Date: 12 April 2024 / League: Polish third tier
Final Score: 0-1 / Attendance: 2,098
Experience
It was little over a year ago I visited Olsztyn for the first time, and since then I’ve racked the trips up – now installed as one of my favourite cities in Poland, it’s a Teutonic era marvel, a place filled with Gothic walls, medieval streets and mercantile houses.
But there is another reason to visit the town, that being a visit to Stomil Olsztyn, the town’s principal side. Playing in a scrapyard of a stadium, the place is a magical mangle of rust and rotting concrete. It’s amazing, therefore, to think that a couple of decades ago this was regarded as one of the top stadiums in the country – so much so, that a Cup Final was played here.
Today, the ground fills locals with shame. Speaking to one club official, he looked at me with pity when I said that I loved it. “You must be mad,” he muttered, before walking off.
But really, I do, and that’s especially true of the press entrance. Set on a stand that once housed the Ultras, today it’s been cordoned off and is accessible only to photographers and camera crews. Passing crumbling statues and a set of cancerous looking Olympic rings hoisted above the terrace, find yourself stumbling down a cracked terrace largely covered with tarpaulins before descending to the pitch.
Home fans now find themselves in one creaky stand, whilst away fans are banished into a distant wedge of concrete. Far from glamorous, there’s something haunting and forlorn about this decomposing piece of football folklore.
Having written about this ground several times before (for instance, HERE and HERE), I shan’t waste time further describing it, but what I shall say is that for the right game it retains an atmosphere that’s difficult to beat.
That was the case against Polonia Bytom, a team whose ongoing alliance with Arka Gydnia (Stomil themselves enjoy a close friendship with Arka’s derby rivals, Lechia Gdansk) added plenty of extra edge to the evening. Alas, a clash of kick-off times meant that most Arka fans had headed to Motor Lublin that night, but nonetheless there was no lack of spite hanging in the air.
Nor was that the only thing whistling in the wind – come the second half, Polonia’s 300-strong following used the opportunity to launch numerous flares towards my noggin, and I spent a good few minutes playing a reality version of Space Invaders as pyrotechnics sailed towards me. All things considered, a very decent night, albeit not if you’re a follower Stomil. Losing 1-0, the result leaves them perilously entrenched in the drop zone and staring relegation in the face.
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