TNS UNDONE BY LATE BLITZ Photo: Polonia Warsaw's Maciej Bykowski and Steven Morgan of TNS battle it out.
TOTAL Network Solutions are all but out of the Uefa Cup after a heavy defeat in the first leg of their qualifying tie against Polonia Warsaw in Poland. The League of Wales club held out for over an hour before conceding the opening goal to substitute Bartosz Tarachulski, who turned in a cross from Arkadiusz Bak in the 70th minute. The match was being played in Lodz because Polonia's home ground was not deemed fit to stage a Uefa Cup match, but TNS drew no advantage from the switch of venue with a late collapse. Tarachulski added his second from Pawel Kaczorowski's centre after 78 minutes. The side from Llansantfraid looked like keeping the tie alive until the dying minutes and had a narrow escape when Bak struck the post and the crossbar. But just as TNS appeared to have ridden their luck, two quick-fire goals from Polonia substitute Tomasz Moskal doubled the winning margin and made it an almost impossible task for the Welsh side to recover in two weeks' time. It was an unhappy return to Poland for TNS, who were hammered 5-0 by Ruch Chorzow in a European Cup Winners' Cup tie five years ago. |