Recap
That Winning Feeling
The Dragoons took on Juvenia Prandocin on Saturday, looking for their first three points after the winter break.
Hugo Cruz made three changes to the side that drew against Sparta Skrzeszowice last weekend. With the Dragoons’ coaching staff unavailable to attend the game, Dave Burch stepped up to take the reigns with Edo Battaglion assisting.
Marcin Obytracz returned to the side replacing Lorenzo Bartolomei between the posts. Meanwhile, the back four of Roman Bilovol, Kuba Drobny, Simon Calabrese and Francesco Leuci remained unchanged.
Into the middle, with Brian Lemmen unavailable, captain Mark Szczesnowicz stepped up to take the Dutchman’s place. Jan Krzyżanowski and Enrico Forabosco partnered with the Australian to complete a midfield trio.
The third and final change saw Flavio Nkola start in the game taking the place of Błażej Święcicki. Rohit Chandran started once again on the right flank and Vałdzis Fuhaš kept his place as central attacker.
Kick Off
An inauspicious start by the Dragoons saw the side struggling to keep the ball in the opening stages. Juvenia looked to get the attack quickly and looked to put the Expats under early pressure.
Despite the poor start, the Dragoons managed to have the game’s first shot on target in the 9th minute. A deep cross by Roman Bilovol saw a defensive header unintentionally fall at the feet of Francesco Leuci on the edge of the Juvenia box. The Italian cut inside a defender and drove a shot from a tight angle, that goalkeeper Szymon Kurbiel managed to push away. The ball went straight to Flavio Nkola, however, the Angolan winger blasted a rasping attempt over the bar.
Juvenia Take The Lead
On 15 minutes, the visitors punished the Expats’ poor start by scoring the game’s opening goal. Juvenia managed to work the ball into the midfield where a simple pass forward exploited the Dragoons’ defensive line to put Paweł Warchoł through on goal. The Juvenia player-coach showed great composure by calmly rolling the ball past Obyrtacz and into the net for 1-0.
The Dragoons continued to struggle for possession and a Juvenia set-piece into the box saw the home side clear. Expert play from Szczesnowicz saw the Aussie fouled and a quickly taken free-kick saw the Expats get forward quickly. The Dragoons got the ball to Nkola, who weaved into the box and found Fuhaš free inside the Juvenia box. Fuhaš blasted a low shot at goal but sent the ball wide of the target.
Equalising Chance
Into the 20th minute, good play by the Expats saw Krzyżanowski spray an excellent cross-field pass to pick out Forabosco on the edge of the box. The midfield magician took a touch and laced a low shot at goal, however, Kurbiel stuck out a leg to make a save.
The Expats continued to stutter, with slow build-up play and poor passing choices seeing attacks break down. Juvenia on the other hand did not offer much going forward as the Dragoons battled to get back into the game.
It took until the 35th minute for the Dragoons to have their next effort of note. Mark Szczesnowicz received a pass from Chandran and blasted an attempt from range. Unfortunately, the effort went straight at Kurbiel who palmed the ball into the turf and collected at the second attempt.
Penalty Dragoons!
Five minutes later, the Dragoons won the chance to equalise from the penalty spot. Bilovol swung another deep cross into the box and a defender clattered into the back of Krzyżanowski. The referee did not hesitate in immediately blowing his whistle and awarding the Expats a penalty. Enrico Forabosco stepped up to the mark and casually sent the keeper the wrong way to level the score at 1-1.
The last action of the half saw an effort from range by Nkola comfortably saved by Kurbiel. Following the shot, the referee ended the half with the game level at the break.
Whilst the Dragoons had seen a lot of the ball, they had struggled with the final pass all too often. Juvenia started brightly but looked to sit back after scoring and offered very little for the remainder of the half.
Second Half
The Dragoons started the second half with renewed vigour, showing a much quicker tempo in possession. An early chance came the Dragoons’ way after 49 minutes as Flavio Nkola got down the left flank and swung an inviting cross into the box. The ball found Rohit Chandran waiting at the far post, however, the Indian whirlwind could not direct an acrobatic effort on target.
Shortly afterwards, Juvenia had their first attempt of the second half. The Dragoons’ defence failed to clear their lines and the visitors worked the ball out wide to Piotr Ciszewski. The Juvenia man let fly with a vicious effort from range, but Obyrtacz never looked worried as the shot sailed wide.
The game began to have a bit of an end-to-end feel, with Juvenia pushing bodies forward. Space began to develop for the Dragoons in the opposite half and Nkola looked to take advantage. The Angolan darted from off the wing to work a shooting chance, however, the attacker miscued the effort way wide of the goal.
