Lack of stability in the defence

Lech’s head coach spoke about his plans for the defensive line before the training camp in Belek. “We all know that in football, the whole team is responsible for defending. However, I was a defender myself and I know that the majority of the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the players who are in the back. I have repeated numerous times in autumn that we are conceding too many goals, that we fail to react adequately in certain situations, especially when it comes to set pieces. Therefore, our objective was not only to reinforce the squad but also to bring in a few tall players that can help us in the air,” explained the coach whilst emphasising his satisfaction with the latest transfers. “No doubt that I am in a much more comfortable position. We have four sparring matches scheduled in Turkey, hence I will have the opportunity to test various formations and pick my go-to one. The key is stability in the defence,” said Żuraw.

Unfortunately, the coach’s plans were quickly verified by reality. Already in Belek did the health problems begin. First, Antonion Milić was forced to miss training sessions, and then, in the match against Shakhtar Donetsk (1:1) Lubomír Šatka suffered an ankle injury and has been missing due to ligament damage since then. In the second spring round match, Thomas Rogne had to be substituted at halftime. Moreover, in the past few days, Bartosz Salamon was diagnosed as unfit to play and has been undergoing recovery. As a result, the only player from the original group of first-choice defenders is Alan Czerwiński who has played in every single game this spring. On the other flank, Vasyl Kravets and Tymoteusz Puchacz have been exchanging tasks. However, it’s the centre-backs positions that turned out to be the most complicated to fill in. Rogne and Salamon played in the first official game of 2021, then the first one had to be replaced by Milić who went on to play alongside Tomasz Dejewski after Salamon suffered an injury.

It’s hard to talk about stability when partnership, understanding, and playing schemes play such an important role in the defensive line. Despite all these challenges, the defence’s statistics have been good. Most importantly, the squad has improved at defending set pieces. The only time that the team from Poznań conceded one following a set piece – more precisely, a penalty kick – was in the clash with Radomiak in the Fortuna Polish Cup. Lech also conceded two more goals in the league match against Górnik and Wisła Płock. Hence, the squad from Bułgarska street not only managed to keep one clean sheet, but also avoid making the same mistakes when defending set pieces. “I would like to achieve some sort of stability in the defensive line because I know how big of an impact it has on the whole team,” highlighted Żuraw.