Flying Kiwis – September 15
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
No kiwi male footballer other than Chris Wood is playing consistently at a higher level than Ryan Thomas, whose general excellence gets a little slept upon if we’re being totally honest. First game of the new season and there he was in the starting line-up for PSV as they faced off against Groningen... and once again he was overshadowed, granted so was everybody else on the pitch, as Dutch legend Arjen Robben came out of retirement to play for the club where his professional career started (the club played him a montage of Michael Jordan clips to convince him to make his comeback, lol). Great reception for Robben... though the fella only lasted 28 minutes before he was replaced with injury. Stink.
Thommo started in the midfield, settling back into his more natural position after filling in as a second striker last season leading into the pandemic abandonment. That meant plenty of touches, plenty of ghosting movements around the park, as PSV slowly took control of the game and eventually scored midway through the first half via Cody Gakpo. As it happens, Thomas didn’t last much longer coz he was replaced after 51 minutes in a double sub (Sam Lammers also subbed off – the two makeshift strikers from last season) with the score still at 1-0. Bit rough on him but it was seemingly more a matter of getting more creativity out there to be sure of those three points. Thomas completed 49 of 51 attempted passes which is rather bonkers. Word is that the new gaffer quite likes what he offers to the team’s style of play...
ED.nl: “Ryan Thomas does not bring the creativity that Ihattaren can bring to the table, but he does bring walking ability, drive and willingness. It is what Schmidt wants to see and a choice will therefore cause headaches for the coach.”
Mohamed Ihattaren, by the way, was dropped for this game because Roger Schmidt didn’t rate the teenager’s attitude coming out of the international break. Damn, son. Anyway PSV went and straight away gifted an equaliser to Groningen when the keeper coughed up the ball trying to pass it out of defence. Tomas Suslov with the goal. However that was but a mere blip because almost immediately PSV responded by retaking the lead with Donyell Malen finishing one off in the 57th minute.
Malen would later hit the post as PSV struggled to close it out and with ten minute to go the same dude missed from the penalty spot (after an errant handball). Finally Gakpo stepped up with his second three minutes from time and PSV left with a 3-1 victory to start a pretty fascinating season. They’re coming off a shocker 2019-20 which has led to a new coach in Schmidty and they haven’t been able to do much in the transfer window (at least not yet). But they’re in the Europa League and will be expected to challenge for the title again. Should be entertaining, one way or the other.
Up Next: PSV vs FC Emmen, Sunday at 6am (NZT)
Michael Boxall & James Musa – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
After finding a little overdue form last week, Minnesota United faced FC Dallas with a bit of confidence and it showed as they struck first in the 11th minute through Mason Toye, sliding past the defence and sliding the ball through the keeper’s legs. And a sharp Kevin Molino finish on the cut-back doubled that lead in the 28th minute. Quality stuff.
However FC Dallas finished the half strong and after hitting the crossbar one time they soon bundled in a goal thanks to Ricardo Pepi. Which luckily proved only a minor setback as the Loons came out playing some outstanding footy in the second half and after chance after chance they finally put a third away as Molino scored from the penalty spot with twenty to play. Dallas dragged another one back in the 77th minute as goalie Dayne St. Clair couldn’t whack a Santiago Mosquera touch at the far post clear before it crossed the line. Then it got squeaky. Romaine Metanaire was given a straight red in the 82nd for following through on a late challenge... but Minny survived five minutes of stoppage time for a 3-2 win. Full game as usual for Michael Boxall, getting a yellow card for ‘unsporting behaviour’.
The Loons had a second game this week but they probably wish they didn’t what with the injury toll starting to pile up. Then again, when things like this happen to their midfield stocks...
Then things like this happen to their starting line-up...
The Moose! James Musa’s second start for Minny Utd and his third in total in MLS football. Getting a run in his preferred defensive midfield role - protecting the mate Michael Boxall and the rest of his defence. Which was a welcome addition especially since they were playing Sporting Kansas City again and Winston Reid’s still out hurt... SKC also being the team for whom Musa made his only other MLS appearance prior to this year.
