Abby Erceg – North Carolina Courage (American National Women’s Soccer League)

This is going to be one of those regularly occurring weeks where a decent amount of Flying Kiwis time is devoted to saying how amazing Abby Erceg is. It was looking like one of those games for quite a while there. North Carolina Courage against Chicago Red Stars. NCC had three quarters of the total shots in the match but they struggled to make them count, the Red Stars doing pretty well in the midfield to frustrate things. Erceg was in the wards early as she clashed for an attacking header with Julie Ertz, with the USWNT star needing a bit of treatment after, and again ten minutes later as she was one of the two trailing defenders as Kealia Watt pick-pocketed Abby Dahlkemper and ran through on goal. Dahlkemper did her best to foul Watt while Erceg came sliding in and didn’t get there in time to win the ball but did at least distract from the shot enough to allow keeper Katelyn Rowland to make the save. To be honest there could have been some trouble from Dahlkemper’s shirt tug but they got away with it.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Chicago’s game plan was working just how it was drawn up and they were mostly shutting down NCC’s ability to use their pace and press up top. Lots of long shots and set pieces leading to their best attempts. The Courage did ramp up the pressure before the half but to no avail. In fairness, NCC are proving to be more of a second half team this year anyway but as the clock ticked down and the same frustrations continued they were getting rather desperate.

And in those dark hours before the dawn, a hero did arise...

There it is. Off the crossbar and into the net, a thumping header after beating the defence from a corner kick routine. That’s a top notch strike both in terms of the power and precision of it and also the timing and basically that right there is the definition of a captain leading by example when they needed her to. The Courage held on to win it 1-0 to keep things perfect after three games. Abby Erceg, poetically, was given the ol’ player of the day award... no word yet as to whether it came with a voucher for a free hamburger like in the good old days.

And a bit of post-game chat for ya (skip to about two mins in to skip the cringey set ups from the media team)...

AE on the World Cup hosting: “For us it’s exciting. We needed something like this to bring attention to the sport in New Zealand. You know, it’s not our main sport and to get such a big event is gonna be huge for the game. Whether or not I can play in it, we’ll see how the body holds up, but I’m really excited. It’s just such a good thing for the sport and a good thing for the country.”

She also has a bit of a yarn about making the necessary sacrifices (like living in a bubble) to ensure they get to play, about hoping to build more of a following for the NWSL and other women’s footy back in Aotearoa (pat yourself on the back because if you’re reading Flying Kiwis on the regular then you’re on the right track), how the Challenge Cup mirrors the World Cup, the Courage building combinations and rhythm on the run, etc. And she also clarifies that there’s been no clarification about the green card thing yet. She wasn’t classed as an international player on the official team listings but she also says she hasn’t heard anything about it herself so whether that communication just hasn’t made its way down the line or if it was a mistake on the teamsheet... still not sure. The pandemic’s caused chaos at all levels of bureaucracy.

That wasn’t the Courage’s only game this week. They also won 2-0 against Washington Spirit. They rotated a couple players with the short turnaround but Erceg still played ninety minutes at the back (albeit with a different CB partner). Lynn Williams scored both goals early-ish in the second half. Got the goals they needed and earned a clean sheet in the process, sweet as. NCC has one more game before their preliminary seeding is confirmed and it’s looking like they’ll be getting that big #1. After that it’s single-match elimination footy involving all eight teams.

Aaaaand one last bit of inspiration...

Up Next: NCC vs Sky Blue, next Tuesday at 2pm (NZT)

Ali Riley - Orlando Pride (American National Women’s Soccer League)

Huh, rightio then. Ali Riley’s NWSL stint didn’t last too long despite all the good buzz about it. It all started all happy but then the Orlando Pride had that drama with a coronavirus outbreak within the squad and they were forced to withdraw from the NWSL Challenge Cup. Now, the MLS has come up with a similar plan to play a World Cup style tournament but they’re also trying to use that as a launching pad into a regular season afterwards. The NWSL were the first league back in American pro team sports but Ali Riley leaving at this time doesn’t really show a lot of confidence in this lot getting to play things out beyond the Challenge Cup, at least not at this stage.

