Ireland-Poland 2:3. Mission Accomplished.

In our second best game of the year Poland defeated Ireland 3-2. This was our most important test before the qualifier against Northern Ireland next year and most of the players passed it with flying colours. Now we’re in for winter of B squad friendlies and squad speculation.

Ireland-Poland 2:3 (M.Lewandowski 3′, Roger 47′, R.Lewandowski 89′- S.Hunt 88′, Andrews 90′)
Poland: Lukasz Fabianski – Marcin Wasilewski, Bartosz Bosacki, Dariusz Dudka, Jakub Wawrzyniak – Jakub Blaszczykowski (46-Roger Guerreiro), Rafal Boguski (70-Slawomir Peszko), Mariusz Lewandowski, Lukasz Gargula, Jacek Krzynowek (81-Tomasz Jodlowiec) – Pawel Brozek (46-Robert Lewandowski)

First of all, sorry for the lack of regular posting lately, but I’ve been lying in bed with fever for the last couple of days. Still, this game deserves a mention, so it would be unthinkable for me not to cover it. I found only one surprise in our starting lineup; it was Rafal Boguski, who, just like in Wisla, was a linkup player between the midfield and Pawel Brozek. Hardly did I start to sip my tea (beer is not a good idea when you have a high temperature) when Mariusz Lewandowski scored with a header after a well taken free kick. Wow, Poland scores after a set piece, unbelievable. Reason behind this miracle? Lukasz Gargula can easily be called Polish top free kick specialist. He’s proving it in the Polish league and managed to transfer this reputation on the international stage. I have only one word to describe what happened after the first goal: chaos. The ball was flying above our heads, we couldn’t hold it in midfield, Irish players won almost every header in the middle of the park. It was clearly an islanders’ type of game, a one that we can expect from Northern Ireland next year. Fortunately, they lost their heads anytime they were close to Fabianski’s goal; Damien Duff alone had three great chances. Pawel Brozek, on the other hand, had two, but once his shot was too weak and later he was caught by Richard Dunne (which, considering his natural speed, he shouldn’t allow) while being in the clear. Still, Brozek’s movement throughout the game was nice and he looked threatening all the time. Our best player in the first half was Kuba Blaszczykowski. He was the only Pole that didn’t lose the ball under pressure, was able to dribble past defenders and send nice balls towards Broziu. It almost seemed like our whole strategy was “pass the ball to Kuba and let’s see what he’ll come up with”. Ireland used high pressing for the most part of the first half and some players couldn’t cope with it. It’s something that Leo should note for the future.

The thing with high pressing is that you can’t use it all the time because you would’ve run out of steam. Suddenly, we had much more space and started playing with the ball, started passing it, started playing our type of game. The first fifteen minutes of the second half were our best in this match; it was the Bialo Czerwoni that you’d always like to see. And it all happened after Kuba Blaszczykowski left the pitch. What’s the logic behind it? Personally, I think that other players just had to take the responsibility into their own hands. They no longer could wait for Kuba to win the match for them. Moreover, Roger brought much calmness into our game with his precise passes. Not only passes, but shots as well. The second goal was scored by Pereiro with a nice shot from outside the penalty area. After that we dominated the game for long spells; Polish fans were extatic. Boguski was much better on the right wing than as a linkup player, Jacek Krzynowek asked for the ball more often and Gargula together with M.Lewandowski were able to exchange more than two passes. It was also Jakub Wawrzyniak’s best time in the national team. He looked more confident than ever and was just unbeatable when one on one with Irish wingers. Slawomir Peszko, earning his first cap, also proved that maybe there is an international potential in him. Then Tomasz Jodlowiec came on…I don’t want to make a scapegoat of him, but his entering the field made our defence a bit shaky. He gave away one of the stupidest penalties that I’ve seen lately, a one that gave Ireland hope and something to fight for. Fortunately, for every puzzled Jodlowiec there is confident Robert Lewandowski. Having already missed one great chance and been bruised severely by the Irish defenders young Lewy showed why exactly there is so much hype surrounding him in Poland. Great first touch and a beauty of a shot, Magic Zurawski in his best Wisla days. Unfortunately, our chaotic defending allowed the Irish to score one more goal, but they just didn’t have enough time to achieve a draw. A very good game for a friendly and a one that will make us anticipate the next qualifiers eagerly.

Player ratings:

Lukasz Fabianski 7: had a lot of crosses to deal with, but managed perfectly. Knew when to leave the goal line. Has to work on kicking the ball more precisely.
Marcin Wasilewski 6: a game without a stupid mistake is always a good game for Wasyl. Had some problems with Duff in the first half, but came out victorious in the second.
Dariusz Dudka 6: our defensive play was a bit chaotic in the first half and in the closing minutes. Too often we had to be saved by the last defender. At the same time, it was Dudka who saved us most of the time; some great tackles and a clearance off the line.
Bartosz Bosacki 5: played on a similar level as Dudka, just without any sensational interventions.
Jakub Wawrzyniak 7: his best performance in the national team; hard to beat, especially in the second half.
Mariusz Lewandowski 7: a goal and a rather average display in the first half, no goal and a good performance in the second half.
Lukasz Gargula 6: disappeared from the radar after a great assist for the first goal. Found in the second half when the whole team was playing a lot better.
Jakub Blaszczykowski 7: drove our play forward in the first half, a constant threat. Can’t rely solely on him, though, as he’s covered by three defenders nowadays.
Jacek Krzynowek 6: sleepy in the first half, but woke up in time for the second. The thing is, he’s not a leader anymore, but he can be a useful squad player.
Rafal Boguski 6: in the first half he couldn’t find his place on the pitch, was scared, didn’t know what was happening. Showed his potential for fast, offensive play on the right wing in the second half. Great pass to R.Lewandowski.
Pawel Brozek 6: good movement, good positioning, but could’ve scored at least once.
Roger Guerreiro 7: stabilized the tempo of our play, kept possession in our hands and scored a great goal.
Robert Lewandowski 7: what a strike! Moreover, starts playing better with a defender on his back.
Slawomir Peszko 6: knows that his main strength is his speed and tries to use it most of the times he has the ball. May prove useful in the future, especially for counters.
Tomasz Jodlowiec 3: sorry Tomek, there was no way you could’ve won the ball with such a tackle. Why the risk then?

Conclusions:

- we are ready for Northern Ireland.
- we can’t allow such first half chaos in the game against Northern Ireland.
- Kuba Blaszczykowski is great, but let’s try not to pass each and every ball to him.
- Pawel Brozek, Jakub Wawrzyniak and Robert Lewandowski have matured enough to become crucial members of the team.
- Rafal Boguski, Slawomir Peszko and especially Tomasz Jodlowiec are at the beginning of that road.
- you can rely on Lukasz Fabianski.
- Lukasz Gargula is our best set pieces specialist.
- Dariusz Dudka is a fighter.
- it was the third game in a row where we’ve conceded goals in the last ten minutes. Something’s wrong with our concentration.
- Polish fans were great yesterday; loud, energetic and very proud.

That’s it as far as this year’s important games are concerned. We achieved a result that will make us sleep calmly during the winter break. Next in line are semi-official friendlies where Leo will have a look at the biggest talents from the Polish Ekstraklasa. Will a new star be born?

Highlights:

Other news: The guys from the Polish Soca! site (the only other English source for the fans of Polish football, nice work) asked me to inform you about a contest that they’re carrying out. The best thing about it is that you can win a trial at Legia. Feel you’re up to the challenge? Feel you’re one of the future stars of Polish football? Have a go then.