Recap
Injury Time Agony
Football has a way of teaching harsh lessons, and the Dragoons were reminded of that in Bębło.
Buoyed by their convincing win over Orzeł Iwanowice the previous weekend, the Expats headed into this clash against the league leaders with renewed confidence.
🌍 STARTING LINE-UP 🌍
The Dragoons are on the road and ready for a massive battle against league leaders Orzeł Bębło 💥
Here’s how Head Coach Hugo Cruz 🇵🇹 sends the lads out today 👇
🧤 GK: 🇨🇱
🛡 DEF: 🇦🇷 | 🇵🇱 | 🇮🇹 | 🇵🇱
⚙️ MID: 🇫🇮/🇮🇹 | 🇨🇩 | 🇮🇳
🔥 ATTACK: 🇨🇿 | 🇮🇱 | 🇦🇴 pic.twitter.com/TEq5eTvHJc— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) May 24, 2025
Manager Hugo Cruz made three changes to the starting XI. With Marcin Obyrtacz unavailable, Gabriel Muñoz stepped in between the posts. Szymon Urzędowski returned to the line-up at left back, replacing Alejandro Pascual, who dropped to the bench. The rest of the backline remained unchanged, with Roman Bilovol on the right and the familiar centre-back pairing of Kuba Drobny and Simon Calabrese.
In midfield, Corneille Malonga returned to the side in place of Fernando Gamez, taking up a deeper role alongside the injury-affected Enrico Forabosco and the energetic Rohit Chandran.
The attacking trio remained intact, with Martin Voženílek and Flavio Nkola operating on the flanks, while Yuri Samyonov led the line through the middle.
First Half
The game began at a good tempo, with both sides probing but unable to land an early blow. Muñoz was called into action just two minutes in, safely collecting a routine effort from the hosts.
A foul on the edge of the Dragoons’ box handed Bębło a dangerous free-kick on 5 minutes, but the shot sailed over. Two minutes later, a Bębło corner to the back post caused alarm, but the header flew over the bar.
The Expats responded with attacking intent. On 9 minutes, Voženílek stood up a cross to Nkola, who managed a shot under pressure that the goalkeeper dealt with.
Soon after, Drobny rose highest from a corner and directed a header narrowly wide — a warning shot that signalled Dragoons’ growing confidence.
Despite spells of neat possession and solid defending, the first half ended goalless, with neither side able to find the finishing touch.
It had been quite a scrappy affair, with a lot of fouls giving the game a stop-start feel. Bębło had perhaps seen the better of the ball in attacking areas, however, the Expats had withstood the pressure well.
Second Half
The Dragoons came out strongly after the break, carving out a series of promising chances.
On 51 minutes, Enrico Forabosco found space on the side of the box and curled a well-struck shot toward the far corner, drawing a fine diving save. Yuri Samyonov was first to the rebound but couldn’t steer it home under pressure from a defender.
Ten minutes later, the Dragoons’ best move of the match nearly broke the deadlock. Drobny flicked on a clever header into the path of Samyonov, who lashed his effort into the side netting.
As the game wore on, both sides had chances to score. Bębło saw a multitude of set-pieces chucked into the box and on each occasion could not find the telling touch to trouble the Expats goal.
With five minutes to go, Rohit Chandran raced through on goal after a smart through ball. The Indian whirlwind skipped past a couple a could of challenges until he had just the keeper to beat. Chandran worked the ball onto his right foot but he couldn’t generate the power needed, and the effort was smothered by the grateful goalkeeper.
Bębło Win Late On
Then came the gut punch. In the 90th minute, a long ball forward saw the Dragoons fail to clear the ball, and Bębło pounced — burying the chance and sparking wild celebrations from the home side.
However, things went from bad to worse moments later when Pascual was shown a straight red card, adding frustration to what had already become a painful afternoon.
Shortly after, the final whistle blew with the Dragoons beaten by a solitary moment of loss of concentration at the back. It was a tough one to take for the Expats, but heightens the need to take chances when you are on top. However, the Expats had given the leaders a huge scare and with performances like this one, results will surely follow?
🏅 MAN OF THE MATCH 🇵🇱
A model of discipline and determination, Szymon Urzędowski kept Bębło’s dangerman quiet and showed why he’s one of the first names on the team sheet.
Another composed, consistent display from the man of a thousand positions 👏💪#COYD 💙🖤 pic.twitter.com/TkulUnzXH9
— Krakow Dragoons FC (@DragoonsFc) May 26, 2025
What’s Next
The Dragoons will aim to bounce back next Saturday as they return to home soil to take on Czarni 03 Grzegorzowice. When the two sides met earlier in the season, it was Rohit Chandran who made the difference — coming off the bench to fire the Expats into the lead, before a late penalty from Enrico Forabosco sealed a hard-fought victory.
Czarni currently sit 9th in the table, 12 points adrift of the Dragoons, with a record of 8 wins, 3 draws, and 12 losses. They’ve scored 47 goals but struggled defensively, conceding 63 across the campaign.
