Jagiellonia, who are 8th in the Polish Ekstraklasa, came out 1-0 winners of 4th place Cracovia in a game where neither side was able to create many big chances. It was a game which easily could have gone either way and came down the which side was most clinical with their limited chances. Cracovia attacked in a 4-2-3-1 while defending in a 4-1-4-1 mostly but at times as a 4-4-2. They weren’t that compact in their mid block but the use of the defensive midfield between the lines was good at sweeping balls through and stopping Jagiellonia being able to receive in spaces.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Michal Rakoczy
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Polish
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 30/03/2002
- Current club: Cracovia
- Career: Cracovia
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Secondary Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Completing Cracovia’s quota for a U21 player, Rakoczy played on the right wing. The 5’9″ is a Polish U17 international is slim with good but not blistering pace and decent acceleration. He worked hard throughout the game and was strong at defending the wide areas in the mid block with good positioning, awareness and pressing. He helped limit the opposition down his flank and then pressed up when needed, usually triggered by a backwards pass. He showed good commitment and as a young player breaking into the side clearly wanted to impress in this aspect.
He didn’t get that much of the ball unfortunately, Cracovia never really had long phases of possession and Rakoczy found himself isolated at times. But showed good technical ability, receiving switches of play well. He didn’t get into many crossing positions but put a long ball into the box from near half way which led to a goal which was disallowed. He wasn’t the most direct player but picked out some good passes and was able to play through pressure a few times. His control was good but lacked explosiveness in 1v1s to beat his man and could have done more to create space for himself.
Overall, he had a strong but quiet game. His inexperience showed at times, this was just his 6th Ekstraklasa appearance of the season. But he was strong out of possession, showed good technical quality and decent athleticism while being quote raw.
Rating – A2
Milan Dimun
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Slovakian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 19/09/1996
- Current club: Cracovia
- Career: Kosice, Cracovia
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Playing in the defensive midfielder out of possession Dimun. He scanned the pitch constantly, sweeping the channel between the defensive and midfield lines. He tracked runners and pressed the ball well, particularly in wide areas to create or prevent overloads. He’s 6’1″ with a decent frame, tended to stay on his feet in defence but was fairly strong in the tackle but wasn’t the most aggressive or that quick.
In the buildup he often dropped into the right wing, making a back three with the centre halves. Otherwise, he was the pivot option in front of the defenders. He fought for his positioning but wasn’t used that much in possession before being subbed off in the 59th minute. He received the ball well with lot of head checks. He didn’t receive on the turn much and could have been quicker and more explosive with his movement.
Rating – B2
Michael Helik
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Polish
- Age: 24
- Date of birth: 09/09/1995
- Current club: Cracovia
- Career: Ruch Chorzow, Cracovia
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Playing at right centre back, Helik had okay short passing, mainly circulating between the right back and left centre back without really progressing the ball much. His passing and technique was fairly average with some better than others. He’s 6’3″ with an above average frame and good strength. In the box he showed good awareness and used his body well in his marking and scanned when retreating in the line.
His body position when the ball was central in midfield could have been better and was too front facing and planted. He lost concentration a few times, caught ball-watching while the ball was in a scrappy phase in midfield. He was patient 1v1 and got dragged out of position too easily at times while lacking the mobility to press out and recover that well. He was quite heavy footed and immobile, with a poor change of direction and was rounded by an attacker with an okay turn.
Rating – C