Recap
Too Little, Too Late
The Dragoons travelled to Sulechów for their first away match after the winter break this past weekend.
Glorious sunshine welcomed the Expats who made four changes to the side that beat Juvenia Prandocin 3-1 a week previous. The Expats’ French coach David Nicolas took charge of the team with Hugo Cruz and Scott Halcrow both absent.
Marcin Obyrtacz remained in goal, with one change as Sasha Arshakian stepped up to partner Kuba Drobny in central defence, with Simon Calabrese suspended. Roman Bilovol remained at right back and Francesco Leuci continued on the left for as per usual.
Mark Szczesnowicz missed out and Enrico Forabosco moved to a deeper position at the base of the midfield. Rohit Chandran came off the wing to join Jan Krzyżanowski in the centre of the park alongside the midfield magician.
In attack, Flavio Nkola also missed the game through suspension, but Martin Voženílek returned to action on the right wing. Meanwhile, Błażej Święcicki came back into the team on the left and Vałdzis Fuhaš continued in attack.
Kick Off
A quick start saw both sides have early attempts on goal, but neither teams could trouble the other’s goalkeeper.
On 6 minutes, great footwork by Enrico Forabosco saw the Italian beat multiple opponents to get into the box. Forabosco curled a speculative effort towards goal, but failed to work Krzysztof Zabawa in the Zawisza net as the attempt drifted wide.
The Dragoons worked Zabawa for the first time after 10 minutes played. A long throw into the box by Leuci saw the hosts clear as far as Fuhaš on the edge of the penalty area. The attacker swivelled to shoot on the volley, but could only strike directly straight at the home custodian for a routine save.
A Correct Call!
A minute later, the Dragoons had the ball in the back of net from a set-piece. A Forabosco free-kick found the head of Drobny, who sent a perfectly flicked effort flying past Zabawa. However, the linesman’s flag went up pretty quickly and the goal was promptly disallowed. Probably the correct decision on second view!
Straight down the other end, Zawisza believed they should have had a penalty as Daniel Krokosz went down in the box. The referee waved away the decision, with it looking like the correct one as the forward initiated the contact with Drobny.
The game took a scrappy feel as time wore on, with neither side able to keep control of the ball on a bobbly pitch. But on 24 minutes, the Expats had a shout for a penalty of their own. The Dragoons went on the attack and Zawisza failed to clear their lines. A miscued clearance cannoned back off a defender and Leuci nipped in. The Italian whacked the ball over the bar on the turn, but went down under a challenge. Unfortunately, the referee pointed for a goal-kick rather than the spot, which again looked a good decision.
Horror Own Goal
Almost immediately down the other end of the pitch, Zawisza kicked it long with Krokosz getting to the ball first. The attacker flicked it on and Bilovol caught an opponent in his attempt to clear away the danger and conceded a free-kick. Krokosz stepped up to the kick, and saw his effort spank the crossbar and fly up into the air. Dragoons keeper Marcin Obyrtacz seemed to lose sight of the ball as it dropped back down and inexplicitly palmed it into his own net under no real pressure. The Expats had just about edged the encounter thus far, but found themselves 1-0 down due to the error.
The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Expats, but they almost created a chance for themselves on 32 minutes. Some sustained possession in the Zawisza half saw Voženílek cross into the box. Rohit Chandran managed to get to the ball ahead of an opponent and put a pass towards the back post. However, good defending by the hosts saw the ball put behind for a corner ahead of the lurking Fuhaš.
Close!
From the following corner, Fuhaš lost his marker to nod the ball across the face of goal. Voženílek escaped the attention of a defender, but could not get a touch as the ball fell wide.
Zawisza sent a long ball forward and an uncharacteristic poor touch by Forabosco gifted the hosts possession. A neat through-ball saw Patryk Maślanka through on goal with just Obyrtacz to beat, but thankfully, the forthcoming effort sailed just wide. A let off for the Dragoons!
Moments later, a quickly taken free-kick caught the Dragoons sleeping at the back. Maślanka managed to get to the ball first, but could only hook it aerially which Obyrtacz gratefully grabbed.
The hosts enjoyed a period of possession in the Dragoons half, but the next chance came the way of the visitors. The Expats looked to utilise Voženílek’s pace forward, however, the hosts managed to hack the ball away the danger. Kuba Drobny headed the clearance to Fuhaš, who found himself with space and time. The attacker carried the ball forward, but sent a largely forgettable shot sailing high into the sky.
Great Chance Missed
With five minutes of the half to play, the Dragoons had a glorious chance to bring the game level. Great harrying by Krzyżanowski saw the midfielder win the ball in the centre of the park. The young midfielder inadvertently blocked Święcicki’s pass towards Voženílek, but wrong footed a defender at the same time.
Fuhaš looked like he would get to the ball first ahead of Zabawa, but held his run to allow the keeper to win the footrace. The unfortunate Zabawa slipped over however, presenting the ball straight to Voženílek. Sadly, the Czech winger took one touch too many and a covering defender put the ball out of play. A really good opportunity missed by the Expats.
Two minutes later and Zawsiza blew a glorious chance of their own. A pass across the face of goal found a home player unmarked. Thankfully, a terrible bobble saw the ball completely missed as the Dragoons just about held on to a one goal deficit.
