Pogoń Szczecin beats Cracovia 2-0, handing Grzelak first defeat after six draws
Goals from Léo Borges and Paul Mukairu gave Pogoń Szczecin a 2-0 away win at Cracovia on Monday, ending Bartosz Grzelak's six-match drawing streak as Cracovia coach and handing him his first defeat.
Match overview
Cracovia hosted Pogoń Szczecin at the Stadion Cracovii on 3 August 2026 in the second round of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa, with both sides seeking their first win of the season. The hosts had drawn 0-0 at defending champions Lech Poznań in the opening round, while Pogoń lost 0-1 at home to Legia Warszawa after conceding in the 96th minute. A crowd of 11,023 watched in 30-degree heat, with no away supporters present. The result lifted Pogoń to seventh place, while Cracovia dropped to 15th, extending their winless league run to ten matches.
First half
Cracovia started brightly and nearly scored in the fourth minute when Mauro Perković's shot deflected off teammate Brahim Traoré and went wide. Pogoń gradually took control, with debutant Darko Čurlinov missing a clear chance from 13 metres in the 21st minute and later firing over from a free-kick. Paul Mukairu also failed to hit the target from a promising position. Cracovia's best spell came just before half-time: Beno Selan and Ajdin Hasić forced two sharp saves from goalkeeper Valentin Cojocaru within seconds. The half ended goalless despite Cracovia's ten shots, four on target. A cooling break was taken midway through the half due to the high temperature.
Second half and goals
Pogoń struck 40 seconds after the restart. Mukairu laid the ball off to left-back Léo Borges, who drove a low shot from outside the box past Sebastian Madejski. Cracovia pushed for an equaliser, with Kahveh Zahiroleslam missing two good chances and Mateusz Klich heading straight at Cojocaru from close range in the 76th minute after a cross from Martin Minczew. In the fourth minute of added time, Pogoń broke on the counter and Mukairu rounded Madejski to score into an empty net, sealing the 2-0 win. The goal made Mukairu the hero, as he had also provided the assist for Borges.
- Perković shot deflected wide
- Čurlinov misses clear chance from 13 metres
- Selan and Hasić denied by Cojocaru saves
- Borges scores from outside the box
- Klich header saved by Cojocaru
- Mukairu scores on counter-attack
Coaches' reactions
Cracovia coach Bartosz Grzelak, who had recorded six consecutive draws since taking over, said he had no complaints about his players' effort.
You can lose a match in different ways. Sometimes you lose because nothing works and you don't recognise your team, but I think today we did many things well enough not to lose. I have no complaints about the players' ambition or fight.
He added that the team defended too deep for the first 30 minutes and only began pressing as planned after the cooling break. Pogoń's Oscar Garcia, celebrating his first win with the club, called the result deserved.
It was a deserved victory.
Injuries and squad news
Cracovia suffered a blow before the match when attacking midfielder Filip Marchwiński, on loan from Lecce, ruptured a knee ligament and will miss the rest of the season. It is the same injury that sidelined him for two years in Italy. Pogoń lost two starting defenders during the game: Linus Wahlqvist went off in the 60th minute and Attila Szalai in the 79th, both with injuries. Garcia confirmed the club is still working on signing a few more players before the transfer window closes, while Grzelak hinted at possible further moves at Cracovia. Yellow cards were shown to Cracovia's Dijon Kameri and Amir Al-Ammari, and Pogoń's Wahlqvist.
