Arka began the new season with a victory in the Polish Super Cup. Yellow&Blues defeated the polish champion Legia Warszawa in the penalty shootout.
Ambitious start
Arka showed a lot of ambition at the beginning of the match. In the 7th minute Patryk Kun had a chance to score a goal in his debut for Arka but his header went over the bar. Few minutes later Legia could have scored but Marcin Warcholak blocked Moulin’s shot right before the ball crossed the goal line.
In the 20th minute another Arka’s debutant Grzegorz Piesio found himself in Legia’s penalty box. Michal Pazdan (Legia) blocked Piesio’s cross but his intervention was very unfortunate and the ball went straight into the net. Arka was unexpectedly leading 1:0.
From this moment Legia was gaining more and more visual advantage. Arka’s defense was trying to destroy Legia’s attacks but they had to capitulate in 27th minute. After a nice cross from Guilherme, Moulin with a beautiful technical shot defeated Steinbors. The result 1:1.
For the next 20 minutes of the first half Legia was trying to score their second goal. Fortunately for Arka Steinbors was in a very good shape on Friday evening and was stopping Legia’s shots with some intuitive saves. Right by the end of the first half, Yellow&Blues had their chances too. First to shoot was Rafal Siemaszko, then Marcin Warcholak and later Adam Marciniak, but the result remained the same.
Second half
In the second half fans gathered at the stadium in Warsaw were able to see a lot of ambition and commitment on both sides of the pitch. In 53rd minute Legia’s goalkeeper blocked Damian Zbozien’s shot. Few moments later Grzegorz Piesio took a chance but his shot was inaccurate. In 60th minute Thibault Moulin shot from a distance but fortunately for Arka the ball went over the bar. Not even a minute later Steinbors with an impressive intervention caught the ball after Kopczynski’s strong shot. Steinbors had to intervene multiple times that evening, and thanks to his skills Legia did not manage to score another goal.
Penalties
After 90 minutes the result still was 1:1. According to the Super Cup rules, if the match after 90 minutes finishes with a draw – there is no extra time but only a penalty shootout. Penalties are always full of pressure and nervousness. But Yellow&Blues held nerve to win penalty shoot-out and reach for the Polish Super Cup. The hero of the match was definitely Pavels Steinbors who managed to caught 2 penalties shot by Legia’s players and Arka won 4:3.
Post match comments
At the press conference after the match coaches of both teams shared their comments:
Leszek Ojrzynski: ‘We came here to make a surprise and my players were working hard and it was visible. The most important is the achieved goal. Now we should rest and prepare for the next week inauguration of Ekstraklasa in Gdynia. After that there will be UEFA Europe League. We keep on working. I want to congratulate my team who was not scared of the opponent. I also want to thank to all the fans that came from Gdynia to support us and helped us win.’
Jacek Magiera: ‘Congratulations to Arka for winning the Super Cup. Arka was better in the penalties and can now enjoy the trophy. In my opinion the first half was much better than the second. We had a lot of situations but Arka’s goalkeeper was great. We keep on working and preparing for the Ekstraklasa and eliminations of the Champions League.’
For Arka it is their first Super Cup in the history, for Legia it was their 5th loss in the Super Cup in a row.
Opening of 2017/18 season
On Sunday 16th of July at 15:30 in Gdynia Arka will face Slask Wroclaw in their first match of the Ekstraklasa Season 2017/18. Tickets are still available. But first on Friday 14th of July Arka will find out who will they face in the UEFA Europe League.