The Loons rolled out with a back three for this one, no doubt protecting a somewhat vulnerable midfield, though that didn’t always work to their favour as they started looking unsettled and basically spent what felt like the whole first half on defence. Then most of the second half too. Lots of fellas behind the ball but they didn’t often have the numbers to retain possession beyond their own defensive areas. It wasn’t pretty but for most of the game they survived.
The thing is: most of the game isn’t all the game. With ten minutes left they were finally broken down and it was that sneaky route one footy that did it. It looked like Johnny Russell was a mile offside as the ball went over the top but he scored it and SKC won the game 1-0. Probably gotta admit they deserved it but still, ouch.
Michael Boxall did some post-game media work and safe to say he wasn’t happy at all with the lack of an overturning whistle on that goal (granted there were angles where he looked like the right side of defence were playing him on). Boxy also added some chat about the tiredness in the squad and more. By the way, James Musa was one of two players subbed off at the half. Things weren’t working and they needed more attacking options, just the way it goes.
Michael Boxall: “You look at our injured list and you see what has happened – not only what’s happened to our team but – to quite a few teams around the league. It’s the games, it’s the travel, it has taken its toll. Personally, I’m tired but battling through. I’m looking forward to getting home these next few days and having a full week to prepare for the next few games coming up. Us and a lot of other teams need the rest and to get some of our legs back.”
Up Next: Houston Dynamo vs Minnesota Utd on Sunday at midday (NZT)
Vic Esson – Avaldsnes IL vs CJ Bott - Vålerenga (Norwegian Toppserien)
Another strong defensive performance from Avaldsnes here as they extended their unbeaten streak to seven games with a draw against top placed Vålerenga. Their opponents had most of the play, the highlights are literally all Vålerenga chances, but a combination of poor finishing and bad luck ensured yet another clean sheet for Vic Esson in the Avaldsnes goal (in fact that’s three clean sheets in a row) in a 0-0 draw. Those seven games undefeated include draws against the two top teams and a win over the team currently one point ahead of them in third too. They had been second coming into the game but this was still a quality point for Avaldsnes even if they dropped two places thanks to other results.
Not so much for CJ Bott’s Vålerenga as their lead at the top slips to just two points but crucially we did get a little CJB cameo at the end there. For the first time since she played for New Zealand in March, CJ Bott took the field as an 87th minute substitute. Off season knee surgery (a pesky meniscus) had delayed her debut for her new Norwegian club but she’d been back on the bench the last few games as they eased her in and late on in this one she finally got that first Norwegian Toppserien appearance. And while you may think three minutes wasn’t much time to be out there for... CJ being CJ it was enough time to pick up a yellow card.
CJ Bott: “It is a fantastic feeling to wear those football boots and train with the girls again. Now I look forward to contributing to the last half of the season.”
Up Next: A week off for the ol’ international break
Ollie Whyte - İstanbulspor (Turkish 1. Lig)
Chalk another one up for Flying Kiwis Transfer Season. Ollie Whyte has joined Turkish second tier team İstanbulspor on a hefty five year contract. That’s a fair amount of belief being shown in him considering he hasn’t played at senior level in Europe yet – though he did spend a year with Rio Ave’s academy team the season before last. After which he came back and impressed plenty in the midfield for Team Wellington.
İstanbulspor are an old club with plenty of history – they were Turkish league champs in 1932 – however they haven’t been in the top flight since being relegated at the end of the 2004-05 season (which ended a ten year stint in the Super Lig) and were in the fourth tier as recently as 2014-15. The club’s been promoted twice since then and are entering their fourth straight year in the second tier, having finished 12th out of 18 teams last time out.
Up Next: Home against Altay at 1.30am on Monday (NZT)
Jana Radosavljević - BV Cloppenburg (German Bundesliga)
Sneaking under the radar we’ve got another transfer with Jana Radosavljević moving up to the top flight in Germany after signing with Werder Bremen after three seasons and 40 games (including an ACL injury) with BV Cloppenburg a tier below. Rado scored 13 times in those 40 games, always a creative force, and it’s great to see a team in the top flight taking notice of that. Especially at a time when the usually impressive cupboard full of kiwis in the Bundesliga has been raided lately. The only kiwi left playing in the top division in Germany after Meikayla Moore left for Liverpool was Paige Satchell, though not sure what’s up there. She stayed in Aotearoa when the league restarted after lockdowns and is no longer listed on the team list on the club’s website. Her number’s been redistributed too. So it’s Rado to the rescue.
