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Jagiellonia boss under fire after warming up for Rangers test with shock loss

· Graham Falk · 2026-08-10 · nguồn gốc

Rangers Europa League opponents suffer two-minute collapse as head coach questioned after shock loss Jagiellonia fall to shock defeat ahead of clash with Rangers in the Europa League qualifiers. Jagiellonia will head into this week’s crucial Europa League qualifying clash with Rangers on the back of a shock defeat after a two-minute defensive collapse saw them lose 2-0 to Widzew Lodz at Stadion Miejski. Played just 72 hours after their 2-1 first-leg win over Rangers, the Polish outfit fell to their first league defeat of the campaign as two quick-fire goals in the second half from Sebastian Bergier (52) and Fran Alvarez (54) sealed all three points for the previously winless visitors. Having won both of their opening two league games, Jagiellonia had started the season in fine form and were looking to chalk up their third consecutive league win and go top of the Ekstraklasa before turning their focus back to the Europa League qualifiers, with a visit to Ibrox scheduled for Thursday night. Ahead of the game, head coach Adrian Siemieniec opted to heavily rotate his side after their exploits against Rangers in midweek, making five changes to the starting XI that beat Derek McInnes’ side, resting key players such as Taras Romanczuk, Sergio Lozano and Nik Prelec. However, the decision to rest several key players came back to haunt Siemieniec, as his side failed to capitalise on a dominant first-half performance before going behind shortly after the restart. Both goals involved left-back Mario Garcia, with the first seeing the Spanish defender unlock the Jagiellonia defence with an inch-perfect pass that allowed Bergier to blast home beyond goalkeeper Sławomir Abramowicz. And things got worse for the home side just 116 seconds later when Garcia’s perfectly delivered corner kick allowed Alvarez to outjump Anders Klynge in the area and double the visitors’ advantage in front of a shocked Jaga support. Following the clash, head coach Siemieniec came in for some strong criticism for his team selection, with many pundits questioning his decision not to postpone the game. Despite holding a legal right to postpone their weekend league clash against Widzew Lodz due to their clash with Rangers in the Europa League three days prior, the 34-year-old head coach chose to play the game on schedule, a decision which came under fire, with many pundits believing he had placed unnecessary physical strain on the team. Polish pundit Wojciech Kowalczyk said: “Siemieniec is responsible for today's result. Before the match, he said that they have players to whom he wants to give minutes, that they didn't want to postpone the match so that the new ones could integrate into the team. No one told him to choose such a line-up for this match.” Speaking after the game, the Jagiellonia head coach admitted: “Our biggest problem was that we went into halftime 0-0 and didn't capitalize on those good first 45 minutes. There's disappointment, anger, because I don't feel like we deserved this defeat. We have six points after three league matches, whether it's a lot or a little, I don't know, but that's what we've worked for. Now we have to recover and head to Scotland.” Comments Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.