Stefan Marinovic – Vancouver Whitecaps (American Major League Soccer)

The playoffs are a serious business. Stefan Marinovic only really booked his place as the ‘Caps number one about a week ago but he’s already started twice in the knockout stuff, not even conceding a goal in the process. That’s the form we wanna see, mate.

First off the Whitecaps took on San Jose Earthquakes and… we don’t even really need to discuss this one. The Caps must’ve been disappointed to slip out of the first round bye and have to play this fixture at all but they still held home-field against a weaker side and after Fredy Montero put them in front at half-time they came back out and ran away with it. Christian Techera and Kendall Waston added goals before substitute Nicolas Mezquida scored a quick double for a 5-0 triumph.

It’d be a lie to say it was all one-way traffic though. Marinovic still had five saves to make, miss ‘em all and we’d be talking about a 5-5 draw. And the first of them came five minutes into the contest which might have drastically changed the complexion of things to follow, a one-handed stop to deny Anibal Godoy’s free kick.

Naturally Stefan called it a “pretty standard” stop. It’s not bad after the criticism he took from some people following his mistake in the Portland game last week, criticism that was definitely multiplied by his taking the place of long-time hero David Ousted.

VW Coach Carl Robinson: “Players need the coach's belief and I firmly had belief in Stefan. You don't play in Confederations Cup games against Cristiano Ronaldo, [Portugal], and teams like that if you don't believe in yourself and you haven't got confidence. So I know he's got confidence and yeah, he had one error on Sunday, but he was top notch again today.”

EightySixForever Player Ratings: Stefan Marinovic: A-

“Rose to the occasion to deny Anibal Godoy on a free kick inside five minutes, getting Marinovic back into the good graces of Caps fans after a rough match on Sunday. Came up big again early on in the second half to tip away a Chris Wondolowski shot from close range. Didn’t have many other tricky saves but handled everything with aplomb and totally justified Robbo’s decision to start the Kiwi over David Ousted.”

Lovely. That meant they got themselves a two-legged clash with defending champs Seattle Sounders and it was maybe the least interesting game in a long time. Good for Marinovic, he only had one decent save to make as the playoff atmosphere and some cautious approaches combined for a game in which there was one shot on target all game. This was as close as they came:

A remarkably non-eventual 0-0 draw but that’s not the worst result to take back to the away leg. If they can just grab a goal then it’s all on. And, hey, Stefan Marinovic doesn’t concede goals in the playoffs. Neither did Jake Gleeson in his one playoff game either, since you mention it. It also didn’t help that Vancouver were without Yordy Reyna and Christian Techera, both of whom having picked up slight injuries a few days earlier in the San Jose game and weren’t risked here, each playing minor roles off the bench instead.

Up Next: 3.30pm on Friday, the return leg in Seattle (NZT)

Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

Now, folks, you might wanna take a seat before you read this next sentence: Winston Reid missed West Ham’s latest game through injury. Actually he missed their last two games, also sitting out the League Cup win over Spurs, but he wouldn’t have played then anyway with Slaven Bilic rotating a few lads for the midweek.

The Spurs game ended up being a massive one. You may recall that West Ham weren’t doing so well a week ago but a cup win against a local rival tends to fix a lot of problems. Spurs weren’t at their best either but that doesn’t matter. Jose Fonte was also rested amongst all the changes which meant Angelo Ogbonna and Declan Rice at CB, while that Mark Noble bloke took his captain’s armband back.

Hey and 2-0 down with less than ten minutes left until half-time it really felt like it’d be more of the same for the Hammers. But then two quick goals after the break from Andre Ayew levelled things up and Ogbonna’s powerful header soon after proved to be the winner. An insane comeback and a desperately needed boost for the club and its manager.

Happy days and a bunch of those players were rewarded with starts on the weekend against Crystal Palace. Seven players held their spots, with Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Javier Hernandez and Jose Fonte also coming back in – funnily enough all players bought in the last 12 months. Ogbonna stayed in to replace Winston, with Rice being promoted to the bench. There’s not a lot been reported on Winston’s injury yet but suffice to say that this week there really is reason to… if not outright panic then at least cultivate those nervous feelings.

A calf strain? Yeah, that’s not ideal. Not at all. He was listed as ‘rested’ for the League Cup game so whatever happened it happened recently, hopefully we’re only talking precautions here. West Ham have one more game before the international window so that’s not a huge amount of recovery time.