Alexander Kluge, Werder Bremen coach: “With Jana, a young creative player joins us who will strengthen our team with her intelligence. In Cloppenburg and with the New Zealand national team she has been able to gain a lot of experience. We are very happy that she will appear for us from now on.”
Jana Radosavljević: “I want to get involved at SV Werder in the best possible way and do my part for a successful season. The move is the next step in my career for me and I'm really looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Radosavljević was an unused sub as Werder Bremen lost their season opener 5-1 away to Eintracht Frankfurt. It didn’t get any easier for them after that as they hosted Bayern Munich in their second game and were soundly beaten 4-0. However, in the 62nd minute just before Bayern scored their fourth goal, guess who got subbed on...
There ya go. League debut for Werder Bremen, the same club that Wynton Rufer left such a legacy at back in the day. Highlights of the game right here.
Up Next: Sunday TBD, away to Mönchengladbach in the first round of the DFB-Pokal (NZT)
Rebekah Stott – Brighton & Hove Albion (English Super League)
Outstanding result for Brighton here. They didn’t win... but against Manchester City, who gave debuts to new signings Lucy Bronze (her second spell at the club) and Alex Greenwood, battling away to a scoreless draw is a major bonus. That City team was stacked with internationals but some supremely well organised defence and a fantastic goalkeeping performance from Megan Walsh meant that Brighton were able to keep a memorable clean sheet.
Stott was at the heart of all that in central defence, an excellent performance from her. In fairness City were pretty sloppy in their first game since the pandemic (over 200 days between matches) and on a sharper day they had the chances to score several of them... but they didn’t. And Brighton’s defensive shape made it immensely difficult for them which is even more impressive this early in the season with new signings like Stott in there. Albion did have one or two halfies to maybe sneak a famous win but nah, wasn’t to be. A 0-0 draw makes it four points from two games to begin things... they’re yet to concede a goal with Rebekah Stott in defence.
Up Next: An FA Cup quarter-final against Birmingham on Monday 29 September at 3am (NZT)
Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)
Huge week for Spurs as they announced the loan signing of World Cup winning USA superstar Alex Morgan, showing the WSL transfer magnet isn’t only drawing top players to the two or three biggest clubs, though obviously it was a bit too soon for her to feature against Everton on the weekend. But Ria Percival was there and that’s more important... which actually it was here, with Percy making a number of key defensive interventions against a confident Toffees team.
Aussie international Hayley Raso drew a couple early saves outta the Spurs keeper with Tottenham on the back foot early. They wouldn’t have a shot on target until the 41st minute. Still, they defended pretty well and scores were still level at the half... but an Izzy Christiansen header early in the second stanza broke the stalemate. It was one of those games where the first goal was gonna be crucial and Spurs didn’t quite have the firepower to respond. A 1-0 defeat was the final result (oddly the Everton men’s team also beat Spurs 1-0 in the Premier League this same week). Peep the FA Player for the highlights.
Meanwhile Reading bounced back from their first game hiding against Arsenal to get their first three points of the term. A strong first half helped them past Aston Villa for a 3-1 win... however Erin Nayler was on the bench again. Dumb.
Up Next: FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal on Saturday 26 September at 11.30pm (NZT)
Elijah Just & Dalton Wilkins - FC Helsingør (Danish Division 1)
No Callum McCowatt because his work visa hadn’t come through in time... but first game back in the first division and Eli Just and Dalton Wilkins both retained their spots on that left flank for Helsingør and what’s more is that they served up a belter performance to start the 2020-21 season.
Against Silkeborg, a team that had been relegated from the top flight, FCH stormed to a 4-2 victory. They were 2-0 up after half an hour thanks to a pair of Jeppe Kjaer goals – Silkeborg missing a penalty in between although it was divine justice because the foul was actually outside the box. Then just before the hour they scored again thanks to Sebastian Czajkowski and even as Silkeborg bagged a couple late ones FCH still had the last laugh as Kjaer completed his hatty at the end. A magnificent return to the second tier, beating a club that a few months ago were playing two divisions ahead of them.
