Recap
Two-Minute Turnaround
The Dragoons produced a resilient second-half performance to overturn a half-time deficit and claim a deserved 2-1 victory away to LKS Błękitni II Modlnica.
Line Up
Hugo Cruz reverted back to his trusted 4-3-3 formation as the Head Coach made changes to the side that lost 3-2 against Płomień Jerzmanowice last weekend.
🐉 MATCHDAY XI 🐉
The Dragoons are looking to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing defeat.
This is the team Hugo Cruz 🇵🇹 has picked to do battle today 👇
🧤 GK: 🇵🇱
🛡️ DEF: 🇦🇷 🇵🇱 🏴 🇵🇱
⚙️ MID: 🇨🇴 🇫🇮🇮🇹 🇨🇩
🔥 FWD: 🇵🇱 🇮🇱 🇮🇳 #COYD 💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/ZweAHQqJuE— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 27, 2025
The first change came in between the posts as Marcin Obyrtacz returned to the team in the place of Gabriel Muñoz. In defence, Michael Syska-Lamb dropped to the bench. Roman Bilovol, Szymon Urzędowski, Kuba Drobny and Josh Dawson all kept their places in a back four.
Enrico Forabosco and Corneille Malonga kept their places in the midfield with Stiven Campo joining them for his first start.
Rohit Chandran moved from the middle to the left wing, with Jan Kołodziejski switching to the right wing. Yuri Samyonov started as lone attacker as the Expats looked to bounce back.
Kick Off
A game between two good footballing sides started with both sides looking to get ball moving quickly and work each others defences.
In their first real attack of the game, the Expats forced a corner that Enrico Forabosco swung into the box. No one could make a telling touch and the ball was worked back out to the Italian midfielder. Forabosco sent a cross towards the near post and Yuri Samyonov got to the ball first. However, the Israeli could not get his header or target, sending the ball just wide from a tight angle.
Moments after, Błękitni managed to breach the Dragoons’ defence with a neat passing move. An attacker found himself with the freedom of the right wing and ran through on goal. Fortunately, Marcin Obyrtacz closed down the angle well and stood strong to block the attempt at goal.
Close to an Opener!
With 8 minutes played, the Dragoons came a whisker away from going in front. Good forward pressing saw the Expats box Błękitni in their first quarter and forced them into a mistake. Corneille Malonga reacted quickly to steal the ball off the toes of the last man to go through on goal. However, the Congolese pocket dynamo could only watch on as his low shot slipped just past the post.
As the clocked ticked down, neither side could get the upper hand. The Dragoons got forward well but could not find a telling pass or test the Błękitni keeper. The hosts too looked dangerous on the counter, but the Expats defended well to protect Obyrtacz’s goal.
In the 21st minute, the Expats managed to work the keeper through Rohit Chandran. The Indian whirlwind found himself in space on the edge of the box to receive Samyonov’s pass. Chandran arched a curling shot towards the top corner, but the keeper proved equal to the attempt, plucking it out of the air with a catch.
Over the Bar!
With 24 minutes played, a lovely cross-field pass from Malonga found Kołodziejski free in an advanced position. The Polish forward tried to fashion a shooting chance for himself, with a defender poking the ball as far as Stiven Campo. The Colombian saw his effort blocked and the ball fell to Chandran who needed two bites of the cherry to a cross into the box after his first attempt was blocked. The ball went through a tree of legs in the penalty area before falling to Forabosco. The midfield magician looked in a good position to score, but could only whack his effort over the bar.
Despite having had the better of the game, the Dragoons began to lose their shape and rhythm midway through the half. Misplaced passes and lapses in concentration allowed the hosts to grow into the game.
Błękitni started to get their foot on the ball more and began threatening the Dragoons backline. A great chance fell to the hosts with five minutes of the half remaining. Neat passing saw the ball worked behind the Expats defence and a shot from the corner of the box flew over Obyrtacz’s bar.
Błękitni Come Close
With the game ticking towards the end of the half, Błękitni really ought have opened the scoring. A quick attack down the right saw a through-ball played beyond the Dragoons defence as the hosts flooded the box. A low pass found an opponent unmarked 8 metres from goal, but a heroic goal saving block from Kuba Drobny prevented a golden chance.
