– We will not deviate from the previously chosen path – the coaches like to say. They want to dominate, stay with the ball for a long time, attack by pressing, that is, simply play spectacularly. It was good, it even functioned surprisingly well in the fall, when the team from Bielsko-Biała had the second best offensive of the league (together with Widzew Łódź) and was one of the better tactically organized teams in the back of the league, especially in the offensive. There were simple, individual mistakes in the defense, but both the coaches and the sports director Łukasz Piworowicz explained them with the team’s offensive DNA. This was worked out very quickly. After a painful relegation from the league in Podbeskidzie a real revolution took place. The staff changed, almost all the players, and Podbeskidzie, led by the only coaching duo in Poland at the central level, played really good football. But in spring something got stuck and Podbeskidzie in 2022 has not yet won the match, although the schedule was very good.
First, a difficult away match in Tychy, which so far was the best match between Jawny and Dymkowski in the spring round, but drawn 0-0. Later, matches with theoretically weaker rivals came: Skra Częstochowa (away, but played in Bielsko-Biała), Puszcza Niepołomice (away) and GKS Jastrzębie (home). And Podbeskidzie scored only two points in them: tied 1: 1 with Skra and 0: 0 with Jastrzębie. The 2: 4 defeat in Niepołomice was by far the worst match since the team was taken over by coaches Jawny and Dymkowski. The shocking indolence is additionally confirmed by the fact that both Puszcza and Jastrzębie played matches in the middle of the week just before their matches with Podbeskidzie, while the team from Bielsko-Biała had a full microcycle.
“There will be no nervous movements”
– We are very sad. We all know that there are already six matches without a win. It was close to the victory with Jastrzębie. In many respects it was a good match in our performance, the players followed the tactical plan, they played well in defense. We create a lot of situations, but we lack finalization. In the fall, Kamil Biliński shot as if on cue, now he is a bit blocked. We are looking for ways to unlock it. I believe that he will break, and the others will help him – explained coach Marcin Dymkowski after the last match. But it’s hard not to notice that running into your opponent’s defense zone with the ball is not “a multitude of situations”. Podbeskidzie really had a lot of them in the 1-1 match with Odra Opole. There was momentum, more shots, situations. Now, with long fragments, the team of Jawny and Dymkowski helplessly tried to break the defense of GKS Jastrzębie.
– There will be no nervous movements. I believe that the work done during the winter training camp will finally pay off. Now we are facing the matches of the truth: ŁKS, Korona, Resovia. After them, we will make a summary and together with the sports director we will consider what to do next. Maybe the representation break will give us some breath and slack. The competitors are committed, I see their will to fight, but in the spring it does not translate into results – tells us Bogdan Kłys, president of Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała.
“I would consider not playing in the play-offs as a failure”
The spring awkwardness of Podbeskidzie is even more surprising as the team was strengthened in winter. The team has been joined by: Matvei Igonen (Estonian national team goalkeeper), Jeppe Simonsen (side-defender with a past in the Danish Premier League), Yigit Emre Celtik (captain of the Turkish national team under 19), as well as young and prospective Mateusz Lipp (loaned from) and Marcel Misztal (formerly GKS Tychy). There were no significant departures. Some fans may consider parting with Marko Roginić as such, but football has been the last thing on which the 26-year-old Croatian was focusing in recent months. He needed a change of environment, and Podbeskidzie did not want to have a frustrated and dissatisfied player in the team, so they gave him to GKS Katowice without regret.
Winter moves, the first fully overworked preparatory camp, a calm financial situation, a beautiful stadium, support from fans – all this was supposed to push Podbeskidzie towards the top league in the spring. But the lack of a victory in six consecutive matches pushed the team of Jawny and Dymkowski from fourth to ninth in the 1st league. The specifics of the backing of the league, the incredible tightness in the table, mean that the team from Bielsko-Biała still has a chance to play in the play-offs. Teams from 3-6 places will go to them, and Podbeskidzie loses two points after 24 matches to the sixth place.
– I would consider not playing in the play-offs as a failure. The more so because the coaches convinced me that autumn was not the peak of Podbeskidzie’s capabilities. That if they calmly work through one preparatory period and have the entire staff at their disposal, our game will be even better. This was not the case before the first round. The players came to us at different times: some at the beginning of the preparatory period, others already during the season. Now the coaches had the comfort of work, available to almost all players. The winter preparations were meant to cement the team, and it turns out that the game in the fall – without a full preparation period for all players – was surprisingly good and is now surprisingly weak. Therefore, if someone asked me before the season: will the lack of play-offs be a failure? I would say no. But after a successful fall, fourth place at the end of 2021 and after the winter strengthening, not joining the fight for the league would be a failure – concludes the president of Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała.
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.
