Wisla and Plock into last four
Sunday, December 1, 2002
Article summary
Wisla Kraków and Wisla Plock roared into the semi-finals of the Polish Cup with weekend victories.
Article body
Wisla Kraków and Wisla Plock secured their places in the semi-finals of the Polish Cup after an evening that saw nineteen goals scored in four thrilling quarter-final second-leg ties.
Five-star Wisla
The two clubs will now be the favourites to meet in the final, although their Ekstraklasa rivals still in the competition will surely beg to differ. Wisla's path to the last four was a simple one as they overwhelmed second division outfit Ceramika Opoczno 5-0 to complete a 7-2 aggregate scoreline. After surprising 2-2 draw in the first leg, Wisla confirmed their superiority with five goals in the second half of a one-sided affair.
Dubicki on target
Daniel Dubicki opened the scoring after 49 minutes before Mauro Cantoro doubled the lead seven minutes later. Maciej Zurawski, Mariusz Jop and Marcin also added their names to the scoresheet to end Ceramika's feint hopes of a shock in Krakow.
Plock fight back
Wisla Plock completed a sterling comeback in their match against Odra Wodzislaw, overcoming a 1-0 first-leg defeat to secure a 3-0 home win and a 3-1 aggregate scoreline. The club's Lithuanian duo, Grazvydas Mikulenas and Raimondas Vileniskis, were the inspiration as Mikulenas headed in the opener on 22 minutes and Vileniskis added a second three minutes later. Dariusz Rozmuzga's last-minute strike from free-kick only served to highlight Plock's dominance and left their supporters to celebrate a memorable win.
Thriller in Wroclaw
Widzew Lódz also enjoyed a morale-boosting victory, although they were made to work hard for their 5-3 away win by Polar Wroclaw. Leading 2-0 from the first leg, Miodrag Andjelkovic gave the visitors a three-goal cushion before their second division opponents scored twice through Grzegorz Podstawek and Rafal Ozimina. The hero for Widzew was substitute Robert Dymkowski, who completed a hat-trick in the second-half to put the result beyond any doubt. Rafal Zabski did pull one back for Polar but Marinho dos Santos Guliano's strike provided the icing on the cake for Widzew.
Radomsko surprise
In the days remaining game, RKS Radomsko, relegated from the Ekstraklasa last season, overcame the challenge of Pogon Szczecin, currently bottom of the Polish First Division, despite losing the first leg 2-0. Rafal Dopierala scored twice after Przemyslaw Kazimierowicz's opener to complete a remarkable fightback and claim their place in the semi-finals.
Semi-final dates
Widzew Lódz will take on Wisla Kraków in one semi-final, while Radomsko must negotiate a path past Plock in the other last-four encounter. The first legs are due to take place on 16 April with the return legs coming a week later.