Poles halt Russia’s advance

Faith, hope, Smuda. That was the headline in a Polish tabloid newspaper ahead of last night’s passionate clash between Poland and Russia, the words featuring atop a picture of national coach Franciszek Smuda charging on horseback, sabre in hand and wearing a 1920s Polish army uniform.

And after a thunderous 1-1 draw, the Poles have all the faith and hope they need.

The headline was a reference to an old army motto of “Faith, Hope, Motherland” enshrined in Polish history after a famous victory over the Bolsheviks that year became known as “The Miracle on the Vistula”.

Nobody who attended this match in Warsaw, forcing their way through the banks of riot police just to reach the stadium, could be in any doubt that political as well as football sensibilities were at play.

The atmosphere in the National Stadium was incredible and they witnessed the goal of the tournament so far from captain Jakub Blaszczykowski, whose ferocious left-foot shot arrowed high into the top corner of the net to equalise an opener from Alan Dzagoev.

The result means co-hosts Poland can qualify for the quarter-finals on Saturday if they beat the Czech Republic, who are second in the Group A table but only a point ahead of their opponents, and leaves Russia also qualified if they take even a point from Greece the same day.

So in football terms, last night meant a lot; and in national terms it meant even more. The truth is the history between these two countries is bitter, bloody and not forgotten. It goes back further than many western Europeans realise. Poland invaded Russia as early as the 17th century, their soldiers reaching Moscow in 1610 as the Polish king briefly seized the Russian throne.

But of course, in recent times it has been Russia, as the larger neighbour, that has more often been the bully. For 123 years until the end of World War One there was officially no state of Poland at all thanks to Russian and Austro-Hungarian invaders; and then the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 saw Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union divide the country up again.

It is estimated that six million Polish residents died during occupation, including 22,000 Polish officers shot dead by the Soviet secret police on the orders of Stalin; and even the end of World War Two only heralded in an era of communist rule that needed Lech Walesa’s Solidarity movement to end it in 1989.

These are the history lessons that under-pinned this passionate match; played ironically on Russia Day, which prompted 3,000 Russian fans to organise a march through Warsaw, followed by a counter march from Polish fans and hundreds of riot police to try and separate them.

Official statistics say around 56 people were arrested.

With so much going on in the background, the pressure on Poland’s players was unimaginably intense — even more intense than in the opening game against Greece when they seemed paralysed by the atmosphere during a 1-1 draw.

This time Smuda’s men began the game on pure adrenalin, surging forward at every opportunity and seeing an early strike from Eugen Polanski ruled out for offside and a deflected effort from Sebastian Boenisch well saved.

But Russia, who whipped the Czechs 4-1 in their opening match, possessed the greater self-confidence and went ahead after 37 minutes when Andriy Arshavin’s free-kick was glanced home by Alan Dzagoev.

The second half, however, showed Poland at their best; and they thoroughly deserved their wonderful equaliser when Blaszczykowski raced onto an inside pass from Ludovic Obraniak and unleashed a fizzing left-foot shot that beat Vyacheslav Malafeev, arrowing into the top right-hand corner in a flash.

There were chances for Poland to win it but the final whistle was greeted with such enthusiasm they could hardly have received a better reception had they done so.

Subs for Poland: Mierzejewski for Dudka 73, Matuszczyk for Polanski 84, Brozek for Obraniak 90.

Subs for Russia: Pavlyuchenko for Kerzhakov 70, Izmailov for Dzagoev 79.