Recap
Dragoons Survive Late Comeback
The Dragoons had to hold on until the very end as they fought off a spirited comeback to extend their winning run to two consecutive victories in a goal fest against Kaszowianka II on Sunday.
It took only two minutes for the Dragoons to take the lead in this encounter.
The returning Michał Nowak launched one of his trademark long throws into the box towards Adrian Paliś. The striker got to the ball ahead of Kaszowianka keeper Marek Skowronek and nodded towards goal. As the defence dithered, Paliś reacted quickest to knock the ball just over the line despite the protestations from the home side.
Into the 6th minute, it should have been a second goal for the Dragoons. Paliś flicked the ball on to Piątek to run onto on the right flank. The wide-man put the ball into the box and Samyonov pressured the hesitant defence, managing to work the ball to Adrian Paliś. On this occasion however, the usual lethal striker could only fire wide when well placed.
The visiting Dragoons looked to take to the game to Kaszowianka and produced another chance in the 11th minute. Another Nowak long-throw saw Skowronek punch the ball as far as Halcrow on the edge of the box. Unfortunately, the midfielder could not keep his shot down and fired over the bar.
Chances Galore!
A further chance came into the 17th minute. A corner from Mark Szczesnowicz was hit skywards by Paliś and Alexey Zelenkin read the flight of the ball well, but could not get any power on his header and Skowronek gathered easily.
Kaszowianka had not seen a lot of the ball, but created their first real chance on eighteen minutes. A lofted ball saw Daniel Goczał burst down the left and into the box. Thankfully for the Dragoons, the Kaszowianka man under pressure from Edoardo Battaglion, could only blast over the crossbar.
A moment later, the Dragoons came close to extending their lead. A corner from Szczesnowicz found its way to Halcrow on the edge of the box. The midfield man played the ball back to Szczesnowicz, who in turn put in a delicious cross, which just evaded the outstretched boot of Samyonov. Any touch on the ball would have seen a likely second goal for the visitors.
Michal Nowak was fouled just outside of the box in the 22nd minute to give the Dragoons a further chance. The busy Mark Szczesnowicz stood up to take the resulting free-kick, but saw his powerful drive fly over the bar.
In the 25th minute, another free-kick for the Dragoons saw a further opportunity go to waste. Halcrow launched the ball from deep into the Kaszowianka half, which caught the defence napping. Samyonov controlled the ball well, took it away from the goalkeeper and unselfishly squared the ball to the waiting Paliś for an easy tap in. Incredibly, the Dragoons leading scorer somehow put the ball wide of the target in front of an empty goal.
The Hosts Strike Back
Despite the Dragoons dominance, the hosts equalised in the 30th minute. Both Simon Calabrese and Gabriel Muñoz missed Mateusz Hajduga’s wind-assisted floating corner and the ball dropped into the net off the crossbar to bring the score to 1-1.
The Dragoons looked to hit back straight away and came close to re-taking the lead in the 32nd minute. Szczesnowicz’s corner made its way to Paliś, who tried to work the ball into the penalty area. The ball deflected off the shin of a defender and Zelenkin hit a first-time effort just wide of the goal.
A looping ball forwarded by the home side caught the Dragoons defence out in the 35th minute. Goczał took advantage and raced in towards goal, however, a superb challenge by Calabrese took the ball off the Kaszowianka man just as he pulled the trigger and a goal-kick was given.
Into the 40th minute, the Dragoons deservedly grabbed their second goal from the penalty spot. A Nowak long-throw bobbled off a defenders leg and into the path of Piotr Piątek. The wide-man looked to turn in the box and a trip from a defender halted his progress. The referee whistled for the spot-kick and Adrian Paliś stepped up to send Skowronek the wrong way to score his 17th goal of the season.
The Dragoons continued to dominate the remainder of the half, however no further chances fell to either side.
Second Half
The second half started with the Dragoons almost gifting Kaszowianka the chance of an equaliser. A defensive mishap saw Pawel Kuśmierczyk break forward into the Dragoons box. The Kaszowianka man found himself alone and Szczesnowicz was on hand to cut out the attempted pass.
