Recap
Defeat For Dragoons
The league campaign finally restarted after a long winter break this weekend. The Dragoons took to their travels to deepest darkest Nowa Huta to faceoff against Dąbski.
Head Coach, Ash Asani, made a few changes to the line up that played so admirably in midweek in the Fenix Trophy defeat to DWS.
Michał Nowak, Michael Lamb and Piotr Hajnrych came into the team replacing Francesco Leuci, Hugo Cruz and Szymon Urzędowski at the back. Rob Smits and Barry Chowaniec both dropped to the bench as Jamie Beattie made his first start of the season and Rohit Chandran also came back into the side.
Kick Off
The Dragoons started the game quickly, coming close to scoring twice in quick succession. Alessandro Puerini flicked a headed effort over the bar and Piotr Hajnyrch struck the post. A free kick into the box saw Jakub Wolnicki in the home goal come to punch the ball, flooring a team-mate and Michael Lamb in the process. The Expats continued to play and Piotr Hajnrych looked to put a cross into the box. Wolnicki inexplicitly left the ball and it thumped back off the post. Nearly an early goal for the Expats!
Nowak To The Rescue
Into the 7th minute, the home side should have broken the deadlock. A quickly taken throw saw a Dąbski man flick the ball on to put Rafał Miśkowiec through on goal. With the angle tight and Marcin Obrytacz dashing to close the ball down, Miśkowiec passed to Jakub Tomasik for a tap in. Fortunately for the Dragoons, a poorly struck shot saw Michał Nowak on the line to head a glorious chance away from goal.
Puerini tested the reflexes of Wolnicki with a 11 minutes on the clock. The Italian assassin came deep to collect the ball and saw his curling effort tipped over the crossbar by the home custodian.
Deadlock Broken!
A minute later, the Dragoons opened the scoring. A corner kick from the right side saw Enrico Forabosco whip the ball towards the near post. Dąbski’s Krzysztof Ciuśniak got his head to ball, however, could only divert it past his own keeper and into the net. 1-0 for the Expats.
It is said that a team is most vulnerable after scoring and it almost came true! Dąbski went straight onto the attack after conceding. A flat-footed defence saw Bartosz Bogdanowicz put through on goal with just Obyrtacz to beat. The Dragoons keeper came off his line to close the gap, and saved the incoming shot with his back. The ball diverted out for a corner, which came to nothing. A huge let off for the Expats!
Rohit Chandran had Wolnicki sprawling across is goal with 20 minutes played. The Indian whirlwind cut in on his right foot and drove a low effort from range. Wolnicki did well to get down to his left and get a firm hand to deny the Dragoons a second goal.
Sloppy play from the Dragoons saw a corner gifted to the home side. A ball across goal saw a firm header sent over the Dragoons goal.
Dragoons Hit The Post
Down the other end, the Expats came a post away from doubling their lead after poor defending from the hosts. Emre Çolakoğlu had time to chest the ball down, before launching a sweetly struck shot at goal. The effort beat Wolnicki all ends up, however, the post denied the Turkish midfielder his second goal of the season.
It proved to be the last real chance of the half as the home side penned the Dragoons into their own half. Dąbski took a firm grip of the game, but struggled to create any chances of note from open play. Set pieces looked to be the main source of creation for the hosts. A couple of corner routines saw the home side win the ball aerially, but unable to threaten the score.
Second Half
The home side came flying out of the blocks in the second period as they looked to continue where they finished off in the first half.
Dragoons Punished
The Dragoons however, proved to be masters of their own downfall for the eventual equaliser in the 50th minute. A poor back pass saw Mirosław Podgajny inadvertently put through on goal. The Dąbski forward rounded the stranded Obyrtacz and calmy stroked the ball into an empty net to punish the Expats profligacy.
Into the 55th minute, Asani looked to inject some pace into the Dragoons attack with a double change. The fleetfooted Barry Chowaniec and Martin Voženílek came on for Beattie and Çolakoğlu.
Brilliant Strike – Dąbski Leave
Minutes after the change, the home side took the lead in style. The Dragoons could not keep possession and a lofted pass found Podgajny in space down the left wing by the edge of the box. The Dąbski goal-getter, chopped onto his right foot and rifled a beautifully struck shot towards goal. The effort gave Obyrtacz no chance, as the ball arched past the Dragoons keeper and into the top corner for 2-1. Whilst a disappointing moment for the Dragoons, you could not help but applaud a really good goal by the home side!
