Recap
First Three Points
The Dragoons took to their travels for a second consecutive week to face Juvenia Prandocin on Sunday. A picturesque setting saw the Expats go in search of their first 3 points of the season against a team they had beaten a few weeks before in the Puchar Polski.
Hugo Cruz made 5 changes to the side that faced an opening day defeat against Sparta Skzreszowice. Roman Bilovol and Francesco Leuci came into the team replacing Szymon Urzędowski and Salah Missi in the full-back positions while Kuba Drobny and Sasha Arshakian continued at the heart of the defence for the second week in a row.
A return to the Dragoons usual 4-3-3 formation saw skipper Mark Szczesnowicz and Rob Smits dropping out of the squad with Enrico Forabosco taking the captain’s armband. Emre Çolakoğlu also dropped to the bench with Rohit Chandran starting in midfield with Corneille Malonga completing the trio in the centre of the park.
Yuri Samyonov shifted out to the right wing with Alessio Sassini starting for the first time this season. A welcome return saw Flavio Nkola also come back to the side on the left flank after a lengthy injury lay off.
Kick Off
Inside the first 25 seconds the Dragoons won a free-kick on the edge of the box after a foul on Nkola. Enrico Forabosco whipped the ball into the box, however, no Expats player could get on the end of it.
The next quarter of an hour saw both sides trying to get a feel of the game. The Dragoons looked to get the ball down and get their possession game going, whereas the hosts looked to exploit the full-backs with long passes on a very bobbly pitch.
Target Hit
Slowly but surely, the Dragoons began to dominate the ball and created the first shot on target on 18 minutes. Roman Bilovol lifted a long pass into the channel, with Sassini expertly spinning a covering defender. The Italian played a forward pass into the onrushing Rohit Chandran, who took a touch before hitting a tame shot straight at Bartek Walka in the Juvenia goal.
Moments after, the Dragoons came forward again with Sassini linking well with Forabosco. The midfield magician found Nkola on the edge of the box, who had a shot blocked away for a corner.
The Dragoons came close again in the 21st minute after a nice flowing move. Yuri Samyonov showed a sublime touch from Bilovol’s forward pass to find Chandran in space. The Indian whirlwind laid a pass into Sassini, who cut inside but failed to get the pace on his shot to seriously trouble Walka.
Sassini Off The Mark
After 23 minutes, the Expats made their early advantage count by grabbing the opening goal of the game. Francesco Leuci cut out a Juvenia forward pass, nodding the ball forward to Nkola in the centre of the pitch. The Angolan came forward and released a pass out wide where Forabosco lay in wait. The Italian hung a beautiful cross towards the far post, giving the unmarked Sassini the simple task of nodding the ball beyond Walka to open his account for the season from six yards out.
Divot Diversion
Juvenia almost got themselves level in bizarre and unexplained circumstances on 28 minutes. After clearing the ball under a challenge from an opponent, Kuba Drobny protested to the referee for a foul. The official immediately gave a sharp blast on his whistle and awarded an indirect free-kick to the hosts! Paweł Warchoł elected to blast the ball at goal from just inside the Dragoons’ half, which kicked horribly off the turf in the six yard box leaving Muñoz completely flummoxed. The ball skidded past the Chilean stopper, but fortune smiled on the Dragoons as it came back into play from off the post. A huge let off for the Expats!
Down the other end, a Dragoons corner went through the box with Arshakian keeping it in play. The Ukrainian’s attempted cross bobbled off the turf to Nkola who tried to control the ball with his head. Juvenia failed to clear with Nkola working a shooting chance that Walka pushed away. Sassini reacted quickest to get to the ball first, lifting a delicate pass back across the six yard box that just evaded the leap of Samyonov.
