Recap
A Placid Performance
A rainy Saturday afternoon saw a tough game for the Dragoons as 2nd placed Wanda Kraków visited Prądniczanka. With the Expats picking up a welcome win 11-2 against Bratniak last week, the side went into the game confident.
The Dragoons made six changes to the side with Marcin Obyrtacz starting in goal ahead of Lorenzo Bartolomei.
Michael Syska-Lamb dropped out of the squad and Kuba Drobny took his place in central defence to partner Simon Calabrese. Roman Bilovol also returned to the first XI, replacing Szymon Urzędowski who dropped to the bench. Josh Dawson completed the defence, slotting in at left-back for a consecutive week.
Into the midfield, Brian Lemmen returned to the side with Omar Atzori and Jan Krzyżanowski keeping their places in the side.
Enrico Forabosco started on the right side of the front three, with Vałdzis Fuhaš and Flavio Nkola coming into the team. Both Barry Chowaniec and Francesco Leuci missed out due to being unavailable, whilst Martin Voženílek dropped to the bench.
Kick Off
A quick start by the Dragoons produced the game’s first shot in the early stages. A free-kick into the box saw a defensive header go towards Nkola on the edge of the box. The Angolan struggled to get the ball under his control but managed to nudge it to Krzyżanowski. The Polish midfielder hit a shot at goal that took a deflection and bounced wide of the goal for a corner that came to nothing.
Wanda started to see more of the ball and began to gain control of the game. Into the 7th minute, an exploratory long-pass forward saw Piotr Bagnicki manoeuvre behind the Dragoons’ defence. The burly attacker ran into the box and cut a pass back towards Jakub Kwiecień just outside the 6-yard box. The visiting attacker pulled the trigger only for Josh Dawson to get in the way and block the chance away.
The Dragoons struggled to leave their half as Wanda searched for a weakness in the Expats’ armour. The visitors moved the ball around quickly and looked to work the ball over the Dragoons’ full-backs and get overloads on the flanks.
On 13 minutes, Wanda managed to get an overload on their left wing and Nikoloz Meladze crossed into the box. The ball landed at the feet of the dangerous Bagnicki, however, the striker blasted over from close range.
The visitors moved the ball quickly, leaving the Dragoons to chase shadows. Wanda attempted to get the ball into their flanks each time and cross towards Bagnicki. The Dragoons’ central defenders struggled to pick up the lumbering striker, who easily found space in the box.
Visitors Break The Deadlock
Wanda continued to pull the Dragoons’ defence from left to right and opened the scoring on 17 minutes. The Expats failed to heed the warning signs as a long switched pass found Meladze in space behind Bilovol. The Georgian had two options to find and passed to Dariusz Mielec on the edge of the box. The midfielder had time and space to pick his spot and sent a curling shot into the top corner of the net.
An Instant Riposte
Despite being second best in the early stages, the Dragoons hit back with an immediate equaliser two minutes later. A throw from Dawson landed at the feet of Atzori, who shrugged off the attention of two players to find Krzyżanowski. The youngster took a touch and instantly put a pass through a defender’s legs to pick out Forabosco. The midfield magician was unmarked in the box and calmly side-footed past Michał Bartyzel to level the game at 1-1.
The Dragoons missed a glorious chance to take the lead in the 21st minute. Good work from Nkola saw the winger drop into midfield to control a forward pass. The Angolan ran across the middle and switched the play to Bilovol at right back. A clever forward pass found the run of Fuhaš, who sent a searching cross into the box and picked out the run of Forabosco, who sent a volleyed effort straight at Bartyzel. The keeper blocked the attempt with his legs and the rebound fell straight to Nkola. However, the Angolan blasted a shot back at goal that unfortunately cannoned off of Forabosco and Wanda cleared.
With the match level, the Dragoons began to settle down a little. The team managed to get their foot on the ball and pass it around better, but could not keep possession in the Wanda half.
The Visitors Retake The Lead
Despite the Expats showing signs of life in the game, Wanda re-took the lead on 26 minutes. The visitors managed to work the ball out to Meladze with time and space on the flank. The winger put in a beautiful cross under little pressure, as Bagnicki escaped the Dragoons’ defence. The ball landed right on the mark, with Bagnicki cushioning a header past Obyrtacz to lead 2-1.
A Deflected Third
Almost straight from kick-off, the Dragoons struggled to keep the ball and a sliding tackle from Drobny resulted in the referee blowing for a foul 40 metres from the goal. A quickly taken set-piece saw the ball passed short to Łukasz Sikora, who struck an ambitious shot from range. Unfortunately, the shot deflected off Drobny’s outstretched leg, which left Obyrtacz scrambling across his goal but unable to save as the ball bounced wickedly into the net.
Big Chance Missed
The Dragoons responded immediately and passed up a glorious chance to reduce the deficit. A long punt upfield saw Fuhaš flick the ball on perfectly to pick out Nkola. The Angolan found himself with just Bartyzel to beat, however, Nkola struggled to bring the ball under control. With the gap closing, the attacker eventually managed to stab the ball at goal but saw the keeper stop the chance with his legs.
Nothing came of the following corner as the Dragoons continued pressing forward. A foul on Krzyżanowski on the edge of the area saw the Expats have a shooting chance through Forabosco. However, the Italian could not get his shot over the wall and Wanda got the ball away.
On the hour mark, the Dragoons managed to find themselves advanced again. Brian Lemmen expertly rode a challenge and shifted a pass to Fuhaš. The forward tried to work a shooting opportunity but ran into a defender, however, Wanda failed to clear the danger. The loose ball landed at the feet of Krzyżanowski, who missed the target with a side-footed effort.
