Recap
Points Shared
The Krakow Dragoons earned a hard-fought draw against Trzebol this weekend in a display of true maturity and grit. Trzebol, fighting for the title made light work of the Expats the last time the two sides met, but would find this more recent encounter much tougher.
Following a strong showing in the 4-3 victory over Radziszowianka II last weekend, Head Coach Gonçalo Ferreira made only one tactical adjustment to his starting eleven for this crucial encounter.
⚽️ 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐔𝐏 ⚽️
The squad is locked in! 🔒
Head Coach Gonçalo Ferreira 🇵🇹 has named his starting XI to take on Trzebol Wielkie Drogi.
COME ON BOYS!
🧤 GK: 🇵🇱
🛡 DEF: 🇵🇱 | 🇵🇱 | 🇦🇷 | 🇯🇵
⚙️ MID: 🇮🇹/🇫🇮 | 🇪🇸 | 🇮🇹
🔥 ATT: 🇨🇿 | 🇵🇱 | 🇦🇴#COYD 💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/lgmXv2nvdY— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) May 9, 2026
Marcin Obyrtacz retained his position between the sticks following his heroics in the previous fixture. Jan Krzyżanowski deservedly earned a second consecutive start in defence after his recent man-of-the-match exploits. He joined Kuba Drobny, Roman Bilovol, and Koki Oe to form a familiar defensive unit.
In the engine room, Bernabe García returned to the lineup to replace the absent Rob Smits. García partnered the Italian duo of Enrico Forabosco and Omar Atzori in the centre of the pitch.
The attacking trident remained unchanged as Martin Voženílek and Flavio Nkola supported central striker Barry Chowaniec.
Kick Off
Trzebol started the match quickly and looked to come at the Dragoons immediately. The visitors pressed high and looked to put the Expats’ defence under pressure from the off.
The visitors registered the first attempt after five minutes with a free-kick that Obyrtacz gathered comfortably. Trzebol continued to get forward and a venture down the right wing saw another shot saved by the Dragoons stopper.
Pen Waved Away…
In the Dragoons first real foray forward, a massive talking point arrived in the thirteenth minute. Good battling from Atzori and Forabosco saw the latter play a delightful reverse pass with Chowaniec getting on the end of it. The attacker put a pass across goal and Flavio Nkola saw his close-range shot blocked by a defender. With the ball loose, the Angolan sprinted to get onto the end of it saw his heels clipped by the outstretched arm of veteran keeper Rafał Frydecki. However, the referee inexplicably waved away the loud penalty appeals despite the keeper’s guilty reaction.
The Dragoons restricted Trzebol to long-range efforts and a mean defensive performance frustrated their attempts attacking down the flanks. Goncalo Ferreira’s men continued to work hard and created a golden opportunity just past the half-hour mark. Martin Voženílek show good pace down the right, cutting inside before going back to Krzyzanowski. The right-back delivered a precise cross into the danger zone, but Bernabe García headed wide from close range whilst unmarked.
Trzebol responded immediately, bursting forward down the right and Kamil Gawęda forced Obyrtacz into a save with his foot. Gawęda got onto the second ball and pulled a pass back to Patryk Kowalówka, who skewed a shot wide from close range. A let off for the Expats.
Controversial Opener
The game turned on its head in the 37th minute thanks to a highly controversial call from the referee. After Roman Bilovol cleared the ball into the waiting arms of Obyrtacz, Kowalówka appeared to manufacture contact with the defender’s leg to win a free-kick. The Dragoons were left fuming at the referee’s inconsistency, struggling to understand how this was deemed a foul while the earlier challenge on Nkola went unpunished.
From the following free-kick, Trzebol took the lead. Mateusz Białek stood over the ball and sent a fierce low shot that squirmed out of Obyrtacz’s grasp. Gawęda reacted quickest and saw his follow-up brilliantly stopped by the Dragoons keeper, however, the ball again fell straight to a Trzebol man. On this occasion, Grzegorz Szafraniec made no mistake in lashing a shot into the middle of the goal to put the visitors ahead.
