Poland. Shared 19-20 position with Switzerland, but actually climbed a bit up, for the country was ranked 21st in the previous year. Rules: 2 points for a win, but extra 1 point awarded for a win by 3 or more goals and 1 point deducted for a loss by 3 or more goals. The last 2 teams in the First Division – directly relegated. The winners of each group of Second Division – directly promoted. Second-placed teams in each Second Division group went to promotion/relegation play-off against the 13th and 14th teams in the top league. The top leagues were going to be reduced in the next season – First Division from 16 to 14 teams, but this seemingly was abandoned by the end of the championship – otherwise the last 4 should have been relegated and the 11th and 12th teams going to relegation/promotion play-offs. Second Division was going to be a single league of 18 teams, so massive relegation happened this season: the last 8 teams in each Second Division group were directly relegated and those at 7th and 8th places went to promotion/relegation play-offs. However, the original rule was changed by the end of the season and those which finished 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th went to promotion/relegation play-offs. Such play-offs were no longer to be played – in 1989-90 the last 2 in the top league were going to be directly relegated; the top 2 in the Second Division – directly promoted, and the last 4 in the Second Division – directly relegated.
Second Division Group A.
Sleza (Wroclaw) finished last – 18th with 14 points.
One former top- league club was among the massive group of relegated teams: Arka (Gdynia). Their city rivals Baltyk had also to be directly relegated, but the modification of the rules gave them a chance to survive: Baltyk finished 10th, went to promotion/relegation play-off against Third Division Garbarnia (Krakow) and won it 1-0 and 0-0. The rest of the promotion/relegation play-offs also went in favour of the current Second Division teams, except one. Stilon (Gorzow, 9th) won over Bug (Wyszkow) 0-0 and 6-2, Odra (Wodzislaw, 8th) – Elana (Torun) 2-0 and 2-1, and Piast (Nowa Ruda, 7th) lost without losing to Stal (Stocznia Szczecin) – 2-2 and 1-1, the away-goal rule benefited the Third Division candidate and Piast was relegated.
Teams above 7th place were safe – Moto Jelcz (Olawa, 6th), Polonia (Bytom, 5th), Zaglebie (Walbrzych, 4th), and Gwardia (Warszawa, 3rd).
Zawisza (Bydgoszcz) finished 2nd with 45 points and went to promotion/relegation play-off against GKS (Jastrzebie), the 14th in the First Division. Zawisza managed a 0-0 tie away and at home won 2-0 – and was happily promoted to First Division.
Zaglebie (Lubin) was the group winner with 53 points: 21 wins (6 wins with 3 or more goals, giving an extra point), 5 ties, 4 losses, 60-19 goal-difference. Confident winners, directly promoted to top flight – actually, returning to top flight.
Group B.
Stomil (Olsztyn) – finished 11th and was relegated.
Lechia (Gdansk) – from playing Europe from few years ago to… facing Third Division now. They finished 10th , but luckily won the promotion/relegation play-off against Wlokniarz (Pabianice) 4-1 and 0-1.
Others were not so lucky: GKS (Belchatow, 9th) lost to Siarka (Tarnobrzeg) 1-1 and 1-2 was relegated. The same was the fate of Gornik (Knurow, 8th) – they lost to Miedz (Legnica) 1-2 and 1-0. Curiously, both matches were won by the visitors and Miedz prevailed on away-goal rule. Resovia (Rzeszow, 7th) survived – they won over GKS (Tychy) 3-2 and 1-0. GKS (Tychy) had great time about 15 years ago, but now were struggling in Third Division and had to stay there.
Iglopool (Debica) remained in Second Division – they finished 6th. Top row from left: Drobot, Zieliński, Śliwa, Kotowicz, Garlej. Forth row: Gierałka, Nalepka, Romaniuk, Stefanik, Strojek. Third row: Hadam, Zieliński, Mysiak, Adamczyk, Bajor. Second row: Makuch, Szary, Siarkiewicz, Litke, Antolak, Zub. Sitting: Czapiński, Gajoch, Kucharski, Kłak, Cebula, Kaczówka, Tylak.
Stal (Rzeszow) ended 5th, Stal (Stalowa Wola) – 4th, and Hutnik (Krakow) – 3rd also were going to play in the new Second Division.
Motor (Lublin) finished 2nd with 42 points. Like Zawisza from Group A, they won their promotion/relegation play-off against the 13th in the First Division, Pogon (Szczecin) 2-3 and 2-0 and were happily promoted to the top league.
Zaglebie (Sosnowiec) won the championship with 47 points: 18 wins (5 of them with 3 or more goals), 6 ties, 6 losses, 45-13 goal-difference. Excellent defensive record and confident victory – like their namesake in Group A, Zaglebie (Sosnowiec) were returning to the top league.
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