She doesn’t mention her footy plans in that post. She does say she’s going back to Malmö in Sweden to be with her partner but whether there’s a club gig involved in that or if it’s just a personal trip isn’t clear. She wasn’t gonna be playing footy any time soon in America anyway so we’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out. Riley does leave the door open to return to Orlando down the line, which sorta does feel like unfinished business... but that’s not her fault. Bit awkward for the Footy Ferns captain though: she left Rosengård in Sweden to take up the challenge of playing for Chelsea but then left for Bayern Munich to get more game time only to leave Bayern to move to the Orlando Pride to get more game time and now she’s left Orlando because there was no game time to be had by anyone at that club.

Tell you who’s definitely about to get cracking in Sweden though...

Up Next: ???

Rosie White – OL Reign (American National Women’s Soccer League)

Moving on to the rest of the NWSL now, there’s been a lot going on with the Reign in recent times. Not only with the Challenge Cup but they also changed their name. From the Seattle Reign to OL Reign reflecting their new ownership from Olympique Lyonnaise, the premier women’s team in Europe. Think of it like how Manchester City have that little web of clubs around the world (including Melbourne City in Aussie). So that happened. Plus their old coach got hired to be the new national team coach and they’ve had to replace that fella. They’ve also gotta deal with their best player, Megan Rapinoe, opting out of this Challenge Cup. She was one of a couple of USWNT players who chose not to partake, Tobin Heath of Portland and Christen Press of Utah were others (while a few more backed out with injuries), though most of them did sign up in the end despite worries about the workload, the playing surface, and the Olympics next year.

Rapinoe was injured for most of the time she was available in 2019 anyway (the World Cup clashed too, remember) so they’re kinda used to figuring it out without her. And also that pushes Rosie White up in the pecking order so no dramas over here. White was on the bench as the Reign played Sky Blue in their Challenge Cup opener and it was a bit of a spectacle. The game ended 0-0 but the Reign only had themselves to blame after spurning several chances along the way. Jasmyne Spencer was probably the closest when she had a breakaway with five minutes remaining but again, as she had all game, the Sky Blue keeper Kailen Sheridan was too sharp and the Reign were too wasteful. Rosie White was subbed on for the final quarter of an hour, bringing a bit of energy to the contest but unable to pop up with that sneaky winning goal like she did a couple times last year when the team needed it.

Ah yet then for their second game she stepped up into the starting lineup. One of four changes from the draw with Sky Blue as the Reign faced off with Houston Dash. White set up in one of the more advanced midfield roles, bringing more of that trademarked energy. But the Reign didn’t start this one too well and they fell behind ten minutes in as Kristie Mewis found a bit of space on the edge of the area and picked out that bottom corner expertly.

The Reign didn’t seem to have it all clicking in attack. Definitely the second best team in that first half and soon afterwards they should have been down two as Mewis shot too high from a decent position... but no dramas for the Dash because a Rachel Daly ball in to a Shea Groom header did the business in the 54th minute. No one tracking the run or anything. By the way, it’s always weird how American commentators freak out about headers like they’re bicycle kicks or something. S’pose it’s not a skill that translates to many of their other sports. Anyway, that was big trouble for the Reign and it got worse an hour in when Rosie White went down injured.

Nothing too serious by the looks. She had her knee inspected by the trainer during a stoppage in play but shaped back up to return to the pitch as soon as she could... only to be sharply replaced in a triple sub. She then had the cheeky ice pack on her knee on the bench there afterwards so fingers crossed nothing to worry about. The Reign weren’t able to find a goal to get them back in the contest and lost 2-0... not the best start to things, you could say.

A few quotes...

Also, have a peek at this. Pretty powerful.

Up Next: Utah Royals vs OL Reign, Thursday at 4.30am (NZT)

Katie Bowen – Utah Royals (American National Women’s Soccer League)

Then finally of course we’ve got Katie Bowen. Who was named to start for the Royals in their opener against Houston Dash, lining up at right back which is where she’s spent the bulk of the past two seasons... only here it was as a wingback with a back three so even more opportunity to contribute in the attacking third. Granted, Utah tends to be a pretty direct team through the middle of the park which is a bit annoying as it limits Bowen’s excellent crossing ability but so it goes. She at least had a good view from out wide as Diana Matheson opened the scoring from Amy Rodriguez’s low cross after 34 minutes to put the Royals one-up.