The goal put the Expats out of their stride as the team came into the halftime break feeling hard done by.
Second Half
After some tough words at break, the fired up Expats entered the second half with renewed vigour. The Dragoons looked to probe early and won a corner five minutes into the half.
Enrico Forabosco floated an in-swinging corner into the box and the bench had their head in their hands as a defensive header on the line denied the midfield magician scoring directly from the kick.
The Dragoons had claims for a second penalty waved away in the fifty-second minute. This time, Koki Oe connected well with Nkola and appeared to have his shirt pulled inside the box. Once again, the referee ignored the claims, but on this occasion it did look like the Japanese wing-back may have exaggerated his fall to the floor.
A minute later, the Dragoons won the possession high and Bilovol found Forabosco on the right side. The Italian worked a shooting opportunity on his favoured left foot, but failed to trouble the target.
Dragoons Penalty!
Finally, in the sixty-first minute the Dragoons had a decision go in their favour as Voženílek used his pace and drew a foul in the area. Enrico Forabosco stepped up and coolly converted the penalty to deservedly restore parity. The goal saw the midfield magician notch his second penalty in consecutive weeks.
MAESTRO AT WORK 🎼🎯
There are only three certainties in life:
Death.
Taxes.
Enrico Forabosco 🇮🇹 from the spot. ⚖️
While the referee spent the afternoon keeping us all guessing, Enrico was a safe bet.
#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/yNRIqGycef
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) May 12, 2026
Following the equalizer, the Dragoons introduced fresh legs with Adrian Paliś and Corneille Malonga replacing Chowaniec.
The game became increasingly cagey as Trzebol continued to try and work the ball over the Dragoons defence and Expats just could not find that magic formular in the final third.
Trzebol Up The Ante
As the clock ticked down, Trzebol looked to apply the pressure on the Expats, needing the three points to keep their title challenge alive. A free-kick from Sunday Mba flew over before and a scramble on the edge of the box saw the Dragoons block bravely. However, a third bite of the cherry saw an attempt from the edge of the box curl inches past the post.
Trzebol threw bodies forward and consequently left space at the back for the Expats to exploit. Frustratingly, the Dragoons looked to overplay instead of shooting and too often attacks broke down.
A Point Earned
Ultimately, both sides settled for a point after a disciplined performance allowed the Expats to maintain a 3-game unbeaten streak. Football remains a game of fine margins, and while the Dragoons defended stoutly, they failed to truly threaten the Trzebol goal. Goals win games, and as the old adage goes, you simply cannot score if you do not shoot. Had key officiating decisions gone in their favour and had the side shown more bravery in the final third, they might well have secured a victory.
Despite these frustrations, the squad displayed immense character to recover from a goal down against one of the title challengers. Maturity and hard work defined this display from the opening whistle until the final seconds of play. Every player contributed significantly to this well-earned draw through their relentless running and determination to get something out of the game.
A well earned draw 👏
The Expats fell behind just before half time after failing to clear a free-kick.
However, the boys kept going and a strong second half saw them grab a point with Enrico Forabosco 🇮🇹 scoring from the spot for a second consecutive week.
#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/DttGBrMdzv
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) May 9, 2026
Next Up
The Dragoons must now shift their focus to a challenging upcoming fixture against Dąbski. In the reverse fixture, Dąbski ran riot over the Expats, winning 4-0 at Gronostojowa whilst playing the majority of the second half with ten men.
Dąbski are currently in great form and remain unbeaten in the spring / summer round so far. After a 1-0 victory over Fairant this past weekend, they have a midweek fixture against Iskra Krzęcin that could leave them one point behind the Expats in sixth position going into the game.
The Dragoons historically struggle against this particular opponent and must be at their best to secure the points.
