Arka Gdynia seems to become a special team. Despite their recent problems in the league, they still perform well in the Polish Cup. With the last night’s victory in Gdynia, Arka got their place in the final of the Polish Cup. As a result, they will have an opportunity to keep the cup in Gdynia winning the competition again.
2:1 in Kielce
At the beginning of April Arka Gdynia traveled to Kielce. They faced their semi-final rivals – Korona Kielce in the first leg of the round. Korona played the home game very well scoring already in the 14th minute of the match. Their forward Kacharava scored again in the second half giving a good advantage. Arka managed to answer with one goal by Luka Zarandia in the 81st minute.
With such a result away, Arka needed to win at their home stadium in Gdynia. What is more, it was important not to allow guests to score as this could also complicate the situation.
First half
First minutes of the match reflected a lot of motivation of both teams. This however, didn’t bring any attempts on goal. After these opening minutes Arka started to press and they created some good situations including 3 corner kicks. Korona visibly focused on defending performing some counter-attacks from time to time.
Second half
In the 56th minute Marciniak had an opportunity to score for the hosts. The keeper deflected the sharp angle shot, though. Both the team and the fans were obviously counting on Luka Zarandia. The Georgian has already proven that he knows how to score important goals. The 58th minute however, brought a disaster for him. He stopped running holding his thigh and he had to leave the field. Ruben Jurado got his chance replacing Luka.
Arka kept on pressing and building their attacks. The last 10 minutes of the match brought them chances. In the 83rd minute Szwoch performed a good shot from the distance. The ball passed by the goal, though. Yet, it was not the last word from Arka. In the 85th minute the ball entered the penalty area where Ruben Jurado made a clever pass to upcoming Da Silva. The Brazilian shot powerfully and the ball entered the goal right next to the post. This beautiful shot resulted in an explosion of joy at the stadium in Gdynia. Shortly after the goal the match ended and nearly 6800 fans could begin their celebration.
Final
For the first time in history Arka Gdynia will play in the final of the Polish Cup two years in a row. Last year they won with Lech Poznan causing a great joy in Gdynia.
Traditionally the final will take place at the National Stadium in Warsaw on the 2nd of May. Their opponents will be either Górnik Zabrze or Legia Warsaw. The first leg between the two teams ended with 1:1 so everything can happen today in Warsaw.
