ŁKS Łódź put in a commanding display against Stal Mielec in the Fifth Round of the First League, running out 4-0 winners at home on Sunday evening. The result moves the hosts three points clear of the visitors in the table, and it was a performance that suggested ŁKS are closing in on a deal for consistency. To be fair, they had shown flashes before this, but on this occasion things came together.
The opening goal arrived early, with A. Arasa finding the net in the eighth minute to give ŁKS the lead they would not relinquish. Stal tried to respond, but it was their own defender S. Rudol who picked up a yellow card in the forty-fourth minute, a sign of the pressure building on the visitors. By then, ŁKS had already set the tempo and refused to let it drop.
The second half saw a flurry of changes from both sides, with ŁKS bringing on K. Nowakowski in the forty-sixth minute and Stal responding with five substitutions around the sixty-seventh minute mark. J. Keiblinger doubled the advantage in the sixtieth minute, and K. Podlinski made it three just eight minutes later. The visitors changed shape at the break but could not find their rhythm.
A. Arasa completed his brace in the seventy-fifth minute, and the yellow cards kept accumulating on the other side. B. Kwiecien and A. Siwek went off the field after receiving cautions in the eighty-sixth minute, followed by B. Kukulowicz shortly after. ŁKS kept their side in it with disciplined defending, and Stal could not afford another slip.
The statistics tell the story of one-way traffic. ŁKS registered 92 attacks against 67 for the visitors, and their nine shots on target compared to just two for Stal speaks volumes. Possession sat at fifty-two percent for the hosts, who also won more throw-ins and corners. It was not a match of chances going begging so much as chances being created and taken.
The result leaves ŁKS third on eleven points after six games, while Stal remain tenth with eight. The hosts have three wins, two draws and one defeat, while the visitors have two wins, two draws and two losses. By then, it was clear that ŁKS fancy their chances of pushing on, whereas Stal cannot afford another slip.