Anyway, without him the Hammers did a Spurs and shot out to a 2-0 lead at half-time. They weren’t exactly controlling things but goals to Chicharito and Ayew did the business and things were looking bright. But then Ogbonna gave away a silly penalty by tripping up Andros Townsend and Palace were back in it. There’s controversy over the eventual equaliser. Substitute Michail Antonio pushed forwards and opted to cross the ball into the box, nearly six minutes plus into injury time, and the keeper plucked it out easy, Palace rushed forward, and Wilfried Zaha scored to make it 2-2.

Slaven Bilic: “We knew that the game was not over at 2-0 up at half-time. I am very disappointed with the penalty, but the way we conceded the leveller was very disappointing. We needed to keep the ball and we made the wrong decision, with Michail Antonio choosing to cross the ball rather than keep it. We have to manage the game on the pitch. The game was finished.”

Joe Hart, Mark Noble and a couple others were also pretty livid at the ending too. But realistically West Ham were lucky to even be in front at that stage. Palace had hit the crossbar already and seen Hart pull off a couple spectacular saves to deny them further. Bakary Sako missed an easy one. Plus Fonte and Cresswell had gone off hurt which clearly affected WHU’s defensive shape and composure. West Ham scored with their only two shots on target, taking just three attempts total in the second half, plus they had two corners compared to 11. So they can blame Antonio for his mindblank but they were playing with fire all half.

Wouldn’t have happened with Winston Reid in the team, that’s for sure.

Up Next: West Ham vs Liverpool, 6.30am on Sunday morning (NZT)

Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)

The first point of interest here is Chris Wood’s fitness after going off hurt last week against Manchester City. The word from Anthony Hudson all along was that he was expected to be fine for the All Whites games but Burnley have a couple of their own before then. Like the one against Newcastle… which The Woodsman was not included in the squad for. That hammy still not a hundy, he wasn't even on the bench as Ashley Barnes started up front for the Clarets.

And despite missing their top goal scorer, Burnley were still able to work a 1-0 win at home to Newcastle. Incredibly that takes them to seventh on the table and only one goal difference point behind Liverpool. Not bad for a team that's scored nine goals in 10 games. Jeff Hendrick scored the winner with  minutes to go as he thumped in Gudmundsson's far post cross after some great work from the influential Jack Cork. 

It was a scrappy game and definitely one they'd have liked to have Chris Wood's presence up front in but the Clarets got the job done on the five year anniversary of Sean Dyche taking up the gig. Instead they got to have Woody's presence in the stadium as he watched all cosied up, keeping those muscles warm for Wellington and Lima.

Up Next: Southampton vs Burnley, 4.00am on Sunday (NZT)

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Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

Another win and Zwolle are up to third on the table through ten games. They beat ADO Den Haag 2-0 thanks to a couple early goals and Thommo played a large part in each of them. Seven minutes in he picked up the ball deep in midfield and ran it forward on the quick counter. He tried to thread the ball through but a defender slid onto it, only to knock it into the path of Piotr Parzyszek who put it away.

Nice… but no assist for Thomas. So he went about it again four minutes later when he gave it the old give and go with Younes Namli. Short square pass inside and then a big dash in behind the defence, dragging the defender away, which allowed Namli to step up and smack it into the bottom corner. It’s a cheeky one but some folks will give you the assist for that. Either way that’s two goals that came from Thomas sparking attacking moves from midfield.

The rest of the game became about containment with the two goal lead and Zwolle had few difficulties with that. There was one penalty shout that got ignored by the ref but otherwise ADO had zero shots on target all night. What makes it even more impressive is that Zwolle were taken to extra time in the KNVB Cup only a few days earlier. A last minute leveller for Kozakken Boys meant thirty extra minutes but Erik Bakker’s penalty ensured that PECZ advanced. Thommo played the whole of that one too because that’s what he always does these days. Picked up a yellow card in the 56th minute though.

As for Marco Rojas, he doesn’t even get his own section this week because he was back on the bench as Heerenveen lost 2-1 at home to AZ Alkmaar. They even scored first through Michel Vlap but a second half double from Guus Til killed ‘em, the winner coming in the 90th minute. Rojas was subbed on with 13 minutes left, replacing the goal scorer who had replaced him in the starting XI, but didn’t really have any time to do anything. Other than watch the winning goal go in, that is. Heerenveen were also in the Cup but they were knocked out by Willem II. 90 mins for Rojas in that game but the losses are starting to pile up, unfortunately. That’s five in a row in all competitions (after five straight wins previously).

Up Next: PEC are away to Vitesse at 2.30am on Monday while SCH go to Sparta Rotterdam at 8.00am on Saturday (NZT)

Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)

Back and raring to go, that’s exactly what All Whites fans need right now. Smithy’s been on the verge of full fitness for a couple weeks now but he’s had to wait his time for an opening in the starting XI. A back spasm cost him a spot on the bench last week though and video or no video he wasn’t included in the team that came from behind to beat Burton Albion after three straight defeats. Fitness is one thing, match fitness is another.

