Recap
Dragoons Ease To Victory
The Dragoons latest B Klasa fixture saw Tramwaj II visit Nadwiślan on a warm Saturday afternoon.
Five changes to the starting line-up saw Gabriel Muñoz return between the sticks, replacing Jacob Biddlecombe. Joaquin Serrano, Adrian Paliś, David Nicolas and Gonçalo Rodrigues all came into the side replacing Yuri Samyonov, Martin Voženílek, Mark Szczesnowicz and Michał Nowak.
A rapid start almost yielded the opening goal in the first minute of the game. Adrian Paliś received the ball on the right flank and crossed into the box. Joaquin Serrano got onto the end of the pass, but side-footed over the bar from close range.
Chances fell to Enrico Forabosco, shooting wide and Flavio Nkola, who stung the palms of the keeper in the early stages.
Serrano Opens The Scoring
It did not take long for the Dragoons to break the deadlock, netting the first goal in the 11th minute. Forabosco, on the left side of the pitch, sprayed an inch perfect pass to pick out the unmarked Serrano in the box. The Spaniard killed the ball dead with an equally brilliant touch and gave Tramwaj keeper, Kamil Rojewski, no chance with an exquisite finish into the net.
Tramwaj looked to hit back immediately, but an attack by the opponents lead to a counter to produce a further opportunity for the Expats. Gabriel Muñoz launched a quick throw to find Adrian Paliś on the right wing. The forward burst through the Tramwaj half and picked out Nkola in the box. The Angolan could not find the target however, and the score remained 1-0.
An excellent opportunity fell to the visitors in the 14th minute. Tramwaj’s Maciej Wejner hit an inch perfect long-pass to pick out attacker Jakub Leśniak. The striker bore down on goal with just Muñoz to beat, looking favourite to score. A high shot saw the Dragoons custodian produce an excellent cat-like reaction to spring to his left and palm the ball wide.
Straight from the corner the Dragoons cleared the ball to Serrano. The attacker sprinted down the left and played an inch perfect pass to find Paliś alone in the box. The Polish striker shot first-time, however somehow missed the target.
Tramwaj Equalise
Into the 17th minute, Tramwaj punished the Dragoons profligacy in front of goal to score an equaliser. Another long ball caught the Expats defence cold and released Leśniak through on goal. On this occasion, the forward hit his shot low beyond Muñoz and into the net to bring the score to 1-1.
Ballon D’awson – Dragoons Back in Front
Following the setback, the Dragoons took only two minutes to go back ahead. A corner in the box from Forabosco met the head of Josh Dawson, with the ball deflecting away for another set-piece. Forabosco again curled the ball across goal and this time Dawson peeled away from his marker and saw his headed effort slam into the net for 2-1.
Moments after the goal, Simon Calabrese gave away a foul on the edge of the box and received a yellow card. The visitors took the free-kick short, but the Expats wall stayed firm to deny the shot reaching Muñoz’s goal.
On the 25 minute mark, the Dragoons had a couple of chances to further increase the advantage. Neat passing football on the edge of the Tramwaj box saw Forabosco feed the ball to Paliś. The striker hit a firm shot at goal, but could not trouble the target.
From the goal kick, Wejner ambled out of defence and in a battle of the heavyweights, Serrano wrestled back possession. The Spanish sensation broke into the box, but saw his shot deflect away for a corner kick.
Serrano really should have grabbed his second of the game two minutes later. Great pressing from Smits and Nkola saw a defender gift the ball to the Angolan on the edge of the Tramwaj box. Nkola unselfishly squared the ball to Serrano, who somehow dragged a shot wide of the post.
The Dragoons continued to waste chances and another great one fell to Nkola. Paliś flashed a pass across goal, however, Nkola could only steer his shot straight at Rojewski, who gratefully grabbed the ball at the second attempt.
50 Goals for Paliś
Finally, on the half hour mark the Dragoons notched their third goal of the game. Smits nipped into the box and played a pass across goal, just beyond the reach of Nkola. The rotund Maciej Wejner controlled the ball in his own 6 yard box, but took too long in possession. Adrian Paliś cleverly wrapped his leg around the defender, poking the ball into the net to notch his landmark 50th goal for the Dragoons.
The Expats relentlessly poured forward and created further chances in an attempt to make the game comfortable before half-time. Serrano saw a firm drive blocked, with Forabosco smacking the rebound wide. Nkola had two opportunities to score, bursting into the box off of the wing and dragging his shot wide of the near post. The Angolan managed to work Rojewski with his next attempt, however, the keeper showed a strong hand to unorthodoxly keep the ball out the net.
In the dying stages of the half, the visitors nearly grabbed a second goal to reduce the arrears. A free-kick on the edge of the Dragoons area saw the attempted shot blocked. The rebound came back out and a firm shot at goal saw Muñoz show great reflexes to tip the ball over the bar.
Not long after, the referee blew his whistle to end the half with the Expats leading 3-1 and in cruise control.