And they still have Callum McCowatt to slide into this team too... only problem was that Dalton Wilkins had to go off injured in the first half, having gone down in a collision and gotten the thumbs down from the medical staff. Just played 85 minutes before he was replaced and by accounts he was great, going very close to scoring once or twice in there and almost setting up a couple more.
Up Next: Wednesday at 4.30am away to Hvidovre (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Sint-Truiden (Belgian Pro League)
No Libby this week. First proper game in which he was properly available but still a tad too soon for the fellas as he settles into his new environment. He played the second half of a friendly game during the international break but realistically that’s not a lot when his teammates are already more than a month into the season. STVV scored early against Antwerp through Lee Seung-woo in the opening minute of the game but ended up conceding a winner in the 89th minute to lose 3-2. Both teams ended with ten men.
That quote’s probably relevant in the context of Cacace’s introduction. He was in the travelling squad of 23 men but just not in the 18-man matchday squad. He also had some words in that article about how motivated he is to succeed and all that, sweet as, but it’s behind a paywall so that’s all we get.
Up Next: Cercle Brugge vs STVV on Tuesday at 6.45am (NZT)
Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon (English League One)
It’s deja vu all over again for Nik Tzanev. Last season he began the season as the backup keeper for the Dons but was thrust in start the first two league games (and a cup game for good measure) when their on-loan starter was ruled out with injury. Beginning of the next season and what do ya know, the number one’s out with illness and Tzanev got the start for the league opener for the second term running. It’s becoming a tradition.
Said match was away to Northampton, a pretty entertaining game in which Ethan Chislett scored for the Dons after only 20 seconds. A shambolic goal to concede defensively for Northampton who have just been promoted... but they were level after 19 minutes as Matt Warburton scored directly from a free kick. A few whispers amongst the fandom that Tzanev had his positioning a little off for a strike which, brilliant as it was, wasn’t quite in the top corner.
Some nice play down a crowded left wing saw Nesta Guinness-Walker put the Dons back on top only four minutes afterwards... only for Ricky Korboa to smash one into the bottom corner which truly did give Tzanev no chance a mere two minutes after that. Hectic start to the league season for both teams however despite a relatively open contest at both ends there would be no more goals here. A 2-2 draw to begin things. The gaffer seemed to think Tzanev did nicely, so that’s cool.
A year ago, Tzanev’s window as a starter lasted three games before he was back on the bench. He’d play one EFL Trophy game about a month afterwards and then eventually went out on loan to non-league Sutton United where he got to play a heap of regular footy up until the pandemic came along. This window will probably be even shorter as it’s only a stomach bug that kept regular number one Connal Trueman out. However this time around he should be able to hang around for a few more games here and there as the backup. Connal Trueman is there on loan for the season from Birmingham City and the only other goalie in the first team squad is 18 year old Matthew Cox. Of the three other goalies they used last season, Nathan Trott is back with West Ham, Joe Day has returned to Cardiff after a short term loan, and Joe McDonnell has signed with Eastleigh in non-league stuff. It was a bit of a scramble last season but there hasn’t been any chat of sending Tzanev out on loan again, giving him room to stay put and compete for the gloves.
This game was AFC Wimbledon’s third of the new campaign having also won an EFL Trophy group stage game against Charlton and been knocked out of the League Cup on penalties against Oxford United... both games with Trueman the starting goalkeeper.
Up Next: AFC Wimbledon vs Plymouth Argyle, Sunday at 2am (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Colchester United (English League Two)
Not a bad way to start the season, drawing 0-0 with Bradford City away. Bradford City should be one of the better teams this League Two term so a point away from home is nothing dramatic. Good clean sheet for Tommy Smith as well... both teams had chances to win the game but ultimately a bit of imprecise finishing and some error-free goalkeeping decided this one (note that the Colchester goalie Dean Gerken was a teammate of Smithy’s for several years back in their Ipswich days – already a strong familiarity there). Smithy picked up a yellow card in this one too.
