Dragoons 4-1 Prądniczanka II: Expats Advance

Krakow Dragoons FC players warming up
4
Dragoons Dragoons
1
Prądniczanka II Prądniczanka II
Sat, 26 Jul 2025 15:00 Puchar Polski — Round 1
KS Prądniczanka Kraków

Recap

Expats Advance

The Dragoons kicked off their 2024/25 Puchar Polski campaign with a dominant performance, overcoming a stubborn Prądniczanka II side advance to the second round of the cup.

Line-Up

With Head Coach Gonçalo Ferreira unavailable due to prior commitments, Hugo Cruz returned to the touchline, ably assisted by Scott Halcrow. Despite several key absences, the new Portuguese boss named his first-ever Dragoons XI.

Gabriel Muñoz started between the sticks, protected by a reshuffled back line. Gracjan Bałuch was handed his first start at right-back, with the dependable Szymon Urzędowski on the left. Michael Syska-Lamb partnered Brian Lemmen in the heart of defence.

In midfield, captain Enrico Forabosco led the charge alongside Fernando Gámez and Rob Smits.

Up front, Yuri Samyonov operated centrally, with debutant Serhii Yelysieiev adding pace and width on the left. On the right, no introduction was needed as club legend and all-time top scorer Adrian Paliś returned to the Dragoons for his second debut.

Lightning Start!

The Dragoons could not have dreamed of a better start. Barely a minute into the match, Fernando Gámez found space in midfield and threaded a perfectly weighted pass to debutant Serhii Yelysieiev. The Ukrainian burst down the left flank and delivered a precise cross to the far post, where Paliś was waiting. The returning hero made no mistake, tapping home his 60th goal for the club and 1–0 to the Dragoons!

Prądniczanka, however, refused to sit back and looked to hit back a immediately. The visitors almost instantly tested Muñoz with a speculative shot from range, which the Chilean gathered comfortably.

The game soon settled after the frantic start. Muñoz was called into action again, punching away a free-kick, while Paliś saw another effort parried by the visiting keeper.

Early Chances!

On 11 minutes, the Dragoons carved open another golden chance. Paliś fizzed a ball across goal that skipped awkwardly off the turf towards Samyonov. The Israeli forward showed awareness to pull it back to Urzędowski, who teed up Smits inside the area. Unfortunately, the Dutchmeester leaned back too far and scooped his effort over the bar.

The Expats kept pressing. Moments later, Bałuch surged down the right and drilled a dangerous low cross across the six-yard box. It reached Samyonov, but the ball was just ahead of him, and his stretched prod rolled into the keeper’s arms.

Prądniczanka responded with a lightning counter on 17 minutes. A through-ball left the defence momentarily exposed, but Urzędowski sprinted back heroically to intercept just in time, preventing what looked like a certain tap-in. Muñoz then attempted to clear the danger, only for the ball to ricochet off an opponent’s hand, halting the attack in chaotic fashion.

Raining Chances

As the driving rain eased, the chances poured for the Dragoons. On 20 minutes, Yelysieiev pounced on a loose ball just outside the box and lashed a fierce shot straight at the keeper. Moments later, he cut inside onto his right foot and unleashed another low drive, forcing the Prądniczanka stopper into another low save.

On the half-hour mark, Yelysieiev was involved again. This time, Gámez released him down the flank, and the Ukrainian did brilliantly to keep the ball in play before swinging in a cross. Paliś cushioned it perfectly into the path of the onrushing Smits. Somehow, the Dutchmeester scuffed a golden opportunity wide of the target.

Frustration began to grow on the sidelines as the Dragoons continued their profligacy in front of goal. Minutes later, the Expats’ high pressing forced a poor pass, which fell kindly to Smits. He quickly slipped the ball to Paliś, who shifted it onto his right foot and let fly. The shot cannoned off the crossbar, and Smits leapt onto the rebound, only to see his weak header fall tamely into the keeper’s arms.

More Misses!

On 35 minutes, slick passing from midfield sent Paliś racing through on goal again. His timing was perfect, but his finish lacked conviction, straight at the keeper. The ball immediately fell kindly to Samyonov inside the box with the goal at his mercy on the rebound. Incredibly, the Israeli contrived to side-foot wide from close range as the visiting goal led a charmed life.

