In the Polish Ekstraklasa, Alvis Jaunzems and his Lechia Gdansk side squandered a two-goal lead to suffer a heartbreaking 3-4 home defeat against reigning champions Lech Poznan in a thrilling, high-scoring clash.
The match kicked off controversially as Lech Poznan appeared to score first, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on Alvis Jaunzems just before the goal. The referee then consulted VAR after an earlier corner kick incident where former Valmiera FC captain Ivan Zhelizko was judged to have held a Lech player, leading to a penalty awarded to Lech Poznan. Mikael Ishak, Lech’s prolific striker, stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Lechia’s goalkeeper Weirauch brilliantly guessed the direction and saved the penalty.
In the 22nd minute, Alvis Jaunzems’ Lechia Gdansk took the lead at home. Another former Valmiera FC player, Camilo Mena, unleashed a shot from outside the box that was blocked, but the ball fell perfectly for young Slovak forward Tomas Bobcek, who made no mistake and put Lechia ahead 1-0.
Just eight minutes later, Bobcek was celebrating again after a sublime through ball from Kacper Sezonienko split Lech’s defense, leaving Bobcek one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The young striker finished clinically, igniting the crowd of 18,000 at Gdansk Stadium and extending the lead to 2-0.
The first half ended with Lechia enjoying a comfortable two-goal cushion, but the champions had no intention of giving up easily and were determined to show their championship mettle by mounting a comeback.
The breakthrough came in the 48th minute when Icelandic midfielder Gisli Thordarson fired a first-time shot from outside the box, scoring his first goal for Lech Poznan and cutting the deficit to 2-1 after a chaotic scramble in the penalty area.
That goal proved to be a turning point. Just seven minutes later, Thordarson skillfully evaded his marker and found Filip Szymczak charging into the box. Szymczak struck from a tight angle, beating the goalkeeper to level the score at 2-2. The Lechia keeper would surely have liked to have that chance back.
Within just sixteen minutes, Lech had overturned the two-goal deficit and taken the lead. After another corner, Lechia’s defense failed to clear the ball, which landed at the feet of Mateusz Skrzypczak. The midfielder unleashed a powerful strike into the bottom left corner, putting Lech ahead 3-2.
The nightmare continued for Lechia when, in the 70th minute, Lech Poznan extended their lead to 4-2. Ishak, who earlier missed the penalty, made amends by outmuscling his defender near the far post and redirecting the ball into the net after another corner.
Despite Lech taking control of the game in the second half, Lechia Gdansk fought back valiantly in front of their home crowd. In the 87th minute, after a pinpoint cross from Ivan Zhelizko, Bobcek completed his hat-trick, offering a glimmer of hope with a 3-4 scoreline.
Lechia pressed hard during the five minutes of added time but failed to find the equalizer. Alvis Jaunzems’ side suffered a painful defeat at home, 3-4.
The Latvian international played the full 90 minutes for the second consecutive game. Lechia Gdansk will look to secure their first win of the season next Sunday when they travel to face Cracovia.
