Flying Kiwis – June 27
Tommy Smith, Kip Colvey & Deklan Wynne – Colorado Rapids (American Major League Soccer)
Mate, if you thought that Tommy Smith was heroic last week then you’ve gotta know he was only just getting started. Fresh from helping end the nine-game losing streak against Elliot Collier’s Chicago Fire with his first MLS goal, it Minnesota United at home and a chance to snap what was now ten games without a win. Up against Michael Boxall, no less!
Tommy Smith, Deklan Wynne and Mike Boxall all starting in the same game and spread out across the two defences… which murphy’s law dictated meant that there’d be a chuck of goals in this one.
It was Minnesota that scored first. 20 minutes in and Darwin Quintero skipped through down the right of the Rapids defence. Tim Howard was able to get enough on the shot that the ball held up before the line but Wynne couldn’t get his feet untangled in time to stop Miguel Ibarra from smacking it in from roughly fifteen centimetres.
It stayed that way until the break but five minutes after the resumption Edgar Castillo cut inside onto his right foot and curled in a beauty of an equaliser. That lasted quarter of an hour before Quintero sent a ball through for Ibarra between Smithy and Castillo but rather than shoot he squared it to Christian Ramirez for the tap in. Smithy had a yarn at the lino but no avail.
You’ve gotta feel for Mikey Boxall sometimes. He does his thing pretty well, well enough that he’s been wearing the captain’s armband lately, but what are you supposed to do when your fellow CB slips over and allows Joe Mason to run through and level it up in the 74th minute? Brett Kallman took a tumble and Mason chipped it nicely into the net. You thought that was bad, how about Ibarra giving Danny Wilson a jab in the back of the net while trying to get the ball back for the kick-off and only succeeding in getting himself sent off?
All that drama led to six minutes of injury time. Six and a half minutes into those six minutes, in came a Colorado corner. Ten games without a win. It would not become eleven.
TOMMY SMITH, TAKE A BOW!
April 14 was the last time that the Rapids won a game. She’s been a while between drinks.
Pro Soccer USA: “The Tommy Smith Show - Like a different Tommy Smyth says, “He’s been putting them in the back of the ‘ol onion bag” (Editor’s note: Yuck). After struggling for much of the season to find his deft touch on set pieces, Rapids defender Tommy Smith now has two goals and an assist to his name in two games. He also has back-to-back Man of the Match honors to add to his Rapids resume. It’s performances like those which make us understand why head coach Anthony Hudson favors him.
“I’m pleased because we’ve been so close so many times,” Hudson said of Smith’s game winner in extra time. “I’m pleased with Tommy’s reaction. He’s a strong character. He’s a big character. I was pleased that he got his reward and the goal in the end was for the whole team.””
Ah just bloody marvellous, Tommy, what do you reckon?
Although… what the hell was this!?
Up Next: Against Stefan Marinovic’s Vancouver Whitecaps, Monday 11am (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
Didn’t go so well for Mikey then, but at least he got some individual credit around the place.
Zone Coverage Player Ratings: “CB Michael Boxall, 7 — Continues to show that he’s not the problem when it comes to the defense as all three goals happened under the watch of other defenders, including the other two center backs that featured — Kallman and Wyatt Omsberg.”
Last Word on Soccer, Midseason Minnesota Utd Awards: Defensive Player of the Year
“If goalkeepers are included then this award goes to Bobby Shuttleworth. If we are talking just defenders then it goes to Michael Boxall. Boxall may not have the flashy play that Francisco Calvo has but he also hasn’t had the mistakes that Clavo has had so far this season. He has been consistently solid all year long while leading the team in minutes, and that is what you want out of your center-back. Michael Boxall.”
Up Next: MU vs FC Dallas on Saturday at 12pm (NZT)
Abby Erceg – North Carolina Courage (American National Women’s Soccer League)
That about sums it up but let’s dive deeper all the same. Fresh off of dropping their first game of the season with a stunning 1-0 loss to Utah Royals a week ago, the Courage then found themselves 1-0 down twenty minutes into their game away at Seattle Reign, with Lynn Williams having already missed a penalty kick. Ha, and you thought that was trouble?
Fast forward to the end of the game and goals for Lynn Williams, Merritt Mathias and a double for Crystal Dunn capped off a 4-1 victory. Still no Abby Dahlkemper at the back for NCC thanks to injury, meaning a fourth game for Kaleigh Kurtz and another one without the impeccable combo of the two Abby’s at CB. Sam Mewis was out too. But the Courage beat Seattle every time they played them last season and stormed home to do the same here. Straight back to winning ways and NCC are running away with the league portion of the season.
