Recap
Job Done
The Dragoons took to their travels once again this weekend in the second round of the Puchar Polski. Following a 3-0 victory against Radziszowianka II the week previous, the Expats faced off against Klasa B side Iskra Czułów.
Hugo Cruz made a couple of changes to the side that successfully navigated their way through the preliminary round. Kuba Drobny dropped to the bench as Brian Lemmen came into the team to partner Simon Calabrese at the heart of the defence. Meanwhile, Roman Bilovol and Francesco Leuci continued in the full-back positions.
Corneille Malonga dropped out of the squad and Rob Smits came into the team to replace the Congolese midfielder. Enrico Forabosco and Szymon Urzędowski completed a midfield trio beside the Dutchmeester.
The final change saw Flavio Nkola drop to the bench with Salah Missi promoted to the left wing position in his place. Yuri Samyonov and Martin Voženílek continued in central attack and right wing respectively.
Kick Off
A tense opening saw the first effort of the game fall to the hosts after five minutes. A low drive came at the Dragoons goal from outside the box, however, Gabriel Muñoz got down well to push the ball out of play.
The Expats had to wait until the 20th minute to register their first real opportunity of the game. Simon Calabrese played a speculative ball forward and picked out Yuri Samyonov in space. The Israeli did well to spring the offside trap, but could not find a way past the home custodian. The burly keeper rushed off his line to block the attempt which rebounded straight to Forabosco. The midfield magician struck first-time back at goal, but lifted his attempt over the bar.
Dragoons Come Close
Five minutes later the Expats created two good chances to take the lead. The first came from a glorious pass from Forabosco to set Voženílek down the right flank. The Czech cut a pass back to the edge of the box for Smits, who drove low at goal. A good diving stop saw the keeper claw the ball away and hosts cleared away the danger.
Just moments later, the Dragoons came even closer to taking the lead. Good frontline pressure saw the Expats win the ball high up the field after a poor touch from a defender. Voženílek nudged the ball to put Missi through, however, the Algerian could not apply the finish and put his shot wide of the target.
Both sides had opportunities for the lead with a rasping effort by the hosts from range forcing Muñoz to fly across his goal to save. Smits had another half chance for the Expats too, but the ball would not sit nicely and the Dutchmeester could only hit his attempt at the keeper.
On 35 minutes the Expats had the ball in the net through Samyonov. The striker got onto the end of Missi’s lofted pass and prodded past the keeper, only to see the effort ruled out for offside.
Half time soon came with the Dragoons having the better of the chances, but unable to establish their dominance on the game. The hosts had created chances of their own, but like the Expats, too often lost possession in the final third of the pitch.
Second Half
The Expats created the first chance of the second period in the 48th minute. Martin Voženílek was involved once again taking advantage of a poor touch and sprinting down the right flank. The Czech’s cross found the run of Rob Smits in the box, however, the Dutchmeester rushed a header and sent the ball wide of the goal when well placed.
Smits had another glorious chance to break the deadlock on 56 minutes. The midfield metronome did well to time his run to meet a Forabosco free-kick inside the box. Unfortunately, Smits guided his close range attempt over the goal as the Dragoons’ search for the opener continued.
On the hour mark, Hugo Cruz made a triple change with Michał Nowak, Flavio Nkola and Emre Çolakoğlu all entering the field. Yuri Samyonov, Salah Missi and Szymon Urzędowski all departed in an attacking change for the Expats.
Instant Impact
Nkola found himself involved immediately, winning a free-kick on the left hand side of the pitch on 62 minutes. Forabosco whipped the ball into the box as usual and it Nkola rose highest to meet it. The Dragoons substitute sent a firm header crashing beyond the goalkeeper and into the net to put the Expats 1-0 ahead.
The hosts almost found an immediate riposte to going behind just moments after the goal. Calabrese air-kicked an attempted clearance, which inadvertently put an attacker in on goal. However, Muñoz stood up to the incoming drive well, showing a strong hand to send the ball over the bar.
A minute later, the Expats went close again through Nkola’s drive at goal. The Angolan struck a fierce effort from distance, that whistled just wide of the post.
Michał Nowak was the next to go close and really should have doubled the Dragoons’ lead. The attacker latched onto Leuci’s long-pass, breaking the offside trap to run free on goal. Nowak took his time to shoot and attempted to put the ball over the onrushing goalkeepers head. However, the effort just cleared the bar and landed on top of the net.
With 15 minutes to play the Expats had appeals for a penalty turned away by the officials from a Nowak long-throw. The Polish national chucked a humungous throw into the box, that struck the outstretched hand of a defending opponent. The officials rejected the Expats appeals, and denied the side a blatant spot kick.
Early Bath
On 78 minutes, the referee produced a second yellow card to an opposition player to make their chances of victory even harder. A free-kick for Iskra went over everyone’s head and Muñoz looked to collect the ball. However, an opponent clattered into the Chilean stopper, knocking him into the net and subsequently saw red.
A late Second
An ill tempered end to the game saw the Expats grab their second goal to kill off the contest in the 88th minute. A corner from Forabosco saw the ball strike an Iskra man and past the keeper to gift the Dragoons a second goal.
Shortly afterwards, the referee blew the final whistle with the Expats getting the job done to run out 2-0 victors. By all means, it was not a classic performance by the Dragoons, but enough to see them progress to the next round of the cup.
Hugo Cruz’s side will face off against Klasa Okręgowa side Piast Wołowice in the next round. It should be an interesting game against a side that finished last season in 11th place. The Expats go into the game in good form, scoring 5 goals without conceding ahead of the tie.