Three minutes later in the 36th minute, the Dragoons called the Juvenia keeper into action once again. Corneille Malonga showed quick feet to beat an opponent in midfield and sprayed a pass to Nkola out wide. The Angolan dangerman cut inside, hurdled a couple of attempted challenges before striking low at goal. Nkola did not get the best of connection on the shot, but Walka sprang to his right to get a hand to push the ball wide for a corner.
Off The Line
In the 41st minute, a quick counter saw Sassini win a corner for the Expats. Forabosco took the kick and floated the ball towards the far post. Sassini escaped his marker to get his head to the ball first and sent it towards goal, however, a well placed covering defender cleared the attempt away from off the line.
The final chance of the half fell the way of the Dragoons on 43 minutes. The move started with Muñoz collecting a cross and throwing long to Forabosco on the right side of the pitch. Nice passing and moving saw Nkola in possession, showing lovely footwork to get past an opponent. The attacker expertly found the forward run of Sassini, who turned back and found Leuci out wide. The Italian full back found Nkola free in the box with a pass and the Angolan hurdled a challenge before flashing a shot just wide of the far post.
Shortly afterwards the half ended with the Dragoons a goal ahead. After a pensive opening quarter, the Expats had found their rhythm and navigated a difficult pitch well. Juvenia seemed happy to sit back, but their attempts to get in behind the Dragoons defence with long passes had proved fruitless. With just the one goal to show for their efforts, the Expats would have to maintain their discipline and concentration in the second period.
Second Half
The Expats started the half as they ended the first and good officiating saw no advantage played as Forabosco won a free-kick. The Italian stood up to take the kick, but lifted his shot harmlessly over the bar.
Dragoons Come Close
With 10 minutes of the second half played, excellent football saw the Dragoons go close to doubling their advantage. Leuci connected well with Chandran to get a cross into the Juvenia penalty box. Nkola got to the aerial ball ahead of the stranded Walka, but sent a firm header over the crossbar.
A minute later, Juvenia gifted the ball back to the Dragoons and they went on the attack again. Good combination play between Sassini and Samyonov saw the Italian assassin in on goal. Unfortunately, a heavy touch from the Dragoons attacker saw the ball run through to Walka who gathered at the second attempt.
End to End
Just before the hour mark, the Dragoons conceded a free-kick giving the hosts a crossing opportunity. The following set piece came into the box with Grzegorz Korochoda stooping to send the ball high towards goal. Gabi Muñoz managed to get two hands to fist it away, with a foul on Samyonov seeing the danger pass.
Not long after, the Israeli found himself involved at the other end of the pitch. A quickly taken throw saw Samyonov combine with Chandran and Sassini, before showing nice footwork to get by a defender. The attacker managed to work a shooting opportunity, but a poor connection saw his attempt go wide.
With 62 minutes on the clock, a break from the hosts almost saw Korochoda get in on goal. Sasha Arshakian looked like he would wipe out the Juvenia attacker enroute to goal, however, he pulled out of the challenge just in time and the extra touch from Korochoda took the ball into the hands of Muñoz.
The Expats changed things up after the chance with Emre Çolakoğlu and Piotr Hajnrych replacing Forabosco and Leuci.
Dragoons At The Double
As the half progressed, Juvenia started to get more bodies forward and in advanced areas. Just as the game began to have an end to end feel, the Dragoons managed to grab a second goal at a vital time. The move for the goal started from great defensive work from Malonga, stealing the ball off the toes of an opponent. He shifted the ball to Çolakoğlu, who drove out of midfield evading two challenges and putting a pass into space for Samyonov to run onto. The Israeli showed great composure, getting the ball into his control before blasting it into the top corner. The goal saw Samyonov notch the first time this season and for the 25th time in a Dragoons jersey.
With the Dragoons 2-0 ahead, Juvenia began to throw caution to the wind to try and get back into the game. The Expats stood up to the test, however, two fouls in the exact same position presented the hosts with shooting opportunities. On both occasions though, the Expats wall stood strong to deny the ball getting to the target.
