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Polish Football
five years everyone will use this.
However, I hope that then we’ll
have something else.” about all our problems and she is
easier to work with. She asks about
Michniewicz believes that with the wellbeing of all the players with
the family-orientated approach of
the Witkowskis and the close ties
between players and staff – many of
them live on the same estate – the
positive atmosphere at Nieciecza
is a chief strength. “At bigger clubs
relationships with owners are dif- rival fans who snorted at the low
ficult but here they are available
at any time. At least once a week
SPORTS February 2017. 39
number) and lack of atmosphere.
But since then there has been a
growing admiration for the team’s
acclimatisation. Far from being an
enlivening experience, a visit to 5th Round reports
the countryside has been a stifling
ordeal for big city guests. Nieciecza
do not score many but when they
do they make them count.
Games were often won in the final minutes, but not by City,
In August and September they whose players were thinking about what they could #tweet after
beat Lechia Gdansk 2-1 and Legia the game.
Warsaw by the same score (they’re
unbeaten in three matches against Burnley 0 Lincoln 1
Poland’s most successful club) Stanley Acrimonious said: This could be a fantastic game, and a
and they’ve held two other major warm winter stew made with all the bits that are left when the knee
clubs, Jagiellonia Bialystok, and kicking is over.
fifth-placed Lech Poznan – who The Reality: Burnley spurned their chances; obviously not
they face on Friday when the sea- fancying a trip across the cabbage fields, and following a corner
son resumes – to 0-0 draws. Thor- Tom Heaton pushed away centre-half Sean Raggett’s header, but
ough match-by-match preparation was behind the line when he did so.
appears to be working. They have
successfully scouted the Slovaki- Middlesbrough 3 Oxford United 2
an market with Samuel Stefanik Stanley said: OK Oxford, it’s been fun; but it stops here, right?
and Patrik Misak among seven The Reality: It really was fun, with a couple of spectacular
Slovaks on the club’s books who goals, but it ended here; despite the visitors pulling it back to
have impressed this season and 2-2 in the second half, the hosts scored in the 87 minute to end
th
in their top-scoring Latvian striker Oxford’s Cup run. Now others are talking about ’Boro as possible
Vladislavs Gutkovskis they have a winners of the competition, so I might go cool and start to tip
talented 21-year-old who will only someone else.
improve and has been likened to
Romelu Lukaku by Michniewicz. Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 2
They even have a Brazilian, the Stanley said: This depends on whether Chelsea turn up thinking
full-back Guilherme, who helps they’ve won already. If Costa is playing, there will definitely be some
add just a smidgen of flair on the knee kicking, or rolling around, or both. There might even be some
left flank and the centre-back Ar- goals.
tem Putivcev got a surprise call-up The Reality: Chelsea turned up and had to work; goals from
by Ukraine early in the season and Pedro and Costa won the game, despite a fierce performance from
is one of the main reasons Nieciec- Wolves.
za do not concede many goals.
Huddersfield Town 0 Manchester City 0
It was City who didn’t turn up today; and Pep has to hope he
On top of this, Krzysztof has can pep them up for the replay. But don’t count on it. If they do
is put in front of the Witkowskis, while their fans celebrate as though the large amount of someone
rebuilt the stadium to meet the
manage to win, try not to look at the expressions on their big
league’s licensing requirements in
silly faces as they take their lowly opposition to pieces at home
less than six months. If a challenge
else’s money spent purchasing some overpriced lazy-bonesies
they rise to it. When the village
hasn’t helped to buy all their success in the recent past. All over
school closed due to a lack of mon-
to Manchester on the 28 , and back to Huddersfield to celebrate
ey they built a new one and Danuta
th
whatever the score.
has since been awarded the Medal
of the National Education Commis-
Millwall 1 Leicester City 0
sion for the philanthropic gesture.
Stanley said: Leicester will struggle through the replay with
The stadium is also home to a state-
of-the-art 5D cinema for public use
will score a cracking goal. Then I’ll tell you about it.
and the couple regularly make char- Derby and with another away tie. Someone you’ve never heard of
itable donations to a range of causes. The Reality: Struggling against ten men at Millwall, Leicester,
in red, might have fared better against Double Gloucester, after
The symbol on the village crest defender Cooper played a pooper, kicking the ball out of the
– inherited by the football team – is keeper’s hands (the ref’s never going to allow that Jakey, even for
that of an elephant. Nobody knows Millwall at home) and then knee kicking Musa right up in the air,
why but it dates back to around resulting in his second yellow card. The ‘cracking goal’ was scored
th
1870 and is apt for a village that has in the 90 minute by Shaun Cummings whose run in the penalty
never let its size prevent it from be- box foxed four opponents. Cummings reminds me of me at the
ing culturally on a par with much same age; beats you close in.
bigger towns and cities. In the ear-
ly 20th century the villagers stood Fulham 0 Tottenham 3
apart for their interest in the arts Stanley said: Let me not intrude on what is going to be a bit of
and amateur dramatics in particu- private grief; but I do hope there will be some token knee kicking, just
lar, with Krzysztof’s family being to show that it isn’t entirely fixed.
keen enthusiasts – his father took a The Reality: The grief was entirely Fulham’s. They might
the team meets with the president course in set design. Now it is the console themselves that only England Centre Forward and Spurs
[Danuta]. Thanks to this she knows football team that is flying the flag captain ‘Hurricane’ Harry Kane managed to score against them.
for this small community. That he scored three completely buried them.
If Nieciecza do surpass all ex- Blackburn 1 Black Sox 2
the care of a mother.” pectations and qualify for Europe Stanley said: I cannot see Manchester Black Sox losing at
this season, don’t expect the Wit- Blackburn, but this one might go to a replay.
The club’s arrival in the elite kowskis to rest on their laurels and The Reality: Black Sox dominated play, and although
league was at first met with be- view it as an achievement that they Blackburn took the lead, Marcus Rashford equalised fifteen
musement and they were deri- can sit back and admire. The cou- minutes before half time. Sox’s bench had more talent sitting on
sively called the “peasants” by ple who made their money in the it than in the entire Blackburn team, and on the hour Pogba and
concrete business, will want to mix Ibrahimović came on to ensure appearance bonuses. Ibra scored
gates of around 2,000 for home it with the big boys and continue after 75 minutes to put Blackburn out.
games (they are still averaging this building.