But they couldn’t quite hold that until the half as English international Rachel Daly tied us up in injury time, coming after a ball over the top of the right side of the Utah defence with Bowen out of position and inside defender Gunny Jonsdottir unable to cut it out. Then Daly scored again literally a minute after the second half kickoff with a header from a corner and this thing had flipped on its head. Bowen was replaced after 63 minutes as part of a double sub to mix it up some more but within a few turns of the clock they’d leaked a third thanks to Shea Groom. Too much room to run into in the box on that cutback and there you go. 3-1 down with a bit over twenty minutes to play.

But Utah came surging back. Vero Boquete whipped one in direct from a free kick on the edge of the area in the 82nd minute and then rookie substitute Tziarra King had a dream debut as she was first to the far post to tap in a deep free kick in the 89th minute for the dramatic equaliser. Utah are hosting this whole Challenge Cup so there’s a bit of pressure on them even if there are no fans around. A wild old 3-3 draw to kick things off, quite the way to begin.

Bowen then dropped to the bench for game two against Sky Blue. Elizabeth Ball at right centre-back and Raisa Strom-Okimoto on the right of midfield. She would end up being brought on at the half so don’t freak out too much. Before that could happen, Utah flexed a bit of their host power with an increasing amount of pressure as the first half went on which culminated in a brilliant through ball from Vero Boquete to Amy Rodriguez who slipped that sucker past the keeper for the lead after 40 minutes.

Bowen came on for Strom-Okimoto to play that right midfield/wingback role again with Utah pushing for those three points and with quarter of an hour remaining she had her best moment yet as she got in deep on that wing and cut inside her marker, squaring the ball to Vero to strike but the Spaniard shanked it. There were one or two other moments when the ball just didn’t go her way, though it didn’t matter in the end as Utah held on for that 1-0 win. Next up we have our first Flying Kiwis derby of the NWSL Challenge Cup as Katie Bowen and Rosie White go head to head in a couple days, fire up for that one.

Up Next: Utah Royals vs OL Reign, Thursday at 4.30am (NZT)

Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)

Heeeey, they won one! Viking finally getting that dub in their fifth game of 2020, beating Sandefjord 2-0 thanks to a couple second half goals in the space of five minutes. The first half didn’t have much going for it as neither team could figure out the puzzle but whatever was said during the break by the Viking coaching staff it bloody worked because they came out firing in that second stanza. Within forty seconds they’d fired a warning shot over the top from Kristoffer Lie Løkberg and five minutes later the same dude hit one straight at the keeper from a similar situation. Then finally Kristoffer Løkberg made one count with a thumping finish and a few minutes later Veton Berisha had his team’s second, nodding in a strong flicked header from a beautiful free kick delivery from... yeah you know who.

Sandefjord had the better of the remaining chances but Viking came through with that important victory to get them up and running properly. Another impressive ninety minute effort for Joe Bell too. Expectations were high for him given his obvious talent and also the lengths Viking FK went to get him and it feels like he’s already exceeding them.

Then for their second act of the week – all these quick turnarounds make Flying Kiwis a bit like a game of musical chairs – they went away to a team called Start... and came back with a draw. Bell played the full game in his increasingly customary CDM position as Viking perhaps dodged a bit of a bullet. A couple chances they leaked in the first half were salvaged by some positive goalkeeping but they were saves that more clinical finishes wouldn’t have allowed him to make. Start eventually made them pay when Eirik Schulze put one away with fifteen minutes to go... but Zymer Bytyqi whacked in an equaliser with a little over five minutes remaining in the game. Waited for the ball to roll onto his left foot and went boom... Joe Bell was wide open and screaming for the ball outside the box only for that scream to turn into a cheer as it ripples the net (you can see it in this one). Both teams had golden chances to win it late on but a point was probably fair given some of the wastefulness and Viking will definitely feel they got away with it. A quiet one from Bell compared to a couple recent games but that’s no worry.

