Recap
Demolition Job
A third game in seven days saw the Expats take on bottom side Bratniak at Prądniczanka this past Sunday. The game would be an away match for the Expats who share the same home pitch as our opponents.
With injuries affecting the side, Hugo Cruz made 6 changes to the side that lost against Galicja Raciborowice during the week.
The first change between the posts saw Lorenzo Bartolomei take the number one jersey to replace the unavailable Marcin Obyrtacz.
Wholesale changes to the defence saw right back Szymon Urzędowski, centre backs Simon Calabrese and Michael Syska-Lamb line-up alongside Josh Dawson. The Englishman moved to left back with Kuba Drobny and Roman Bilovol dropping to the bench with Piotr Hajnrych missing out due to injury.
Meanwhile, Omar Atzori returned to action to replace the injured Mark Szczesnowicz to partner Enrico Forabosco and Jan Krzyżanowski in midfield.
Barry Chowaniec continued once again in attack, flanked by Martin Voženílek on the left and Francesco Leuci on the right as Rohit Chandran started on the substitutes bench.
Kick Off
After a run of four straight defeats, the Dragoons showed their determination to end their losing streak from the start. The Expats created the first opportunity in only two minutes as the newlywed Martin Voženílek received a pass inside the box from Forabosco. The Czech stabbed the ball toward goal, but saw a good chance cleared away from inside the six yard box.
Quick Start From The Dragoons
Less than a minute later, the Expats saw their rapid start rewarded with the first goal. Szymon Urzedowski found himself advanced in the Bratniak half and picked out Francesco Leuci on the wing. The Italian ran past two opponents to get into the box and struck a left-footed effort under goalkeeper Tomasz Galganek for his second goal of the season.
Dragoons At The Double
Just six minutes into the match, the Dragoons won a penalty through Barry Chowaniec. The striker accelerated through the area and had his heels clipped with the referee instantly pointing to the spot. Enrico Forabosco stepped up to take the kick and sent Galganek the wrong way to double the lead to 2-0.
Three Is The Magic Number
A third goal followed with just 9 minutes on the clock as the Dragoons started the game with a bang. On this occasion, the Expats won a free-kick on the edge of the box, with Forabosco being tripped. Omar Atzori lined up the kick and sent a vicious low effort, that squirmed under the shellshocked Galganek and into the net.
Bratniak Pull One Back
A period of calmness lasted less than 10 minutes as Bratniak pulled a goal back. Poor play at the back saw the Dragoons gift possession to Kacper Chmiel. The number 9 put the ball across the box to Rafał Dąbrowicz who struck past Bartolomei to reduce the score to 3-1.
Moments later, the hosts almost immediately pulled back a second goal. Fortunately however, Bratniak failed take advantage of the chance and an incoming shot drifted wide.
The Dragoons began to regain their composure after a momentary lapse in concentration and looked to dominate possession. A further chance came in the 26th minute with Josh Dawson finding himself in an advanced position. A cross from the right came to the defender, however, he could only lunge at the ball with an outstretched leg. Dawson managed to get a toe to make a connection, but not enough of a touch to trouble Galganek.
Shortly after, a stiflingly hot afternoon saw a quick break for the players to take on water. Hugo Cruz remonstrated with his team to keep up the tempo and to concentrate better.
Into the 35th minute of the game, the Dragoons created another chance to further extend their lead. A corner from Forabosco found the head of Dawson inside the six yard box. The ForaDawson combo has been lethal on occasions, however, this time the Englishman could not find the target.
Czechmate
Five minutes after the water break, the Expats won their second penalty of the game. Dawson found himself with acres of space to run into and slotted a pass to Voženílek. The Czech looked to beat a defender, but a poorly timed sliding tackle sent the winger sprawling. Voženílek dusted himself down to take the kick himself and slotted the ball under Galganek to bring the score to 4-1. The very recently married speedster caused a moment of amusement with his celebration. Running to the crowd, where his lovely new wife sat, Voženílek celebrated the goal with a sweetly intended ring on the finger celebration, only for it to appear more like an x-rated motion to confirm the consummation of their marriage… Romance at its best.
