Plamen’s heroics in Szczecin

At the beginning of January, the 21-year-old became the fourth Bulgarian to join Lech, strengthening the rivalry among the goalkeepers. Plamen biggest competitor for a place between the posts is Bartosz Mrozek - PKO BP Ekstraklasa's best goalkeeper of the previous season and a player who has received several call-ups to the Polish national team in recent months. The Pole has been a part of all of the starting line-ups this spring, meanwhile, Plamen has been focusing on putting in the work during training sessions and waiting patiently for an opportunity to appear on the pitch.

That chance arrived last week, when Lech’s first-choice goalkeeper suffered a hand injury which ruled him out of Saturday’s clash with Pogoń. According to Andreev, he prepared for his debut with complete confidence in his own ability, without paying attention to the quality of the opponent or the intense atmosphere surrounding the fixture.

“Before the match, I felt calm and excited for the opportunity. The truth is, it makes no difference to me whether I’m playing in front of twenty thousand people at an away ground or in front of a smaller crowd elsewhere. I always go out with the same mindset, and that was the case this time as well,” admitted the goalkeeper.

During the match itself, he saved Pogoń's two shots on target, including one in the added time. The latter save came after several interventions from Lech’s medical staff, who were trying to help the young player with an injury that he suffered during the game. The drama was heightened by the fact that coach Niels Frederiksen was unable to make any more substitutions.

“It wasn’t a very difficult save, but I was moving on one leg, so that made it a bit harder,” explained the keeper with a smile. “It’s great that I managed to help the team – it was certainly an important moment in the match. It’s too early to talk about the whole season for now, because we’re taking it one match at a time and there are still plenty of points to play for,” he added.

Plamen is now recovering from the minor injury sustained in that match, and all signs suggest that he will be able to prepare with the rest of the squad for the upcoming clash with Legia Warszawa.

“My first match in five months gave me great joy. I’m pleased with the performance, but you never know what the future will bring. We’ll see whether Bartek Mrozek will be ready to play next weekend, but from my side, I think I took advantage of my chance,” concluded Andreev, whose previous official appearance came in December, while playing for Racing Santander.