Colchester also had an EFL Trophy group stage game in the midweek against Portsmouth, though Smith played no part as Colchester lost 2-0. Bit of a rest there is. It’s all positive stuff for Smithy at the moment to be honest, he’s settling in smoothly with a new club where he gets to be a key player battling for promotion and is a very good chance to get a start for the All Whites in a couple months when they play against England at Wembley, something extra special for a guy like Smith who was born and currently lives in England.
Tommy Smith: “Hopefully I can be in the squad for that one, as it would be a fantastic experience. I was born in England and lived in New Zealand a long time to get my dual citizenship. It will be a special one for sure but first and foremost, I have two months of football for Colchester to get through first and hopefully we can have a really positive start to the season, which will stand me in good stead for international selection. I've settled in - I was on loan here a long while ago now but there are still some familiar faces, which obviously helps to settle in at any new club. I've really enjoyed it so far.”
Oh and as if things weren’t already going great for him, Tommy and his partner also just had their first child. Happy days for sure.
And, ah, make of this what you will...
Up Next: CU vs Bolton at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Katie Rood - Lewes FC (English Championship)
Starting on the bench for Lewes’ season opener after missing a big chunk of preseason with a pesky ankle injury. Probably fair enough... though Roodie was out there pretty early in that second half as Lewes looked to start things off with a win against Durham.
They needed that impetus too because they’d spent way too much of the first half defending their goal, really clinging on a few times (including a Durham shot that came back off the crossbar). And for a while it seemed to work as Lewes created a few more opportunities of their own... until this game got flipped on its head with quarter of an hour remaining. What was a 0-0 game soon became a 3-0 defeat. The tipping point was a kinda soft penalty conceded in the 75th minute which Beth Hepple converted in off the post. That altered the course of the game and now Lewes had to commit to try get back into it, which led to Hepple bundling in a second from a corner kick and then Emily Roberts adding a (superb) third both in stoppage time. Fifteen minutes away from a decent enough draw to kick things off and it ended up a disappointing defeat. Ah well. Highlights on FA Player.
Elsewhere in the division there was no Meikayla Moore for Liverpool as they bounced back from a disappointing draw first up (against Durham no less) with a 3-0 win away at London Bees. Moore was on the bench for the first time but wasn’t required, still working her way in at her new club.
Up Next: Lewes vs Coventry, Monday 28 September at 2am (NZT)
Matt Garbett – Falkenbergs FF (Swedish Allsvenskan)
Into the starting line-up for a crack at IFK Göteborg? Yes please. Only Garbett’s second start of the season this one. His ninth league appearance and 11th appearance overall. And he did have one decent sight at goal – late in the first half as he snuck in behind the defence on the end of a flicked header and lashed a volley towards goal, which the keeper parried away...
Other than that though, not the best. FFF were already 2-0 down by that point and Garbett was replaced at the half. Falkenbergs would end up losing 3-0 and have slipped down to last place on the table. A couple wins would change that quick but they’ve only won two of 19 games so far – they’re two points adrift at the bottom and three points and some goal differential away from safety nearly two-thirds of the way through the season.
Up Next: FFF vs Varberg on Friday at 5am (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
One thing you can definitely say about Viking since they dropped Joe Bell back to the bench is that they’re scoring goals again. Bell was sacrificed three games ago to try get a bit more attacking balance going and safe to say it’s worked as Viking have scored 10 goals in three games since while winning the lot of them. To be fair, Bell scored one of those goals and he’s still featured in every game this season – against Kristiansund he played nearly half an hour. But yeah, these things ebb and flow and at the moment Bell’s only a second half player.
Viking took the lead against Kristiansund as early as the fourth minute as Veton Berisha scored at the back post from a corner. Kristiansund, who are a few places higher up on the ladder, responded before the break through Amahl Pellegrino but VFK reclaimed the lead about an hour in through another Berisha strike – squeezing the ball in at the near post from what looked like an offside position. Bell was subbed on pretty much as soon as they took that 2-1 lead... and there was no doubt about the third goal as Zymer Bytyqi scored a goal of the season candidate from distance. Perfect camera angle to see that clean whip on it too.
