After last year’s excellent season, in which the Stalowcy (a newcomer), under the coaching eye of Włodzimierz Gąsior (first coach) and Janusz Białek, took 5th place in the Premier League (the highest to date), FKS fans’ concerns about the inaugural season in the capital were high. With the departure of Zbigniew Makuch, Krzysztof Tochel and Jan Urbanek during the summer break, Saturday’s match against Legia, in whose colours national team striker Roman Kosecki had shone for the past six months, looked less than optimistic. The first minutes of the meeting (the author of this text watched the duel once again from the stands of the stadium at Łazienkowska Street) began with consistently implemented tactics, supported by the extraordinary prowess of the visitors. The main roles were played on that day by two players making their debut in the blue-and-white colours: Tomanek (an alumnus) and Łętocha (acquired from the second-league Stal Rzeszów). The latter excellently shut out the aforementioned sniper of the hosts, while former Mielec player Łatka was taken care of by Fedoruk. A good performance in our team was also recorded by goalkeeper Wojdyga, nicknamed Fun by his teammates.
The Legionists’ advantage, especially in the second part of the game, was unquestionable (13-2 in corner kicks), but not many accurate shots on both goals were recorded. Steel had two shots, while the locals had just two more. However, the last 120 seconds of regulation time were the most important, as that was when the final result of the match was decided. First, after Fedoruk’s foul in the 89th minute, Łatka dribbled the ball in from the right side of the penalty area and Dariusz Wdowczyk, the most active shot of the day, produced a precise header. Not 60 seconds had passed since the resumption of play in the middle of the pitch, when, after a quick counter-attack, Tomanek, introduced only in the second leg, rushed down the left and precisely fed the ball to the head of Mielec’s sniper Maciej Śliwowski, who shot into the long corner to silence the cheering Żyleta. After the match, in one of the stadium’s rooms, the local activists tried (unsuccessfully for the time being) to recruit the Mielec captain, Warsaw-born Piotr Czachowski, to their team, as revealed by a disgusted Wala coach Włodek Gąsior at the post-match conference.
29.07.1989 – Warsaw, 1st round First League, Legia Warszawa – Stal Mielec 1-1 (0-0)
Referee: Kowalczyk (Lublin) Spectators: 10,000
Legia: Robakiewicz – Gmur (ż), Kruszankin, Budka, Wdowczyk, Bąk, Kaczmarek, Iwanicki, Kubicki (59 Cyzio), Kosecki, Łatka Coach: R.Kapera
Stal: Wojdyga – Porębny, Tyburski, Czachowski, Fedoruk, Łętocha, Gruszecki, Klich, Tułacz (ż; 86 Tomanek), Zagórski (46 Jędraszczyk), Śliwowski Coach: W.Gąsior
Goals: Wdowczyk 89 (head) – Śliwowski 90 (head) min.
