Polonia Warszawa beats Arka Gdynia 2:1 with late Kostorz goal, Arka winless in six

Late winner in Gdynia

Polonia Warszawa won 2:1 at Arka Gdynia on Saturday, 10 October, with a goal from substitute Kacper Kostorz in the closing minutes. Arka had taken the lead in the 17th minute through Vladislavs Gutkovskis, who scored his fifth goal of the season, according to Radio Gdańsk. Robert Dadok equalised for Polonia in the 38th minute, just before halftime.

The sources differ on the timing of the winner. Dziennik Bałtycki and Sportowe Fakty give the 88th minute, while Radio Gdańsk gives the 89th. Kostorz had come on shortly before and struck a volley after a cross from a corner, according to Radio Gdańsk.

How the match unfolded

Sportowe Fakty described a match in which both sides attacked without much cutting edge, and it judged a draw to have been the fairer result. The outlet blamed a goalkeeping error by Henrich Ravas for the opening goal. Dadok's equaliser came from a cross by Paweł Olszewski, which the outlet said caught Serafin Szota and Konrad Gruszkowski out of position.

Radio Gdańsk reporter Karol Pius summed up the afternoon at the final whistle.

Arka Gdynia fails this last test before the derby and loses 1:2 to Polonia Warsaw.

Pius also wrote during the match that Arka struggled to create chances and rarely got past the Polonia half with any purpose.

Coaching change and Arka's form

Tomasz Grzegorczyk returned to Arka during the international break, replacing Marek Jarolim. Dziennik Bałtycki noted that Grzegorczyk had won 11 of 14 matches in his earlier spell at the club. The same outlet said that under Jarolim, Arka took only two points from their last five league games.

Grzegorczyk restored the captaincy to Dawid Gojny, started Dawid Arndt in goal, and paired Alassane Sidibe with Gutkovskis up front. Dziennik Bałtycki concluded that the changes did not bring a better style or more chances. Arka have not won in six league games in a row.

Table position

PAP reported that Polonia rose to second place with 17 points, and that their next match is against the leader. That leader, Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki, won 4:0 at Chrobry Głogów earlier on Saturday and has 21 points.

Arka, with 11 points, are 13th. Radio Gdańsk noted that the team lacked a goal threat for most of the game.

Next for Arka

Arka face Lechia Gdańsk in the Trójmiasto derby next week at Polsat Plus Arena, according to Radio Gdańsk. Sportowe Fakty said the derby falls next weekend and that the result offered little optimism heading into it. Elsewhere on the same day, Miedź Legnica changed coach, with Dawid Kroczek replacing Janusz Niedźwiedź ahead of a Sunday trip to Odra Opole.