Recap
Spoils Shared
The Dragoons battled to a 1-1 draw against a well-drilled Błękitni Modlnica side to extend their unbeaten run to 3 games.
Despite missing several key players due to illness and injury, the Expats had to come from behind to secure a valuable point in what was a gritty and hard-fought contest.
Hugo Cruz named a much changed side to that who beat Płomień Jerzmanowice the previous week with 14 players unavailable.
Marcin Obyrtacz deputised between the posts once again, with Brian Lemmen replacing Kuba Drobny in defence. The Dutchman lined up alongside Simon Calabrese with Roman Bilovol and Francesco Leuci remaining at right and left back. The Italian full-back had been a slight doubt for the game, but recovered enough to make the lineup.
Enrico Forabosco returned to captain the side, with Szymon Urzędowski coming into the team alongside the Italian. The midfield duo paired with Emre Çolakoğlu who remained in the side to start his second consecutive game.
Martin Voženílek and Yuri Samyonov both missed the game, with Rohit Chandran keeping his place to start wide left. Vałdzis Fuhaš started for the first time this campaign, with Fernando Gámez moving out to wide right. Unfortunately, the Canarian King felt a muscle strain in the warmup, which would sadly hinder him throughout the match.
Kick Off
The visitors made their intentions clear early on, forcing the Dragoons’ goalkeeper, Marcin Obyrtacz, into action in just the 6th minute. The Dragoons keeper saved the side from going behind with his leg, with Bilovol clearing the danger.
Early Siege by Błękitni
Obyrtacz was called into action again at the 10-minute mark, as the Dragoons found themselves under pressure. A defensive lapse allowed a Błękitni forward through, but Obyrtacz stood firm, keeping the game goalless.
The visitors continued to dominate however, as a cross found an unmarked attacker in the box at 15 minutes. Thankfully for the Dragoons, a combination of heavy touch and Marcin Obyrtacz forced the Błękitni man wide and Brian Lemmen was on hand to clear a tame shot off the line.
The visitors continued to pile on the pressure, and in the 25th minute, Obyrtacz made a flying save to deny a cross-shot. The Dragoons had struggled to get a foothold in the first half thus far, with the visitors creating the better of the chances.
The Dragoons Gain A Foothold
However, as the game progressed, the Expats began to grow into the game and began to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, chances remained at a premium with Simon Calabrese unable to direct an attempt on target from a cross into the box.
Whilst the Dragoons had began to dominate the ball, they struggled with the final pass to really stretch the visiting defence.
The Dragoons’ best chance of the first half came in the 44th minute when Vałdzis Fuhaš struck a thunderous effort from outside the box, forcing Stanisław Rusinek to fly across goal and push the shot onto his own bar.
At halftime, it remained 0-0, with Błękitni having the better of the early stages but the Dragoons growing into the game as the half progressed.
Second Half
The second half began with the Dragoons trying to find their rhythm. An early free-kick saw a shooting chance for Enrico Forabosco, however, the midfield magician failed to find the target.
An open game game saw both sides make changes in an attempt to gain the upper hand to break the deadlock.
Błękitni Strike First
However, in the 65th minute, a beautifully timed through ball split the Dragoons’ defence, leaving Obyrtacz stranded as Patryk Lisewski rounded the keeper and tucked away the game’s opening goal.
With Francesco Leuci unable to continue, Hugo Cruz changed formation to go to a back three with Kuba Drobny entering the game two minutes after the goal.
The Dragoons Hit Back
The Dragoons refused to lie down and fired back to equalise 10 minutes later with Drobny heavily involved. The Polish defender saw his header from a corner touched onto the bar by Rusinek. Fortunately, Calabrese reacted quickly to bundle home the rebound from close range to level the game at 1-1. The Italian wheeled in celebration after netting his third goal of the season!
