Recap
Cup Misery For Dragoons
The Expats kicked off the 22/23 season against Rafis Kraków in the first round of the Puchar Polski. The Dragoons travelled to the picturesque setting of the Municipal Sports Stadium in Zabierzów to face-off against their opponents.
With the A Klasa season still a few weeks away, the Dragoons went into the game with several key faces missing.
New signings Marcin Obyrtacz, Szymon Urzędowski and Bartek Chowaniec took to the field for their first outing in a Dragoons jersey, whilst there was a second debut for the returning Englishman Ceri Looker.
In a slow start to proceedings, the first shot of the game came in the 5th minute. Robert Ambrosie stood over a free-kick from range, but failed to find the target with his shot.
Rafis had their first sight of goal with 13 minutes of the game played. A short free-kick routine saw the opponents also hitting a shot high and wide of the goal.
Marcin Obyrtacz had his first save to make in an Expat’s shirt a few moments after. A Rafis attacker found space on the edge of the box, but sent a weak shot straight into the arms of the Dragoons new custodian.
The Opener: First of Many
Into the 15th minute, the first goal of the game arrived for the Dragoons.
A run down the left by Błażej Święcicki saw the winger storm into the corner of the Rafis box. The Pole sent a cross through the penalty area and found Chowaniec, who notched his first goal for the club. Confusion reigned momentarily as Święcicki found himself upended in the penalty area as he played the ball, however the referee pointed to the centre circle to confirm the goal.
Debutants at the Double
A second goal followed in the 19th minute, with Urzędowski also scoring a debut goal. Looker showed domination in midfield and found Ambrosie on the right side. The right-back skipped past an opponent before cutting the ball back across goal to find Urzędowski, who slammed his shot into the back of the net.
Three-Scoring!
With 20 minutes on the clock the Expats won a penalty after a foul on Chowaniec, almost straight from kick-off. Robert Ambrosie stepped up to take the kick and his shot proved too strong for the keeper. The Romanian hit the ball to the Rafis stopper’s right and despite getting a hand to the shot, the home team’s goalkeeper could not keep it out of the net.
Turkish Delight
Almost instantaneously, the rampant Expats added a fourth goal of the game in the 22nd minute.
Ceri Looker played a looping ball forward for Emre Bezirkan to chase. A sliced clearance from a Rafis defender saw the Turkish forward get to the ball just ahead of the onrushing goalkeeper. Bezirkan lifted the ball over the goalie’s head and despite theatrics from the Rafis man falling to the floor, the goal stood with the Dragoons in a commanding position.
Rafis rallied and really ought to have reduced the deficit with 27 minutes played. A poor kick from Obyrtacz landed straight at the feet of a home attacker. The striker jinked past the Dragoons keeper and with the goal unguarded, somehow struck his shot against the bar from 8 metres out.
Simon Calabrese found his name into the book for a poorly timed tackle in the 32nd minute. Rafis put a dangerous cross into the box, which Święcicki headed out for a corner.
Dragoons Show Attacking Flair
The following set-piece saw Obyrtacz punch clear and Bezirkan picked up the loose ball. The Turk found Urzędowski in the centre of the park who delightfully picked out Hajnrych down the left flank. The full-back tried Święcicki, however a defender intercepted the cross before the winger could shoot.
Down the other end of the pitch, Rafis created another chance. A cross from deep found an opposing player unmarked in the penalty area. The headed effort at goal failed to trouble Obyrtacz, who gathered the ball with ease.
Święcicki showed his class in the 42nd minute. The winger found himself with the ball and hit a glorious pass with the outside of his boot towards Chowaniec. The Dragoons new forward beat two defenders in a foot-race and bore down on goal. Just as the Pole looked to shoot, an excellent last-ditch tackle from a defender took the ball off of his toes.
On the stroke of half-time the Dragoons came inches away from scoring a fifth goal. A blistering attack saw Chowaniec in acres of space in the corner of the Rafis box. The forward played a pass for Bezirkan, directly in front of goal. The Expats fourth goalscorer dallied with the ball and a defender took advantage to prod it away.
The danger had not gone however, as the ball dribbled straight to Święcicki inside the penalty area. The winger laid a pass off to Urzędowski to shoot, but on this occasion the keeper got a hand to the ball and the effort ricocheted back off of the post.
With the chance gone, the official in the middle blew the whistle to end the half. The Expats had played some nice football at times and looked to be on course for victory.
Second Half
After picking up a slight knock in the first period, Chowaniec made way for Cedrick Mwamba at the start of the half.
Double Trouble
The first action of the second half saw Rafis pull a goal back in the 49th minute. Further disaster struck in the build-up, which led to Calabrese being sent off.
A swift counter by the home side, saw Calabrese fly into a tackle sending an opponent sprawling. With the expectant whistle for a foul halting the Expats backline to a standstill, Rafis played on and put the ball into the net. The referee gave the goal and marched up to Calabrese to produce a second yellow card.
