Flying Kiwis – January 20
Lily Alfeld, Elizabeth Anton & Malia Steinmetz – Perth Glory (Australian W-League)
Well obviously. But just like last week’s late 1-0 loss to Adelaide, the Save of the Week award has proved a poisoned chalice for Lily Alfeld as her team lost another close one. Perth Glory again named all three kiwis to start (with Alfeld and Anton playing ninety, while Steinmetz was subbed in the 78th min) in what was a rematch of the game last week but while it took 80 minutes and a penalty for Perth to be beaten in that one, here it took just five minutes and change before Fiona Worts ran onto a Mallory Weber assist to slide the ball past a helpless Lily Alfeld... and it shoulda been two on 21 minutes when a horror backpass was picked off by Emily Condon who rounded Alfeld and then impossibly kicked it into the sidenetting with an open goal in front of her.
Perth tidied it up after that and came through the first half without any further damage, before a lovely passing move ended with Caitlin Doeglas tying things up in the 53rd minute. Rightio, back in business. Then came Alfeld’s Save of the Week belter. Incredible tip onto the crossbar as Georgia Campagnale seemed to have dispatched that one into the top corner. Yet a minute later Adelaide scored anyway. Condon with the backpost header to make amends for earlier. Another close loss for Perth from another late-ish goal.
Up Next: Sunday at 6.05am away to Canberra United (NZT)
Annalie Longo & Claudia Bunge – Melbourne Victory (Australian W-League)
Remember how Melbourne Victory won the derby 6-0 last week? That scoreline was blown out by a few late goals but it was still a convincing victory for the Victory. Yeah so they played again this week (as the fixtures get crammed into geographical conveniences while various state restrictions are still in place in Oz) and this time the game went very differently.
City only made two changes from the previous meeting... but one of those was Alex Chidiac up front who got onto a convenient deflection in the 22nd minute, a deflection which put Claudia Bunge into a stumble, and Chidiac slammed in the opening goal to set a contrasting tone nice and early. That was disappointing for the Victory. Even worse was a few minutes later when Annalie Longo lost the ball in the midfield leading to Chinatsu Kira getting down the right and her cross hit Claudia Bunge at the near post and bobbed into her own net. Derby Day own goal after a mistake from your compatriot. That’s not what’s supposed to happen.
It looked pretty awful for MVC, Bunge was having trouble with the City forwards running directly at her as their hectic pressing kept turning the ball over. But the Victory rallied back after those terrible opening 25 mins. Angela Beard forced a save then Longo had a chance to make amends. Her shot was shanked but it fell to Melina Ayres who was also thwarted by keeper Teagan Micah. No goal in the first half (and it could have been 3-0 had Harriet Withers done better at the far post) but Melinda Barbieri scored a ripper of a free kick early in the second half and then within minutes Cath Zimmerman scored a snapshot on the spin and damn we were all level.
But Longo missed all that fun because she’d been subbed off in the 40th minute. Ah well. The Victory continued to push for another goal with Ayres hitting the post with a header, yet right at the end Withers snuck through and slipped in an 86th minute winner. Chaos in the derby... which then turned ugly as there were scenes with Victory fans throwing bottles onto the pitch and that sorta thing which caused a delay of the game. Rightfully condemned by both managers afterwards, never wanna see that.
Meanwhile the game ended 3-2 with City getting some instant revenge. Those were the first three goals that MVC have conceded this season. They’ve got one of each result after three games: a win, a draw, a loss.
Up Next: Friday at 11.05pm away to Brisbane Roar (NZT)
Olivia Chance - Brisbane Roar (Australian W-League)
Much bigger cameo in game two than the four minutes she played in game one. A solid 34 minutes, brought on with the scores at 1-1 and Brisbane Roar pushing for a first win of the season against the Newcastle Jets.
Newcastle started with a burst and had already hit the post when Tara Andrews gave them a 16th minute lead. Both teams were full of mistakes in this one and another goal often felt like an imminent thing. In the end it wasn’t until the 54th minute that Emily Gielnik got Brizzy back on level terms. Beat the offside trap from a flicked header and then picked her spot under pressure.
It was less than three minutes after that when Livvy Chance entered the game in place of Aussie international Katrina Gorry (who is a teammate of Vic Esson at Avaldsnes in Norway – here with Brisbane on loan in that offseason). And Chance had a pretty major impact on this game too, playing in an attacking midfield role. Three shots and a couple chances created in her 34 minutes... all three shots off target though and Brisbane couldn’t find a winner. Actually it took a great late save from Georgina Worth just to preserve the point. 1-1 in the end which means that the Roar have drawn all four games so far: undefeated but also winless. Huh.
