A lot has been written and talked about the romance of the “lower league football”. I am against modern football as anybody else but this romance has always escaped me. I guess I have my own reasons. It is easy to be romantic about it in Britain, where your local club has over hundred years of history.
This is definitely not the case in the former Soviet Union. I usually just scroll past all those reports and stories from there in all those groundhopping blogs. It was even worse in Canada, where these clubs are born and disappear without a trace within the same season, while the grounds they play at are just artificial pitches behind the fence with metal temporary stands.
These days I have few opportunities to go somewhere for the bigger games, so instead I focus on those multiple non-league teams in Krakow. First we have to decide, what a non-league team is. In Britain, it’s tier 5 and lower, but of course British rules cannot be applied to most of the European countries. Even though there are some formerly big teams there, I would generally say that in Poland, teams of 4th tier can be considered as lower league. Teams below can be definitely classified as non-league, though I assume some are semi-pro. Anyway, leagues below 4 th tier are called “lower” on the biggest football sites here, so let’s accept that. And my game was in the 7th tier of Polish football.
Skotniki used to be a small village in the outskirts of Krakow that was then swallowed by the big city. It still has its charming rural character. It’s a really quick bus drive from my place or I could just go there on foot. I thought of declaring Pogon my local team, but I believe there are a couple of grounds slightly closer to my home and though it’s close, I don’t actually live in Skotniki. As far as I can understand, the team had a recent rebranding. It is now called Pogon Krakow and has a dragon on their crest. But obviously, a team of such a small stature does not have the funds to have a complete rehaul, so you can still see the old logo and reference to Skotniki around the ground.
Even though it is really close, I have never seen the stadium in Skotniki. I had my worst suspicions completely disproved, when I caught the first glimpse of the ground outside the fence. It is a cute little stadium with an old school feel and lots of charm. It’s essentially just one stand and a clubhouse but the charm is in location. It’s in the side street and you would never guess that football is played here. The ground is surrounded by all kinds of trees and even has a pear-tree with pears at one of the corners of the ground. You can also see a tower from anywhere around there and it’s just so serene and lovely. I was also surprised to see spectators and there were a lot of them for the level. I’ve been to the top league games with fewer fans than here. I believe these are all locals who just live in Skotniki and decided to spend a couple of hours on Sunday watching their team play and drink the beer they bought in the nearby store. A few of them were standing on the improvised terrace, most were sitting in the wooden stand, watching both teams warming up before the game. There were no entry tickets, just a tin can for what looked like “pay what you want” scheme. Despite the obvious level, I was again surprised how professional Pogon looked. They had proper kits manufactured by Errea, and I always had a soft spot for this Italian brand.
Everything was ready for a kick-off but the teams still stood still on the field waiting for the referee’s whistle who just refused to start the game. It soon became obvious that he was waiting for something or rather somebody. Soon we saw a linesman rushing onto the field from the changing room. Turns out the chap simply mixed up the starting time and thought it should be an hour later. It was a hilarious scene especially because most of the people in the stands knew the linesman and were cracking jokes non- stop as he was exchanging greetings with them. The game was actually very interesting. I find most of the lower-league games inherently watchable as the players are not confined within schemes and tactics and are usually prone to mistakes.
Pogon were quickly up 3-0 which then turned to 3-2. But the best was yet to follow. It’s hard to imagine an own-goal from the other side of the pitch but it actually happened. Kabel had the ball deep inside Pogon’s half after a free kick when one of the defenders decided to pass the ball back to the keeper. The keeper just left the goal not expecting such a pass, so the ball slowly rolled in the net while the keeper unsuccessfully tried to save it. I am so thankful there is a highlights video of this match so you can actually see this own goal in all of its glory. You can also see and feel the ground. I was even able to spot myself in the stands once or twice during the video.
Did I find the romance of the lower leagues? Most certainly I did. Many thanks to Pogon for providing such an opportunity. I will try and come more often. Pogon are currently top of their league and so promotion is very likely in the cards.
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