Widzew Łódź hosted Korona Kielce in the Round of 64 of the Cup on 2 September. The visitors took all three points with a narrow 0:1 victory. It was a contest defined by hesitation rather than flair, ending with the hosts staring at elimination.
To be fair, the numbers told a story of wasted energy. Widzew registered 105 attacks compared to Korona’s 78, yet the ball rarely found the net. Both sides held 50 per cent possession, but the home side’s 5 shots on target failed to trouble the keeper. They had plenty of possession, but the final pass was missing.
The breakthrough came in the 73rd minute when D. Bak found the net. By then, Widzew had already thrown the kitchen sink at the problem. They brought on 3 players in 1 go at the 71st minute, hoping to spark something, but Korona’s defence held firm.
The visitors were efficient. They only needed 2 shots on target to secure the result. Korona made changes of their own, bringing on E. Kornvig and M. Fassbender in the 81st minute to see out the remaining time.
There is history between these two. They met just weeks ago in the league, where Korona won 2:1. Widzew came into this game off a heavy defeat against Lech Poznań, looking restless. They tried to force an outcome through volume.
Widzew are now out of the competition. G. Papanikolaou picked up a yellow card in the 76th minute as frustration mounted. The 0:1 scoreline leaves the hosts with nothing to show for their dominance.