In other news, Monty Python Patterson has scored again for the U23s as they drew 1-1 with Colchester. The Python had put them up in the second half but a late Tommy O'Sullivan leveller meant the points were shared. Town's Emyr Huws made his return from injury in the game but Tommy Smith was not involved. Yo, shout out to Monty though, that's goals in consecutive games now.

Up Next: Midweek footy away to Cardiff at 8.45am on Weds (NZT)

Anna Green – Reading & Olivia Chance – Everton (English Super League)

Good news here as Anna Green got her first ESL action of the season. Greenie was an 84th minute sub as Reading struck form beating Bristol City 5-0 away from home. That’s quite the rebound after losing their opener to Sunderland – two wins and a draw since. Good for third place on the ladder. Rachel Rowe was the hero with a hat-trick.

Over in Liverpool things weren’t so great for Livvy Chance’s Everton, who fell to their fourth defeat in four games. Again it was a fairly close one but Arsenal were able to put goals away in each half for a 2-0 victory. Everton and Yeovil are the only teams without a point so far (while Chelsea and Man City have perfect records – Chelsea haven’t even conceded a goal yet!). Chance started again in midfield as she did in the previous game and was subbed off with seven minutes left.

Up Next: Everton are away to Yeovil (winnable!) at 4.00am on Sunday and Reading host Chelsea (uh-oh!) at 1.30am on Monday (NZT)

C.J. Bott - USV Jena & Amber Hearn – FC Koln (German Frauen-Bundesliga)

Was this the week that CJ or Amber got that elusive first win? Well… no. Hearn’s Koln lost 3-0 away to SC Sand and Bott’s Jena were pumped 5-0 by Bayern Munich. Both Footy Ferns got through ninety minutes in their games – with Bott picking up a first half yellow card – but that might not be much consolation six games in with both looking like they’re in for long, gruelling relegation scraps. Koln have scored twice and conceded 22 goals, while Jena have scored three and conceded 23. No other team in the Bundesliga has a goal difference worse than -8 and each of these two are on -20.

But guess what? They play each other next week so somebody’s gotta get at least a point out of it. That also means it’s Amber Hearn’s first game back against her old club, one more reason to pay attention.

Up Next: FC Koln vs USV Jena, 2.00am on Sunday (NZT)

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

Haha, whoops. This was an incident mentioned in last week’s season finale, which occurred in the build up to a Minnesota goal. Box and that Hoesen bloke got tangled up, Boxall goes for the little head rub and, yeah, got carried away. Undisclosed fine.

MLS: “The MLS Disciplinary Committee has found Minnesota United FC defender Michael Boxall in violation of the League’s policy regarding hands to the face, head or neck of an opponent. Boxall has been fined an undisclosed amount for his actions in the 36th minute of Minnesota’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes on October 22. ”

Meanwhile the gaffer there in Minny, Jeff Heath, has been chatting about the team for next season. He reckons there’s likely to be 5-7 changes and it sounds like Mike Boxall won’t be one of those changes, which is nice. Heath’s talking about depth in the middle and up front, he wants young players and he wants overseas players. Sweet as.

Jeff Heath: “We have a good nucleus to work from. We have five, six core pieces that we are really pleased with. This is the most important period since I’ve been here for us to now make steps and make inroads moving forward. And that is the next signings that we make, I think, are going to be crucial for us.”

Up Next: Stay fit ‘til the old All Whites stuff, basically

The Lasses in the NWSL

It’s season over here, as you well know. Abby Erceg’s North Carolina Courage fell to the Portland Thorns in the grand final and that’s that for 2017. But it doesn’t take long before preparations for the season after begins and clubs have been submitting their retainer lists for 2018 already. NWSL contracts are done by one-year deals – unless you’re a USA/Canada national team rep, then that lot pays your salary instead – and those deals come with a team option for another 12 months (they have to be conservative with contracts because the National Women’s League in America hasn’t always been the most stable, even now there are apparently a few clubs in some financial strife).

So the lists have been coming out and that’s meant contract options taken up as well as new deals offered to others. Abby Erceg was predictably one of 12 players automatically extended by North Carolina Courage (with five others offered new extensions). It was the same with the Boston Breakers as Rosie White was among the 12 players whose options were exercised while five others were offered new ones.

It was slightly different for FC Kansas City as Katie Bowen wasn’t one of the eight options taken up but she was still offered a new deal by the team, along with nine others. Then we have Rebekah Stott and Seattle Reign.