However, the danger did not pass as the loose ball fell straight to a Błękitni man for a chance on the rebound. On this occasion, a weak effort came at goal, with Marcin Obyrtacz sprawling across his goal to somehow keep the Dragoons level.
The Hosts Lead Late On
It looked like the sides would go into the break level, but the hosts had the final say and took the lead on the stroke of half time. A foul on the halfway line saw Błękitni whack a free-kick over the heads of the Dragoons defence. Brajan Bańdo took advantage to nip onto the ball first and just got enough on the ball to steer it past the bewildered Obyrtacz to put the hosts ahead.
The whistle blew immediately after the goal with the Expats left kicking themselves after such a positive first 25 minutes. The Dragoons cut a frustrated figure as they sat in the dressing room trying to decipher how they had conceded such a sloppy goal. Captain Enrico Forabosco had some strong words with the team at the break with Hugo Cruz following up with a passionate and energetic speech.
Second Half
In an attempt to re-assert control of the match, the Dragoons Portuguese Head Coach made one change at the break. Stiven Campo departed the game with the Dutchmeester Rob Smits starting the second half.
Straight from kick-off the Dragoons showed a invigored energy, pressing quickly to try and enforce a mistake from the Błękitni defence.
The Expats started the half strongly and on 52 minutes, Smits had his first involvement in the game. Kuba Drobny put a ball out wide to find Samyonov in acres of space. The Israeli slotted a neat pass for Smits to run onto beyond the hosts’ defence. The midfield metronome had a great opportunity to shot, however, pulled the ball back across goal and with no Dragoons man there, the Błękitni gratefully gobbled up the chance.
The Dragoons Turn the Screw
Almost immediately, the Dragoons went back on the offensive as the hosts could not keep the ball. Forabosco’s long pass found Kołodziejski on the right side of the box and the attacker passed back to Bilovol. A cross into the box found Smits free, however, his goal bound effort took a deflection off a defender and went over the bar.
The resulting corner saw Drobny connect with Forabosco’s kick, but the Polish defender could guide his powerful headed effort on target.
Still the Expats came forward with Chandran dazzling the defence with a trademark mazy run. A foul halted his progress and Forabosco’s free-kick just missed the outstretched boot of Kołodziejski.
Hugo Cruz was forced into a change immediately after as Josh Dawson was forced off with a groin issue. The returning Brian Lemmen took his place with the Dutchman making his first appearance after the winter break.
Malonga Magic
Błękitni struggled to get into the game but continued to try and build from the back. However, the Dragoons smelt blood and excellent pressing from Corneille Malonga saw the midfielder expertly win the ball back in centre of the park. The Congolese midfielder immediately laid a pass into Smits who broke the offside trap with his run to get behind the defence. The Dutchmeester crossed directly into the path of Malonga’s forward run, with the pocket dynamo allowed to take a touch and poke the ball beyond the keeper and into the net for a deserved equaliser.
⚡️ Magnificent Malonga!
Relentless pressing, pinpoint passing, and a cool finish! 💪
Corneille Malonga 🇨🇩 won the ball high up the pitch before feeding Rob Smits 🇳🇱 with a through pass. The Dutchmeester crossed, and Corny slotted home to draw the Dragoons level! ⚽️#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/vkXUPEfT4S
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 30, 2025
A Quickfire Double!
Just two minutes later, the Dragoons grabbed a second goal to take the lead. Malonga was involved once again, winning the ball and getting the Dragoons moving. Forabosco sent a long pass into Chandran on the wing with Indian Whirlwind taking a touch to take it into his control. Chandran jinked passed a defender with a drop of the shoulder and sent an inviting cross into the box. The ball landed knee height for left-back Szymon Urzędowski, who found himself in nosebleed territory eight metres from goal. The utilityman channelled his inner Bergkamp, taking the ball down with a scintillating first touch on the turn, before absolutely lashing the ball into the roof of the net for 2-1. So shocked at scoring, the Kama Sutra King failed to even celebrate a vital goal for the Expats!
