Pogon Szczecin W Reclaim Their Swagger: Commanding 3-0 Win Over Pogon Tczew W Eases Pressure and Reshapes Ekstraliga Women Standings

SZCZECIN, Poland — In the shadow of back-to-back defeats and mounting questions about their title credentials, Pogon Szczecin W delivered the sort of response that can recalibrate a season. On a brisk Saturday at Stadion Miejski im. Floriana Krygiera, the home side dispatched Pogon Tczew W with a clinical 3-0 victory, reasserting themselves in the Ekstraliga Women’s race and sending a timely reminder of their attacking pedigree.

The significance of the result was as much about how Szczecin won as the manner in which they shook off recent malaise. Entering the match on the heels of consecutive losses—to Czarni Sosnowiec and GKS Katowice—the hosts were haunted by missed chances and uneasy defending. That uncertainty evaporated by halftime.

Szczecin broke through in the 18th minute, the game's first real turning point. Midfielder Aleksandra Zielinska, orchestrating play from deep, threaded a precise ball through the channels for winger Julia Kalinowska. Kalinowska, who had been anonymously marked in recent weeks, surged into the penalty area and finished emphatically past Tczew keeper Karolina Wojcik, lifting the home crowd and her teammates alike.

The opener not only altered the temperament of the match but also laid bare the gulf between the two Pogons. While Szczecin attacked with patience and purpose, Tczew, mired near the foot of the table and without a league goal in over three matches, often sat deep and looked bereft of answers on the counter.

By the 32nd minute, Szczecin doubled their lead. A corner from Tatiana Kozlowska found center back Monika Wroblewska at the near post; her glancing header left Wojcik rooted and Szczecin firmly in command. For Tczew, the set piece was a familiar torment—this was the fourth time in five matches they had conceded from a dead-ball situation.

Any aspirations Tczew harbored of clawing their way back were extinguished soon after the interval. In the 54th minute, Kalinowska turned provider, racing down the right flank and sending a low cross into the box. Striker Marta Nowak met it first time, rifling her effort past a grasping Wojcik for Szczecin’s third. The celebration was unrestrained—Nowak’s fifth of the campaign, reaffirming her status as Szczecin’s talismanic leader.

For Pogon Szczecin, the match was more than a palate cleanser. In a season defined by fine margins, three points were essential to keep pace in the upper tier of the Ekstraliga Women. The win propels them back up the standings, making up lost ground after their mini-slump and reenergizing hopes for a top-three finish. Their recent history—an accomplished display at Lech Poznan, but also stumbles against Katowice and Czarni—suggests a team with both pedigree and volatility. Today, the balance tilted decisively toward promise.

For Pogon Tczew, the defeat hardly comes as a shock but nevertheless underscores the urgency of their situation. Winless in their last six league fixtures, outscored 1-14 across that spell, and now rooted near the relegation zone, Tczew’s early season optimism has been replaced by an existential battle. Defensive lapses, particularly on set pieces, and a chronic lack of attacking ideas have left head coach Joanna Lewandowska with little margin for error.

Their head-to-head encounters in recent seasons have tended to favor Szczecin, and today’s gulf only added to that ledger. But the pattern is more telling: where Szczecin can point to tactical variety and individual match-winners, Tczew’s best hope lies in defensive resilience and discipline—two qualities rarely visible under the bright lights of Szczecin this afternoon.

The match produced its share of edge as well. A flurry of cautions late in the first half reflected Tczew’s growing frustration, but the game remained free of red cards—perhaps the lone consolation for the visitors on an otherwise bleak afternoon.

Looking ahead, Pogon Szczecin will view this result as a launching pad for the critical weeks to come. With fixtures against mid-table opposition looming, the chance to build momentum—and erase the sting of September’s slip-ups—now sits within their grasp. For Tczew, the challenge is more elemental: rediscovering cohesion in defense, manufacturing any semblance of threat up front, and, most urgently, halting the slide before the relegation fight becomes all-consuming.

On a chilly October day in Szczecin, order was restored. Whether today marks a turning point in either club’s season will be written in the weeks to come. For now, though, one team left the pitch resurgent, the other resigned, both facing a future shaped by the lessons of this decisive contest.