Glentoran rocked by Kuzba
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Article summary
TS Wisla Kraków 4-0 Glentoran FC(Agg:6-0) Wisla too strong for Glentoran.
Article body
TS Wisla Kraków 4-0 Glentoran FC (Wisla win 6-0 on aggregate)
TS Wisla Kraków eased into tomorrow's UEFA Cup first round draw after completing a comfortable aggregate victory over Glentoran FC tonight.
Confident
A confident Wisla were 4-0 home winners on the night, with Marcin Kuzba and Kalu Uche claiming two goals each, after the hard work had been done a fortnight ago when the Polish team won 2-0 in Belfast.
Early lead
Wisla went ahead in the 19th minute when Kuzba latched on to a low left-wing cross to casually place the ball past Elliott Morris from ten metres. Pawel Strak looked like making it two for the home side in the 34th minute when he forced his way into the penalty area after a strong run but, just as he was preparing to shoot, Gary Smyth came in with a superb tackle.
Disallowed effort
Glentoran started the second half impressively and were unlucky to have an Andy Smith 'goal' disallowed for offside just four minutes after the restart. But the Irish team fell two behind in the 60th minute when Maciej Zurawski, who had a fantastic game prompting most Wisla attacks, raced down the right and crossed for Kuzba to score from close range.
Uche double
Uche then put Wisla three ahead in the 75th minute by poking home from an acute angle when the visitors' defence failed to clear and a long through-ball in the 82nd minute sent the same player through and, as Morris committed himself, the tall Nigerian midfield player calmly slipped the ball into the corner of the net.
Glowacki injury
Wisla won at a stroll in the end despite losing one of their most influential defenders, the Polish international, Arkadiusz Glowacki, in the 29th minute through injury. "I don't know if it is a very serious problem," Henryk Kasperczak, the Wisla coach, said. "Tomorrow, I will know much more."
Stronger team
"We have been beaten by a stronger team and they could go a long way in the UEFA Cup," said Glentoran coach Roy Coyle while Kasperczak, was pleased with his side's performance. "At the beginning we could have had some difficulties," Kasperczak said, "but after we scored the first goal there was no problem at all. I am particularly pleased that we scored so many goals because we have had problems in this department of late."