🪄 A Touch of Class!
Szymon Urzędowski 🇵🇱 finds himself in nosebleed territory, takes a Berkampesque first touch on the turn, and absolutely lashes it into the roof of the goal! 💥
What a hit to win the game by the Kama Sutra King! 👑😮💨#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/f1sCwdWDyy
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 30, 2025
With 20 minutes of the game left to play, and with the game under control the Dragoons made their second change of the game. Captain Enrico Forobosco, playing through the pain barrier, slowly made his way off the pitch with Gracjan Bałuch entering to give the Expats further energy.
Dragoons Hold On… Just
Bałuch found himself involved almost instantly as the hosts caught the Expats high and broke through the defence. It looked certain that Błękitni would equalise as a forward bore down on goal leaving the Dragoons trailing in his wake. However, the attacker took an ungodly amount of time to shoot allowing Obrytacz to close the angle, with Bałuch showing excellent acceleration to pressure the Błękitni man to fluff his lines and end up fouling the Expats’ shot-stopper.
Four minutes later, the hosts squandered another excellent chance to level the game. A pass beyond the defence saw Lemmen commit to a slide and could not stop it reaching an attacker. A pass found a second attacking player in space on the edge of the box, but the incoming shot flew wide from the goal. A rather fortunate escape for Hugo Cruz’s men!
The Dragoons began to lose their foothold in the game and despite hitting the hosts on the counter, could not find the final pass. Despite Błękitni seeing more of the ball, they could not find a way past a stubborn Dragoons rearguard.
The Legend Returns
With 10 minutes left to play, the Dragoons threw their last roll of the dice with a triple change. Kuba Drobny, Jan Kołodziejski and Yuri Samyonov all made ways as Hugo Cruz looked to preserve his side’s lead. On to the pitch came Michael Syska-Lamb, Alejandro Pascual and a welcome appearance from club legend Dani Silva. A true original, the Portuguese took to the pitch to keep up his record of appearing in every season since the Dragoons inception in the 2019/20 season.
The Dragoons defended with resilience as as the hosts threw bodies forward in a search of an equaliser. Syska-Lamb made a vital block to take the sting out of a shot that rolled comfortably into the arms of Obyrtacz.
Tempers Flare
As the clock struck 90 minutes, the game began to get a little heated as the Expats ran the clock down a little too slowly than the hosts expected. After a coming together with a substituted player, Roman Bilovol went down as temperature rose by the Błękitni bench with a red card shown to the perpetrator. Bizarrely, Dani Silva picked up a caution too, despite being nowhere near a touchline scuffle as tempers flared. Pascual was also booked deep into injury time but the Expats held on as the final whistle soon blew.
A second-half show of character and determination saw the Dragoons take a well-deserved victory, claiming a vital and hard-fought three points away from home.
Credit to Błękitni a young side, who try and play the game in the correct way. Fortunately, the Dragoons were able to find their mojo in the second half and get the win.
🏅 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 🏅
A huge congratulations to Rob Smits 🇳🇱 — our Dutchmeester takes home the honours after an outstanding performance against Błękitni II Modlnica!
Bravo Rob 👊#COYD 💙🖤
Big Thanks to Piotr Patej – https://t.co/bhKnaxilxL for the photo 📷 pic.twitter.com/0gFBFY2mGZ
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 28, 2025
Next Up
The Dragoons have a rare Monday evening fixture in their next game. The team take to their travels once again to face off against 8th placed LKS Zieleńczanka II Zielonki.
Another fairly young side, the previous meeting saw the Dragoons run away with a 6-0 victory. The Expats went into the break 2-0 up through long-range strikes from Błażej Święcicki and Roman Bilovol. Fernando Gámez missed a penalty, however, goals three and four soon came through an own goal and Szymon Urzędowski grabbing his first of the season. Vałdzis Fuhaš bagged the fifth and sixth late on to cap a fine cameo performance from off the bench.
Zieleńczanka are 9 points behind the Expats with a record of 7 wins, 3 draws and 9 defeats so far this season.