SUPER SI 🦸♂️
Simon Calabrese 🇮🇹 found himself in the right place at the right time to bundle home the Dragoons’ equaliser after Kuba Drobny’s 🇵🇱 effort hit the bar 🎯#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/pZNSWI3xkJ
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) October 1, 2024
Straight after the goal, Błękitni thought they had restored their lead when a pass across goal was converted after beating the Dragoons’ backline. However, the linesman’s flag went up for offside, much to the relief of the Expats.
A late opportunity for the visitors to retake the lead almost broke Dragoons’ hearts in the 90th minute. A long-range shot forced Obyrtacz into a save, as he awkwardly pushed the ball over his own crossbar.
THE WALL 🧤
Marcin Obyrtacz 🇵🇱 came to the Dragoons rescue in the first half and was ably assisted by Brian Lemmen 🇳🇱 in keeping the game level in the early stages of Saturday’s game.#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/ZaxKCfCiJN
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) October 1, 2024
Chance For A Winner
But the biggest chance of all came right at the death when a great pass from Forabosco found Barry Chowaniec one-on-one with the Błękitni keeper. The Dragoons’ forward seemed certain to score, but Rusinek advanced off his line to pull off a crucial save, denying the Expats what would have been a last-gasp winner.
HEART STOPPING MOMENT 🚨
Barry Chowaniec 🇵🇱 latched onto Enrico Forabosco’s 🇮🇹 excellent pass but a save from the keeper denied the in form striker with only seconds of the game remaining 😱💔#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/ZH7uz0Sbdq
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) October 1, 2024
Moments later, the final whistle blew with the spoils shared between the two sides. It had been an entertaining game with neither side able to find a way past the other.
In the end, a 1-1 draw felt like a fair result. The Dragoons showed tremendous fight to come from behind, and showed good resilience to fight back.
Despite a positive result, the Dragoons lost ground on the top of the table and drop a place to sixth position in the league standings.
Coach’s Corner
Hugo Cruz was philosophical in reflecting back on the game, “It was an open game against a team with a positive attitude inside and outside the pitch. Both teams wanted to play football and at the end it was an entertaining game full of lessons to learn. Their young lads gave us a lot of trouble in the quick transitions. They exploited the space between lines to enable their fast attackers to create a lot of danger. We survived the danger by defending resiliently and people sometimes forget the goalkeeper is also an important position. In our case, he had many opportunities to show his level to help keep us in the game in the early stages.
When we started to impose our game plan, play more to feet and stopped aimless passes into space, we began to control the game and started to exploit the space in between their lines. We saw some good combination play but too often we lacked the final pass to make the difference. It was especially required against a team that had two quick centre backs.
In the second half, we were more pragmatic, played our game and controlled the ball. I felt we conceded the goal against the run of play in a quick transition. It was a bit frustrating as I felt that we had been in control of the game up until that point.
However, we continued to push despite suffering fatigue and injuries. We was forced into an unfamiliar formation change, but we still created danger to score enough goals to win the match”.
Summary
Hugo continued, “I was happy to see some of the drills from training utilised out on the pitch in attacking scenarios. But disappointed to see some of the good connections and dynamics we had during the game not rewarded because of simple but important details.
I felt we adapted our game to suit our strengths. Our players showed a lot of adaptability, attitude and resilience especially those playing in limited physical conditions. Everyone entering from the bench responded well and we showed that given the right circumstances we can stand up against the teams at the top of the league.
To sum up, it is what I would call a sweet and sour result. Sweet, because looking at the conditions we had to deal with and looking at the players attitude, I know we have everything to improve and compete with the best. Sour, because even though a draw is an acceptable result, I felt we deserved the 3 points.
We will continue to work and have fun in the pitch to bring the 3 points home next week”.
Next Up
The Dragoons take to their travels next Saturday for an early kick-off against LKS Zieleńczanka II Zielonki.
It will be the first time the two sides have met, but a return to familiar stomping ground for Michał Nowak and Kuba Drobny. The Polish pair previously played for Zieleńczanka’s first team prior to joining the Expats.
Zielonki are currently three points behind the Expats, however, have played two fixtures more. They have won twice, drawn once and lost four games this season, scoring nine and conceding 12 goals.
