Lech Poznań - KF Shkupi 4:1

KF Shkupi is the current leader of the Macedonian First Football League. The team from Skopje began their winter training camp on Saturday and the friendly clash with Lech was their first practice game. Meanwhile, the team from Poznań started the game with good spirits, having beaten Banik Ostrava 4:2 just a few days earlier.

Similarly to the Saturday clash with Banik Ostrava, this time Lech was also in control of the match since the opening minutes. The players from Poznań patiently tried breaking down their rival’s defensive line and with good pressing, they also successfully stopped KF Shkupi from coming too close to their penalty area. Lech’s best goal-scoring opportunities came mainly from set pieces. In addition, Amaral came close to scoring an outstanding goal from outside the box but unfortunately, he hit the crossbar. Lubomir Satka also had a good chance to change the score following a corner kick, but the defender lacked calmness and his attempt was off target.

Interestingly, Mickey van der Hart could have gotten two assists in the friendly match against KF Shkupi. The goalkeeper set up Jakub Kamiński with a perfect pass twice, but in both cases, the winger failed to control the ball and couldn’t fire a shot in target. In the 33rd minute, Lech finally found a way to place the ball in the net - Filip Marchwiński’s attempt was blocked by one of the defenders, but Joao Amaral recovered the ball and sent a perfect pass to Nika Kvekveskiri who redirected the ball into the net. The Polish side wasn't satisfied with one goal and within the next 5 minutes, it was already 2:0. Again Nika Kvekveskiri played an important part in the offensive attempt, however, this time he was the author of the final pass which Antonio Milić converted into a goal. Despite having a two-goal advantage, Lech stayed focused and remained in control of the game.

Skorża’s team kicked off the second half with another goal – this time it was Filip Marchwiński who found the back of the net. The 20-year-old’s individual run was a display of pure talent which the youth player finished off with a perfect shot. An hour into the game, Lech’s coach made 10 changes in the line-up and for the first time, Lech’s latest signing – Kristoffer Velde – appeared wearing the club’s shirt. It didn’t take the Norwegian winger long to create the first goal-scoring opportunity but, unfortunately, his shot was blocked. In the 69^th minute, to everyone’s surprise, it was KF Shkupi that celebrated a goal. Marjan Radeski converted a precise cross into the box from a free kick into a goal for the Macedonian side.

However, it was KF Shkupi one and only effective attempt of the match. A few minutes later, Maksym Czekała scored his debut goal for the team from Poznań. The 17-year-old fired a shot from outside the box which bounced off one of the Macedonian defenders and fell into the back of the net. The youngster’s goal set the final score to 4:1.

Lech Poznań – KF Shkupi 4:1 (2:0)

Goals: Nika Kvekveskiri (33.), Antonio Milić (38.), Filip Marchwiński (54.), Maksym Czekała (75.) – Marjan Radeski (69.)

Lech Poznań line-up: Mickey van der Hart (60. Bartosz Mrozek) – Lubomir Satka (60. Joel Pereira), Bartosz Salamon (60. Mateusz Skrzypczak), Antonio Milić (60. Maksymilian Pingot), Barry Douglas (60. Alan Czerwiński) – Jesper Karlstrom (46. Radosław Murawski), Nika Kvekveskiri (60. Pedro Tiba) – Michał Skóraś (60. Maksym Czekała), Filip Marchwiński (60. Jakub Antczak), Jakub Kamiński (60. Kristoffer Velde) – Joao Amaral (60. Norbert Pacławski)