Tell you what else is going on…
NCCourage.com: “The North Carolina Courage has been invited to represent the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the first ever International Champions Cup Women’s Tournament which will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami July 26-29. The Courage join three of the top teams in the world, including five-time UEFA Champions League winner Olympique Lyonnais, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.”
Them’s three of the best teams in the world (four including NWSL champs NCC). Great opportunity to tear it up on the big stage, even if they are pre-season friendlies for the European trio.
Up Next: Orlando Pride vs NCC on Sunday at 7.30am (NZT)
Jake Gleeson & Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Timbers defender Larrys Mabiala said this week that every player in the Timbers squad is capable of playing in the starting XI and that the pressure to perform that comes from that, knowing you could lose your spot if you slip up, is a large part of their great recent form. Fair play to that guy then.
That’s the situation that both Jake and Tui are in at the moment. They’re both bench players at the moment and that’s about where they should be on the strength of the squad, however each has also had their runs amongst the starters and are just waiting for that next shot. Especially Bill Tuiloma, whose positional flexibility and solid performances so far have him right there on the fringes.
He was a substitute again this week (while Gleeson watched on with his tracksuit zipped up) for the Timbers’ 1-1 draw away at Atlanta United. He got on in the 69th minute, replacing midfielder Sebastian Blanco for a bit of extra defence in a tricky fixture on the road. Atlanta Utd leads the Eastern Conference so they don’t drop too many points. They were unlucky not to win this one as well, with a bundle of quality saves from keeper Jeff Atinella making sure that the Timbers were able to hold on for the draw after Mabiala’s goal following up from a set piece move had been cancelled out by Julian Gressel’s opportunistic finish early in the second half. Both teams had their opportunities to win it late on.
The draw means that the Timbers are now 11 games without a loss. Steadily making their way up the ladder after a poor start to things and proving incredibly tough for whoever they come up against. Keep this up and those could become title credentials, just saying.
Timbers.com: “Even at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, against arguably the best team in Major League Soccer, that depth and approach were on display. After all, who would have thought at the beginning of this unbeaten run that Cascante, Jeremy Ebobisse and Lawrence Olum would be part of the team's most important game of the season, let alone players like Andrés Flores, Bill Tuiloma (in midfield, no less), Paredes and Zarek Valentin who, in January, most didn't expect to have large roles.”
Up Next: Seattle Sounders vs Portland Timbers, 8.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Ali Riley – FC Rosengård (Swedish Damallsvenskan)
So... some rather big news coming here...
There had been murmerings that Ali might be keen on something new and now that's been manifested in an upcoming move to English powerhouses Chelsea - the club that knocked her out of the last Champions League, actually. She'll stay with Rosengård until the mid-season break next month and then it's off to London, baby. Bit of a bombshell though, expect more context next week.
Ali Riley: “During the past six and a half years, FC Rosengård has become my family. I love this club and everything we stand for both on and off the field. I have developed an extreme amount as a player and person during my time here and I am very grateful for everything the club has given me. After almost 7 seasons here I am ready for new challenges and new experiences. Life is short and you never know how long you can have a career as a football player. I feel that I have to take this opportunity to challenge myself and play for a club that is one of the world's largest football brands. This was not an easy decision because FC Rosengård is definitely one of Europe's best teams and will go far with the players we have and under Jonas's leadership. It would be a dream to come back and finish my career here, or work for the club outside the team. I'm looking forward to a new adventure, but first, it's full focus on our last matches before the breakdown.”
Back in Sweden, after beating Piteå 1-0 last week Rosengård had themselves in a great position to go top as they played on a Monday night in Sweden, a day after Kristiandstad did them a big ol’ favour and made it two defeats in a row for Piteå after seven straight wins to kick things off. But the Rosies couldn’t take advantage. Up against their big rivals Linköping they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home.
Ali Riley was back amongst the starters after minor injury and international duty had seen her miss the last game but her team made that critical error of conceding late in the half to go into the sheds down 1-0, Filippa Angeldal with the goal. Anja Mittag levelled it up just before the hour mark and a winner from there would’ve had Linköping in serious danger in a title race that they’re already lingering on the edge of but instead it was Natasha Dowie that struck for the visitors with less than five minutes to play. Gutted. Breaks that top four wide open though.