Moments later and the Dragoons scored with their first attempt of the second half.
Nowak threw long into the box and found Adrian Paliś lurking by the byline. Paliś’ attempted cross diverted into the path of Piątek, who passed to Nowak out wide. The forthcoming cross made its way to Samyonov, who played the ball out wide to Bilorukavyi. The resulting pass into the box saw Skowronek come and punch unconvincingly straight to Calabrese, who in turned rifled the ball into the net to bring the scoreline to 3-1.
Two minutes later and it was four goals to one for the rampant Dragoons.
The goal came from a masterclass in moving the ball which started from Muñoz in the visiting goal and resulted with Piątek being felled on the right flank. Nowak stood over the set-piece and instead of putting the ball into the box, played short to Scott Halcrow. The midfield general played a smart ball into the box, which found the unmarked Zelenkin, who turned and fired a shot past Skowronek and into the back of the net.
Kaszowianka Go Close!
Undeterred by the Dragoons dominance, Kaszowianka almost reduced the scoreline in the 55th minute. Hajduga received a pass in the box and lashed a shot that Muñoz diverted wide for a corner.
In the 58th minute, the Dragoons came close once again to extending their lead. Nowak broke through the midfield and released the ball to Paliś. The striker turned his man, but was tackled by a covering defender as he shaped to shoot. The danger was not over however, as Nowak slid the loose ball towards goal and into the advancing Skowronek. The resulting rebound spilled to Flavio Nkola but on this occasion, the substitute could not find the target and hit the side netting from a tight angle.
Although the visitors enjoyed the majority of the possession in the second half, they needed to be wary of Kaszowianka counter-attacks. Kacper Trojan left Bilorukavyi for dead down the right side and darted into the box. The attacker opted to shoot rather than pass across to a teammate and Muñoz stuck out a leg to save a certain goal.
Into the 70th minute, a set-piece into the box almost saw the hosts score their second goal. The Dragoons failed to deal with the bouncing ball and a Kaszowianka man somehow put the ball wide from 6 metres out.
The home side began to find signs of life and earned a free-kick from shooting range after Szczesnowicz was adjudged to have fouled his man. Goalscorer Mateusz Hajduga stepped up but saw his effort deflect off the wall and out for a corner.
A Crazy Last Fifteen!
As the game headed into the 75th minute, the home side managed to grab their second goal of the game. Kuśmierczyk had the freedom of the half and the Kaszowianka man slotted a great ball through to Kacper Trojan. The forward found himself with just Muñoz to beat and finished well past the Dragoons custodian.
It was 4-3 five minutes later through the same combination of Kuśmierczyk and Trojan. The Dragoons began to become extremely sloppy in possession of the ball and were punished as a consequence. Kuśmierczyk had the freedom of the right side and again released Kacper Trojan to go through on goal. The home winger expertly finished past Muñoz to score his second goal and bring the scoreline within one goal.
Straight from kick-off however, the Dragoons hit back with a vital fifth goal to ease their nerves. Szczesnowicz arrowed a cross-field pass to Nkola on the left wing and the Dragoons man played the ball into the box to Paliś. The striker took a touch and lashed a shot into the top corner to score his hat-trick.
With five minutes on the clock left to play, Kaszowianka grabbed their fourth goal of the game. A quick throw-in found Kuśmierczyk, who turned expertly in the box and shot at goal. Muñoz got down to make the stop, however Andrew Korczak reacted quickest to turn the rebound into the net.
As the home side poured forward for an equaliser, space was left at the back. The Dragoons had the final chance of the second half and could easily have scored their sixth goal. Substitute Vladimir Chumakov played the ball forward to Flavio Nkola, who showed great skill to work it into the box. The winger saw his shot palmed away by Skowronek and Chumakov had time but rushed his shot and blasted the rebound high over the bar.
The referee blew the whistle to bring a goal crazy second half to an end. The Dragoons produced a real Jekyll and Hyde performance, however the victory advances the team into third place.
The Expats know they will need to be better as they face lowly WKS Wawel Kraków next Saturday.
