The history of league meetings with Radomiak is not very long. It lasts more than 40 years, when in the second-league duel (5 November 1983) we drew goallessly with this team at our own stadium. The rematch, which took place in the last round of the spring round, i.e. on 24 June of the following year, no longer had any meaning for both teams. The locals had already secured the club’s first-ever promotion to the Premier League a round earlier, while for our eleven it was the worst season since 1967/68, when, after relegation from the second tier, we finished only fourth in the final third league table. The Mielec team had been taken over by first-time coach Włodzimierz Gąsior just 19 days earlier from Henryk Jałocha, who had been in charge for two rounds, without losing a game (1-0 to Jagiellonia Białystok and 4-1 to Raków Częstochowa in Mielec and 1-1 to Górnik in Knurów) before. The match itself was on a good, technical level from the first minutes and it was the Mielec players who were the first to attack their rival. However, they were met with a cold shower already in the 9th minute of the match. For a foul on Banaszek, the arbiter dictated a penalty kick, which was confidently used by the captain of the locals – Paweł Zawadzki.
In the second half of the match, as in the first 45 minutes, both teams still lacked the fierceness usually seen in a second-league thrashing. The Mielcans tried to change the unfavourable result for them, but again they came up against an accurate response by the locals. Andrzej Niedziółka finished with an accurate header from a free kick, introduced after the break by Wojdaszko.
The disappointment of the Mielec fans after this season was considerable. Our team failed to get promoted to the Premier League (3rd place with 32 points and a loss of 9 points to the promoted team from Radom). Attendance at home matches fell by 50 per cent, generally ranging from 1,500-6,000 spectators. Only during provincial derby matches against Resovia (16,000), Stalowa Wola (8,000) or Wisła Płock (10,000) was it significantly higher. There was no shortage of chants in the audience, such as “To the sandpit“, which were intended to make our players realise how hard some of the Mielec fans worked, in the local WSK, under difficult conditions. Hopes for a better game the following season were raised by a good performance in the Polish Cup (the return games against first-tier sides Pogoń and Wisła were also watched by more fans), in which the Stalowcy players reached the semi-finals (a memorable 0-2 with Kraków’s Wisła in Mielec on 16 May 1984). Another rejuvenation of the team was in store, as the older players left behind after relegation from the Premier League needed quality in the young fry as well. Coach Gąsior was able to cement the team and in a year’s time in Świdnik we celebrated our third promotion to the elite of Polish club football in the club’s history.
24.06.1984 – Radom, 30th round of 2. liga, Radomiak Radom – FKS Stal Mielec 2-0 (1-0)
Referee: Goose (Warsaw) Spectators: 10,000
Radomiak: Koszarski – Mrozek, Skonieczny, Sadowski, Jeronim, Zawadzki, Trzaskowski, Rybak (51 Zgutka), Niedziółka, Banaszek, Sajewicz (46 Wojdaszka) Coach: J.Antoniak
Stal: Stawarz – Skiba, Łukasik, Duchnowski, Zuba, Porębny (62 Fait), Tyburski (46 Dobrowolski), Barnak, Łatka, Lizończyk (ż), Wnuk Coach: W.Gąsior
Goals: Zawadzki 9-penalty, Niedziółka 75 min.
Steel’s league balances against their rival from Radom at the three highest levels of the competition look as follows: in the Premier League the two teams faced each other only 6 times (2 victories for Stali, 2 draws, 2 defeats, goals: 6-5), in the 1st (2nd league) they competed 4 times (1 victory for Stali, 1 draw, 2 defeats, goals: 2-4), on the third level (2nd league) of the competition 4 matches were played (1 victory for Stali, 2 draws, 1 defeat, goals: 4-4).
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