Then a couple minutes later Bytyqi scored again and with fifteen minutes left they seemed to be in complete control... then they conceded a Bendik Bye goal straight down the middle and five minutes later Pellegrino had his second (scoring on the rebound after his penalty attempt had been saved). But VFK hit back once more via Ylldren Ibrahimaj’s left foot at close range for the 5-3 win.
Up Next: Europa League qualifiers! Viking vs Aberdeeen on Friday at 6.30am (NZT)
Jesse Edge & Matthew Conroy – IFK Berga (Swedish Ettan Norra)
Victory! It’s been a rough old run of games for IFK Berga as they only won a single game in the first half of the season but they finally got another one on the board as they beat Nyköping BIS. An early goal from Anton Jonsson had them in front and then late in the first half a second yellow for Andres Gomes saw their opponents dropped to ten men.
Which didn’t actually help them that much as Nyköping came out of the break fired up and, after going close once, they levelled up through Kristoffer Grauberg-Lepik’s shot from the edge of the area. But Berga responded strong. One shot tipped over, another came off the crossbar... then after 80 minutes a cut-back for Jonsson did the business and they’d score another deep in stoppage time to seal the deal, Lukas Quist with the goal. 3-1 the final score. Highlights here.
Both Jesse Edge and Matty Conroy started this game with Conroy subbed off after an hour and Edge subbed off with a couple of minutes left. Not a win that gets them off the bottom of the Northern conference but it snaps a five-game losing streak and against the team directly above them it really was a must-win... which they did.
Up Next: IF Karlstad vs Berga, Sunday at 2am (NZT)
Joel Stevens & Francis De Vries – IFK Värnamo (Swedish Ettan Södra)
Might as well check in on the other side of the Swedish Ettan then, as both Joel Stevens and Francis de Vries started in a 2-0 win against Tvååkers. Neither of the fellas were in the goals this week though not for lack of trying as Joel Stevens hit the post in the second half from a tight angle (might have been an intended cross?). The Varnies had taken an early lead as captain Freddie Winsth headed home from an eighth minute corner and eventually Michael Kargbo gave them a second in the 87th minute. Stevens was subbed off with ten minutes left. Bit of a quiet game then but it was a fourth win in a row, eleventh game in a row unbeaten, and it moves them eleven points clear at the top of the Southern side of the division. Indulge in some highlights here.
Up Next: Home versus Skövde AIK at 1am on Sunday (NZT)
Elliot Collier – Chicago Fire (American Major League Soccer)
He didn’t get the start this time around but he might as well have. It was only 22 minutes before EC was subbed on to replace an injured Djordje Mihailovic. By that point Chicago were already up 2-0 against Columbus Crew. A series of cutting balls behind the Crew defence was tearing them to shreds and after already going close once they took the lead in the 11th minute thanks to Mihailovic and a mere three minutes after that they doubled it when Robert Beric, who’d set up the first goal, tapped in a pretty similar one himself to break his personal goal drought.
Unfortunately it didn’t get better than that. The rest of the first half was pretty stale and then Columbus came out of the break having had a proverbial kick up the arse and it was only a series of top quality saves that kept them out in those first ten minutes. Collier’s best chance came in the 65th minute as he laid some mean skills down on his marker to turn him coming in from the left but his shot took a deflection and was palmed away. Two minutes later Columbus were on the board, heading in from a corner. Chicago had a number of chances to kill it off despite that concession with the best of them coming after some prime Elliot Collier wing play. His initial touch was sloppy as hell but then came some sneaky stepovers and a brilliant low ball to the far post... only for Przemysław Frankowski to miss from here...
Bloody guy hit it straight at the keeper, mate! Then the follow up was mashed wide by Ignacio Aliseda. Absolute bottlers, the both of them. That was in the 86th minute and just like the last major Collier moment they conceded soon afterwards with Columbus Crew bagging an 88th minute equaliser for a share of the points. A 2-2 draw. Pretty rough on the emotions, that one. As for Mihailovic, it was a rolled ankle that ended his game prematurely. Still waiting on the results of scans from that one... although Collier himself has popped up on the injury report with an undisclosed knock having him questionable for the weekend’s game at the time of writing.