Forabosco Fantastico
Anyway, back to the action and the Expats scored a quickfire fifth less than a minute after Voženílek’s shenanigans with the crowd. A cross from the left by Leuci saw Dawson get the slightest of touches to the ball. It fell to Forabosco who showed a great touch to bring the ball under control, swivelling and smashing a shot past Galganek for 5-1.
Bratniak Score Again
The hosts would have the last say of the half, however. Into injury time, nice passing football saw Chmiel backheel into Dąbrowicz, who knocked it past the defence and ran towards goal from the half way line. Simon Calabrese sprinted after the Bratniak forward as he shaped to shoot and unintentionally diverted the ball past his own keeper to gift the bottom side a lifeline.
Seconds after the goal, the referee ended the half with the Dragoons 5-2 ahead. A strong performance by the team had seen them start positively to take the game away from Bratniak. The only disappointing thing for Hugo Cruz would be the defensive errors leading to the host’s scoring twice.
Second Half
The Expats made one change at the break with Francesco Leuci being withdrawn for Rohit Chandran. Bratniak also made a change at the break, with the legendary 77 year old Andrzej Piwowarczyk making way.
Bratniak looked to start the half quickly, however, the Expats quickly strangled any chance of a way back.
Instant Impact
The Dragoons first real attack of the half resulted with an immediate impact by Chandran adding a sixth on 49 minutes. A delightfully clipped pass from Forabosco found Voženílek in behind the defence. The winger crossed into the 6 yard box, with Chandran getting to the ball first and diverting it into the net past the grounded Galganek for his fourth goal of the season.
Six almost became seven only one minute later. Excellent spreading of the play saw the Expats move the ball quickly like a warm knife through butter. Lovely one touch football resulted in Forabosco laying in a marvellous pass for Chowaniec. The striker managed to roll the ball past the advanced Galganek from a tight angle, but couldn’t find the target.
Dragoons Live Dangerously
On 54 minutes, sloppy play from the Dragoons almost gifted Bratniak a third goal. The Expats, content with keeping possession, knocked the ball around at the back inviting pressure. An interception by substitute Jorge Oroczo saw him sprint beyond the Dragoons defence towards goal. Syska-Lamb slid in to force the Colombian to shoot quickly, with Oroczo sending a fierce effort narrowly past the post.
Bratniak looked to continue to exploit the Dragoons but could not find a way through. A poor touch from a Bratniak man from a Dragoons clearance saw Forabosco lay a pass into Voženílek. The Czech sped down the right flank before halting his run once he entered the box and looking up to find a pass. The winger laid a return pass into the path of Forabosco, who failed to make a telling connection to his shot but forced Galganek into a sprawling save nonetheless.
Ringing The Changes
As the game reached the hour mark, Hugo Cruz decided to make four substitutions in one go. Kuba Drobny, Yuri Samyonov, Yasin Civelek and Vałdzis Fuhaš all entered the game to replace Michael Lamb, Josh Dawson, Martin Voženílek and Barry Chowaniec.
The Dragoons worked Galganek once again with 64 minutes on the clock. Forabosco combined with the newly introduced Fuhaš, with the substitute controlling a pass with his chest. Fuhaš found himself under no pressure and elected to turn and shoot from range. The forward hit the ball sweetly, however, drove straight at the beleaguered keeper to save comfortably.
Forabosco showed his class yet again just a minute later. The midfield magician took possession from off the defence and showed expert vision to pinpoint a pass straight into Samyonov’s feet. The Israeli controlled well, rolling the ball past a defender before setting up Fuhaš for a shot. The man from no state side-footed a first-time effort at goal, but failed to hit the target from a good position.
Into the 68th minute, the Dragoons worked the Bratniak custodian with another shot from range. Omar Atzori playing an unsung role at the base of midfield decided to have a shot from 35 metres. The Italian struck the ball beautifully and forced Galganek to firmly palm the ball over his own bar. From the following corner, Fuhaš did well to peel away from his marker to get his head to the ball, but could only watch on as it dropped wide of the goal.