Yeah, that Rebekah Stott, who will be playing her third season for Melbourne City after twice winning the title with the club. Stott’s joined by three Seattle teammates (Aussie’s Lydia Williams and Larissa Crummer and American Lauren Barnes) who all played with Melly City last season and have been loaned back again for this one.

Patty Kisnorbo, MCFC Ladies Coach: “Lydia, Rebekah, and Lauren played a very important role in our success last season. It was vital for us to keep our core defensive unit together and we are delighted to have them back on board for our title defence. Their re-signing with us is testament to the consistent performances, standards and results we are aiming to achieve with this team.”

But don’t worry, Seattle also picked up her 2018 option (her and 10 others) so she’ll be back there again next season. There are more than 30 players going out on loan to the W-League in Oz after the NWSL season ended, it’s quite the ticket.

Stott played in the season opener for City but they were well beaten 4-1 by Perth – the team they beat in the final last time. Sam Kerr got the first goal for Perth, naturally. Meanwhile Emma Rolston got on late off the bench for a debut for Sydney as they lost 3-1 to Brisbane on Friday night.

Up Next: Keep cashing them cheques

James Musa – Sporting Kansas City (American Major League Soccer)

Sporting Kansas City’s season came to an end as Houston Dynamo beat them 1-0 in the first round. It was a close one – the winning goal was scored by Alberth Elis early in extra time – but those are the margins at this end of the season. Musa didn’t play which means that one game he managed soon after signing with the MLS side was his only appearance, otherwise only sitting on the bench several times. Ah, so it goes.

SportingKC.com: “James Musa (signed 8/11/17) — Named SPR’s 2017 team MVP. Has played the full 90 minutes in all 21 USL starts. Made his MLS debut with a start at Seattle Sounders FC on Aug. 12, leading all players with 68 successful passes. Returned to the New Zealand Men’s National Team, earning two caps in September.”

By the way, Musa has a team option for next season so we should find out soon if they’re gonna pick that up and keep him around. You’d imagine with his success for their USL affiliates means he’s worth investing a preseason in and see where it goes but that’s a decision to be made in the near future.

SKC’s elimination also meant he could get back to that USL team and The Moose was picked to start against Sacramento Republic in the Western Conference semis (Swope Park won their first round game vs Didier Drogba’s Phoenix Rising on penalties). Not a classic game by any means but the decisive moment came within a minute of the resumption of play after half time and Musa did have a little hand in it. Kharlton Belmar’s goal earning a 1-0 win for SPR, who advance to their second straight Western Conference finals. Musa is the last kiwi left in the USL as it enters the final four. It was one helluva ball too.

Kharlton Belmar: “It’s a training ground goal: work the ball outside and try to find one of us in behind. Pasher was able to get on the end of a ball from James Musa and I just followed up the play and fortunately I was in the right place at the right time and the ball came to me.”

Up Next: 1.30pm on Sunday at home to OKC Energy (NZT)

Max Crocombe – Salford City (English National League North)

Here’s one a little, erm, different. Crocombe’s been playing well for Salford this season having signed for them a few months ago. They’re outside the Football League but they’re on their way up and their kiwi gloveman’s helped them to one of the NL North’s best defences. So… how to explain this public apology then?

Crocombe was sent off with a couple minutes left in the game on the weekend. Nobody quite realised what was going on when the ref wandered over to converse with his assistants and out came the red but once the explanation emerged it was soon all over the news.

What happened was that Crocombe decided that even with only a few minutes left in the game, he simply couldn’t hold it in. He had to take a leak so he dashed off the side of the field and… yeah, urinated by the stands. He didn’t get away with it. Here’s a better explanation from an eyewitness (hopefully not too much of a witness).

Park Avenue secretary Colin Barker: “He was told by the steward twice not to do it and he went ahead and had a pee. He went to the side of the stand as I understand it. I didn't actually see it, but the referee definitely sent him off for it because he was alerted to it by his linesman.”

Cruelly, one of the opposition home fans reported the incident to the police so there might even be a legal repercussion if he’s not lucky. Surely that’d be taking the piss though, right? Although you’d have trusted a keeper to be able to hold on… definitely a wee bit silly, no clean sheet on this occasion. He’ll get a three match ban for the red card, possibly more if the FA decide to open the floodgates, although that might piss off a few Salford fans. There’s been some talk that he only deserved a yellow anyway. Either way, talk about a leaky defence.

The red meant that outfielder Richie Allen had to jump in goal for the last few minutes but Salford were able to hold on for a 2-1 win thanks to a couple second half goals. It means Salford remain in second place and are looking good on their preseason expectations of a promotion.

Up Next: Hopefully not a call from the coppers, tbh. Or a blasting from part-owners Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.

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