Up Next: Sunday at 11.30am away to Orlando City (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - Nürnberg (German Liga 2)
Cheeky little competitive Nürnberg debut for Sarpreet Singh as his lot had the daunting task of RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal. Champions League semi-finalists no less... with eight of the players who started against PSG also starting against Nürnberg. Singh lined up in the midfield and played 63 minutes before he was replaced with the score still only at 1-0 (they scored in the third minute), though RB Leipzig would add a couple more before time was out. Amadou Haidara, Yussuf Poulsen, and Hwang Hee-chan got the goals in a 3-0 Leipzig win. Decent opposition for Singh to have a crack against. (Funnily enough, FCN manager Robert Klauß was an assistant to Julian Nagelsmann at RBL last season).
Up Next: Start of the league season away to Jahn Regensburg at 4.30am on Saturday (NZT)
Ali Riley – FC Rosengård (Swedish Damallsvenskan)
Ali Riley had to be content with a place on the bench this week away to KIF Örebro. She was subbed on for the last twenty-odd minutes with her side already leading 1-0 thanks to a first half header from Anam Imo... and no sooner had Riley come on (on the right wing) than the Rosies scored a second. Anna Anvegård slamming that one away. The Footy Ferns captain had nothing to do with it but she was among the first in the celebratory huddle. She almost set up a goal a minute later though with a curling cross to the far post, then she did set up a goal in the 78th minute as she squared one over to Anvegård for her second to cap a 3-0 win. Comes off the bench and grabs an assist in a 3-0 win that keeps Rosengård clear at the top of the ladder. Watch the highlights here.
Elsewhere in the Damallsvenskan, Hannah Wilkinson was a 79th minute substitute as Djurgården lost 3-0 to Kopparbergs/Göteborg... who are the main team competing for the title with Rosengård so matching results means absolutely no change to the top of the table. And another relatively short cameo for Wilkie in which she didn’t really get much of a chance to do much. As you were then.
Up Next: Monday 28 Sept at 1am against Umeå (NZT)
Nikko Boxall – SJK (Finnish Veikkausliiga)
Lots of goals this week as SJK beat Inter Turku 3-2, falling behind early but rallying well – Inter Turku’s second came with only a couple minutes left so it wasn’t quite as close as it sounds. Ninety minutes for Nikko Boxall there and then they followed that up a few days later with a 4-1 win away against FC Haka. Ninety more minutes for Nikko there as well. Three wins in a row have them back in contention to crack the top half of the table when the league splits into the championship rounds.
Up Next: Inter Turku again, away on Sunday at 2am (NZT)
Tyler Boyd – Besiktas (Turkish Süper Lig)
Remember this guy?
Up Next: Home vs Antalyaspor at 4am on Sunday (NZT)
Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Good chat as always. Slight bummer as he was an unused sub while the Portland Timbers went and lost 4-2 away to LAFC. They scored first but were down 3-1 at the half and fourth goal was scored in stoppage time right near the end so they spent almost the whole second half chasing the game a goal down. Not really a situation in which you use the defensive utility on the bench.
Up Next: San Jose Earthquakes away on Thursday at 1.30pm (NZT)
Michael McGlinchey – Unattached
Morton CEO Davie MacKinnon: “Michael’s back in Scotland and living locally so we were happy to offer him facilities. He’s an experienced player who has a lot to offer but at the moment it’s no more than training. He’s fitted in well and seems to have enjoyed it so we’ll see how it develops.”
Up Next: On the job hunt
Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)
They keep playing these preseason friendlies and Chris Wood keeps scoring. He got another one in a 3-0 win over Portuguese side CS Maritimo with a typical Chris Wood kinda goal, making a sharp and decisive run and heading in a cross. He also set up the third goal for Matej Vydra. That was their final friendly game so we know for sure that The Woodsman’s coming in with some hot form as Burnley begin their new Premier League campaign against Leicester City next Monday morning... though there’s a League Cup game to get through before that.
Up Next: Burnley vs Sheffield Utd, 4.30am on Friday in the EFL Cup second round (NZT)
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