As for Hannah Wilkinson, she wasn’t involved as Vittsjö drew 1-1 with Eskilstuna United. Vaila Barsley with the massive late equaliser, keeping Vittsjö ahead of their opponents and out of the relegation zone by merit of goal difference. Apparently Wilko was out with a knee injury, one of a few players to cop knocks recently, which may just have something to do with the extra training loads lately.
Up Next: Rosengård are away to Hammarby on Sunday at 1am (NZT)
Stefan Marinovic – Vancouver Whitecaps (American Major League Soccer)
The Whitecaps just lost 4-0 away to Philadelphia, conceding two penalties and ending with nine men after red cards for Jose Aja and Yordy Reyna… but Stefan Marinovic didn’t play because he’s still injured so never mind. The result ends a run of six games without defeat although backup keeper Brian Rowe has conceded 16 times in seven games now so it looks like Big Stef is in no danger of getting Gleesoned while out with that sprained knee. It was initially hoped that he’d be back for this game. Oh well, better to play it safe.
Up Next: Vancouver vs … COLORADO! That one’s on Monday at 11am (NZT)
Rosie White – Chicago Red Stars vs Katie Bowen – Utah Royals (American National Women’s Soccer League)
Fresh off a famous 1-0 win against Abby Erceg’s North Carolina Courage, the Utah Royals stuck with their new super formula of playing Katie Bowen as a right back away to Chicago Red Stars. The Red Stars on the other hand weren’t so clever and Rosie White was left on the bench to be an unused sub, still troubled by the injury she picked up in the warm-ups last week. But that didn’t stop Chicago from running away with a 2-0 win.
Utah simply couldn’t take their chances in the first half, one of the better ones being an Amy Rodriguez volley from a lovely cross put in by Katie Bowen overlapping down the right flank. Then Chicago stepped it up in the second, taking the lead in the 62nd minute through a looping Katie Naughton header before Vanessa DiBernardo doubled that in the 70th with a sharp finish following Sam Kerr’s assist. Yūki Nagasato, who played for Japan against NZ a few weeks back, rattled the crossbar as Chicago finished strong. Chicago now right are on the fringes of the playoff spots while Utah are two points back in sixth but with games in hand.
Up Next: Utah Royals vs Seattle Reign on Thursday at 2pm and then again on Sunday at 2pm against Sky Blue while Chicago Red Stars take on Washington Spirit on Monday at 10am (NZT)
Logan Rogerson – Unattached
So you can pretty much assume Logan Rogerson isn’t coming back to the Wellington Phoenix then. He’s on a new journey these days. Rogerson’s currently trialling in Germany with third tier club FC Carl Zeiss Jena. According to the report he was picked up after a German agency sent his highlights around and after a 30 hour flight to get there he’s now got two weeks to prove he’s worth staying.
Carl Zeiss Jena finished 11th in the Liga III with 52 points from 38 games which was solidly in mid-table. This is a step up from where Stefan Marinovic made his name at Unterhaching (although he did play a handful of games in the L3 earlier in is spell there) but obviously a couple steps down from where Marco Rojas failed to make an impact with Stuttgart in the top division.
Up Next: Positive impressions
Elliot Collier – Chicago Fire (American Major League Soccer)
Another good chunk of game time for Elliot, who played the final half hour for Chicago in a 1-1 daw away to Seattle Sounders. First man off the bench too, that’s always a good sign. It was a game in which the teams combined for 33 total shots and yet all the scoring was done within the first quarter of the game, Aleksandar Katai scored with a rifle from range in the 9th minute and then Clint Dempsey equalised in the 22nd. Katai hit the crossbar in the second half while Collier linked with the same bloke for a wraparound that sent Collier in one on one with the keeper but his stabbed shot was saved by a trailing arm. That’s not even the half of it either, Alan Gordon missed an open goal late on and this bad boy ended as a draw. Entertaining second half, though.
Also, Elliot Collier got booked for diving with five minutes to go. Probably a fair call, it was Collier’s first ever yellow card in the MLS so one for the scrapbook if nothing else.
Up Next: Home to NYC FC on Sunday at 12pm (NZT)
Rebekah Stott – Sky Blue FC (American National Women’s Soccer League)
No game this week but there’s always something else to do.
Up Next: Away to Portland Thorns on Thursday at 2.30pm (NZT)
Steven Old – Morecambe (English League Two)
Oh yes, get in!
Up Next: A much less stressful offseason with the immediate future sorted
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