The Dragoons continued to pepper the goal. Smits tested the keeper from distance, Gámez blazed over, Samyonov forced a fine save with a vicious low strike, and from the resulting corner, Urzędowski could only shin an awkward chance over the bar.

Despite total dominance and chance after chance, the Expats went into halftime with only a single goal to show for it.

Second Half

The Dragoons came out after the break with renewed energy. Gámez, dictating play superbly, slipped Paliś down the right channel. The striker drove into the box and attempted to pick out Samyonov in front of goal, but his cut-back was fractionally behind the forward.

Prądniczanka Level

And then, disaster struck. Barely three minutes into the second half, a clumsy outstretched leg caught an opponent inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot, and Viktor Yamala calmly converted to make it 1–1. Typical Dragoons, utter dominance, but no daylight.

Pushing for a Response

Gámez took charge in midfield, demanding the ball and orchestrating attacks. But Prądniczanka had settled into a deep, compact shape, denying space in the final third.

Just after the hour, Cruz turned to his bench. Samyonov and Bałuch were replaced by Corneille Malonga and Roman Bilovol, adding fresh legs to the game.

Dragoons Regain the Lead

Finally, the breakthrough came. In the 69th minute, sustained pressure forced a corner. Forabosco whipped in a wicked delivery, and the keeper completely misjudged the flight. Bilovol, alive to the opportunity, lost his marker and powered a close-range header into the net as the Expats regained the lead.

Searching for the Third

Despite bossing possession, the Dragoons struggled to create clear-cut chances until the 80th minute. Forabosco cleverly clipped a pass over the defence, with Paliś squaring the ball across goal for Pascual and Yelysieiev. Pascual touched it into the Ukrainian, who tapped into an empty net, only for the far-side linesman’s flag to chalk it off for offside in the build-up.

Two minutes later, Yelysieiev had another glorious opportunity. Forabosco slid a perfect through-ball into his path, leaving the winger one-on-one with the keeper. But he hesitated slightly before applying the finish, allowing the visiting stopper to close down the angle and make the save.

As the clock ticked into the final three minutes, Gámez produced another moment of magic. Cushioning the ball with sublime control, the Canarian King lofted a delicate pass into Yelysieiev’s stride. Once again, the debutant ran free on goal, but once again the keeper stood tall to deny him.

Gámez Makes it Safe

It felt like one of those nights where the Dragoons might somehow throw it away. But as the game hit the 90th minute, the Expats finally killed it. Forabosco, ever the heartbeat of the team threaded a rapier-like ball to find Gámez. The brilliant Spaniard showed class, sitting a defender down with a feint before calmly poking past the keeper to make it 3-1 and game over.

Muñoz Magic

In injury time, Gabi Muñoz produced a moment of excellence. Spotting the Prądniczanka defence pushed high after a failed free-kick, the Chilean launched a quick, raking throw over the top. Yelysieiev latched onto it, outpaced his marker, rounded the keeper, and finally claimed the debut goal his performance deserved.

Immediately after the goal, the referee blew for full time with the Dragoons finally sealing their safe passage to the next round.

Summary

The Dragoons dominated from start to finish against a depleted Prądniczanka side. They carved out enough chances to win three matches, and while the finishing left plenty to be desired, the quality eventually told.

Debut goals for Serhii Yelysieiev and returning hero Adrian Paliś marked the start of an exciting new era under Gonçalo Ferreira. Add in Bilovol’s header and Gámez’s late composure, it was a pleasing start to a new era!

Posted on By Dave Burch
Share on Facebook

Lineup
1Gabriel Muñoz (chi)
6Brian Lemmen (ned)
7Adrian Paliś (pol) 1'
8Enrico Forabosco (fin/ita)
9Yuri Samyonov (isr) 36
21Fernando Gámez (esp) 90'
22Gracjan Bałuch (pol) 14
25Rob Smits (ned) 73
34Michael Syska-Lamb (sco)
80Serhii Yelysieiev (ukr) 90'
97Szymon Urzędowski (pol)
99Marcin Obyrtacz (pol)
14Roman Bilovol (arg) 22 69'
33Omar Atzori (ita)
36Corneille Malonga (cod) 9
73Alejandro Pascual (esp) 25
Dragoons FC kits: the home kit in blue and the away kit in white
Shop

Official kits

Match and training wear.
Designed by Power Canvas™.

Shop now