Fortune Smiles On The Expats
On 84 minutes, fortune smiled on Gabi Muñoz and the Dragoons goal once again as Juvenia came perilously close to a goal back. A long ball forward saw the ball worked to Mariusz Włodarczyk on the edge of the box. The Juvenia attacker struck a first time shot that looked like a routine stop for the Dragoons keeper only for the ball to spin wildly from a bobble and change direction. Instead of dropping into Muñoz’s arms, the ball went flat, striking the keeper’s foot and bouncing just wide of the post.
From the following corner, Juvenia got to the ball first with Krzysztof Szyba touching it towards goal. Włodarczyk managed to get a foot to the ball in the six yard box, but struggled to get a good connection and sent it over the bar.
Offside!
A minute later, the Dragoons had the ball in the net for a third time. Emre Çolakoğlu’s quickly taken free-kick set substitute Błażej Święcicki down the right flank. The Polish winger crossed into the box, with the ball played just in front of Sassini, but finding fellow sub Ayoub Chardal, who tapped into the net with a low effort. The goal would not stand however, as the flag had gone up against Sassini in the build up.
With only a couple of minutes remaining, Hugo Cruz shuffled his pack with a triple substitution. Andrea Latino, Simon Calabrese and Jacek Fąfara came on to replace Alessio Sassini, Sasha Arshakian and Rohit Chandran.
Instant Impact
Two minutes into injury time, Latino made an instant impact with the third goal. It all started with Malonga regaining possession and finding Chardal out wide with a pass. The mercurial Moroccan hit a sublime through ball over the defence, with Latino elegantly chesting the ball down beyond the last man and running through on goal. With just the keeper to beat, the Italian blasted a vicious left footed effort into the top corner for 3-0.
Nearly A Fourth
Straight from kick off, Juvenia came at the Dragoons but their final pass let them down. Muñoz picked up an overhit forward pass and rolled the ball out to his defence. The Expats worked the ball up the field with Chardal taking possession and cutting into the centre of the park. The midfielder showed excellent vision and execution to dissect the Juvenia backline with a precision pass for Święcicki. The winger found himself in on goal at a tight angle, but blasted his effort straight at Walka to save.
A huge kick from the keeper saw Juvenia back on the attack. The Dragoons could not get rid of the danger and the hosts worked the ball down the right side. A dangerous cross came into the Expats box, but too much pace on the ball saw it evade Włodarczyk at the far post.
From the goal-kick, Fąfara launched a forward pass from his own 18 yard box to put Latino through on goal. The Italian looked to burst forward only for an excellent covering tackle by a defender to toe the ball away.
A frantic last few moments of the game came to a close shortly after with the final whistle. The Dragoons secured their first 3 points of the season with a deserved 3-0 victory away from home.
Summary
Whilst fortune had smiled on the Expats on a couple of occasions they had largely dominated the game. The Dragoons did not start particularly fast, but slowly began to make space with their superior quality, with pace and movement being key.
Juvenia failed to press the Dragoons all too often, giving them the time and space to implement their passing game. The home side all too often looked to get the ball forward quickly but really struggled with their final pass.
The Expats on the other hand showed excellent discipline with their shape. Unlike the defeat last weekend, the team moved back and forward with a lot more cohesion. The team often worked hard for each other and improved their chance creation resulting in 3 goals.
Next Up
The Dragoons next fixture sees Zawisza Sulechów travel to Prądniczanka for the Expats first home game of the season.
Zawisa started in C Klasa in 2014/15, spending two seasons at that level before securing promotion to B Klasa. A second placed finish in 20/21 saw them promoted to A Klasa for the first time, with the side finishing 2 places above the relegation spots in 13th place last term.
They have started the season brightly this time around, drawing their opening game 1-1 against Czarni 03 Grzegorzowice and defeating Sparta Skrzeszowice 2-1 this past weekend.
Zawisa currently sit in 5th position in the table and should provide a good test for the 9th placed Expats.
