Recap
Easter Horror Show
An early afternoon kick off, saw the Dragoons face off against 5th place Zwierzyniecki this past Saturday.
The Expats went into the game looking to bounce back following a poor performance in the previous fixture against Dąbski.
Ash Asani made several changes to the side with Gabriel Muñoz coming into the team to replace Marcin Obyrtacz in goal. Szymon Urzędowski and Josh Dawson replaced Piotr Hajnrych and Michael Lamb in the defence too.
In attack, Joaquin Serrano replaced Jamie Beattie and Barry Chowaniec came into the team ahead of Rohit Chandran.
Kick Off
The Expats looked to take the game to their opponents straight from kick off.
Joaquin Serrano came deep to receive a pass from the defence. The Spanish sensation arrowed a superb cross-field pass to find the run of Barry Chowaniec in behind the Zwierzyniecki backline. The attacker took a touch to attempt to set himself, before awkwardly crossing towards the back post where Alessandro Puerini lay in wait. Unfortunately, the ball sailed over the Italian’s head and a good early chance passed.
Moments after, a sublime intricate passing move found Chowaniec beyond the visitors defence once again. The winger elected to try and pass to Puerini rather than shoot. The Italian managed to get a shot away, however the onrushing Karol Teterycz got down well to smother the shot.
Teterycz came the visitor’s rescue again just a minute later. A Michał Nowak throw into the box led to a speculative effort from Simon Calabrese being parried. The rebound fell to Chowaniec, but the Dragoons man could only head his effort into the side netting.
Dragoons Deservedly Lead
With 8 minutes on the clock, the Dragoons took a deserved lead. Serrano played another excellent pass in behind the full back, with Chowaniec using his electric pace to good effect. With Teterycz in no man’s land, the Dragoons man found himself with an empty net and calmly stroked the ball home for 1-0.
Equaliser
The Dragoons continued to look and press their advantage, but the visitors found an equaliser against the run of play. A simple long pass found the Expats high line exposed and provided Zwierzyniecki with a great chance to score. Gabriel Muñoz flew off his line to break up the play, fouling an opponent in the process, but play continued with the ball falling to Jarosław Dziura through on goal. The burly frontman could barely miss as he passed the ball into an unguarded net for 1-1. The official issued a yellow card for Muñoz in the aftermath for his earlier challenge in the build up to the goal.
With 20 minutes of the match played, the Dragoons fell further behind against the run of play.
Another long pass saw Urzędowski inadvertently head the ball into the path of Dziura. On this occasion, the forward thumped an effort against the crossbar and the Dragoons cleared the ball away.
Dragoons Fall Behind
The ball came straight back towards the Dragoons backline and Josh Dawson attempted to intercept a pass from the midfield. The defender mis-timed his connection with the ball and it ran through to Dziura. With the Dragoons line stretched, the attacker laid a neat pass through to Kotaro Yabe in space on the left side. The Japanese frontman drilled a firm, low shot beyond Muñoz and into the net via the post to bring the game to 2-1.
A particularly sickening moment for the Expats as they had dominated proceedings thus far. The Dragoons looked shell shocked as the visiting team had brutally turned the game on its head.
The Expats attempted to find a way back into the game, but struggled to find the final pass too often. Chances did come however, firstly through Emre Çolakoğlu. The Turkish midfield man mountain found space on the edge of the box and attempted a curled effort at goal. Teterycz got his fingertips to the ball, pushing it back off his own bar and out for a corner.
The following corner routine saw the ball recycled back into the box. It fell kindly to the feet of Josh Dawson, who saw his goal-bound strike bounce back off Puerini in front of goal and away from danger.
Moments later, Puerini came close himself, coming deep to receive a pass and turning into space. The Italian forward blasted at goal, but saw his effort fly over the top of the crossbar.
Dragoons Concede A Third
Zwierzyniecki added a third goal from out of nowhere in the 34th minute to further increase their lead. A free-kick by the halfway line came fizzing into the Dragoons penalty box. Marcin Tombiński escaped the attentions of the Dragoons defence to plant a header past a stranded Muñoz for 3-1.
Puerini came close to getting the Dragoons back into the game with five minutes of the half left. Forabosco lifted the ball down the left to Nowak, who in turn fed a pass to Chowaniec. The winger looked to find a shooting chance, but threaded a pass into Puerini. The Italian turned on the spot, but saw his drive just flash past the post.
Forabosco had the final chance of the half, but unfortunately the midfield magician smacked a shot high and wide.
Despite enjoying the lions share of possession, the Dragoons defensive frailties had cost them dear. Zwierzyniecki went into the break with a 3-1 lead and had not have to work hard to be ahead.
