Poland (5) v (3) England

By Andrew Erlanger

POLAND held off a determined English outfit to record a 5-3 victory in one of the games of the tournament so far.

A strong and vocal contingent of Polish fans set the scene for an exciting encounter before play had even commenced and the match certainly lived up to expectations. Confidence levels were high, with each team coming off comprehensive first day victories, and this resulted in frantic end-to-end play from the outset. Both goalkeepers were made to work overtime to keep the ball out of the back of the net as shot after shot was blasted towards the goals.

It was England’s Tyrone Coleman who finally broke the deadlock, capitalising on a defensive error to hand his side a 1-0 lead midway through the half. Marcin Zakowski tied up the game for the Polish with a quality strike soon after and sent the Polish cheer squad into a frenzy.

A high speed collision resulted in a blue card to the Polish and they were left with just three players as the half drew to a close. But not content to sit back and defend, the three man Poland team continued to drive forward with blistering pace and a goal either way meant scored were tied 2-2 at the halfway mark, setting up an intriguing second half.

The second half started as the first had left off – frenetic play as the teams tries to manufacture a goal and take the lead. Each team set up a myriad of opportunities but Poland were more effective in their attack, scoring three unanswered goals, cult-hero Dariusz Lewandowski netting two of them. England pegged one back before full time to reduce the deficit to 5-3, but it was all they could manage and Poland were left to celebrate an extremely hard fought victory.

Photo Richard Sharman / Photoworx