After the autumn round of the 1983/84 season, the Stalowcy occupied only 7th place in the second-league table, with a 5 point loss to leaders Radomiak. The first match of the return round confirmed the fears of our fans that it would be extremely difficult to return to the 1st division already this season. Despite the fact that the Mielec players achieved a decisive advantage from the first minutes of the meeting, they practically beat their heads against a wall for more than 90 minutes. Throughout the entire match, they stayed in the opponent’s half for almost 90% of the game time. They took 26 corner kicks and over a dozen free kicks, but the blue and white strikers Wnuk and Lizończyk missed badly, neither did the plays of Łatka do any good, and until the second minute of added time the score remained scoreless.
However, it is time to take note of the one and only significant event that took place on the pitch at that time (I remember this meeting very well from the stands; let me remind you that the stands on the Kusocińskiego Street side were out of use, as the concrete steps and terraces were being sealed with asphalt, and the present-day mill – at that time still the official Supporters’ Club was located in the lower stands, in the area of today’s sector D). In the 73rd minute, taken by the Kielce defenders, Lysończyk collapsed like a long man in the penalty area, but the whistle of the referee from faraway Koszalin was silent.
The final seconds of the duel were coming, as I wrote above. After a throw-in in the penalty area, the visiting defenders tried to kick the ball as far as possible. In the corner of the sixteen-yard box, the ball was intercepted with his back to the visitors’ goal by Janusz Dobrowolski, who had been introduced to the pitch 20 minutes earlier, and ruthlessly attacked by Wyciślik. The referee dictated an eleven, which Mirosław Wnuk converted with a precise shot past the post for the only goal of the match. Let’s hope that in Sunday’s meeting with this opponent our players will not give us as much nerves as they did 39 years ago..
25.03.1984 – Mielec, 16th round 2nd league, Stal Mielec – Korona Kielce 1-0 (0-0)
Referee: Miecznik (Koszalin) Spectators: 6,000
Stal: Pazdan – Skiba, Duchnowski, Bedryj, Tyburski (46 Gruszecki), Barnak, Banasik, Bartoszewski, Łatka (63 Dobrowolski), Lizończyk (ż), Wnuk Coach: H.Stroniarz
Korona: Goska – Dulny, Tobolik, Wolicki, Wojtasińki (ż), Molenda, Gruszewski, Tokarczyk (73 Wolff), Wyciślik, Borycki (63 Bąk), Misiowiec Coach: J.Golla
Goal: Wnuk 90 (penalty) min.
To summarise, at the highest level of the competition Stal faced Korona only once, in the autumn of last year (1 win, goals 2-0). The balance of Stal’s second-league duels with Korona is as follows: 4 matches (2 wins for Stal, 1 draw, 1 defeat), goals 2-2. In two Polish Cup matches (2004/05 season) Stal suffered 2 defeats, goals 2-8.
Leszek Śledziona
Photo: Leszek Śledziona Archive
