Before the match between Górnik Zabrze and Raków Częstochowa, as many as four teams at the top of the PKO Ekstraklasa table had 10 points each. A fifth could join this group in the form of Górnik or Raków. In the case of Częstochowa, for this to happen, Marek Babchuk’s team needed to win against the team with which they had lost their last two matches, and also in a place where since returning to the top flight in 2019, they had scored only four points in six matches, winning only once and still in 2020.
Babzon and Orban draw. Raków fail to win again in Zabrze
Górnik Zabrze also started this match better. In the 8th minute Lukas Podolski did not take advantage of a one-on-one with Kasper Trilovski, who was also offside. Literally a minute later, referee Łukasz Kuźma awarded a penalty to the home side, after Kamil Pestka blocked a Górnik player’s play on the end line with his hand. However, the referee was called to the monitor and overturned his original decision, as the ball hit the “supporting” hand of the Rakow defender.
After that, Rakow had two great chances. In the 20th minute, Ante Krnak, wanted by German Werder Bremen, lost in a one-on-one duel with the opposing team’s goalkeeper, Michal Šromnik. The Gornik goalkeeper also stopped Gustav Berggren well twelve minutes later, keeping the score at 0-0.
Meanwhile, a horrific collision occurred between two Rakow players, Kasper Trilovski and Eric Otieno, outside the Częstochowa penalty area. The fact that neither of them was injured is a miracle. Lukas Podolski was not so lucky and had to leave the field with an injury in the 29th minute.
From Berggren’s chance until the end of the first half, the only clearly noteworthy shots were long-range efforts from Aleksandar Buksa, Damjan Rasak and Patrick Hillebrand, so no goals were scored in Zabrze until the end of the first half.
In the second half, Rakow attacked first, then Gornik took the initiative, but the first dangerous situation had to wait until the 63rd minute, when Adriano Amorim, after a quick counterattack from a dozen meters or so, shot towards the home team’s goal. However, Michał Szromnik made another good intervention. In response, Rakow saved the crossbar after a great long-range shot from Domenic Sala. A moment earlier, Tawfik Ismail also tried his luck from long range, but he was a bit wrong.
As the home side were trying to score from long range, Ante Krnac responded in the 75th minute. The Croatian also sent the ball into the opponent’s goal.
Górnik was awarded the match ball in the 82nd minute when substitute Paweł Olkowski passed the ball to Norbert Wojtyłek in the penalty area, but he shot just wide of the post.
Gornik Zabrze drew 0-0 with Rakow Częstochowa, meaning neither team made it into the leaders’ group with 10 points. Gornik and Rakow have two points less.
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