Up Next: Viking vs Odd, 4am on Monday (NZT)

Elijah Just & Dalton Wilkins - FC Helsingør (Danish Division 2)

Another game, another start for both Just and Wilkins, and another win for FC Helsingør on their way to fulfilling those promotion dreams. They beat AB 3-1, their third win in a row since Just & Wilkins stepped into the first XI. Those two were combining together within minutes of kickoff, a one-two that set Wilkins through down the line but his cross didn’t quite reach American striker Chris Cortez. He was a little jammed up in the middle... but the fella had zero issues converting the next time that Wilkins swung one in his direction. Brilliant little cross here and, 27 mins in, FCH were on top.

AB had a golden chance to level before the break but couldn’t take it. FCH then made it 2-0 about an hour into things Jeppe Kjær was fouled in the box and he dusted himself off to take, and score, the spotty himself. About what they deserved to be fair. Teddy Bergqvist then made sure of the points with a poacher’s goal in the 82nd minute and although AB did pull one back late the result was never in doubt at that point. Ninety more mins for both Eli Just and Dalton Wilkins who are doing exactly what the team needed of them in this late-season spell.

That left FCH with just one remaining game in the 2019-20 season and it was all on the line. Jammerbugt away and a single point was all that they needed to book their place in the first division (second tier) next time around and to do so as champions. And, mate, a point was exactly what they got. Not a vintage performance by any means and they were incredibly lucky/desperate not to concede right at the end there but a 0-0 draw capped a fine season and sent FCH straight back up to the first div a year after being relegated. You don’t even need to ask whether Just and Wilkins were in that final starting team, of course they were.

Gotta love it. Both Just and Wilkins had big roles down the stretch there, coming in and starting each of the final four games as FCH took 10 points from a possible 12 (immediately after two defeats coming out of the restart) to get them where they wanted to go. For Eli Just, those were his first four starts after 11 previous substitute appearances (including a goal way back at the start of things), 503 minutes all up in the promotion campaign playing a bigger role as the season went on. Meanwhile Dalton Wilkins played a little less in terms of overall games but had a couple starts before the restart too, 11 appearances all up for 667 minutes. Wilkins is 21 years old, Just is 20 years old. Those are some pretty useful numbers for their first professional contracts and hopefully bodes pretty well for next season with the jump in divisions.

Up Next: Party on!

Betsy Hassett - Stjarnan (Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna

Nice colour for sure... but the game this week was a dumb one. Up against Selfoss, the team that beat Hassett’s old club in the cup final last season, her new club were well beaten going down 4-1. A penalty kick 16 minutes in broke the deadlock. Hassett had a chance to level but her shot was straight at the keeper and then they swiftly fell behind 2-0 and then 3-0. Thirty minutes gone and this game was basically done and dusted.

Hassett would be replaced in the 78th min, about a dozen or so mins after the fourth goal and the consolation that The Stars got wasn’t until the last few ticks of the game. Oh well. Speaking of Betsy Hassett’s old team (KR) though, the lot of them are currently in quarantine after a covid scare. Selfoss were supposed to play them next but now that game’s been delayed. A little drama there.

Up Next: Stjarnan vs Thór/KA earlier this morning at 7.15am... gotta wait ‘til next week for that one (NZT)

Sarpreet Singh - Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)

Madness. Absolute madness.

And the madness grew this week without Sarpreet even kicking a ball in anger. The DFB-Pokal final came around, Bayern vs Leverkusen, but Singh wasn’t there on the nine-man bench for that one. Niklas Süle was back from injury for his first matchday squad of the calendar year and with their first choice starting team all there and raring to go that meant a few of the younger guys had to be squeezed off the end of that bench. Singh was one of the disposable ones... ending a streak of seven straight games in which he’d been a part of the squad. So it goes. Bayern scored a couple times in the first 25 minutes to have the match under control and went on to win it 4-2, lifting another trophy in the process to secure the domestic double. Now there’s a month off before the Champions League returns and they can try make it a treble.

Yo, check it out though. Our fella might not have been in the squad but he still showed up in full kit to celebrate with the lads. Next to his boy Müller here...

And zoom in on this jerry and you’ll see ya lad got himself a winner’s medal too...

But wait there’s more! The ressies also managed to close out their third div season with... well they lost 1-0 to Kaiserslautern which snapped a run of ten games undefeated since the restart (and 12 all up) but with Würzburger and Eintracht Braunschweig also unable to bag three points on the final day of the season that meant that the Bayern II side got to lift the trophy... the highest ever finish by a reserves team in the German leagues. Also the highest possible since pretty sure they’re not allowed to be promoted to within one tier of their main squad.

