Stal had been playing poorly since the start of the season (14th place with 6 points in the league table after 12 rounds) and was defending against relegation, as this season as many as 4 teams, not 2 as before, were being dropped from the first division. A week earlier, it lost in Wałbrzych against the local Górnik 1-2, while in the middle of the week it fell out of the Polish Cup at its own request (0-2 defeat) against the leader of the fourth group of the 3rd league – GKS Bełchatów. Zagłębie before Sunday’s match, which started at 17:00 in Mielec, had 7 points more and occupied 8th place in the league.
The playing conditions were quite tough, as the pitch was slippery and it rained continuously. The first half was dominated by the Mielec eleven, and the Stali fans were surprised that the scoreboard still showed 0-0. First, Adam Fedoruk sent the ball 5 metres over the crossbar from close range. The second opportunity was wasted in the 32nd minute by Perydzyński, who, after being fed the ball by fellow attacker Filipczak, lost a one-on-one duel with Koszarski, shooting straight into his hands. In the 41st minute, the visitors’ goalkeeper was again on hand to deflect Porębny’s powerful strike from distance.
After the change of halves, the Lubin players attacked harder, but were limited to shots from distance (Krakowski and Ptak several times). The blue and white players also wasted their situations in this part of the game. In the 54th minute, playmaker Tochel headed just wide of the post, while almost a quarter of an hour later, Dobrowolski knocked down the post while attempting to extend Porębny’s shot from a free kick. In the Steelers’ team, it was Witold Łukasik who deserved special mention on this day, as he repeatedly stopped the visitors’ fast counter-attacks.
02.11.1986 – Mielec, 13th round First Division,Stal Mielec – Zagłębie Lubin 0-0
Referee: Ordysinski (Kielce) Spectators: 5,000
Stal: Pazdan – Porębny, Bedryj, Łukasik, Fedoruk, Śliwowski (77 Urbanek), Makuch (61 Barnak, ż), Tochel, Dobrowolski, Perydzyński, Filipczak Coach: Z.Książek
Zagłębie: Koszarski – Mądrachowski , Kujawa, Pietrzykowski, Krakowski, Kowalski (89 Godlewski), Gierejkiewicz, Cebula, Kurant, Stelmasiak (72 Ciliński), Ptak Coach: G.Szerszenowicz
Stali’s league balances with Zagłębie Lubin relate exclusively to appearances in the Premier League (formerly known as the First League) and are decidedly unfavourable for Stali. They have played 24 matches against each other (4 Stali wins, 6 draws, 14 defeats; goals: 21-37).
Leszek Śledziona