Two almost became three with 63 minutes played. The Expats could not clear their lines or keep any possession and the ball kept coming back. Jakub Tomasik nearly took advantage of the Dragoons inability to clear their lines. The Dąbski substitute found space on the edge of the box to curl an effort at goal. On this occasion however, Marcin Obyrtacz got a strong hand to the ball and pushed the shot against the bar. Another big let off for the Dragoons!
A series of changes for the Dragoons saw Josh Dawson, Rob Smits and Francesco Leuci introduced. Michael Lamb, Rohit Chandran and Piotr Hajnrych made way as the Dragoons looked to introduce fresh legs into the game.
Dragoons Fall Further Behind
Despite the defensive changes, the Dragoons conceded a third goal in the 66th minute. The Expats continued to be penned in their own half and a cross found Podgajny completed unmarked at the back post. The Dąbski forward had all the time in the world to guide a headed effort past Obyrtacz for his hat-trick. 3-1 down with it all to do.
A miserable afternoon for the Expats turned even worse when Francesco Leuci had to be forced off clutching his hamstring shortly after the goal. Szymon Urzędowski came onto the field at right back and Michał Nowak moved over to the left.
The hosts nearly added a fourth in the 76th minute. Josh Dawson rampaged forward, but with a lack of movement and options ahead of him gifted possession to Dąbski. A long ball over the top saw Podgajny race forward into the space left by the defender. Thankfully, the Podgajny could not add to his three goals and could only shoot into the side netting.
Hosts Down To Ten
A second yellow card for Ciuśniak saw Dąbski reduced to ten men for the rest of the game. The full-back and Dragoons goal scorer, compounded his misery by scything down Chowaniec as he looked to break forward.
Dawson Reduces The Score
From the resulting free kick, the Dragoons clawed their way back into the game. Rob Smits swung the ball into the box and found who else, but Josh Dawson. The centre back, timed his run to perfection and steered a low volley into the net to give the Expats hope.
With the hosts down to ten men, the Dragoons began to pile bodies forward in the hope of an unlikely equaliser. A corner from Smits once again found Dawson in the penalty box. This time however, the English defender could not get the contact on the ball and flashed a header wide.
The Expats continue to try and exploit their numerical advantage against a tight defending opponent. Another corner kick saw a glorious chance just go wide of the goal. Once against Dawson found himself free inside the opponents box. The Englishman got a good connection to his header, but could not guide the ball on target and the chance had gone.
With the clock ticking, the Dragoons pushed bodies forward. With the hosts digging deep, the Expats struggled to find any space to get in behind the defence. All too often the Dragoons tried to tease their opponents out of their defensive unit, only for a poor final pass to break attacks down.
Penalty Conceded!
A poor performance by the Expats saw a penalty conceded in the dying embers of the half. Podgajny broke the offside trap to latch onto a free kick forward from the keeper. The Dragoons could not clear their lines and a foul by Simon Calabrese in the box saw the official point to the spot.
That man Mirosław Podgajny stood up to take the spot kick and blasted the ball into the roof of the net for his and Dąbski’s fourth goal. 4-2.
Not a good day the office for the Dragoons, who looked pedestrian all over the pitch from the first whistle. A terrible second half saw the Dragoons concede four goals and not really offer anything in return until Dąbski went down to ten men. With the midfield battle lost, the Expats struggled to move the ball around and get their flank players involved. The second half substitutes struggled to get into the game and the Expats could not exploit the Dąbski backline with their pace. Hopefully there will be better days ahead for the Dragoons.
Next Up
A big effort is needed for the Expats to return to winning ways next week against Zwierzyniecki KS. Our next opponent are currently 5th in the table after a 3-0 victory over Wanda this past weekend. The reverse fixture this season saw the Dragoons concede a last minute goal to draw 3-3. The Expats had raced into the lead with Flavio Nkola and an own goal putting the Blues two goals ahead. Zwierzyniecki struck back before half time, but Barry Chowaniec finished well to put the Dragoons back into a two goal lead. A late collapse saw the hosts grab two goals near the end of the game as the Dragoons failed to hold their lead.
