Meikayla Moore – Liverpool (English Championship)

Every step that Meikayla Moore has made in her career, from playing for Canterbury to making the Footy Ferns to moving to Germany, she’s made that step with confidence and success. Even coming back from that Achilles injury which cost her a World Cup campaign in even better form than she’d been before it. So this apparent breakout with Liverpool that’s going on right now should come as no surprise.

Last week she made her first league start for the Reds, also playing her preferred centre-back role after being used as a midfielder a few times in cup comps and off the bench in the Championship. This week she retained that starting role and raised the bar by scoring her first goal for the club. 31st minute of the match against London City Lionesses and Moore put the ball where it needed to go from a corner kick. Diverting it goalwards at the near post, getting out at it before the keeper could get there. Cue the emphatic celebration.

It had been a pretty strong start from Liverpool. Rinsola Babajide was all over them and it was chance after chance. Except the Lionesses stepped it up after conceding and Liverpool never did get back to the dominance of the first half hour. It was close enough that as the second half progressed a second goal would probably kill the contest but getting that second goal wasn’t easy. Rachel Furness (27) hit the crossbar. Babajide smacked one into the side-netting.

Then with only six minutes remaining Moore thought she’d scored a second as the ball deflected to her path while up top after set piece duty but the offside flag went up instantly. And correctly, she was definitely off. Luckily it didn’t matter because she also closed out the task at the back for a clean sheet and therefore a 1-0 win that allows the Reds to keep pace with their fellow top teams battling for promotion – Liverpool sit third after ten games, only two points off top. Get some extended highlights over here.

Up Next: Last game before a holiday break, 1am on Monday away to Durham (NZT)

Lily Alfeld, Elizabeth Anton & Malia Steinmetz – Perth Glory (Australian W-League)

Ah yes, that’s the good stuff.

Not one, not two, but three kiwi signings for Perth Glory ahead of the new W-League season. All three have been playing Premiership lately (Alfeld and Anton with Auckland, Steinmetz with Northern), all three have also been involved in Football Ferns squads in the past too – with Anton and Steinmetz both having been capped. Not to mention all being standouts at youth level in the past. Plus they boost almost the entire spine for the Glory as Alfeld is a goalkeeper, Anton is a central defender, and Steinmetz is a central midfielder.

Glory Head Coach Alex Epakis: “To have all three girls make the move from New Zealand to Perth is very exciting for me and the club. They each bring an exceptional attitude and are looking forward to playing a big part within the team once they get out of quarantine.

Lily brings a lot of experience as a goalkeeper having played everything from US College to international football and her leadership and quality at the back is going to be an integral ingredient to ensuring we are strong and well set up. I have no doubt she will be a huge influence within the team and we are excited to have her on board this season.

Liz has all the qualities and ability to be a real focal point in our defensive set up. She is comfortable with the ball at her feet and makes good decisions to go forward, but is equally strong in her defensive tasks. She comes with good international experience from the New Zealand Under-17, Under-20 and senior national team and seems to be a very focused individual who is ready to make a good impression within the competition this season.

I have coached against Malia previously and having admired her for some time, am really excited to have the opportunity to coach her. She is strong, ball-winning midfielder with great passing qualities. As a previous New Zealand Under-20 captain and current member of the senior squad, Malia brings a wealth of leadership qualities and I think she will be a real asset to the team both on and off the field.”

Steinmetz had actually been playing in Australia at NPL Level fairly recently (with Northern Tigers) which is presumably what Epakis, who was hired to coach the Glory about a month ago, is on about when he says he’s coached against her. Epakis led Sydney University to three straight NPL titles between 2018-2020. Steinmetz is 21 years old, Alfeld is 25 years old, and Anton turned 22 the day after this news was announced. Quite the birthday present.

Incredibly that takes the kiwi contingent in the next W-League season up to seven with these three joining Annalie Longo & Claudia Bunge (Melbourne Victory), Paige Satchell (Canberra United), and Olivia Chance (Brisbane Roar) and who knows there might even be time for more. The reason that’s incredible is because the last couple seasons we’ve usually only had about two reps and one’s always been Rebekah Stott who isn’t even there any more. Last year the United States (by virtue of the timing of the season with the NWSL offseason) had 23 players in the W-League and that was the only foreign country with more than two. Rise up, Aotearoa.

Up Next: Season starts just after Christmas – Perth Glory’s first game is on Tuesday 29 December against Paige Satchell’s Canberra Utd at 11pm (NZT)

Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)

Chris Wood has never scored against Arsenal, in fact he’d never even been on the winning side against them in any competition in his entire career... but with the Gunners in their current vulnerable state and with the rain falling pretty heavily in London maybe this was the perfect chance.

