Arka Gdynia destroyed Sandecja Nowy Sacz setting the highest victory record

In Gdynia, Sport

Arka Gdynia destroyed Sandecja Nowy Sacz on Saturday evening in Gdynia. The 5:0 victory was the highest victory of Arka’s history in Ekstraklasa.

Great performance from the start

The Yellow&Blues could have not imagined a better beginning of the match. In the 5th minute after a precise cross pass from Szwoch, Ruben Jurado scored the first goal of the match in an one-on-one situation. Seven minutes later, the referee ordered to wait with the corner kick for Arka. After the consultation with VAR the referee decided to come back to a situation in the penalty area where Szufryn touched the ball with his hand. There could have been only one  possible decision – a penalty kick. Arka have their own penalty kick specialist – Mateusz Szwoch, who knows how to deal with the pressure. Mateusz defeated Sandecja’s goalkeeper with cold blood and Arka were leading 2:0.

Two minutes later Arka was already winning 3:0. The perfect counterattack began with Ruben Jurado’s long pass to Luka Zarandia. Luka skillfully kept the ball from two opponents and passed it perfectly to coming from the right wing Siergiej Kriwiec. The player from Belarus managed to keep his nerves on hold and Sandecja’s goalkeeper was helpless once again.

VAR in action

In the 23rd minute Sandecja had a corner kick. But after one of Sandecja’s players shot, Pavels Steinbors caught the ball. But to be honest, Arka’s goalkeeper did not have a lot of work that evening. By the end of the first half Arka had had a few more chances to score. The Yellow&Blues were dominating in each part of the field and did not allow Sandecja to create too many offensive actions. In the 41st minute the referee once again stopped the game and after another consultation with VAR he dictated the second penalty kick this evening for Arka. Mateusz Szwoch scored his second goal and the Yellow&Blues were leading 4:0

Second half

Fortunately for Arka’s fans the Yellow&Blues were not planning to throw away their sizeable advantage. The first action of the second half brought Arka yet another goal. After Damian Zbozien’s throw-in, Adam Marciniak headed the ball perfectly into the net.

In the 49th minute, Kolew could have scored a consolation goal for Sandecja. Even though the ball found its way into the net, Kolew did not appear on the scoresheet. The referee made a right decision – he was on offside. Eight minutes later, Grzegorz Piesio received a very good pass but he had been waiting for too long with a shot or a pass. After a few moments, Jurado passed the ball to Zarandia who was coming into the penalty area but the ball got stuck in the mud. As a result Luka was not able to reach it on time. The rainfall was a huge impediment for both teams and fans on Satuday evening. However, over 5000 fans who gathered at the Stadion Miejski did not regret that they had come to the match.

In the 67th minute Damian Zbozien’s pass found Jurado in Sandecja’s penalty area but the ball after his shot was caught by Gliwa. Two minutes later Siegiej Kriwiec took his chance with a free kick, but the ball after his shot went over the bar. Both teams had some more chances during the last 20 minutes of the game but the result has not changed. A lot of respect for Sandecja who despite the 5:0 result did not give up and kept on trying to score at least a consolation goal. However, Arka’s every formation was very well organized and the Yellow&Blues had this match completely under control.

Situation in the table

After this match Arka with 25 points is in 7th place of the Ekstraklasa table. Next Saturday Arka will face Wisla in Plock, but before that there is going to be another match full of emotions – on Wednesday Arka is going to face Chrobry Glogow in Gdynia. This is the rematch of Polish Cup quarter-final – in the first match Arka won 2:0 and the Yellow&Blues are very close to the semi-final. Tickets are still available.