Leo Beenhakker summoned 24 players to the Polish team group in Turkey (Antalya), which will take place from the 8th to the 15th of December. The called up group consists mainly of players from the years 1984-1987, who have played in national youth teams. The PGE GKS forward Nowak is in the basic list, as the previous year, in turn our halfback Piotr Kuklis is on the reserve list waiting for his chance.

The idea of the group is – as the trainer puts it – to give these players the chance to show what they can do and equally in the context of the near future as well as the preparation of the prospective team, which will represent Poland in the 2012 European Cup. In Turkey the representation will play two matches: on the 10th of December a friendly match with the team of Antalyaspor Kulübü and on the 14th of December an official match with Serbia.

The PGE GKS Bełchatów forward, Carlo Costly, was promoted to represent Honduras in the last elimination phase of the 2010 World Championship. Promotion brought Wednesday’s victory against the eternal rival Mexico 1:0 (0:0). Costly, who played for the full 90 minutes, had a major part in the Honduras victory. He was the one to head the ball to Mendoga who scored in the 51st minute. Despite the defeat Mexico is also playing in Thursday’s elimination round.

In the last round the Hondurans will compete with the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Costa Rica and Salvador. The next meeting will be resolved on the 11th of February, and the group contest will be finished on the 14th of October. The three best teams advance from the groups to the World Championship finals, while the fourth team will play against the fifth in a South American play–off.

The talent of another of our players has also been recognised. In the friendly match in Dublin when Poland beat Ireland 3:2. The two backs Lewandowski and Roger were joined by the PGE GKS halfback Łukasz Garguła playing at no.10

PGE GKS drew with Lech in the 5th round of the Extra Class Cup and has advanced to the spring quarter final of this competition. The guests unexpectedly took the lead in the match thanks to Kononowicz. The long resistance of the Lech players was finally broken by Krzysiek Janus at the 82nd minute.




PGE GKS Bełchatów - Lech Poznań 1:1 (0:1)

0:1 - Kononowicz 17
1:1 - Janus 82

In the friendly match played at Legionowo the Polish youth U-21 representation were defeated by Ukraine 1:3 (1:2). For the entire match the PGE GKS halfback, Mateusz Cetnarski played in his red and white shirt. The second of our representatives, Kamil Poźniak, appeared in the second half. Goals: Marcin Wodecki 3 - Jewhen Konoplanka 11, Wołodymyr Łysenko 25, 49

Work on the GKS Bełchatów SSA North Stand is going according to plan, with the installation of plastic seating for the fans now underway. The green seating will provide places for 1068 supporters in the stand’s six sectors, all of them sheltered by the roof. The entry to the new stand will be via ul. Sportowa and Bełchatów’s fans will have their first chance to watch a match from the new viewpoint as early as spring 2009.



Photo

Watch the work, stage by stage, via our webcam at: http://gksbelchatow.com/live.php

  The second PGE GKS player to be awarded a cap for the World Cup 2010 qualifying matches has now played in his national colours. Carlo Costly played the full 90 minutes in Kingston, where the Honduras faced off against Jamaica. There were no goals for the PGE GKS striker this time and his team lost 0:1.  

After a long absence, PGE GKS Bełchatów midfield player, Łukasz Garguła, has played for Poland. He was brought on in the 66th minute of the Slovakia - Poland qualifying match, when the score stood 0:0. Four minutes later, Euzebiusz Smolarek sent the ball in and the Poles took the lead. However, as we know, the final, fateful 120 seconds determined that victory would fall to the Slovakians.

15th October 2008 – Bratislava
Slovakia 2-1 Poland

Stanislav Šesták 85, 86 - Euzebiusz Smolarek 70

Thanks to the newly-signed up names and the return of injured players, the rivalry for a place in the PGE GKS first eighteen is on the rise. The GKS players will have their first chance at testing themselves against their fellow team members today, though not on the pitch itself, in this afternoon’s planned paintball session. So, some sharp shooting is on the cards, after which, the team will get together for a barbecue. We hope everyone will return safe and sound, that the ice will be broken between the recently signed-up players and their new team mates and that, after a weak start, the atmosphere in the team will pick up smartly.  

Day by day, the situation as regards the PGE GKS Bełchatów squad is looking up. Several new faces can be seen during morning training.

First and foremost, the players who were signed up yesterday took part in today’s session; Marcin Drzymont (Korona) and Piotr Kuklis (Widzew Łódź). The third member of the ‘new trio’ is the tried and tested player from Italy’s AS Astrea, Dennis Sama. The 21-year-old Roman could end up playing left or centre defence, though he is no stranger to scoring goals, either.

A full training programme also faces those players who the Bełchatowian coaches have not yet had the chance to use; Maciej Dąbrowski, Grzegorz Fonfara and Dawid Nowak. There is still no sign of Jhoela Herrery or Łukasz Sapela, following their injuries at the start of the season.

The first day of September saw the signing of a contract with Widzew mid-fielder, Piotr Kuklis, on loan to PGE GKS for a one-year period. The 22-year-old Kuklis, who came up through the ranks of Łódzki Klub Sportowy, was last seen playing under the colours of Widzew, now demoted from the premier division. He was the second player of the day to be signed up. Earlier on, the Korona Kielce defender, Marcin Drzymont, signed a three-year contract.