On 55 minutes, the Dragoons made their first substitution as Jan Krzyżanowski made way for Italian debutant Omar Atzori Langiu.
Dragoons Go Close!
The new midfield man almost had a debut to remember just two minutes later. The Italian received a lovely dinked pass from Forabosco, dropped his shoulder to beat a tackle and sent a well-hit shot at goal. The effort appeared destined for the top corner, only for Kurbiel to fly to his left and pull off a wonderful one-handed save to deny a certain goal.
From the following corner, Forabosco whipped the ball into the Juvenia 6-yard box and found the head of Simon Calabrese. Sadly, the defender could not get a firm connection to the ball and sent a header wide of the goal.
GOLAZO
Into the 64th minute, the Dragoons scored a second goal to lead the game for the first time. Rohit Chandran saw a dominating run curtailed by a foul, midway through the Juvenia half. Forabosco took the kick as usual and whipped the set piece towards the penalty spot. Roman Bilovol shrugged off the attentions of a marker to connect with the ball on the volley and diverted it beyond the dive of Kurbiel to score his first goal for the club.
Dragoons Add A Third
The Dragoons extended their lead six minutes later by adding a third goal. Great work by Nkola on the left saw the winger cut inside and loft the ball over the visiting defence to pick out Chandran on the opposite flank. The Indian whirlwind cut inside to tee up Atzori, who struck a low, firm shot that Kurbiel did well to get down to save. However, the keeper could only push the ball as far as the edge of the 6-yard box, where Francesco Leuci nipped in to tuck the rebound into the back of the net. The Italian brought the score to 3-1 and joined Bilovol in celebrating his first strike in a Dragoons jersey.
Juvenia attempted to reduce the deficit three minutes later after winning a free-kick inside the Dragoons’ half. The ball came into the Expats’ box and a Juvenia man got to it first, but could not direct a header on goal.
Despite being two goals behind, the visitors began to see more of the ball in the Expats’ half. The Dragoons seemed content to sit deep and comfortably cleared the crosses into the box.
Missed Chance for the Visitors
The Dragoons had a huge let-off with ten minutes left to play. Poor communication in defence saw Drobny inadvertently head a blocked shot straight to Grzegorz Korochoda inside the Dragoons’ penalty area. The Juvenia substitute took a touch on his chest but failed to punish the error, lifting a shot over the target when well placed.
Almost immediately after, Juvenia threw bodies forward and left themselves exposed at the back. Good pressing from substitute Piotr Hajnrych and Enrico Forabosco saw the ball at the feet of Szczesnowicz. The Dragoons skipper looked up and leathered the ball forward to give Nkola the chance to accelerate. The Angolan raced onto the pass ahead of the stranded defence and entered the box at an angle. Nkola fashioned an attempt at goal, but could not add to the Expats’ tally as he shot tamely into the legs of Kurbiel to save.
Juvenia Late Show
With the game in the last five minutes, the Dragoons camped in their half with Juvenia forcing several corners. The Expats could not clear their lines from one such set-piece and the ball fell to Maciej Afonin. The visiting man hit a swerving effort that took a deflection and narrowly cleared the bar.
From the corner, Juvenia came even closer to scoring. An opponent managed to run to the near post unchallenged and saw a headed attempt bounce back into play off the crossbar.
As the game ticked into injury time Warchoł came close to his second goal for the visitors. The Juvenia forward received a pass and jinked to the edge of the box only to be denied by an excellent block by the outstretched leg of Obyrtacz to maintain the two-goal lead.
Dragoons Counter!
The Dragoons cleared the following corner and instantly went on the counter-attack. Forabosco raced down the left wing and looked up and saw Latino waiting on the edge of the box. The Italian striker side-footed a shot at goal and forced Kurbiel to touch the ball wide.
Forabosco whipped the subsequent corner into the box and the ball bounced off defender Michael Lamb. The Scotsman managed to get in under control and work a shot at goal but once again Kurbiel diverted the ball past the post.
The Italian stepped up to a second corner and on this occasion, Atzori rose highest and nodded toward goal. The ball fell straight to Lamb once again, who prodded a shot past the keeper, but any celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag.
A topsy-turvy game ended soon after, with the Dragoons coming from behind to win the 3 points that keep the side in 7th place.
Next Up
The Dragoons take to their travels for the first time after the winter break to take on Zawisza Sulechów. The two sides met earlier in the season with the Expats coming out on top. Rohit Chandran and Flavio Nkola scored as the Dragoons ended Zawisza’s unbeaten start to the season.
Zawisza lost their first game after the break against Czarni 03 Grzegorzowice at home, but came away victorious this weekend, defeating Sparta Krzeszowice 2-1 away.