Dragoons Pressure
Lemmen was again involved with the Dragoons’ next chance with ten minutes of the half to play. On this occasion, the midfielder received a pass from Nkola and found Forabosco to his right. The Italian showed expert vision to slide a pass behind the Wanda defence for Fuhaš to run onto and the striker sent a well-struck effort at goal that Bartyzel smothered comfortably.
Wanda came forward moments later, with a long ball that the Dragoons cut out. However, the visitors easily reclaimed the second ball and shifted a pass to the right flank to Kwiecień. The wide-man cut inside under zero pressure and arched a high cross from a deep position into the Dragoons box. Bagnicki, always on his toes, caught the defence flatfooted with his movement and nodded an effort at goal. On this occasion, Obyrtacz found himself well placed to get behind the effort and saved with his knees.
Half-time came without further incident as the Dragoons trailed 3-1 at the break. Wanda had a clear game plan to overload the flanks and get the ball into the box to Bagnicki. The Expats struggled to contain the passes into the flanks and were pedestrian at best in their pressing. This would need to improve to give them any hope of getting a result from the game.
Second Half
The Dragoons started the second half looking more purposeful but lacked composure in possession.
Wanda looked far more comfortable with the ball and a long pass behind Dawson saw Kwiecień break into the box at an angle. The attacker sent a fierce low cross into the box, but Calabrese got back well to deny Meladze an easy tap-in.
As the rain poured down, neither side could keep the ball. Wanda found themselves in possession in the better areas, however, the Dragoons’ defence managed to soak up and clear the crosses into their box.
Dragoons Gift A Fourth
With 58 minutes on the clock, Wanda increased their lead with the Dragoons practically handing them a goal. A free-kick inside their half saw an aimless punt upfield easily cut out by the visitors. Dawson’s touch failed him as Mielec stepped in and hooked the ball forward back over the Expats’ backline. With Drobny still trundling back from taking the initial free-kick, Bagnicki easily broke the offside trap and expertly lifted the ball over Obyrtacz to bring the score to 1-4.
Quick football from Wanda almost produced a fifth goal just three minutes later. One touch passing easily bypassed the placid ambling of the Expats and a pass down the right side caught out an out-of-sorts defensive line. Kwiecień accelerated beyond the defence and put a pass on a plate for Michał Sidor to finish. Fortunately for the Dragoons, the midfielder skied his attempt with the goal at his mercy.
Another Missed Chance
On 68 minutes, the Dragoons created their best chance of the second half. Forabosco intercepted a pass with his head, and Bilovol nodded the ball forward down the flank. Forabosco raced onto the header and galloped past an attempted tackle to get into the corner of the Wanda box. The Italian elected to chip the ball towards the far post where substitute Voženílek lurked unmarked. With the ball bouncing awkwardly, the Czech decided not to shoot and hooked the ball back towards Nkola. However, the Angolan summed up the Expats’ day by air-kicking an attempted volley and then on the 2nd attempt saw his effort blocked by a defender.
With 20 minutes to play, Wanda left-back Paweł Salamon found himself in an advanced position and tried a shot from range. The effort swerved through the air, however, Obyrtacz flung himself to his left to push it out for a corner. The Expats failed to clear their lines from the following corner, but a weak header at goal saw Obyrtacz easily save.
Training Game For Wanda
The game began to have a training game feel with Wanda in complete domination. The visitors looked composed in possession, calmly knocking the ball around and continuing to look to exploit the width. The Expats on the other hand treated the ball like a boiling hot potato. The Dragoons ‘ downfall would again be a real lack of composure on the ball and an inability to exploit any area of the pitch.
Into the 81st minute, Wanda saw the post deny an emphatic fifth goal. A long ball forward exposed the Dragoons’ awful defensive line with Kwiecień getting to it first. The Wanda attacker danced his way past the attention of Calabrese and saw his effort smack the woodwork.
A few moments later, Wanda came close again through Salamon. The full-back cut inside from the flank and waltzed inside past the statuesque Dragoons. Salamon struck a fierce drive from a distance, however, the shot failed to work Obyrtacz and flew just over the goal.
Free-Kick Chance
The Dragoons had a late chance to grab a second goal after a foul on Nkola just outside the penalty area. The Angolan dusted himself down to take the free-kick, but could only strike straight at Bartyzel to save.
No real chances came for either side as the last five minutes passed without incident. A poor showing in the second half condemned the Dragoons to their eleventh defeat of the season and left them in 9th position. Wanda remains in 2nd place and six points off of the top spot. The visitors showed superior fitness and physicality, precisely executing their game plan. They showed why they are one of the best teams in the division and thoroughly deserved their victory.
Meanwhile, a placid performance from the Expats saw them look scared in possession and an inability to keep the ball higher up the pitch exposed their defensive frailties. Sometimes, teams need to find a way to win games and perhaps a change in tact may help the Dragoons become harder to beat.
Next Up
A vast improvement is needed in the Dragoons’ next fixture against 6th-placed KS Prądniczanka II. The Expats are 10 points behind their next opponents, who have won 11 times, drawn once and lost on 9 occasions this season. Prądniczanka have scored 53 goals, conceded 46 and are currently undefeated in their last two matches.
Last time out the Dragoons fell to a 3-2 defeat. Prądniczanka took the lead early on, however, two quick goals through Forabosco and Nkola saw the Expats lead at the break. An early second-half goal saw Prądniczanka equalise and they punished the Expats with a last-minute goal to take the points.