It was Arsenal huffing and puffing early trying to create something but when Burnley’s first real opening occurred after 13 minutes it was a huge one. Chris Wood had flicked the ball on to Jay Rodriguez to spark the move then he dashed into the area where he was spotted with the cross wide open about seven yards out in the middle of the goal. But he didn’t get the contact he wanted on the header, the ball actually catching more shoulder than noggin, and it bounced wide. Chris Wood being Chris Wood he really should have scored that and after missing a few tough ones in recent weeks that wasn’t gonna do his form any good.

Oddly Arsenal seemed to be hurling quite a few crosses into the box leading to a number of headers towards goal that didn’t actually go towards goal. Although Nick Pope did make one brilliant save off Alexandre Lacazette after a sharp cut-back. Those were the two best chances of the first half as we hit the sheds still scoreless, Burnley looking pretty strong at the back which was where most of this game was taking place.

Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka both drew saves out of Pope within the first six or seven minutes of the second half. But right as the Gunners were improving they shot themselves in the foot as Granit Xhaka grabbed Ashley Westwood by the throat in the middle of some brouhaha and the VAR had a thing or two to say about that. Out came a red card after the review. While that was happening Burnley made a sub up front... but it was Jay Rodriguez replaced by Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood again being shown faith by his manager.

If this was a sneaky winnable game before it wasn’t even sneaky now. Burnley had that bit more space to build things up like they prefer to. Into the strikers, out to the wings. Fullbacks putting in deep crosses. Functional football done the Sean Dyche way. Then right as we were waiting for Chris Wood to get that next big chance to make up for the earlier one... he got subbed off. Matej Vydra coming on for the last twenty minutes with a bit more space for him to use his speed all of a sudden.

Thus no first ever goal against Arsenal for the Woodsman but Burnley went and scored anyway. Josh Brownhill challenging at the near post from a corner and it was Piere-Emerick Aubemayang who actually flicked it into his own goal. The first time Burnley have ever held a lead against Arsenal away in the Premier League, apparently. But they survived a few sketchy spells down the stretch to win it 1-0.

Not an ideal one for Chris Wood. Subbed off with twenty to play having miscued his one big chance of the contest. However that’s a crucial three points for Burnley and the kind of win that might finally turn their season around... both Burnley and Chris Wood are notoriously streaky so when the good times roll they really roll.

Up Next: Friday at 7am away to Aston Villa (NZT)

Tommy Smith – Colchester United (English League Two)

Feels like deja vu but nah Smithy actually scored another goal. Two in a row for the fella, this time it was a 26th minute winner away to Scunthorpe in which Colchester had 36% of possession and less than a third of the total shots in the match but Smithy, as well as being a killer goal scorer, happens to also be a wonderful defender and Colchester held out the rest of the way for the 1-0 victory.

That goal was arguably the only decent chance the U’s created but goalkeeper Dean Gerken had a ripper of a game and the post did its job too. And the crossbar. Equally as important as his goal was an acrobatic clearance that Smith made off the line after a long range shot had come down off the underside of the bar with two attackers condensing upon him for that loose ball. It got very frantic in there in that second half but the end result was a first away win of the campaign for Colchester Utd.

Their game away to Port Vale a few days later was another frantic one. Colchester were better at creating things this time but still had to rely on keeper Gerken to be on form as they made it through the first half unscathed (Port Vale shooting off target helped a heap too). Unfortunately there was no saving Devante Rodwell’s blistering bottom corner shot in the 58th minute... but Luke Norris struck back in the 65th with a really nicely taken goal running in from the left. That led to a 1-1 draw. According to the Gazette News, Tommy Smith “led by example and marshalled U’s back four well”. So that’s all pretty cool... these four points this week have Colchester up to sixth on the ladder after 17 matches.

Up Next: Cambridge vs Colchester on Wednesday at 8am (NZT)

Winston Reid - Sporting Kansas City (American Major League Soccer)

Sporting KC: “Sporting have declined contract options for Eric Dick, Wan Kuzain, Winston Reid and Richard Sanchez. Matt Besler is now out of contract with the club.”

Right. But it’s not as simple as it sounds because Reid was only at the club on loan from West Ham and he still has about three more years on that Hammers contract to run. MLS contracts are surprising vague considering how open information is about, say, NBA or NFL deals... but surely you can’t have a contract option on somebody else’s player, right?