Singh was only a bit-part player for them after the restart as he spent the overwhelming bulk of his time with the first team, but he did feature twice in that post-pando run of results. He actually wasn’t a major part of the team after the winter break to be honest. That started with him being suspended and he played off the bench a few times after that. But don’t forget that for the first half of the season he was the best player in that reserve squad. All combined he played 22 times for them, scoring 7 goals with 6 assists and even with all the time he spent with the Bundesliga side he still played the tenth most league minutes in that reserve squad. He was a bit busy at the German Cup final to be there to celebrate with the youngsters but presumably there’ll be a winner’s medal there waiting for him – he’s getting quite the collection of those already.

Up Next: Champions League R16 second leg, Bayern vs Chelsea, Saturday 8 August at 7am, venue TBD (NZT)

Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)

The Woodsman returneth! Only twenty-odd minutes at the end of the game against Sheffield United and they conceded an equaliser while he was out there but it’s bloody lovely to see him back on the field. It was his first appearance since he scored against Spurs in a 1-1 draw back in early March.

Woody came on in the 69th minute out of the drinks break with Burnley one up thanks to James Tarkowski turning one in at the far post in the 42nd minute after Jay Rodriguez had flicked a header into his path from a deep free kick delivery into the box. A distinctively Burnley goal but on 80 mins they leaked a similar sorta one as John Egan got on the end of a flicked header going the other way.

Wood replaced Matej Vydra but not a lot went his way. Sheffield United spent a lot of that time pushing for an equaliser and the Woodsman only touched the ball nine times with zero shots. There was one ball over the top which looked like it might hold up for him until it skidded on for a goal kick. Burnley did have their chances though, Dwight McNeil striking wide after following up a dipping volley from Rodriguez... but they didn’t get that second goal and ultimately it cost them a couple points in their quest to get back into the European places.

Up Next: West Ham vs Burnley, Thursday at 5am (NZT)

Nikko Boxall – Viborg FF (Danish Division 1)

2-2 draw with Næstved. They were down 1-0 after six minutes, they were up 2-1 at half-time, they conceded again in the 52nd minute and that was the way it ended. Nikko Boxall an unused sub so we don’t particularly care about the ins and outs but you can watch the highlights there if you so desire. Næstved are battling to avoid relegation so it was always gonna be a trickier game than it appeared but Viborg really did need those three points... with five games to go they’re seven points back on first placed Vejle for the only promotion spot. They then played again this morning against Nykøbing but you can read about that one net week because it slipped past the deadline.

Up Next: 5am on Saturday, Fremad Amager vs VFF (NZT)

Steven Old – Morecambe (English League Two)

Shrimps Manager Derek Adams: “We offered seven contracts to our out of contract players, including under 18s player, Freddie Price. I'm delighted to announce that six of the seven players have decided to sign for us again. Steven Old has decided to make the move back north to be closer to his family so has not taken up our offer. It's excellent news that Carlos Gomes, Aaron Wildig, Cole Stockton, Alex Kenyon, Jordan Slew and Freddie Price will all be with us for next season. We have now signed 12 senior professionals and two first-year pros for our squad for the coming season. I would like to add eight new players to get our squad up to 20 senior professionals and two first-year pros for the start of the season. This would include permanent and loan signings.’’

Alrighty then. Old had been offered a new single-year deal to remain at the club he’s spent the last three seasons with, keeping them in the football league each time despite some frisky relegation battles, but ultimately he chose to decline that offer for family reasons. Wants to move back to Scotland where he played earlier in his career and be closer to the rellies and all that. Which in turn was the major reason why he moved to England from Sweden three years back too. Fair priorities, dude’s 34 years old with a young family, gotta do what you gotta do. Old played 128 times for Morecambe in all competitions, scoring 10 goals.

Now we just need to hope that Tommy Smith lands on his feet, Nik Tzanev comes back from his loan and snaps up the starting gig for AFC Wimbledon, or someone else pops up from out of the woods because otherwise there’ll be no regular kiwi presence in the EFL next season. Championship, League One, or League Two. Plenty of time left for that to change though.

Up Next: Hmm...

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