The fans showed up at Arka Gdynia's training. “Someone who gives ass will be held accountable”
A draw is enough for Arka Gdynia's players to advance to the PKO BP Ekstraklasa. However, the fans from Gdynia decided to visit and “motivate” the runner-up Fortuna of the 1st League.
Arka Gdynia last played at the top league level in the 2019/20 season. Since that campaign, the club has been unsuccessfully trying to find a way to return to the football elite. The team led by coach Wojciech Łobodziński is currently literally one step away from the goal. For this to happen, Arka cannot lose at home against GKS Katowice on Sunday. The opponents are the third team in the table, with a chance to overtake their rival from Gdynia. However, GKS is in a much worse position at the end of the competition.
Arka Gdynia fans at the team's training. “Motivation” before Sunday
Only with a win could the Katowice team thwart the plans of Sunday's hosts from Gdynia. However, as we know, it is much easier to play without additional pressure, when you can or don't have to finalize the fight for promotion.
Last weekend, Arka lost the derby match against Lechia Gdańsk (1:2), on the opponent's territory. Thanks to this victory, the Gdańsk team secured promotion and won the Fortuna 1st League championship.
Arka fans commented on this painful defeat during… a direct “meeting” with the team. A video was published on social media, clearly illustrating the pressure in Gdynia regarding the chance of promotion.
– What happened in the derby cries to heaven for vengeance. There are no such things and each of you already knows that. We won't blame you for this, because you've probably read these comments on the Internet. On Sunday you have a chance to erase the entire stain. 12 thousand fans in the stands. K…a, you have a great opportunity to fix this mistake. If you don't do this, this stench will follow you forever. We are really counting on you, you will have our support, but we want to see that each of you will give your all, says one of the fans speaking to the players.
It became even more interesting after a while when another Arka fan took over.
– We play by our rules. Everyone has to give 100 percent of themselves, heart and character until the end. Someone will give… and they will be held accountable – we hear in the recording.
At the end, the most ardent fans and players gathered together in a circle, shouting encouraging slogans against the club they represent. Was it overall motivating? You may have a lot of doubts…
The situation and words from the recording from Gdynia were reacted in a funny way on the official social media profile of the mentioned club from Gdańsk.
Will GKS Katowice cause a sensation? Wisła Kraków is fighting for the play-offs
Arka versus GKS is not the only interesting rivalry at the end of the Fortuna 1st League. If the Katowice team actually won in Gdynia, they would have achieved a great ending to their great season.
Wisła Kraków, however, has problems. The winners of the Fortuna Polish Cup are only 9th after 33 rounds played. The Krakow team can only get into the play-off zone, i.e. places from 3-6 in the table. Wisła is only one point behind this zone. In the last round, the Krakow team will play at home against Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza.