Wisla defeat Litex in a very important away game!

Wisla Krakw XI - Jovanic, Lamey, Jaliens, Chavez, Diaz, Sobolewski (C), Wilk, Nunez (Gargula 78'), Melikson, Genkov (Jovanovic 87'), Iliev (Kirm 67')

Litex Lovech XI - Vinicius, Zanev, Berberovic, Yanev, Wellington, Todorov (Codo 65'), Milanov ( Josse 86'), Nikolov, Yelenkovich (C), Tsvetanov (Flores 73'), Bodurov 

Litex Lovech - Wisla Krakow 1:2

0:1  Lamey (19')

1:1 Wellington (45 +1')

1-2 Melikson (76') 

Game Roundup -

Wisla Krakow beat out Bulgarian Champions 2-1 in a very tough battle, which saw each team capitalize on several opportunties but also miss out on several easy chances. Litex attacked Wisla from the 1st minutes and did not stop until the 95th minute of the game. 

Last minute replacement -

The day started off on the wrong foot as Wisla goalkeeper was pulled out before the game due to a back injury. Last minute replacement Jovanic had to come in and replace Pareiko, his play was at best satisfactory and the backline was also affected not having their leader. 

Litex Lovech showed why they are a very good team, with great tactical abilities and pace, they used both their wingers to progress play and did not stop all day - causing many problems for our back line. The Norweigien referee also missed several key calls but in the end they evened out well for Wisla. Two penalty kicks missed, a goal discounted for a foul and two crossbars by Litex was how the game summed up - one full of surprises. 

Debut for two players -

Two key additions to the squad were used from the get go as wingback Diaz and midfielder Nunez both started in the first eleven. Although, Diaz struggled against a very fast Brazilian Tom he used his muscle to pound him into the ground but that was at a cost as Tom ran by several of our defenders creating excellent chances. Luckily, not to many were converted. 

Goals Goals and missed opportunities -

Wisla opened up the scoring off a free kick as captain Sobolewski put in a perfect ball that was ninja kicked in by Michael Lemay - he looked more like Jacki Chan with that high drive over the keeper. But, as always good luck doesnt last that long and with the advancing Litex everyone felt that they would eventually get on the bored. In the forty sixth minute Litex advanced and found a man in the box who drove a low kick home and unfortunatly it bounced of Jaliens to tie the game 1-1. 

After the break more dirty play continued as Wisla again had their backs against the ball but managed to clear many of the Litex chances away. The game was stopped several times as Wisla continued to get fouled on the ball, which in the end was the bright point for Wisla as they had stopped the movement of the technically gifted Litex team. Wisla thought they put the game away on another beautiful chip pass that found Maor Meliksons' head as he calmly controlled it and drove it into the back of the net. 1-2 was the scoreline with twenty minutes to go and Litex was still hungry for a goal. They got the goal as their striker climbed the back of Jaliens but the referee saw that it was a clear foul and called the goal off.

Fifteen more minutes of shell shock had to be avoided and finally Maaskant brought on Jovanovic for Genkov to give a much needed defender. Wisla were able to hold on after a very tough game and got two very important away goals. Although, Litex was the better team on the day, not everything went there way as Wisla fought hard to win a very tough game in Bulgaria. 

Back to the drawing board -

Wisla Krakow will have a week to prepare for Litex at home and ensure they fix the mistakes that caused them problems. Let's hope Malecki and Periko will be healthy for this match. As Iliev will not be able to participate due to a yellow card ban. Next week will not be easy but we should have full confidence in coach Maaskant to come up with a good game plan.