Rakow Częstochowa surprised with an active game and beat Slavia at home. There is a lot to improve for the rematch

From the moment Slavia learned the name of their opponent, at least part of the public was convinced that it was an easy draw. Yes, there are a few clues to this, such as the small stadium for 5500 spectators, or the fact that nobody really knew about the club until 4 years ago, as it played in the 3rd highest Polish competition.

The name Rakow Częstochowa in itself doesn’t really inspire much respect, but if we look at it purely from the football side, it’s a different song altogether. After promotion to the Ekstraklasa in the inaugural season, Rakow finished 10th.

For the next two seasons they always finished second, just behind the champion. To this Rakow added 2 Polish Cup titles straight away. As far as European cups are concerned, this is the second attempt for the Polish club. Last year it was stopped by Gent.

Slavia Prague has been doing much better in Europe in recent years. One of the highlights is participation in the LM in the 2019/20 season. Group F consisted of Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Inter Milan. Even in such a difficult group, the Slavs did not disappoint, they played 2 draws and no debacle. However, progression was far away.

Last year the Susians got to know the European Conference League very well. Slavia, Union Berlin, Feyenoord and Maccabi Haifa were in the group. After advancing out of the group after two 3: 2 wins over Fenerbahce Istanbul, then LASK Linz and in the quarter-finals, the journey of the Susians was stopped by an old friend from the group, Feyenoord. The participation was still very good and the opponents in this part of the competition were very good.

This year the Slavs started in the 4th preliminary round where they destroyed the team from Gibraltar, St Joseph’s 11:0. The third preliminary round was much more difficult. The Greek Panathinaikos FC resisted very fiercely and was the better team in the home rematch, but the Susians had enough of the lead from the first game and celebrated the progression in the end. The next event was on the agenda on Thursday.

On Thursday from 18:00 Rakow Čenstochová welcomed SK Slavia Praha at their stadium.

Line-ups

Raków Częstochowa:: Trelowski – Svarnas, Arsenić (C), Rundić – Tudor, Gvilija, Papanikolaou, Kun – Kočerhin, Musiolik, López
Coach: Marek Papszun

SK Slavia Prague:: Mandous – Schranz, Ousou, Santos, Dorley – Tiéhi, Holeš (C) – Usor, Ševčík, Olayinka – Lingr
Coach: Jindřich Trpišovský

Match flow

A cautious start to the match brought a corner kick for the home team in the 6th minute. It was not accurate at all and the Slavs easily turned it away. Most of the game was played near the halfway line. Each side had one shot from the edge of the penalty area, but both were immediately blocked.

In the 12th minute, the home side played a second standard situation, this time a free direct kick, but even the centre from this opportunity did not find anyone in red. A similar situation could be seen two minutes later on the other side, the result was identical.

The first interesting chance went to the Prague side. In the 18th minute, Usor sent a left-footed shot just wide of the bar. In the 26th minute Ivi played another corner, but with the same result as the first one. A quick counter-attack by Slavia came right from the set-piece, followed by a corner kick from the left. But even that didn’t lead to a goal threat.

Ivi Lopez is undoubtedly Rakow Częstochowa’s biggest weapon. The top scorer of the last edition of the Ekstraklasa made his presence known in the 29th minute when he headed the ball into the middle of the pitch from the right side on the edge of the penalty area and opened the scoring with a precise shot to the far post. Mandous had no chance.

In the 40th minute, Oscar had to be substituted after a bloody facial injury and was replaced by Plavsic. A minute later, Rakow had a good chance inside the penalty area after a cross from the left, but his shot was blocked before Mandous could get a chance.

The first half didn’t bring many scoring chances. Even the only shot that went between the 3 posts and that was a straight goal. Slavia didn’t get forward much, most of the time it was Lingr fighting alone on the tip, without support of his teammates. The Polish team showed high pressing and great quality on the ball. The Slavs had neither space nor time for anything.

Slavia went into the second half with a revitalised midfield in Ibrahim Traore. Santos withdrew from the game. The home team sent Wdowiak on the pitch instead of Kochergin. In the 53rd minute, he tested the home goalkeeper’s attention again, and the shot was Slavia’s second corner kick. A minute later, Lingr received the 1st yellow card of the match for a completely unnecessary foul in the area in front of the bench.

After that, the fourth corner and the subsequent pressure was seen, but this time Sšiovans coped with everything. On the other side, Tomas Holeš equalised 2 minutes later. A short corner kick meant a draw. Ševčík played the ball, then Plavsic held the ball and played it well. Tomas Holeš wanted to centre from the left side, but the ball came off him and went straight into Trelowski’s net.

Gutkovskis replaced Musiolik on the pitch during the goal break. Almost immediately from the set piece, the home team’s Tudor got in front of Mandouse and sent his team back in front from point blank range. Once again, the lack of concentration of the Slavic defence was evident, which coach Trpišovský pointed out after the match in Jablonec.

In the 65th minute, Tiehi had a direct kick from a promising area, but only hit the wall. Subsequently, Ondřej Lingr left the field due to substitution and Matěj Jurásek came on in his place. In the 73rd minute, a series of corners came in a row and the Sešiovans found themselves under a lot of pressure, with Lady Luck helping out a few times.

In the 81st minute came a yellow card for a slip for Papanikolaou. The home side took advantage of the interruption to make a double substitution. It was the Greek who left the field and Tudor as well. Nowak and Czyz came on. Another 5 minutes later Tiehi was treated and the home team changed the line-up again. Lopez, the hero of the home team, went to rest and was replaced by Dlugosz.

Emotions flared up a bit at the end, but a minor scuffle was settled by the referee with one yellow card on each side. Wdowiak got it for the home team and Ousou for Slavia. In the set time Usor shot again dangerously, but again just wide. But the home team had the last word. At the very end, there was a huge chance, which Gutkovskis failed to convert into an empty net when the ball skipped over his frozen foot.

Bottom line, the result is fair and fits the game. Rakow were more active, had far more shots, chances, standard situations and most importantly scored one more goal. Slavia didn’t find a recipe for their opponent for the whole 90 minutes. When they had the ball, the pressure was rather platonic and nothing else came of it apart from possession most of the time.

There is indeed a lot to improve for the home rematch. Rakow’s defence was very solid and at the same time the Polish side was very dangerous going forward. They outclassed Slavia in virtually every respect and deservedly developed a better starting position. The rematch will take place on 25 August at 7 pm at the Fortuna Arena in Prague.

Source: UEFA