SKRINIAR AND SLOVAKIA PUT POLAND IN A PICKLE
STILL he sleeps. At some point Robert Lewandowski will surely spring to his feet and do in a tournament what he does with such marvellous efficiency in club football, but for now Poland must wait.
Not that they have much time. Even in a format so ludicrously forgiving as this European Championship, defeats are hard to swallow, particularly when their remaining Group E engagements are against Spain and Sweden.
This defeat by Slovakia has left a good squad in serious early danger, and their fate is likely to be tied to whether Lewandowski can finally find form in an international competition.
This was his 12th game across a fourth tournament, but with only two goals to his name it stands as a baffling anomaly in the career of arguably the best true striker in the world. His efforts in this one included two blocked shots, a third that drifted an awfully long way wide, and a wider performance in which the Bayern Munich man was marked into oblivion.
Good on Slovakia for pulling off the trick against a player who has close to 500 goals. And better still for achieving the win, secured via a Wojciech Szczesny own goal and a second-half strike from Milan Skriniar (below), either side of a Polish equaliser by Karol Linetty. At 1-1 Poland did briefly threaten en to get out of the mire but the he wind left their sails when n Grzegorz Krychowiak was sent off for a second yellow card.
The result ensured a continuation of Poland’s patchy form since Paulo Sousa’s surprising g appointment as manager er earlier this year. With one win in his six games, s an improvement is needed quickly.
Slovakia, led by their forever young playmaker Marek Hamsik, were rarely troubled in their opener in Saint Petersburg.
They went ahead with their first meaningful chance through a combination of Robert Mak’s ingenuity and some questionable goalkeeping from Szczesny. Of those contributions, Mak deserves the greater attention for the manner in which he ripped through both Derby’s Kamil Jozwiak and Bartosz Bereszynski from a relatively harmless spot on the left touchline.
He cut in and shot against the near post, with the rebound striking Szczesny on the back and returning goalwards. It was given as an own goal, harsh on Mak and the keeper, though Szczesny should have done better with the original shot.
Poland were level 30 seconds after the break, with Linetty bobbling a finish past Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka. But from that momentum shift, the game again switched back on itself, first with Krychowiak’s dismissal and then with Skriniar’s well-directed strike after a set-piece.
Poland attempted a death-or-glory push to get level near the close, but Jan Bednarek pulled their best chance wide. POLAND (3-1-4-2): Szczesny 5; Bereszynski 6, Glik 6, Bednarek 6.5; Krychowiak 5; Jozwiak 6.5, Klich 6 (Moder 85min), Linetty 6.5 (Frankowski 74, 6), Rybus 7 (Puchacz 74, 6); Lewandowski 5, Zielinski 6 (Swiderski 85). Subs not used: Fabianski, Dawidowicz, Kedziora, Kozlowski, Skorupski, Placheta, Swierczok, Helik. Scorers: Linetty 46. Booked: Krychowiak. Sent off: Krychowiak. Manager: Paulo Sousa 5.5. SLOVAKIA (4-2-3-1): Dubravka 5.5; Pekarik 7 (Koscelnik 79), Satka 6.5, SKRINIAR 8, Hubocan 6.5; Kucka 7.5, Hromada 6.5 (Hrosovsky 79); Haraslin 6 (Duris 87), Hamsik 7.5, Mak 7.5 (Suslov 87); Duda 6 (Gregus 90). Subs not used: Vavro, Weiss, Benes, Kuciak, Hancko, Lobotka, Rodak. Scorers: Szczesny 18 og, Skriniar 69. Booked: Hubocan. Manager: Stefan Tarkovic 7. Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (Romania) 7. Attendance: 12,862.