Half time came without further incident with the Dragoons going into the break behind in an even game. The visitors had shown good moments, but had yet to really test the home keeper. Likewise, Zawisza also had their moments and lead the game courtesy of Obyrtacz’s blunder in the visiting goal.
Second Half
The Dragoons made one change at the break, withdrawing Błażej Święcicki and putting Omar Atzori into midfield. Rohit Chandran went wide as the Expats looked to get a better hold of the game.
Zawisza started the brighter of the two teams as the Dragoons struggled against the wind. The hosts looked to put the Dragoons under immediate pressure and attacked of the front foot.
Penalty Zawisza
The hosts good start paid dividends with five minutes of the second half played as they won a penalty. Daniel Krokosz expertly spun Sasha Arshakian from a throw in and burst into the Expats box. The wily attacker chopped back with the ball in the area with Arshakian in pursuit, drawing a foul in the process. The referee immediately pointed to the spot to give Zawisza an excellent chance to double their lead. Krokosz dusted himself down to take the spot-kick himself and sent a firm shot past the dive of Obyrtacz to bring the score to 2-0.
Zawisza continued to attack the Dragoons, who could not keep the ball out of their own half. A double change on 55 minutes, saw Sasha Arshakian and Martin Voženílek replaced by Michael Lamb and the returning Barry Chowaniec.
Almost immediately after the chance, the hosts had another chance to increase their lead. A foul by the touchline saw a free-kick swung into the Expats box. A Zawisza head got to the ball first, but could not direct the opportunity into the Dragoons’ net.
The Dragoons struggled to string two or three passes together and almost paid the price on 58 minutes. A misdirected pass from Forabosco fell straight to an opponent who shot from range. The ball bobbled over the turf on it’s way to goal, but Obyrtacz proved to be its match and pushed the effort wide.
Zawisza Score A Third
Just two minutes later, the Dragoons inability to clear their lines cost them as Zawisza scored a third goal. A lack of composure at the back saw Leuci’s attempted clearance hang in the air with the wind. Aztori headed away from his own box with the ball landing at the feet of Dawid Siwek. The Zawisza midfielder skipped past the challenge of Chandran before hitting a rasping effort towards the goal. The effort took a vicious bounce off the turf and flew past the outstretched arm of Obyrtacz and into the back of the net for 3-0. A terrible second half performance thus far had seen Zawisza capitalise on their frontline pressure as the Dragoons looked done for.
Dragoons Get One Back
On their first real foray forward in the second half, Forabosco spotted Fuhaš on the shoulder of the last man and threaded a pass in his direction. The attacker looked to get onto the end of the pass, but a clumsy foul saw him grounded and a penalty given. Forabosco completed a rare feat in Dragoons history by tucking away his second spot-kick in consecutive weeks to reduce the score to 3-1.
With 78 minutes played, Zawisza came close to adding a fourth. A long punt forward saw Drobny swan-dive towards the ball in an attempt to clear and completely missed it. Daniel Krokosz could not take advantage, however, attempting a lobbed shot over the onrushing Obyrtacz that landed on the roof of the goal.
GO LONG!
The Dragoons continued to try and play football from the back and constantly failed to deal with the Zawisza high-press. An attempted clearance from Yasin Civelek went straight to an opponent who lumped the ball forward. It landed kindly in the box for a host attacker, who shot towards goal. The ball took a wicked divot off the pitch, but Obyrtacz got his body down well to make an unconventional save.
As the clock ticked down, David Nicolas implored the team to start getting the forward quicker towards Chowaniec. Despite shouts from the touchline, the Dragoons still struggled to get the ball towards the striker’s direction.
With five minutes left, Omar Aztori managed to get the ball long for the first time. Chowaniec looked to race onto the ball, but a trip saw the Expats win a free-kick. Forabosco stepped up to take the kick, but could not find the target as the ball flew over the bar.
Dragoons Get A Second
Two minutes later, a ball forward by Drobny saw Fuhaš fouled giving Forabosco another shooting chance from a closer range. On this occasion, the Italian struck the ball low, with Omar Aztori expertly leading the last man in the wall astray. The run of the substitute blinded Zabawa, allowing the ball to nestle into the net with the keeper left stranded.
A Final Foray
Deep into injury time, the Dragoons threw caution to the wind in getting the ball forward quicker. A pass forward by Lamb saw Chowaniec spin a defender and burst through on goal. The forward saw his effort saved by Zabawa, but the rebound fell straight to Forabosco. The midfielder hit a first time shot with the goal gaping only to be denied by an incredible sliding block from a defender.
Unfortunately, it proved to be too little, too late for the Expats as the final whistle ended the game and ended an unlikely comeback.
In all truth, the Dragoons struggled to get to grips with the wind and high press in the second half. The Expats struggled to get out of their own half and needed to adapt their game better. Zawisza deserved the points on the balance of play, but the Dragoons will be disappointed with their second half performance.
Next Up
The result sees the Dragoons drop down a place to eighth ahead of a tough fixture against league leaders Michałowianka Michałowice.
Last time out, the Expats took the lead with Sasha Arshakian scoring from a set-piece. The Expats managed to hold out until the final minute but poor game management saw the hosts equalise at the death.
The Dragoons will have home advantage, but Michałowianka are unbeaten this season only dropping points twice. They go into the game following a 10-0 victory over Sparta Skzreszowice this past weekend and post the highest goals scored in the league (71) and fewest goals conceded (13).
