In the first half of the match the White Star’s lineup included Beto, who played on offense alongside Paweł Brożek. Nonetheless, neither he nor Paweł were able to create a play sufficient to score. Wisła’s players were likewise unable to score in the second half of the match, when coach Maciej Skorża virtually replaced the entire lineup (aside from Cleber, who played the full 90 minutes), fielding Andrzej Niedzielan and Tomasz Dawidowski on offense.

The match did not abound in goal scoring opportunities. Wisła’s players were visibly fatigued from their training sessions; they often lost the ball, not being able to maintain possession. Both teams’ players committed numerous fouls, as a result of which the game wasn’t fluid. In spite of this, the White Star’s players carried out a few plays that could have ended with the ball landing in Denia’s goal. Following a pass from Tomas Jirsak, Arkadiusz Głowacki had a chance to defeat Limones, but his shot was off-target. Tomasz Dawidowski failed to take advantage of a good opportunity in the second half of the match. In the 66th minute, Marcin Baszczyński crossed the ball to him in the penalty area, but Dawidowski’s volley shot missed the Spaniards’ goal by mere centimeters.

During the second forty-five minutes of the match Cleber was joined on center defense by… Łukasz Burliga. The young footballer displayed a great deal of spirit. He wasn’t afraid of going one-on-one up against his opponents, and came out for every ball. Fifteen minutes before the last whistle Handerson, the Brazilian player currently being tested by Wisła, appeared on the pitch, but failed to stand out in any way.

“This was a rough trial run. We’ve had some tough training sessions recently so we didn’t expect anything extraordinary at this point. It was in plain view that the players’ legs were a bit heavy. We’ve been working on strength, so they have the right to be tired” – said Rafał Janas, coach Skorża’s assistant, after the match. “What wasn’t working at first glance? We weren’t able to maintain possession, and our offense wasn’t functioning properly. We rushed ourselves a lot, and created only a few opportunities to score. The playing level was that which should be expected at the beginning of our preparations” – Janas summarized.

Wisła Kraków – CD Denia 0:0

Wisła Kraków: Pawełek (46' Cebanu) - Singlar (46' Baszczyński), Cleber, Głowacki (46' Burliga), Diaz (46' Piotr Brożek) - Łobodziński (46' Małecki), Jirsak (46' Mączyński), Cantoro (46' Boguski), Zieńczuk (46' Ćwielong) - Paweł Brożek (46' Dawidowski, 75' Handerson), Beto (46' Niedzielan)

Denia: Limones (75' Jose) - Aceiton, Mendoza, Garrido (61' Valentin), Juan (75' Cortes) - D. Garcia, D. Fernandez (64' Nico), Merino, Juan Carlos - Pallares (62' John), Huete

Yellow cards: Garrido

Photo. Maks Michalczak
Wisła Kraków SA Press Office