Seventh Heaven
The Dragoons finally grabbed a seventh goal with 70 minutes on the clock. Rohit Chandran pressed high to toe the ball off of a defender towards Samyonov. The Israeli backheeled a return pass for the Indian who sprinted into the penalty box. Chandran took a touch too many under pressure from the Bratniak defence, with Galganek diving at the feet of the attacker. The Indian regained possession back, however, and laid a pass to Samyonov, who unselfishly passed back to the open Chandran to calmly stroke a shot into the net from close range for his 20th goal for the Dragoons.
Immediately after the goal Cruz shuffled his pack once more with a double change. Sasha Arshakian and Roman Bilovol entered the field with Simon Calabrese and the fabulous Forabosco leaving the game.
Jonny On The Spot
With 12 minutes left to play, a poor back pass lead to the Dragoons scoring their 8th goal of the match. Yuri Samyonov showed great instinct to read a back-pass and got to the ball ahead of Galganek. The Israeli stepped past the stranded custodian and rolled the ball into the net from the tightest of angles.
Demolition
Samyonov turned provider for the second time less than two minutes later as the Expats secured their eighth goal. On this occasion, Urzędowski took possession from Atzori and laid a forward pass with the Israeli in space. The full-back continued his run forward as a decoy, with Fuhaš bursting into space for a pass. Samyonov put the ball on a plate for Fuhaš, who applied the finish to score his fourth of the season.
Cruz, like an Emperor in an amphitheatre, stoically gave the thumb down, asking for more from his team despite their massive lead. The Portuguese smelt blood and ruthlessly wanted his team to play for the full 90 minutes and further punish the opponents.
The Expats listened and almost instantly scored again, only for Galganek to make an excellent point-blank save. An Atzori free-kick from deep, saw Samyonov flick the ball wide of the goal. Fuhaš managed to keep it in play and laid a pass into Arshakian. The Ukrainian slid into the ball from inside the six yard box, only for the keeper to somehow make an outstanding stop and push the attempt onto the post.
Still the Dragoons roared towards goal as Urzędowski fed a pass into Samyonov’s feet on the edge of the area. The forward turned with the ball, but hit his attempt straight at the keeper to save.
The Excellence of Execution
Immediately after in the 83rd minute, the Expats struck again to secure their 10th goal of the game. Atzori brought down an aimless clearance and displayed intricate one-touch, pass and move football with Samyonov. The irrepressible Israeli touched the ball onto Chandran, who executed a sweet finish inside the area to complete his hat-trick.
Flying Like A Salmyonov
At 10-2 Cruz still called for more from his team despite it being long over as a contest. Atzori, the beating heart of the midfield started the move which lead to the Dragoons 11th and final goal on 86 minutes. The Italian passed to Krzyżanowski, who in turn picked out the darting run down the flank of Fuhaš. An excellent cross came into the Bratniak box, with Samyonov throwing himself like a salmon at the ball to score with a brilliant flying header.
The Expats continued to pour forward in numbers with Arshakian running almost the length of the half before scything down an opponent to earn a yellow card.
Into the last minute, the final chance of the game saw Krzyżanowski lay the ball back to Urzędowski to shoot. The Polish full-back smacked the ball at goal, which stung the hands of Galganek to save.
The shot attempt proved to be the last action of the half as the referee ended the game to put Bratniak out of their misery. The Dragoons did wonders for their goal difference to complete a demolition job to secure victory. Much tougher days lay in wait for the Dragoons, who must take confidence into their remaining matches.
Cruz’s team remain in 9th place, climbing to 24 points, 4 behind 8th placed Victoria Smroków and 4 points above Czarni 03 Grzegorzowice.
Next Up
A tough match awaits the Dragoons in their next fixture as 2nd placed Wanda Kraków travel to Prądniczanka on Saturday.
Wanda have been in fine form, winning all six of their matches following the winter break. Wanda currently have a game in hand and sit six points behind the league leaders Michałowianka Michałowice. They have won 16, drawn twice and lost once this season and comfortably defeated the Expats 2-0 back in October.
Saturday’s match will be the fourth encounter between the two sides with Wanda winning two and the Dragoons winning once previously.
