Recap
Paliś Powers Dragoons Victory
The Dragoons continued their imperious form in the spring round with a 4-0 away win over Opatkowianka Kraków on Saturday.
Coach Gonçalo Ferreira made several changes to the side following the 2-1 victory over Fairant the week previous.
⚽️ 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐗𝐈 ⚽️
This is how your Dragoons line up today in Opatkowice! 🐲
🧤 GK: 🇨🇱
🧱 DEF: 🇨🇴 | 🇵🇱 | 🇦🇷 | 🇯🇵
⚙️ MID: 🇫🇮🇮🇹 | 🇪🇸 | 🇪🇸
🎯 ATT: 🇨🇿 | 🇵🇱 | 🇦🇴
LETS GO, DRAGOONS! 🐉🔥#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/Cj4dAJAE2A
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 4, 2026
The most notable change saw Gabriel Muñoz return to the squad to start in goal with Marcin Obyrtacz unavailable. Mateo Lopez stepped in at right-back to replace Szymon Urzędowski, who dropped to the bench. Meanwhile, Kuba Drobny and Roman Bilovol continued their partnership in central defence for a third consecutive match. Koki Oe occupied the left flank to complete the back four.
In the engine room, Enrico Forabosco captained the side alongside Fernando Gámez on again. One change in the middle saw Bernabé García come into the team as Rob Smits dropped out of the squad.
The attacking trio featured Martin Voženílek, returning in the place of Giordano Zambon and Flavio Nkola on the wings, with Adrian Paliś leading the line in the place of the suspended Obed Sánchez.
Kick Off
The match began with immediate intensity as Flavio Nkola was wiped out in the very first minute. This challenge earned an early booking for the hosts as the Expats looked to go on the offensive early doors.
Following this exchange, the Dragoons settled into their rhythm and began testing the Opatkowianka backline. Enrico Forabosco whipped a teasing ball into the box from an 11th minute set-piece. However, Kuba Drobny somehow failed to give the Dragoons the lead, sending a chance over the top from close range.
Shortly after, the hosts advanced for the first time. Opatkowianka got the ball up field, attacking in numbers, but the resulting shot sailed high and wide.
Dragoons Come Close
With 14 minutes on the clock, the Dragoons came perilously close to taking the lead through Flavio Nkola. The Expats’ mercurial attacker received possession on the edge of the box after a quick free-kick. The Angolan worked the ball onto his right foot, and sent a fierce drive that whistled inches wide of the up right.
Three minutes later, the Dragoons continued knocking on the door when Adrian Paliś’ cross was inadvertently put into the path of Fernando Gámez just in side the box. Gámez shifted the ball on his left and forced the keeper to stick out a leg to save with a low shot. The rebound fell back to Paliś, who sent a cross-shot skyward, with the ball landing on the top of the net.
A period of calm saw the Dragoons dominate proceedings but a lack of a final pass saw the Expats unable to create further openings until the 27th minute. Drobny’s long ball forward saw Opatkowianka fail to clear, with Paliś working hard to allow Forabosco to win possession. The midfield magician found Nkola on the corner of the box. The Angolan launched another rocket at goal and forced the keeper to slap the ball down into a turf with a defender calmy nudging it back to the custodian to collect.
Deadlock Broken
The deadlock broke in the 30th minute through a beautifully worked team goal involving five players. Martin Voženílek sparked the move by finding Paliś, who stylishly nutmegged his marker with some neat footwork. He shifted the ball to Gámez, who immediately moved it to Nkola on the edge of the area. The winger found Forabosco free inside the left side of the box to cross for Adrian Paliś to steer a headed effort home. 1-0 for the Dragoons and a deserved lead, a goal provided by the top assister in history and finished by the all-time leading top scorer!
HISTORY MADE📜
Our all-time top assister Enrico Forabosco 🇮🇹 finds our all-time top scorer Adrian Paliś 🇵🇱 for a clinical header. A 5-player move to break the deadlock in style! 🐉🔥 #COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/O8OBJAuz6W
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 5, 2026
Can you hear the drums, Fernando?
Just two minutes later, the Dragoons doubled their advantage with a goal made in Spain. Drobny read the game well on the halfway line, allowing Forabosco to nod the ball toward Voženílek. The Czech forward picked out Bernabé García’s overlapping run on the right flank with a smart pass. García then looked up and delivered an inviting cross into the box for his fellow countryman, Fernando Gámez, who timed his run to perfection, guiding a volley into the bottom corner of the net to make it 2-0. An excellent move and the Dragoons comfortable.
CAN YOU HEAR THE DRUMS? 🥁🇪🇸
An overlapping run by Bernabé García 🇪🇸 finds Fernando Gámez 🇪🇸🇮🇨 for a perfectly timed volley!
The Spanish connection doubles our lead in Opatkowice. 🐉⚽️#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/gZeWx9fKb6
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 5, 2026
Gámez continued to be a thorn in the Opatkowianka side and looked to further extend the lead on the stroke of half time. The Canarian King drove forward through the midfield and released a pass out wide to Lopez. The Colombian full-back saw his cross cut out, with Gámez pressing well to regain possession. The Spaniard curled a left-footed effort at goal, but home custodian flew to his right to clutch the ball with a flying save.
The whistle blew moments later to bring an end to the half. The Expats had controlled the game and grabbed two goals to confirm their dominance.
