Tychy City Stadium
Edukacji 7
43-100 Tychy
Poland
Ground Number:1345
Sunday 22nd September 2924
GKS Tychy 0-0 Stal Stalowa Wola
1.Liga
GKS TYCHY - A BRIEF HISTORY
The history of GKS Tychy dates back to 20 April 1971, when the government of the county of Tychy, together with Communist party activists (PZPR), decided to form a powerful sports organization. As a result of the merger of Polonia Tychy, Górnik Wesoła and Górnik Murcki, a strong, multi-department sports club was formed, with football and ice hockey as its major departments.
Two years after later ,GKS Tychy won promotion to the second tier, and in 1974, the team was promoted to the Ekstraklasa. In the 1976 Ekstraklasa, GKS Tychy finished as runners up behind Stal Mielec, also playing in Europe where they narrowly lost to FC Koln. The next decade brought harder times as they were relegated to the second tier in 1977 and the third tier in 1983.
After a merger with Sokół Pniewy, the new team, called Sokół Tychy-Pniewy, played the Estraklasa for a couple of seasons. Due to financial difficulties, the team was dissolved in 1997. Soon afterwards, new organization, called Tyski Klub Sportowy Tychy was founded. Later on, the team eventually returned to the historic name GKS Tychy and won promotion to the I liga (second tier) in 2012. In the 2020–21 season, GKS qualified for promotion play-offs to the Ekstraklasa, but lost to Górnik Łęczna.
MY VISIT
The original plan on this day was to head over the border to Bohumin in the Czech Republic so I'd be closer to the airport for tomorrow. However, they got the worst of the flooding last week and so their game is called off until they recover. During the halftime break at Piast Gliwice I look for any potential games I could visit in between the two. I pick out Niepokorni Orzesze at 2 but this would require two long taxi rides so I decide against it in favour of a cheaper and more relaxed afternoon, especially with the home club Facebook page talking about everything but the first team. From the game, it's a short walk to the bus stop I need to get to the ground. I'll be there super early and so will try and spot a restaurant en route. I get the bus as scheduled and it turns out that you can buy a ticket with a contactless card on board, not that the website mentioned it. I am glad my phone is charging and no longer overheating. The journey gives me the chance to do some research and I'm nearly caught up on the blog, at least in text form.
I get into Tychy at 2.15 and with time to kill, a sit-down meal is a good move. I look on Google for a well-rated restaurant and Cesky Humor fits the bill. I opt for the pan-fried trout with garlic butter, salad and fries which costs around a tenner. They say the wait could be up to an hour but with me a five-minute walk from the stadium, it's not an issue. As you do when at a restaurant, you get food envy and the pork schnitzel looks great, albeit I'd rather have it with fries than mash. I fact, just about every look and smell great. My meal is no exception and it's excellent for just over £12 including three bottles of apple juice. I'm out of there within an hour and head to the local shop for a cider, energy drinks and crisps. It then to the ground to pick up something to remember this trip by. In keeping with most things in Poland, it's solid value at £7. Entry to the game was £5 and the 45-minute bus journey to Tychy was £1.20.
GKS Tychy are 12th in the table having won one, drawn six and lost two of their games so far. Their last game was a 1-0 home loss to Ruch Churzow. Stali Stalowa Wola are bottom and have just one draw to their name, plus eight losses. Their last game saw them lose 3-1 to Wisla Plock. It's a fairly dull game in a fairly empty stadium but both sets of fans do their best to get the atmosphere going, especially the Tychy faithful. The visitors have had to travel three and a half hours by road to get to the game, just over 300 kilometres. Their team gained their second point of the season, but it was a terrible game with both sides huffing and puffing without getting anywhere. The worst game I have seen in years but it was an excellent trip overall.
I catch the first bus pretty quickly but there is quite a wait between the two I need. It's in the arse end of nowhere, so I can't even kill time by going to a grocery store. Eventually, I get back to near my hotel at 8.45, but the lack of places open means I have to walk a mile to a convenience store. I picked up a few Polish ciders and some flavoured water and head back to my room. There I watch YouTibe with a few drinks and catch up on my blogs before going to sleep around midnight. I'm playing it safe with getting back to Katowice for my Flixbus so have a 7 am alarm the following morning. After getting ready and getting my stuff together, I leave at 8.
It's a good thing I have left time as the travel takes longer than expected. The Flixbus goes well and I have around 4 hours to kill in Ostrava. So I walk to a stadium 45 minutes away and get some nice pictures. It's then back to the town for a meal of filled Beef Roulade with fries and a couple of apple juices for little over a tenner. I then go to a shop to get a few things. I then head out to get the bus, but Google Maps gives me a dud location and the bus is nowhere to be seen. After another couple of false starts, I get a Bolt Taxi instead. Traffic is busy but at least I'll be at the airport in good time. £18 is a fair price, I've paid more for a 10-minute journey in the UK. All is good with security, though it's a little more basic than the UK. I still managed to get my penultimate blog done, but have to do it standing up due to the lack of seats. I treat myself to a couple of drinks and a Kindle book for the flight home. Things went smoothly from there on and I was back home at about 9.30. It had been a great trip, albeit with a few missteps but two fantastic countries I can see myself returning to.
THE GROUND
THE TYCHY CITY STADIUM is a smart venue with great facilities but way too big for the club in its current state. With a large capacity of 15,000, it was an experience similar to Stadium MK or the Darlington Arena back in the day. Everything is great value though with a ticket a fiver, a scarf £7 and the well-linked transport costing pocket change. There are a good range of restaurants and shops within walking distance and overall the match experience is good.
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