History was agonisingly made as Polska, for the first time on record, threw away a 3 goal lead to lose 4-3 to their Premiership rivals, in Round 2 of the Billy Walton Cup. Starting brightly, they enjoyed the narrow pitch, and Mo Baldeh skipped past ex-Polska stalwart Martin Hughes to put the visitors 1-0 up on 16 minutes. Next came a contender for goal of the season. Marek Dziopa, from his own half, pinpointed Baldeh with an exquisite 50 yard cross field pass, to put Baldeh through on goal. Baldeh buried it on 20 minutes, but then only lasted 6 more minutes, having to come off through injury. This was to prove crucial, although when Alan Chater then made it 3-0 on 26 minutes, it seemed like a big cup upset was on the cards in some style. Then came Polska’s worst 5 minutes of the season. On 36 minutes, Spider Pajak threw a rushed ball out to Chris Lewis, who failed to connect with it, allowing Mark Brown to nip in and give Rangers a vital lifeline. Then another defensive mix up just 30 SECONDS later gave Brown another goal, to leave them amazed at the Polska generosity. And when Luke Holyoake carved through the Polska defence on 41 minutes to make it 3-3, Polska never recovered. Brown then got his hat trick on 53 minutes, but Polska were so shell shocked that they will never forget the agony of this game, yet never looked like getting in the game from then on. PLAYER PERFORMANCES: PAJAK: Bad error for the first goal, put him off his stride after that. LEWIS: Had a part in the first Muxloe goal, but struggled to recover just like his keeper. WYSOCZANSKI: Found the pacy Muxloe wingers hard to keep tabs on, switched to left second half. LANE: Didn’t do a lot wrong, but couldn’t rescue his side given the way the scores went. ALAN CHATER: Good first half, and took his goal well, but never got the same support second half. ROSS: Did well today, but not as involved as last week. WISNIEWSKI: Really caught the eye with his pace at the back, looks sure to play a big part in future games with more offensive responsibilities. GODZIEBIEWSKI: A little too quiet again, and replaced on 57 minutes. BALDEH: Excellent game from the forward, 2 good goals, hugely unlucky to only play 26 minutes due to injury. WIECZOREK: Won a lot of headers, and worked hard for the team. DZIOPA: Pass of the season to find Baldeh for the second goal, but didn’t always make the right choice later on. SUBS: OSIPINSKI: Came on for Baldeh, played upfront but unable to grab the game. GAGLIEWSKI: Came on for Godziebiewski, didn’t get involved as much as he would have wanted. |