In the week preceding the match against Pogoń, everything was as usual: first the analysis of the previous match, drawing conclusions quickly, and then training and video briefings before the match in Szczecin. Mikael Ishak, the team’s captain and top scorer, struggled with an injury to play for at least a quarter of an hour. And Skorża arranged the accents in the same way. He did not panic and was not nervous, although Lech disappointed at the beginning of spring (a draw with, a win with Termalika, a defeat with Lechia Gdańsk) and for the first time since August he is not the leader of the top league.
“We used to be in better moods,” the coach admitted at a press conference. – But I said before that if we lose first place, the key reaction will be. That moment has come. I haven’t been hitting nervous tones in recent days – he assures.
Lech Poznań is not that different from home and away matches
The calm response was important for several reasons. Before the game with Pogoń, which became the new leader a week ago, a lot is said and written about Lech’s problems in away matches. At first glance, they are evident. He has not kept a clean sheet since October, has not won any of his last three matches and conceded at least one goal in each of the last five. He disappointed in Kraków, where he was already leading 3-1, but in the end he allowed Cracovia to equalize and in Gdańsk, where he made 20 shots at Lechia’s goal, but did not score. For comparison: Lech at Bułgarska Street won 9 matches out of 11, never lost and has a goal balance of 28: 3.
However, more in-depth statistics show that the disproportion between home and away is not as big as the dry results show. The game of Lech looks similar regardless of where the match takes place. The popular expected goal ratio (xG) is 2.40 in home matches and 2.31 in away games. Simply put, it means that Lech should score an average of 2.4 goals at home and 2.31 goals at home. Meanwhile, Kolejorz scored 28 goals, and only 17. There are also slight differences in the goals conceded – 0.9 at home, 1.1 away. In fact, Lech lost only 3 goals at home and 14 goals away.
– We took these statistics into account. A good example is the match in Gdańsk. The number of opportunities created was good, we had control over the game, but in the end the number of goals was not right. The biggest difference I see in home and away matches is the behavior in the opponent’s penalty area at decisive moments. We lack peace and self-confidence. Here, the stadium and fans help us in this regard. This is missing on trips. But we have experienced footballers in the team and we expect that they will play at a high level in decisive moments – explained Skorża, who understands that his calmness is now what the team needs most.
Maciej Skorża remains calm. Only this can help Lech
Lech’s coach has a reputation for being a great captain for calm waters. When he previously worked in Poznań, he reacted very nervously to failures, he wanted to immediately shake the team, but the effect was often opposite to what was measured. Many wondered how Skorża changed during the three-year break from the league. A week ago, his patience was tested so seriously for the first time: just before the most important game against, for the first time in more than five months, the team ceased to be the leader. But the last thing he needed were even more nerves. And Skorża understands it.
The pressure before the meeting in Szczecin is still on Lech’s side, because the club clearly declares that it wants to seal the centenary of its existence with the championship title, which is why it built a wide team in the summer (although it is not as equal as it seemed, as the match in Gdańsk showed, in which Dani Ramirez didn’t even come close to Joao Amaral’s level), and in the winter he strengthened her even more with Kristoffer Velde and Dawid Kownacki. The pursuit says less, declares nothing, a lot of people around the club even deny the fact that the team can win the first ever championship.
In Poznań, on the other hand, the title is not so much dreamed of as expected, because the crisis of the league hegemon – – coincided with the best Lech team in several years and a four-point advantage in the table at the end of 2021. Lech had all the arguments to fight for championship and feel a favorite in this fight. Only that this club has been failing at key moments for years – such as the league ends or the finals of the Polish Cups. The higher the stake, the more paralyzed Lech. Coaches and players change, but the problem remains. This season – even in the match in Warsaw or in the first match with Pogoń – Lech showed that he is coping better and better with the pressure and expectations of the fans. But the beginning of this year he denied it again. The match in Szczecin will be the best verification.
Beginning on Saturday at 15. LIVE coverage on Sport.pl.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