It had been reported earlier in his tenure that SKC had an option to purchase Reid permanently so that is most likely what was declined. Which would make sense because it’d probably cost some stupid dollars to get him out of that guaranteed West Ham cash. From Reid’s perspective he might as well just keep going out on loan until that runs down if West Ham aren’t gonna welcome him back into the Premier League fold, and it’s doubtful that they would at this stage. Frankly, WHU would rather sell him, hence the option in the first place, but a permanent and costly transfer isn’t really on the cards for SKC.

SKC Head Coach Pete Vermes: “We didn’t exercise the option for a very specific reason. We’ll continue to try and have some type of discussions with West Ham to see if it’s feasible to bring the player back.”

And there you go. More of a business reason for declining him rather than a football reason and the club still hopes to get him back, presumably on a similar kind of loan deal to what he had this year. When asked to clarify and expand on whether Vermes had meant they were still hoping to retain him, this is all he said...

Vermes, again: “That’s correct. That’s exactly what I insinuated, that’s correct.”

Not the most forthcoming response... but it’s proof that they want him back if things can be arranged with West Ham.

Up Next: Get Moyesy on the phone!

Michael Boxall, James Musa & Noah Billingsley – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

Mixed news for the Loons trio. Michael Boxall was already under contract so no dramas there. Noah Billingsley has had his contract option picked up for next season. James Musa, on the other hand, has had his contract option declined. The Moose played six times for Minny this year (two starts, four subs, 155 total minutes) in his return to the MLS level but was left out of the squad for all their playoff games. Just didn’t quite catch on there so now we wait to see what’s next for him.

Which almost concludes the initial roster decisions regarding all the kiwis in the MLS in 2020:

• Michael Boxall (Minnesota United) – Already signed to a multi-year contract

• James Musa (Minnesota United) – Contract option declined, now a free agent

• Noah Billingsley (Minnesota United) – Contract option exercised for 2021

• Bill Tuiloma (Portland Timbers) – On a multi-year contract already and had his 2021 option picked up

• Winston Reid (Sporting Kansas City) – Contract option declined but still in negotiations

• Elliot Collier (Chicago Fire) – Contract option exercised for 2021

• Kyle Adams (Houston Dynamo) – Contract option declined after spending the entire season on loan in the USL

• Deklan Wynne (Colorado Rapids) – Haven’t heard yet but he’s off contract and didn’t play a single minute this year so if he’s offered a new deal it’ll be an absolute shocker

Up Next: Trying not to dwell on that devastating playoff defeat all offseason

CJ Bott - Vålerenga (Norwegian Toppserien)

“UEFA can confirm that following a decision taken by the Norwegian local authorities to quarantine the Brondby delegation, the UEFA Women’s Champions League tound of 32 match: Vålerenga (NOR) vs Brøndby (DEN) planned for today (10/12/2020), will not take place as scheduled. Further information will be communicated in due course.”

Umm... yeah. All that excitement about Vålerenga’s first ever Champions League bout and they’ll have to wait a bit longer. Good for the fixture congestion but not good for the folks who have to reschedule things. A positive covid test from the Brøndby side was the issue and that led to a farcical situation where the Danish side were still forced to travel even though they knew the game would be postponed when they got there.

The player in question was obviously isolated but everybody else was considered a close contact and tighter restrictions in Norway meant there was no hope of the match happening. UEFA wanted to play it out to a finish though and that meant a big ol’ waste of time and money and a delayed match (the official excuse was that they couldn’t pre-empt the Norwegian health department, who would only rule when the team arrived in the country or whatever – which is still a bit silly). The “second leg” will take place this week as planned but the “first leg” won’t be until February.

But on the positive side, VIF still got to play that other massive game scheduled this week. Fresh from winning the league title they then had a cup final to play against LSK Kvinner with the opportunity to do the double if they won. What’s more is that after a goal-scoring effort in the league finale, CJ Bott was named to start the cup final. Moving on up in the world.

This was a cup final in every sense of the phrase. Two strong teams, largely cancelling each other out on an occasion with heaps of inherent pressure. Even when it looked like someone was gonna break through it was goalie to the rescue over and over again - both goalkeepers made numerous saves of cup final proportions. The game thus went to extra time and Bott was replaced nine minutes into that portion... and it was just after she went off that VIF finally busted down the gates. Ajara Njoya sneaking into space in the box and slipping a lovely finish inside the right side of the goal. Massive goal in the 102nd minute. Two minutes later they made sure of it as Marie Dølvik Markussen turned past a marker on the left wing and charged towards goal, unleashing an absolutely brilliant strike. Perfectly into the top corner.

