Recap
Dragoons Advance
The Expats’ season started this past Sunday with a trip to Radziszów in the Puchar Polski first round.
Hugo Cruz’s side ended last season five games unbeaten and looked to take that form into the cup competition. The Portuguese Head Coach had a strong squad available to him and opted to choose Gabriel Muñoz in goal. Injury prevented the Chilean stopper from taking the field in the second half of the season, with Marcin Obyrtacz starting on the bench.
A familiar line-up in defence saw Roman Bilovol and Francesco Leuci at right and left back. Meanwhile, Kuba Drobny partnered Simon Calabrese as per usual in central defence.
Enrico Forabosco captained the side, and he was partnered by Corneille Malonga and Szymon Urzędowski in midfield.
Into the attack, Yuri Samyonov started centrally, with Flavio Nkola and Martin Voženílek working the left and right flanks respectively.
Kick Off
The Expats kicked the game off with both sides looking a little ring rusty as to be expected. Neither side could keep possession for any length of time, with a couple of scrappy fouls halting much progress.
After a slow start, the Dragoons began to see more of the ball, working it into dangerous areas which saw the first chance of the game arrive. A searching long pass from Bilovol looked to pick out the forward run of Samyonov. However, the home goalkeeper acted quickly to race of his line to get to the ball first. The custodian proceeded to use his shoulder rather than catch the ball and inadvertently put Forabosco in possession. The midfield magician laid a pass off to Voženílek, who thumped a shot straight at the stranded keeper to save.
Dragoons Take the Lead
The Dragoons kept up the pressure and it was not long before the first goal arrived in the 14th minute. The move for the goal started with goalkeeper Muñoz rolling the ball to Malonga in space in the midfield. The Congolese pace-setter charged forward to put Samyonov in possession, who in turn found Forabosco free on the Dragoons right side. The Italian looked to slide a pass to find the run of Nkola, who expertly dummied the ball after Samyonov’s call to leave. The move bamboozled the Radziszowianka defence, allowing the Israeli attacker to motor ahead of a defender, round the stranded goalkeeper and calmly stroke the ball into the net for 1-0.
Following the goal, the pace of the game slowed with both sides struggling in possession. The Dragoons struggled to move the ball and opted to go long, often gifting possession back to Radziszowianka. The hosts looked to break forward whenever they could, but could not to find a way past the Expats’ defensive line.
It took until the 32nd minute of the game for the hosts to register their first real effort of the game. Radziszowianka managed to find a gap between the defence and the midfield, allowing an attacker to take a touch and turn. The incoming attempt had Muñoz stretching across his goal, however, the ball whistled wide of the left hand post.
A Good Chance for the Expats
With five minutes of the half to play the Dragoons fashioned an excellent chance to double their lead. Malonga showed a great touch to leave an opponent for dead and picked out the run of Samyonov with laser-guided precision. The goalkeeper rushed off his line as Samyonov attempted to take the ball under his control. However, a horrible divot off the turf forced the Israeli to attempt a quick lobbed shot that failed to find the target and the ball dropped wide of the goal.
Not long after, the half time whistle blew with the Dragoons relatively comfortable at the break. Despite being ahead at the break, Hugo Cruz had some stern words for his charges. The Dragoons had seen the most of the ball, however, they had struggled with their shape at times and had gifted possession far too easily for the Portuguese Head Coach’s liking.
Second Half
With Cruz’s words ringing in their ears, the Dragoons started the second half with a bang. Literally!
A Samyonov Special
Yuri Samyonov made a good run down the right, with Martin Voženílek putting the attacker into possession. A rugby tackle by an opposing defender stopped the Israeli, with the referee oblivious to a blatant foul.
Undeterred, the Dragoons’Israeli forward got back up and slid in to attempt to knock the ball away from an opponent. Good pressing forced the Radziszowianka defender to go back to his centre back, who inexplicitly passed straight to Samyonov on the corner of the box. The attacker took two touches unchallenged, before unleashing an absolute rocket of a shot from a tight angle, that somehow flew into the left top corner of the goal past the outstretched gloves of the keeper. It took a good five seconds for those in attendance to notice that the ball had gone into the goal and not into the side netting before the cheers came to celebrate a quite exquisite 49th minute strike.
Offside
After a brief resurgence from the hosts, the Expats went back onto the attack and on 54 minutes forced a corner. Enrico Forabosco swung the ball towards to near post with Voženílek getting his head to the ball. The Czech flicked his header towards the far post with Samyonov meeting the ball and nodding it into the net. Unfortunately, a flag from the linesman ruled out the attackers hat-trick goal and cut short the celebrations.
Dragoons Add a Third
Into the 65th minute, the Dragoons scored for a third time to make the game comfortable. Roman Bilovol found himself advanced in the Radziszowianka half and attempted to find Nkola with a low pass. The Angolan could not get the ball under control under pressure from an opponent, however, a loose touch diverted it back towards him. With Voženílek calling for a pass, Nkola played a delicate chip over the defence to put the Czech through on goal. Voženílek let the ball bounce once, before hitting a fierce drive that beat the keeper at his near post to further extend the Expats’ lead to 3-0.
Two minutes later, the Dragoons had a chance to score a fourth goal. On this occasion, a searching pass from Forabosco saw a defender head the ball into the path of Voženílek. The Czech ran through on goal, with the keeper sprinting off his line to close the gap. However, rather than shoot, Voženílek elected to try and find Nkola with a pass that a defender cut out. Whilst making his pass, the goalkeeper slid in to Voženílek, wiping the winger out inside the box. The Dragoons appealed for a penalty, but the referee showed no interest in giving the decision.
Cruz Rings the Changes
Hugo Cruz decided to utilise his bench moments later. Both goal scorers Samyonov and Voženílek left the field with Salah Missi and Michał Nowak coming into the game. A welcome return for Nowak, who returned to the team following a year away.
With 15 minutes left to play, Cruz turned to his bench once again to make another change of personnel. On this occasion, Forabosco and Nkola made way for Piotr Hajnrych and Emre Çolakoğlu. A welcome return to action for the Turkish Man-Mountain, who returned to the team after a long lay-off.
Hajnyrch almost had an immediate impact just moments after entering the pitch. Michał Nowak sent one of his trademark throws flying into the box, catching the hosts by surprise. The home keeper’s attempt to punch the ball went awry and landed straight at the feet of the Dragoons utilityman. Sadly, Hajnrych got the ball stuck underneath his feet and when he eventually got his shot away, the goalkeeper recovered to make an excellent diving save.
Post Denies a Fourth
Into the last minute, the final chance of the game came the Dragoons’ way. Nowak played a neat one-two with Salah Missi to find himself beyond the last defender with just the keeper to beat. The Polish forward struck firmly past the dive of the goalkeeper, but saw his attempt bounce back into play off the post.
Missi reacted quickest to the loose ball and had just a defender on the line to beat. However, the Algerian completely misread his lines and somehow pulled his effort wide of the post. It looked harder to miss!
Straight after, the referee blew his whistle to bring an end to the contest. The Dragoons had been far superior and deserved their victory. A strong second half saw the team dominate the ball, notch two good goals and keep a clean sheet.
With the victory, the Dragoons advance to the second round of the Puchar Polski where we will face LKS Iskra Czułów this coming Sunday.
