Widzew Łódź end away drought with 2-0 win at Jagiellonia Białystok in Ekstraklasa

Match context

Jagiellonia Białystok entered the third matchday of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa season in strong form, having collected six points from their first two league matches and beaten Glasgow Rangers at home in the first leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier on Thursday. The departure of Afimico Pululu had been a significant weakening, but Adrian Siemieniec's side had started the campaign impressively, dispatching Korona and Motor in the league before their European success. Widzew Łódź arrived with two points from two draws and a poor record both away from home and against this particular opponent. The Łódź side had not won an away league match since 14 February, a run of seven consecutive away fixtures without a victory, and had gone seven league meetings without beating Jagiellonia, a streak stretching over four years. Lech Poznań and Legia Warsaw sat atop the table with seven points each before Sunday's fixtures.

First half

Jagiellonia controlled possession but created little of substance before the break. Their best chance came in the 15th minute, when Jesus Imaz struck from close range and Kajetan Szmyt followed up, only for Bartłomiej Drągowski, Widzew's goalkeeper and a former Jagiellonia player, to produce a double save. Widzew appealed for a penalty in the 37th minute after a challenge in the box, but referee Kos received a VAR signal that no spot-kick was warranted. The first 45 minutes featured more fouls than coherent attacking moves, with three Widzew players booked. Yuki Kobayashi came close with a header from a corner, but the ball glanced off his forehead rather than making clean contact.

It will be an interesting match. We prepared well for this match. The opponent played great on Thursday, but we have one mission: to get three points.

Decisive two minutes

The match turned immediately after the interval. In the 52nd minute, Sebastian Bergier rose highest to head in Mario Garcia's corner kick, opening the scoring. Sławomir Abramowicz, the Jagiellonia goalkeeper, missed the cross and could only appeal in vain for a foul. Barely 120 seconds later, Garcia delivered a ball from the left to Fran Alvarez, who shifted it onto his left foot and placed a precise, curled shot past Abramowicz at the near post. Both goals were assisted by Garcia, one of Widzew's newest signings, who had started only because Cheng was unavailable through illness. Papanikolaou was also absent through injury, and the match protocol listed a lengthy group of unavailable players including Golański, Meïssa Ba, Isaac, Cybulski, Czyż, Lerager, Paulinho, Nawrocki and Zeqiri.

Jagiellonia unable to respond

After the second goal, Jagiellonia's attacking efforts lacked the sharpness needed to mount a comeback. Siemieniec's side pushed forward but could not break down a disciplined Widzew defence. Drągowski finished with four saves, and without his first-half interventions the result might have been different. The defeat was a setback for a Jagiellonia side that had collected six points from two matches and beaten Rangers days earlier. For Widzew coach Aleksandar Vukovic, the result brought relief after a difficult start to the campaign and ended two unwanted streaks in a single afternoon: seven away matches without a win, and seven league meetings without beating Jagiellonia.