Musonda impresses as Śląsk draw at Cracovia
By Saasa Munalula | March 13, 2021
Chipolopolo forward, Lubambo Musonda put-in an impressive 76 minutes shift on Friday evening as Śląsk recorded a 1-all draw at Cracovia. It was yet another disappointing outing for the ‘WKS’ as they dropped two valuable points at 14th placed Cracovia and dented their quest for European football.
Musonda, making his 15th appearance of the league season, was named in the starting line-up. The former Power Dynamos man, who is yet to register an assist or goal this season, was handed a familiar attacking role on the right-wing.
Śląsk started the game with purpose as they threatened the hosts’ defensive area from the onset. Within the first 15 minutes, they had 2 shots off target.
Musonda looked dangerous on the ball. His pace and trickery troubled the hosts.
In the 17th minute, Musonda went past Cracovia’s left-back Rocha with a superb dummy on the right. He then laid a pass to Celeban who played an early ball into the penalty area. Cracovia’s keeper was alert and made a save to sniff out the danger.
In the 19th minute, Musonda made another surging run on the right before picking Pich’s run. Pich’s strong long-range shot was well saved by the goalie.
Next, it was Cracowia’s turn to attack. Rocha forced a good save from Śląsk’s keeper with a long-range effort.
Śląsk continued to dominate the game and putting pressure on the hosts. The lack of clear-cut chances from either side meant the game would go into halftime at nil-nil.
Cracovia broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with the first real action after the break. A pass on the right from Alvarez found Sergiu Hanca unmarked on the edge of the penalty area. The Romanian whipped a fantastic first-time strike that beat the goalie. 1-0 Cracovia led!
Śląsk dominated possession as Musonda showed flashes of individual brilliance with good dribbles, but it wasn’t enough to unlock Cracovia’s firm defense.
Musonda, one of the standout performers from the visitors was rested in the 76th minute with Śląsk still trailing the game by a lone goal. Coach Vitzeslav Lavička sought to salvage a result. He made a double like-for-like substitution as attack-minded Waldemar Sobota and Fabian Piasecki came on for Musonda and Patryk Janasik respectively.
Cracovia looked to break a series of seven matches without a win, only for second-half substitute Fabian Piasecki to level the scores in the 89th minute. Sadikovic’s terrible mistake allowed Zylla to make his way into the penalty area, where he fed the ball to Piasecki, who finished from close range to level the scores.
Neither side could score another goal in the additional time and the game finished 1-1.
As a result, Śląsk moves to 6th position on the log with 29 points, having played a game more than their rivals vying for a third-place finish that ensures Europa Conference League Qualification. Śląsk is now six points behind 3rd placed Pogoń Szczecin.