Wisła turned out to be wiser when it comes to matches against difficult rivals – the team played completely differently than during the recent away matches in Jerusalem or Barcelona.  The White Star didn’t allow themsleves to be pushed back on defense, and were able to maintain possession of the ball for extended periods of time.  During the initial 10 minutes of the match it was the guests who had greater possession of the ball, and who managed to attain a slight edge on their opponents.

Everyone who had began to worry about Mariusz Pawełek’s form after the match against Lech Poznań shuddered just a few moments into the match.  “Mario” caught Zokora’s shot in installments, with Baszczyński being there to help him.  Things began to look better after this: in the 24th minute Pawełek performed an excellent save after Gunter’s shot, following a corner kick cross, was headed right inside the goal post.  A few moments later he once again saved the day by throwing himself at Bentley’s legs.  At that point it became clear that “Mario” was not about to give in.

Wisła’s goalie was forced into such a heroic intervention as a result of a mistake committed by Cleber, who missed the ball, which resulted in the home side’s striker rushing towards the White Star’s goal totally unattended.  Pawełek was kicked in the head during this save and lay on the pitch for a significant time before getting up.  Once Pawełek did eventually get up, he didn’t even have enough time to get his bearings straight before he was forced to pull the ball out of the net.  Lennon had sprinted down the left flank of the pitch and passed the ball to Bentley, who was left unguarded and who’s shot into the far corner of the goal left Wisła’s goalie with no chance.  Tottenham hadn’t even managed to stop celebrating their goal when the White Star evened the score.  Singlar got hold of the ball in front of Tottenham’s penalty area and immediately passed the ball to Boguski, who kicked the ball in between one of the defender’s legs back to Brożek, who in turn immediately passed the ball to Jirsak, who was completely open and who calmly managed to defeat Gomes.

During the second half of the match the White Star focused on counterattacking and calmly waited for an opportunity.  The guests played wisely on defense, but likewise Tottenham prevented Wisła’s players from unfurling their wings.  The home team had more opportunities to score.  Tottenham carried out their best play in the 57th minute of the match, when they were able to disorient the White Star’s players on the left flank to such an extent that they appeared to have no clue as to what was happening.  However, when the ball wandered towards the center of the pitch to Bent, who even managed to place the ball inside the goal, it turned out that he was offside.  The home team scored their second goal following a much less spectacular play.  Campbell didn’t allow himself to be blocked on the right wing by Diaz and Baszczyński, and crossed the ball into the penalty area, where Bent jumped up the highest and placed the ball inside the net.        

Wisła mobilized its offense after losing their second goal.  It was then, however, that it turned out that the White Star could have played more boldly during the second half of the match.  Niedzielan and Zieńczuk both had opportunities to score towards the end of the match.  When the Wisła striker faced the goalie one-on-one, and was then subsequently stopped by a returning defender, fans could have recalled the White Star’s match against Beitar, where Wisła also lost 1:2, and where Niedzielan also had had a chance of evening the score during the match’s last moments.  Let’s hope that what happened during Wisła’s two-match rivalry against the Israeli champion will repeat itself during the second leg match against Tottenham at Reymonta Street.

Tottenham Hotspur – Wisła Kraków 2:1 (1:1)
1:0 Bentley 33’
1:1 Jirsak 34’
2:1 Bent 73’

Tottenham: Gomes – Gunter (57’ O’Hara), King. Woodgate, Bale – Lennon (57’ Campbell), Zokora, Jenas, Bentley – Dos Santos (71'Assou-Ekotto), Bent

Wisła: Pawełek – Singlar, Baszczyński, Cleber, Diaz – Boguski (73’ Małecki), Cantoro, Sobolewski, Jirsak (60’ Łobodziński), Zieńczuk – Paweł Brożek (79’ Niedzielan)

Referee: Lucilio Cardoso Cortez Batista
Yellow cards: O’Hara (Tottenham); Sobolewski, Małecki (Wisła)

M. Górski
Photo. Maks Michalczak
Wisła Kraków SA Press Office