Second Half
After a passionate half time speech from captain Enrico Forabosco, the Dragoons emerged for the second half with high intensity.
An Immediate Third
Gonçalo Ferreira’s side went straight on the attack with Voženílek winning a free-kick on the right wing, two minutes into the half. Forabosco stood over the ball and swung a dangerous trademark cross into the six-yard box. The Opatkowianka goalkeeper got two hands onto the ball, but could only push it straight up into the air inside the six-yard-box. Roman Bilovol reacted quickest to the loose ball and stabbed it home to score the Dragoons’ third goal. A great way to top off recently turning 21!
THE PERFECT PRESENT!🎁
What a way to celebrate recently turning 21!! 🎂
Roman Bilovol 🇦🇷 reacts quickest in the 6-yard box to stab home our third of the afternoon. The perfect start to the second half! 🐉🔥#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/gjxdx7jzKc
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 5, 2026
Paliś at the Double
In the 51st minute, the Dragoons showed their ruthlessness in front of goal to add their fourth goal. Koke Oe’s throw-in on the left flank bounced off the turf and bobbled over a defender to put Nkola through. The Angolan showed his strength to hold off a covering defender, dumping them to the floor to reach the byline. He pulled the ball back to find Paliś, who fired through the legs of a defender to grab his second off the post.
BRACE FOR PALIŚ! 🇵🇱🔥
Flavio Nkola 🇦🇴 bulldozes his way to the byline to set up Adrian for a clinical finish through a crowd of defenders.
4-0 and total dominance! 🐉💨#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/mwdQLQeeRr
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 5, 2026
Ringing the Changes
With the score at 4-0, the Dragoons rotated their squad by introducing Stiven Campo and Barry Chowaniec in the 57th minute. Fernando Gámez and Martin Voženílek made way, a well earned break for the Canarian King.
Doing the Can-Can
Despite the lead, the Dragoons remained hungry for a fifth and came close in the 60th minute. Campo and Chowaniec were involved immediately after entering the pitch. Mateo Lopez swung a teasing cross into the heart of the six-yard-box where both substitutes waited. However, they mistimed their efforts in spectacular, synchronised fashion, performing simultaneous air-kicks right in front of the goal. The pair swung their legs in unison like a choreographed line from the Moulin Rouge, a “can-can” performance that would have made a Parisian cabaret proud. The bench shared a collective groan as the ball bobbled harmlessly away from the two wannabe dancers.
A minute later and Bilovol almost benefitted a second time from an attempted clearance from a Dragoons corner. On this occasion, the Argentine attempted a spectacular bicycle kick that dropped wide of the target.
Shortly after, Jeremi Wabiński and Brian Lemmen entered the fray for Forabosco and Nkola.
Dragoons On Top
Moments after the change, the Dragoons had another opportunity for a fifth goal in the 68th minute. The dancing duo of Campo and Chowaniec were involved again, as the Colombian cleverly poked a pass through the defence to put Chowaniec on goal. However, the ball bobbled up horribly off the surface and evaded both the striker and Opatkowianka keeper to go behind for a goal kick.
Two minutes later, another set-piece saw a clearance fall to Wabiński 25 metres out. The Dragoons substitute took the ball down neatly on his chest and showed lovely technique to volley at goal. Unfortunately, the ball dropped wide to deny the Dragoons new signing a maiden goal.
Almost Top Bins
Campo nearly produced a highlight-reel goal in the 77th minute from a full 30 metres. The attacking midfield combined well with Chowaniec, and sent a fierce effort at goal. The ball seemed destined for the top corner but went agonisingly wide of the post with the keeper beaten all ends up.
In the 83rd minute, Chowaniec executed a clever lifted pass to find the perfectly timed run of Paliś. The striker attempted a delicate chip over the onrushing keeper, but it dropped inches wide of the post to deny the striker a hat-trick goal.
The remainder of the game saw Opatkowianka launch the ball forward, with the Dragoons comfortably defending on each occasion. The final whistle blew after a minute of injury time to confirm the Dragoons third win on the spin. The victory sees the Expats strengthen their grip on sixth position and further close the gap on the top five.
🎖 MAN OF THE MATCH 🎖
Excellent team performance to secure 3 pts! 🐲⚽️
MOTM: Bernabé García 🇪🇸 Did the dirty work, covered every blade of grass & grabbed an assist! 🏃♂️💨
Props to Adrian Paliś 🇵🇱 for the brace ⚽️⚽️ and Fernando Gámez 🇪🇸!
¡Bien jugado, Bernabé! 👏💪#COYD💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/EqdqCXEjRt
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) April 6, 2026
Next Up
The Dragoons now prepare for a home clash against Tramwaj II, looking to maintain their impressive unbeaten run. Tramwaj II currently occupies 10th position having won 5 and losing 11 of their 16 games this season.
During the last meeting between the sides, the Expats secured a thrilling 4-3 victory. Despite falling behind early on, Obed Sánchez hit back to send the sides level at the break. An excellent second for Sánchez and a sublime chip from Manuel Rangel put the Expats 3-1 ahead with 30 minutes still to play. The Dragoons went down to 10 men with fifteen minutes left after receiving a farcical second yellow card for Simon Calabrese. However, an 83rd minute Yuri Samyonov header looked to have made the game safe. Tramwaj piled on the pressure, netting two late goals, but the Expats just about held on to preserve the points.