Second Half
The visitors started the half brightly, but a loose pass saw Scott Halcrow speed out of defence in control of the ball. The stand in centre back launched a long ball forward, finding the run of Paliś. The attacker left the Tramwaj defence for dead, but horribly skewed his shot, missing the target by miles.
Rob Smits came close to getting on the scoresheet in the 50th minute. The Dutchmeester found space to drive a powerful low drive, which Rojewski denied with a smart save with his legs. The rebound fell straight to Paliś, but his weak, left footed effort went straight at the keeper, who gratefully clutched the ball.
Paliś The Punisher
Four minutes later, Paliś made no mistake in nabbing his second goal of the afternoon. Josh Dawson came forward from right-back and played the ball into the path of the Dragoons all-time leading marksman. Paliś outpaced the Tramwaj back line, cut-in off the wing and showed finesse to finish into the bottom corner of the net for 4-1.
Forabosco With The Fifth
The score further increased in the 59th minute, as the Dragoons added a fifth goal. A cross from Paliś could not find Serrano in the box and Nkola gathered possession of the ball on the left flank. The Angolan cut the ball back to the unmarked Forabosco, who calmly slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
Yuri Samyonov and Daniel Finnegan made their way onto the pitch on 60 minutes, with Nkola and Serrano making way.
The Israeli almost made an instant impact straight after his introduction to the game. Fellow substitute Rohit Chandran fed the ball to the attacker and only a fine stop by Rojewski denied a sixth goal.
Rob Smits and Enrico Forabosco made for the bench after the chance, with club legend Dani Silva and Emre Çolakoğlu taking to the field.
Goals Galore!!
In the 67th minute the Dragoons grabbed another goal to bring the score to 6-1. Great combination play between Samyonov and Paliś, saw the Pole lay the ball off to the Israeli into the box. With the keeper rushing off his line, Samyonov sent a dinked effort high into the net to score.
Six became seven two minutes later. Finnegan found acres of space on the right flank and crossed the ball into the feet of Samyonov. The attacker jinked in the box to beat a defender and side-footed past Rojewski to score his second goal.
A rare Tramwaj foray forward saw a tame shot not trouble Muñoz, with the goalkeeper making a comfortable save.
Hat-Trick Heroes
The Dragoons further increased their lead with 74 minutes on the clock. Dani Silva blocked an attempted clearance, with the ball falling kindly to David Nicolas. The Frenchman put the ball into the path of Samyonov, who made no mistake in scoring his hat-trick. Incredibly, it had taken only 15 minutes for Samyonov to score his treble!
In the very next minute, a tackle in the box saw Paliś pole-axed to the ground. The referee continued to let the game go, however, the assistant on the side flagged vigorously. The man in the middle, reversed his decision and gave the Expats a spot-kick. Paliś picked himself up to whack the ball into the net to score his hat-trick and the Dragoons ninth goal.
David Nicolas rolled back the years in the 84th minute. The veteran of the side, showed neat footwork to go by a defender and sent a cross into the box, which nearly nestled into the top corner of the goal.
Ten!
Just a minute later, the rampant Expats scored their 10th goal of the match. Silva played a pass into Paliś, who took a horrific first touch, but managed to keep the ball in play. The attacker came into the box unopposed, fiercely fizzing the ball across the face of goal. Yuri Samyonov reacted quickest, nonchalantly toeing the ball into the net to score his fourth goal.
Silva Lining
The Expats made it 11-1 in the 87th minute. The Blues came forward in numbers and Rohit Chandran danced into the Tramwaj area. The Indian laid the ball across goal and any number of players could have tapped it into the net. Club hero Dani Silva was the grateful recipient of the pass, however, ramming home with ease to score his first goal of the season.
Emre Çolakoğlu nearly grabbed a late twelfth goal for the Expats in the closing stages of the match. The Turkish midfielder hit a firm drive straight at Rojewski, who saved with ease. The Tramwaj custodian could consider himself unlucky to concede eleven goals, having pulled off a number of good saves in the encounter.
The referee ended the game without the need for any injury time, with the Expats proving to be too strong for their opponents.
A strong performance from the Dragoons saw the side blow away their opponents without really leaving first gear. A youthful Tramwaj side had their moments, but could not live with the pace and power of the Expats attack.
Next Up
Next week will perhaps bring the Expats their toughest challenge yet as they travel to second place Rybitwy. “The Terns” are the Dragoons closest rival and are currently four points behind the Expats in second place. Following a 2-0 victory over 3rd place Pychowianka this weekend, Rybitwy will be aiming to close the gap at the top of the table.
In the last meeting between the sides, Rybitwy’s high press caught the Dragoons cold early on. The visitors took the lead in the 6th minute, however, an Adrian Paliś penalty equalled the score. The visitors re-took the lead just after half-time but Yuri Samyonov again hauled the Dragoons level. Rob Smits tapped home late on to seal a memorable 3-2 victory for the Expats.
Addendum to Recap
**** Owing to Tramwaj II fielding an ineligible player, the MZPN have decided to award the match 10-0 to the Dragoons – Dani Silva’s goal and Rohit Chandran’s assist will still stand in our view and will remain recorded in the all time records ****