Second Half
The Expats ended second half of on top, but struggled to find any tempo to their play in the second period. The visitors pressed every first touch and flooded their half of the field denying the Dragoons space.
Zwierzyniecki sent a warning shot across the bows as the Dragoons pushed forward. Dziura again caused trouble for the Dragoons defence, getting the ball in space on the left. The visiting striker drove forward like a bulldozer through the Expats defence. The attacker elected to try a shot, however, the ball took a deflection allowing Muñoz to save with ease.
Dragoons Gift a Fourth
One minute later saw an identical situation for the visitors as the Dragoons found themselves caught out on the counter. This time though, the Zwierzyniecki striker made no mistake. With the Expats shocking defensive line all over the place, Dziura found himself through on goal with a simple pass. The attacker raced into the box and gently lifted the ball over Muñoz to further increase the visitors lead to 4-1.
And a Fifth…
The floodgates had not just opened, but poured as four became five on the hour mark as the visitors exposed an awful Dragoons line once again. Dziura kept himself onside with ease and used his body to out muscle the attentions of Simon Calabrese. The striker moved the ball onto his stronger right foot and stroked a low shot into the net for his hat-trick.
A double change for the Expats saw Rohit Chandran and Martin Voženílek come on for Serrano and captain Mark Szczesnowicz.
Dragoons Pull One Back
The Czech instantly got himself involved into the game, hitting a clever pass in behind the visiting defence. Barry Chowaniec gave a hopeful chase and beat the keeper in a foot race to get to the ball first. The winger cut a pass back straight into the path of Puerini in front of goal. The Italian assassin took a touch to set himself, before slotting the ball beyond a defender on the line to score.
Following the goal, the Dragoons continued to dictate the play, but far too often lacked the final pass.
Almost Another Conceded…
As the side pushed to get back further into the game, they nearly found themselves caught out at the back. A quick counter attack saw a pass flashed across goal, however, Marcin Tombiński missed from 6 yards on the stretch.
With 15 minutes left to play, The Dragoons tested Teterycz’s reflexes for the first time in the second half. Alessandro Puerini again came deep to collect the pass, turning and hitting a firm drive at goal. The Zwierzyniecki stopper dived to his right and showed strong hands to palm away the effort.
The Expats continued to pour forward and Forabosco’s low drive called Teterycz into action to push the ball away for a corner.
Dragoons Let Off Again!
Five minutes after and a poor free kick from Forabosco saw Zwierzyniecki break in numbers. Jakub Tombiński sprinted ahead of the Dragoons defence and found himself through on goal. The full back put the ball through the legs of Muñoz, but saw the ball dribble agonisingly wide of the goal. A huge let off for the Dragoons!
Into the 88th minute, patient build up from the Dragoons saw Forabosco thread a neat pass into Voženílek. The Czech winger attempted a shot at the near post, however, Teterycz stuck out a leg to put the ball wide. From the resulting corner, Josh Dawson rose highest to head at goal. The English defender thought he had scored, only for a defender to head away from off the line.
A Late Consolation
The Dragoons continued to battle and managed to get a third goal deep into injury time. Martin Voženílek started the move, which ended with the Czech attacker grabbing his third goal of the season. Voženílek laid a pass into the feet of Emre Çolakoğlu on the edge of the box. The midfielder struck a low shot that Teterycz got down well to push away from goal. Rohit Chandran ran onto the loose ball and laid it back towards the penalty spot where Voženílek laid in wait. The winger picked his spot and put the ball beyond the dive of Teterycz to put some respect to the score.
Shortly afterwards, the referee blew the final whistle to bring an end to another goal fest. The game saw the Dragoons comfortably defeated 5-3 in one of their worst performances of the campaign.
To Sum Up…
Despite dominating possession, Zwierzyniecki brutally exposed the Dragoons defensive frailties. The Expats poor defensive line continuously gifted opportunities to get through to the Dragoons goal. Once the second goal went into the net, the Dragoons looked mentally beaten. An inability to get creative talisman Enrico Forabosco involved saw the chance creation diminish. Barry Chowaniec had some joy early doors, however the Dragoons struggled to get a grip of the midfield and saw the ball given away far too often.
Although three goals came in the first half, a terrible start to the second half really summed up the performance. The Dragoons looked pedestrian all over the park and ultimately did not deserve anything from the game.
Up Next
The Dragoons travel to bottom side Rybitwy, a place they always seems to struggle at next. They will need to severely up their game if they want to get themselves back onto the winning path. Earlier in the season the sides battled to a 3-3 draw. Flavio Nkola scored the opener, however, the Expats conceded 3 quick-fire goals to go into the break behind. Rohit Chandran reduced the deficit from close range and a last gasp equaliser from Ceri Looker rescued a point.