The Expats would have to continue the rest of the game with ten men. Temo Loladze entered the field to strengthen the defence, replacing Emre Bezirkan.
An audacious attempt by the Rafis key man in midfield, saw his long range shot just go over the bar.
Obyrtacz To The Rescue
Rafis continued to find space and a flurry of chances saw three opportunities to score missed. The third attempt saw Obyrtacz brilliantly deny a goal, saving a one-on-one chance with his legs.
Kuba Drobny and Emre Çolakoğlu entered the field on 60 minutes to give the Expats fresh legs. Ceri Looker and Alexey Zelenkin left the field as the Dragoons looked to hold onto the advantage.
Comeback is On!
Almost immediately however, Rafis added their second goal. The Expats failed to clear their lines and a cross into the box came to the feet of an attacker. The Dragoons did not close down the forward quick enough, and a nice curling effort flew past Obyrtacz and into the corner of the goal.
The Expats looked to stifle their opponents and showed they could still be dangerous on the counter.
In the 68th minute, Mwamba opened his legs to accelerate past the Rafis defence. The Dragoons cult hero shot from a tight angle, but saw his effort parried away by the keeper.
Penalty Rafis…
A penalty kick saw the Dragoons opponents handed the chance to score a third goal. The midfield dangerman duly stepped up and brought the scoring to 3-4! The ten-man Expats appeared to be sinking without a trace in the second half.
Edo Battaglion took to the field in the 70th minute and replaced Piotr Hajnrych at left-back.
The Dragoons began to find signs of life again and began to create chances for themselves. Ambrosie put a good cross into the box, however, it proved to be just too high for Święcicki. The Pole managed to connect with the ball but could not divert it towards goal.
Święcicki had the ball at his feet just outside the Rafis box in the 77th minute. With a lack of options to pass to, the winger struck a shot that curled over the bar.
A great move by the Expats moments after, saw Urzędowski put a ball across goal. With attacking players at short supply, there was nobody in a position to finish off the chance.
Rafis poured forward and came desperately close to scoring an equaliser twice in quick succession.
Firstly, a free header from a corner kick went inches past the post. Straight after, a shot from the corner of the area whistled just past the Dragoons goal.
Injury Time Drama…
Deep into injury time, Rafis scored a fourth goal to level the tie at 4-4. The home side came forward with purpose as the Dragoons camped themselves in their own half. A shot from the edge of the box cannoned off of the crossbar coming back into play. Rafis recycled possession of the ball and a cross from the right found two men unmarked at the far post. A headed effort bounced past the stranded Obyrtacz to send tie to a likely penalty shoot-out!
However, straight from the kick-off the Dragoons went on the attack. Cedrick Mwamba again raced into the box, but he could not beat the keeper with his shot.
The following corner saw the Rafis custodian punch clear to send his side on an immediate counter-attack. Rafis came perilously close to snatching the glory, however, the shot missed the target by a whisker, amazingly in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
It proved to be the last chance of an eventful match – a proverbial game of two halves!
Spot-Kicks!
With no extra time to be played, the game would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
Both sides scored their first penalty, with Ambrosie netting for the Expats. Marcin Obyrtacz saved Rafis’ second penalty, brilliantly sprawling to his right to claw away the shot.
Brian Lemmen stepped up to try and give the Dragoons the advantage. The Dutchman hit a firm shot to the right, but saw his spot-kick pushed away by the goalkeeper.
Two excellent penalties in succession saw the score levelled at 2-2 after three penalties. A beautiful penalty from Rafis flew into the top corner, whilst Święcicki netted for the Dragoons hitting a perfectly executed penalty into the bottom left corner.
Advantage Dragoons
Penalty number 4 for Rafis, saw Obyrtacz dive the wrong way, however the ball smacked the base of the post and away from goal. Emre Çolakoğlu stepped up to give the Expats the upper hand with aplomb. The Turkish midfielder absolutely leathered his penalty past the keeper, giving him no chance.
Rafis neatly scored their fifth penalty, however Kuba Drobny stepped up with a chance to put the Expats into the second round.
Drobny To Win It!
Drobny stepped up confidently, but saw his rising effort smash the crossbar!! The shoot-out entered sudden death with the score evenly balanced at 3-3.
Rafis scored their sixth penalty meaning that Szymon Urzędowski had to score to keep the Expats in the tie.
Lift-Off: The Dragoons Defeated!
Urzędowski took a breath, stepped up, and cannoned his penalty miles over the bar, sending the ball into the Milky Way.
The miss saw the Dragoons disappointingly exit the Puchar Polski at the first opportunity. With a cup run over for another season, the Expats will look to concentrate on their maiden campaign at A Klasa level.
The season will kick-off with a home fixture against Dąbski on Sunday, 28th August. The Expats will look to christen their new home at św. Andrzeja Boboli 5, with a victory and we hope to see you all there in support!
