawid Kisły (who will resume training soon).

The opening ten minutes were dominated by KKS, who launched several dangerous attacks, primarily on the left wing. Later, the match evened out, and the Skolwinians even gained a slight advantage. Kort shot twice dangerously (first over the crossbar, and then his shot was parried for a corner by Maciej Krakowiak), and Aftyka tried his luck once, but the goalkeeper intuitively cleared the ball. Late in the first half, Kalisz regained the initiative, with their best chance coming in the 42nd minute, but fortunately, a powerful shot was blocked by Rogal, and the ball was saved by Rajczykowski. The pitch remained relatively quiet until halftime, so the fans chanted not only about sporting events but also about refugees, idiots, and traitors. The fans of both clubs also chanted in unison in support of Kotwica Kołobrzeg (also favored by fans of the Port team), which until recently was in the first league and now has to be sought in the regional league.

After the break, the visitors continued their onslaught, executing numerous corner kicks throughout the match, but Raczykowski performed well, and the defenders also blocked their shots. Unfortunately, KKS's pressure paid off, and in the 52nd minute, Putno opened the scoring with a close-range shot. Świt tried to close the gap, and after a moment, Kort's shot resulted in a corner. The best chance to equalize came in the 60th minute, when, after a short run, Nowak shot from a dozen or so yards out, but it went just over the crossbar. Four minutes later, the Kalisz club launched a counterattack, which was stopped, but Danielak, a former Pogoń Szczecin player, struck the ball from outside the penalty area, extending his team's lead (the other international, Maciej Białczyk, also played). In the 79th minute, Szczecin made three "last chance" substitutions, but this caused a certain loss of concentration, and almost immediately after the changes, Zdybowicz scored his third goal with a close-range shot that definitively sealed the victory. Świt continued to attack, determinedly pursuing a consolation goal, with center-back Obst taking on the role of an additional center-forward, but the goalkeeper and the entire opposing team, who had been relegated to defense, were unfazed.

"I wouldn't make a tragedy of the opening defeat, and worse performances happen to everyone, but in our case, our plans were thwarted by the health problems of our key players, who, fortunately, will gradually return to training," Szczecin coach Tomasz Kafarski said in a reassuring tone at the post-match press conference. ©℗

(mij)

Photo: Dawn