Recap
A New Hero
In their latest league clash, the Dragoons produced a dominant second-half display to overcome a resilient Płomień Jerzmanowice side 3-1.
Following last weekend’s postponement, the Dragoons made a few changes from the 7-1 thrashing of Potok Więckowice.
Gabriel Muñoz’s unavailability saw Marcin Obyrtacz start his first game of the season in between the posts. Whilst the defence remained unchanged, Hugo Cruz made wholesale changes in the midfield. Omar Atzori and Emre Çolakoğlu came into the side to replace Szymon Urzędowski and Enrico Forabosco, who both dropped to the bench. Rob Smits missed out and recent signing Fernando Gámez started for his maiden appearance in a Dragoons shirt.
Into the attack, Rohit Chandran also started for the first time to replace the injured Flavio Nkola.
Kick Off
The game sparked into life in the 10th minute as the Dragoons scored the first goal of the game. Roman Bilovol’s initial pass saw the Jerzmanowice defence unable to clear their lines. Samyonov nodded the ball to Gámez, who threaded a clever return pass to the Israeli who coolly slotted the ball under the keeper for his fourth goal of the campaign.
🎶 YURI, YURI, YURI 🎶
🎥Ready for the goals??
Our Israeli striker Yuri Samyonov 🇮🇱 linked up well with Fernando Gámez 🇮🇨🇪🇸 to calmly tuck the ball under the keeper to put the Dragoons 🐉 into an 11th minute lead 💪#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/4L7wLOVBPW
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) September 26, 2024
Visitors Level From The Spot
However, the lead didn’t last long. Just eight minutes later, a rash challenge from Simon Calabrese in the Dragoons’ penalty area left the referee with no choice but to award Jerzmanowice a spot-kick. Łukasz Kurek made no mistake, sending Marcin Obyrtacz the wrong way to level the score at 1-1.
The remainder of the first half was scrappy, with neither side able to get a foothold. The Dragoons had the lion’s share of possession, but despite a half-chance for Roman Bilovol, they couldn’t find the breakthrough. Jerzmanowice, meanwhile, threatened sporadically, with Obyrtacz pulling off a comfortable save from Kurek just before the break.
Second Half
The second half saw the Dragoons re-assert themselves, with Rohit Chandran leading the charge on the left flank. As the Dragoons piled on the pressure, the Indian Whirlwind caused the Jerzmanowice backline all sorts of problems with his direct running.
Despite their dominance, some last-ditch defending by the visitors kept the Expats at bay. A goalmouth scramble in the 55th minute saw Gámez denied a tap-in as Michał Budzyn bravely dived at the Spaniard’s feet.
A minute later, Chandran was heavily involved, finding Samyonov on the edge of the box. The Israeli swivelled to shoot low at goal, but Budzyn dived to his left to push the ball around the post.
Jerzmanowice’s players seemed more interested in hitting the deck than the back of the net as the half progressed. The visiting physio became the busiest person on the pitch, sprinting on every few minutes with the magic spray working miracles.
PENALTY DRAGOONS
Amid the stoppages, the Dragoons kept pressing and finally regained the lead in the 80th minute. Substitute Barry Chowaniec was brought down in the box after a corner, and the referee pointed to the spot for the second time. Enrico Forabosco stepped up to take the penalty, but Budzyn guessed correctly and saved the midfield magician’s effort.
FERNANDO
Fortunately, the Dragoons could hear the drums as Fernando Gámez was on hand to nod the rebound into the net over the despairing keeper. The visitors desperately appealed against the goal believing the Spaniard had encroached inside the box before the Italian took the kick. However, the officials waved away their protests and the stars were bright as the Spanish Sensation’s name echoed around the ground as he celebrated his first goal for the club. On second viewing it looks like the visitors may have had a point… but there’s no regret!
Can you hear the drums 🥁
🎥 Watch how the Dragoons’ 🐉 new Canarian King, Fernando Gámez 🇪🇸🇮🇨👑 reacted quickest to the rebound to score his first goal on his debut as the Expats retook the lead against Płomień Jerzmanowice this past weekend.#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/fVsd76UNtz
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) September 26, 2024
Chowaniec Seals the Deal
With Jerzmanowice’s physio still making regular trips to the pitch, the Dragoons continued to push forward. In the 89th minute, Kuba Drobny swung a clever quick free-kick towards Nowak. Despite being in an offside position, the Dragoons stalwart smartly let the ball run past him to release Chowaniec, who raced through on goal. Budzyn went to ground early, leaving Chowaniec with the simplest of finishes to secure the win for the Expats and bag his fourth goal of the season.
🇵🇱 POLSKA GUROM 🇵🇱
🎥 Here is how the Dragoons 🐉 wrapped up a 3-1 victory with a goal made in Poland 🇵🇱
☑️ Quick thinking by Kuba Drobny 🇵🇱
☑️ Excellent awareness & intelligence from Michał Nowak 🇵🇱
☑️ Calm finish applied by Barry Chowaniec 🇵🇱#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/mUy2bwGGXs— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) September 26, 2024
There was still time for one final moment of drama as Błażej Święcicki almost added a fourth in injury time. The Polish winger met Roman Bilovol’s cross with a diving header, but could not hit the target from close range.
Not long after, the referee’s final whistle confirmed a 3-1 win for the Dragoons who moved into fifth position.
Summary
While the team’s quality shone through, the Jerzmanowice physio arguably stole the show with frequent interventions!
In all seriousness, the Expats upped the ante in the second period, pressed higher and dominated the ball. Whilst chances were few and far between, the Dragoons struck when it mattered to get over the line. Fernando Gámez impressed on his debut and rightly grabbed the limelight with an assist and goal for the team.
Coach’s Corner
Hugo Cruz was happy with the performance of his team and summarised his thoughts:
“We started the match with confidence and we were quite mobile around the pitch. The opposition opted not to press high and let us control the ball and we managed to use that opportunity to build confidence and scored as a consequence. However, credit to them, they were organized and compact, managing to circulate the ball better than us for the last part of the 1st half. Although they didn’t cause us much danger, we struggled to impose our game and could not control the tempo over them. Once we corrected the pressing in the second half, we regained control of the game and became more dangerous.
Everyone played at a good level, so it was a question of time before we re-took the lead and the solutions we had from the bench gave us an extra impetus and brought a new pressure to their defence. It was a good performance in competitive and collective terms against a well-organized team. I was happy that different players came into the team and had the opportunity to show their quality. Certainly, their performances gave me a positive headache over team selection for next week. Sometimes, we need to use the hammer to win and that’s what we did in this game. It was maybe not our most beautiful performance but we have time to improve further. Winning is the most important aspect and we got the job done in the end. As a last word, I was really satisfied with the boys today!”
Next Up
Following the win, the Dragoons find themselves with 9 points, five adrift of second placed Błękitni Modlnica II. With the top spot within reach, all eyes turn to next Saturday’s showdown. Błękitni is unbeaten this season, drawing twice and winning four, scoring 19 goals and 9 conceded.
Whilst the Expats have never played Błękitni Modlnica II, the Dragoons did play against the first team in the Puchar Polski in our inaugural 2019/20 season. Błękitni came out on top in a 6-4 thriller to send the Expats out at the 3rd round.
