Europa Conference League Qualifying: Raków fall at the death and Lech scrape through to the groups

Image via UEFA

It was a night of mixed emotions for those of us who follow Polish football, as Raków Częstochowa conceded a 121st minute goal away in Prague against Slavia, before Lech Poznań managed to draw in Luxembourg against Dudelange and go through 3-1 on aggregate.

The Raków game was the first to kick-off, and despite twice hitting the post in the first half, they were under immense pressure from Slavia. The pressure finally tolled after an hour, with Moses Usor scoring for the home side to level the tie over two legs. Raków were not without chances, the most glaring being Mateusz Wdowiak hitting the side netting after rounding the goalkeeper.

Extra time was very much as normal had been, with Slavia throwing everything at Raków. Then, with one minute of additional time to go, a deep cross was met by the head of Ivan Schranz, who nodded home and sent Raków home disappointed.

Despite this being the end of their European adventure for this season, last night’s elimination might be a blessing in disguise for Raków. They can now focus on the league, where they will challenge for the title as they did last season, and see what European football they might be standing a chance of playing next season. The project at Raków, and manager Marek Papszun, are beneficial for Polish football in raising the required standard, at least in my opinion.

Lech Poznań played poorly against Dudelange, missing easy chances and conceding a bizarre deflected goal in the first half. They equalised after an hour through right-back Joel Pereira, and aside from some more missed chances from both sides, there was not much to write home about.

Lech will struggle in the Conference League groups, make no mistake, but at least Poland will have one team in the group stages of European competition this season. Perhaps Raków would fare better than the rather bleak predictions being made about Lech, but we will never know. It would be harsh to write Lech off before any games have been played, even if their form both in the Ekstraklasa and in European qualifying has been inconsistent at best.

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