2-0 to Vålerenga and you know what that means...

First ever cup title for VIF after their first ever league title and just before their first ever Champions League campaign. Good times.

Up Next: Thursday morning at 6.00... UCL second (/first) leg away to Brøndby (NZT)

Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)

Two 2-2 draws in Viking’s last two games. Sounds like Richie Benaud up in here.

The Sandefjord game was covered last week so no need to repeat things but that was followed by a Friday morning NZT match-up with Vålerenga (the less successful male counterparts to CJ Bott’s team, lol) and Joe Bell was named on the bench. The final home game of the campaign by the way, even if only a handful of fans were able to be there to witness it.

Bell may have started on the bench but it wasn’t too long before he was summoned. VFK were lucky not to be trailing earlier as Aron Dønnum hit the crossbar when he only had the keeper to beat on half an hour but they still had to wander into the sheds with a deficit as Dønnum kept his next effort down where the crossbar couldn’t reach it... through the keeper’s legs. Thus Bell was brought on at the half although three and a half minutes into the second stanza Dønnum found a bit of space for his most convincing finish of the lot and VFK were down by a couple. Not quite how it was drawn up at the break.

Viking have been involved in some mad comebacks this season though. On both sides of the equation. So only a silly person would have counted them out and sure enough Viking had another surge in them, even if they left it pretty late. Yann-Erick de Lanlay hit the post with twenty minutes left. That was the warning shot. Then in the 81st minute some weird defensive shape allowed Veton Berisha to hover in front of goal onside from a free kick and he deflected the shot in off his head for 2-1. Joe Bell had a volley at the back end of the penalty area after a corner kick went deep but it was blocked... he then had to sprint from box to box to defend a counter attack. Good thing he did because in the 88th minute Zymer Bytyqi snuck in from the left and slipped a shot in at the near post to level things up. There was still time for both teams to have one last attempt to win it... you already know that they didn’t though. 2-2 the final score.

Which means that Viking have just one more game left this season. It’s away to Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt who have scored 100 goals in 29 games, having lost just once all season. Good luck with that one.

Up Next: Bodø/Glimt vs Viking, Sunday at 6am (NZT)

Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)

Wins have been a rarity for Tottenham this season so to get a relatively comfortable three points against Aston Villa... quite the relief. Villa were the first team to threaten with a long range bomb sent over the bar but then Spurs almost took advantage of a mix-up between keeper and defender from Villa, Angela Addison almost sneaking a cheeky goal. Then Alex Morgan stepped into the spotlight. The USA icon has been understandably rusty coming back from giving birth earlier in the year and her first goal for the club was massively overhyped last week considering it was an 84th minute penalty in a game they were already leading (a penalty won by Percival, just quietly). But here she showed some scintillating pace and skill to get in behind the defence and round the keeper, getting chopped down before she could finish. Morgs took the spottie herself to make it 1-0 in the 13th minute. Another penalty but much more impressive circumstances around it this time.

Ria Percival was then involved in a mix-up of her own dropping in to support her defenders as she went one way and the pass was played the other way which allowed Nadine Hanssen to kinda brilliantly chip Becky Spencer in goal and level things up on 24 mins... but Spurs went right back on the attack and eventually retook the lead thanks to a 34th min own goal. Percival was there at the near post sliding in on Morgan’s cross but couldn’t get enough of a touch on it. She did take out the keeper though and also blind-sighted Caroline Siems who turned it into her own net.

Later it was Percy’s own cross that indirectly led to the third goal as Roselle Ayane blasted the half-clearance low and in via a couple deflections. That was midway through the second half and the result was thus wrapped up in a tidy festive package. Percival with the full game as Spurs won 3-1. Second win in a row and they’re steadily working up that table now.

Up Next: Chelsea vs Tottenham, Monday at 3am (NZT)

Rebekah Stott – Brighton & Hove Albion (English Super League)

Always a good thing to see Rebekah Stott starting for Brighton. She’s done pretty well in her limited opportunities there but with a well-stocked central defensive shelf it’s not always easy. Stott played in a back three against Chelsea, having to do a fair bit of positional defending against a team that hasn’t lost in the WSL for 28 games... going behind midway through the first half as a cross was lifted just over Stotty and Sam Kerr made a sharp run to head it in.

There wasn’t much else going on in that half. Brighton held firm and sat deep and largely absorbed what Chelsea had to offer. No point settling for a 1-0 loss though and Stott was subbed off at half-time with Dutch international Danique Kerkdijk coming on in her place. Goddammit.

