Recap
Dragoons Stroll to Victory
A balmy Sunday afternoon saw the Dragoons take on Universum in their latest B Klasa fixture.
The Dragoons fell to defeat the last time the two sides met and would look to win this time around to further extend their lead at the top of league.
A goalkeeping crisis meant that the Dragoons club president Alex Băcica deputised between the posts.
The Dragoons started brightly and had the first chance of the game. Enrico Forabosco hit a shot from outside the box that Universum keeper Mateusz Węgrzyn saved.
Early Lead for Dragoons
It did not take long for the Dragoons to open the scoring in the 8th minute. A nice flowing move saw Yuri Samyonov released out on the right flank. The attacker picked out Mark Szczesnowicz on the edge of the box and the midfielder unleashed a piledriver that flew beyond Węgrzyn and into the net.
Moments after the goal the Dragoons had a good chance to extend their league. A good run from Martin Voženílek making his first start, saw the ball fall to Samyonov in a good position. The Expats joint top-scorer got his body shape all wrong on this occasion and launched his shot over the crossbar.
Universum showed little attacking intent and the match took on a pre season feel. The Dragoons looked comfortable on the ball but could not find any sort of rhythm as the visitors packed their own half and defended deeply.
It took until the 36th minute for the next real chance for the Dragoons. Nice football involving Szczesnowicz and Forabosco saw the latter fizz a low cross into the box. The ball just evaded the attentions of Voženílek and Battaglion found a defender in the way before he could get a shot at goal.
A tepid half came to an end with the Dragoons deservedly ahead but struggling to find momentum to increase their lead.
Second Half
The first chance of the second half resulted with the Dragoons extending their lead in the 50th minute.
Voženílek cut inside and played a pass into Samyonov. The Israeli expertly back-heeled the ball to Forabosco who launched a shot at goal from range. The shot looked like it should be a comfortable save for Węgrzyn, however the ball took a wicked bounce off of the turf right in front of the keeper and diverted past his outstretched arm and into the net.
Moments after the goal, the omnipresent Szczesnowicz found himself on the right side of the box. The midfield man put in a great ball across goal that just eluded the run of Samyonov.
Into the 56th minute, Universum’s Piotr Madej put a good ball across the Dragoons box. Paweł Kuś nearly got on the end of it but the chance came and went.
Serrano Surprise
Straight up the other end, Szczesnowicz played the ball into Joaquin Serrano. The Spanish wing wizard stabbed the ball towards goal from the byline of the right side of the box and saw the hapless Węgrzyn divert it into his own net to bring the scoreline to 3-0.
A few moments later, Universum won a free-kick from shooting range. Jarosław Poręba stood over the ball, however the Dragoons wall stood strong and deflected it away.
Poręba had another shooting chance a moment later, but punted a first time effort miles over the crossbar.
Universum began to find some momentum going forwards and had a further chance in the 63rd minute. A corner-kick found the head of Madej, however the forward could not divert the ball goalwards.
Yuri Samyonov had a great chance to get his name on the score-sheet in the 65th minute. A Dragoons corner-kick was recycled back into the box, however the Israeli forward could only blast over when well placed to score.
Full-back Edoardo Battaglion enjoyed a lot of freedom on the right side throughout the game. The defender found space to hit a rasping effort from range that forced Węgrzyn to save.
The Dragoons began to pour forward in search of a fourth goal. Substitute Andrea Latino saw a fierce header from a corner fly over the bar and Forabosco saw a free-kick from range comfortably saved by Węgrzyn.
Rob Smits entered the fray in the 76th minute and looked to make an immediate impact. The Dutch playmaker forced Węgrzyn into a smart save in the 81st minute.
Moments later, Smits again went close in the 84th minute, sending a curling shot just over the bar.
Denied by the Post
Andrea Latino came perilously close to adding a fourth goal in the 86th minute. The Italian striker found space in the Universum box and sent a shot that beat Węgrzyn all ends up but bounced back off of the post.
The Expats continued their search for a further goal and came close twice in quick succession. Latino saw a header fly over the bar before Emre Çolakoğlu hit a rasping effort just wide of the target.
In the 88th minute, Serrano had the ball in the net for the Dragoons. The Spaniard was denied his second goal however, with the assistant referee flagging for offside.
The whistle sounded shortly afterwards to bring an end to the game and secure a comfortable victory for the Dragoons. The Expats barely got out of first gear and strolled to success against an opponent that showed no real ambition to compete.
Such was the Dragoons dominance, stand-in keeper Alex Băcica was not required to make a single save during the game!
The Blues have now won six out of six so far this season. The Expats will look to extend their winning run and strengthen their grip at the top of the league as they travel to 10th place Tramwaj II next week.