Brighton manager Hope Powell: “First half the game plan worked, we dropped off a little bit deeper as we tried to stifle them and then in the second half we tried to build on that and just get a little bit higher up the pitch and try and go for it, which I think they had a really good go. I think everybody performed better than they did last week. We got the response we wanted and sadly we didn’t get the three points, or even a point, today.”

The change in approach almost worked immediately as Inessa Kaagman hit the crossbar inside the first minute... but then Chelsea settled back into what they’d been doing. Brighton did keep chipping away every now and then but the Blues were too good. Would’ve been interesting to see what might have happened if Kerr hadn’t scored that goal (her seventh of the season), instead it’s a 1-0 defeat. Three losses in a row for Brighton in all comps and they’ve only won one of the last eleven.

Up Next: 3.30am on Monday against Reading (NZT)

Liberato Cacace – Sint-Truiden (Belgian Pro League)

Yeah, not good. Another week and another defeat for STVV who again looked better on the stats but again had to work way too hard for goals and then found ways to shoot themselves in the foot. Having gone behind in the 25th minute against Charleroi with Mamadou Fall getting the goal, they were easily the better team up until finally equalising two minutes before the break. Duckens Nazon with the goal and guess who set it up? Libby Cacace with his first assist for STVV... a bit fortunate that the ball found its way to him on the baseline, some average goalkeeping there, but once it came his way he did everything he needed to do to slip it across to Nazon to score. It had been a frustrating half but now they were level at the break.

So naturally they conceded again about five minutes into the second half and went on to pick up a red card (Samuel Asamoah) with twenty to play that took the heat out of any comeback attempts they could muster. Nazon had one golden chance to make it 2-2 but he couldn’t convert. This was Peter Maes’ first game as manager of STVV and they were up against another team low on confidence after four games without a win... and in fairness there were signs of some extra steel and graft from STVV, they just lacked the quality to put a couple more chances away. This loss drops them to dead last on the ladder. Pretty strong game from Cacace but he might have to start scoring the goals himself if they’re gonna get winning.

Meanwhile Kevin Muscat’s been talking to the Aussie media after his sacking:

“It was unfortunate and disappointing the way it finished up. A couple of wins instead of draws, a few chances taken, some decisions going our way that didn't, a few more points and it might have been different. But you have to accept the decisions made by the club's owners and move on. Could I have turned it around with more time? I like to think so, but they made their decision. I am planning to stay in Europe and take a break and recharge, take stock and see what might be available.”

Up Next: Sunday at 6.30am away to Zulte Waregem (NZT)

Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon (English League One)

Call him the Midweek Maestro as Nik Tzanev continues to get his reps in the cup competitions and continues to impress in them too. The latest was a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Arsenal U21s in the EFL Trophy. The Gunners had two late red cards while the Dons scored all three goals in the second half to blow them out after a tight first stanza.

This was an Arsenal side with Gabriel Martinelli in it and Tzanev’s best save was a low scooper of a stop to deny that fella from a header. When the striker’s left clutching his head in a crouch on the deck after your save you know it was a good one (or a bad miss... or a bit of both). The Dons then took scored through Ryan Longman in the 67th min after an Arsenal giveaway before doubling that through Paul Osew six mins afterwards (also from a defensive giveaway though with more work left to do). Joe Pigott scored a late one for the icing on the cake. Chris Wood wasn’t the only kiwi to taste victory over an Arsenal side this week, aye?

After starting the first game of the season with Connal Trueman out ill, Tzanev has been on the bench for the following 15 League One matches. However he’s played four times in cup competitions since. 1 FA Trophy, 3 EFL Trophy – keeping three clean sheets and winning a penalty shootout. Can’t argue with that.

Up Next: Weds at 8am away to Sunderland (NZT)

Niko Kirwan – Reggiana (Italian Serie B)

Big old ninety minutes for Niko in a 1-0 win over Cosenza away. Had to scrape through one spot in the first half where Cosenza hit the post from one dude then another fella followed that up with a shot off the crossbar but they survived and Ivan Varone put them in the lead on 66 mins with a shot through traffic. Absolutely no idea how Cosenza didn’t score three or four based on the highlights but Reggiana held on for the victory, probably shoulda added a second late on to make it safe but they got away with it.

Kirwan played at left wing-back as he’s been making a habit of lately. Had played RWB in the early games, has also played off the bench a bit. But all up Kirwan has started seven of ten Serie B games (and come off the bench in two more) after getting promoted. Reggiana are tenth with 14 points from those ten games. Catch the highlights of the Cosenza win over here.

Up Next: Wednesday at 6.30am versus Frosinone (NZT)

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