Up Next: Friday at 11.05pm home to Melbourne Victory (NZT)
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Could it be... it is! Winston Reid just casually popping up in a training video at West Ham. The fella had his option to buy declined by Sporting Kansas City at the end of the MLS season, though the manager there spoke of his intention to try and bring Reid back on a similar sort of loan deal as he had in 2020. Well, he barely spoke at all but that was the read-between-the-lines hint. Reid still has ages left on that massive contract he signed a couple years back so a permanent deal would be expensive but there’s also no set date for the start of the 2021 MLS season leaving Winston in limbo.
Hence he’s popped back over the pond to London where he and his family live – remember that his family didn’t accompany him to Kansas City, what with the pandemic and all. And while he’s in town, as a contracted player for the club, there’s no reason not to get amongst the Hammers footy even if it’s just to stay fit. Having said that... it’s January so they could register him for Premier League duties during the window if they wanted. It’s an option.
Reid hasn’t played for West Ham since March 2018 when he busted his knee against Swansea. He missed Manuel Pellegrini’s entire tenure as Hammers boss and then when David Moyes took over it was quickly decided that Reid would need to pursue other options. But lots has changed since then. Reid played regularly and he played well for SKC, proving his fitness. West Ham have been playing with a back three in defence so numbers are important... one of the regular starters at the moment is Craig Dawson who is on loan from Watford as a bit of emergency cover (in fairness he’s done very well – more on him in a sec coz he clashed with Chris Wood this week).
David Moyes said this at a press conference a month ago: “I’m due to have a discussion with Winston and his agent. We’ve given him some time off after their [Sporting KC] season just finished. I don’t think he can be involved until January because of the ruling, so we’ll have a chat in the next few weeks and see what their thoughts are and we’ll see what we come up with.”
Hmm. So you’re saying there’s a chance!?
Up Next: West Ham vs Doncaster in the FA Cup 4th Round, Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
Alriiiight. Back in amongst the starters as PSV took on AZ Alkmaar in the midweek. Sadly that’s about where the coolness ends because PSV were pretty crap, tossing away their undefeated streak (which began while Thomas was out... ending in his first start back. Damn). Thomas was a bit of a non-factor as Ibrahim Sangare and Pablo Rosario started in the deeper midfield roles and Thommo therefore found himself in a more attacking role along with Mo Ihattaren. Neither of those dudes are wingers though so at least it meant a more inverted number ten kinda role (think Uli Davila at the Phoenix), with PSV looking to press in overloads on the edges.
Except that it didn’t work and in the 29th min AZ passed in behind that midfield and ended up with Myron Boadu getting chopped down on the run by the keeper for a penalty which Teun Koopmeiners then slotted. Eight minutes later the same fella had a second with what to be honest was a bit of a fluke as he backheeled a low corner at the near post over the keeper but under the bar. Fair play for having the guile to even try it in the first place.
That left PSV in a 2-0 hole at the half and Roger Schmidt responded by making a sub... Ryan Thomas hooked with Mauro Junior – who is a winger – replacing him in a tactical switch-up. That did improve things and German fullback Phillip Max got them back in it with a curling direct free kick in the 59th minute... but they couldn’t find a second and then conceded right at the end to lose 3-1 (Calvin Steggs with a goal that took a large deflection). There goes a 12-game run without defeat as well as crucial ground lost in the title race. Yup, that one sucked.
But they did have another game a few days later and it was away to Sparta Rotterdam in some veeeery chilly conditions. We’re talking copious quantities of snow... not that it kept the goals out. There were eight of them in this sucker, albeit mostly without Ryan Thomas as he was named on the bench.
It began terribly as a defensive giveaway allowed Bryan Smeets to absolutely crush a shot into the top corner for a brilliant goal but 23 minutes in they were level as Mauro Junior took care of a cross from Noni Madueke. Both teams lost players to injury (forward Cody Gakpo the PSV man going down) while gaffer Roger Schmidt was put on his last warning after a bit too much back chat at the officials however if he was pissed off going into the break then his mood sure flipped soon after as within two minutes of kick off they were leading. Donyell Malen with a tidy bit of strikersmanship. Then incredible one mere minute later and Madueke finished off a quality move to make it 3-1. 48 minutes gone. Maybe it was coz they switched to the orange ball at HT instead of the white one which kept going missing in the snow? Still not as bad as this snowy blunder in Turkey to be fair.
Phillip Max went on to thump one inside the near post on 71 minutes and that appeared to be that. Until an even better goal in response by Danzell Gravenberch in the 75th and that led to Ryan Thomas getting the nod for the final ten minutes as PSV sought to close this one out. Thommo replacing Ihattaren for a bit more control in the midfield which they definitely needed because PSV’s defenders weren’t doing themselves any favours. Gravenberch almost got his second running straight lines through them before Jordan Teze gave away a penalty which Reda Karchouch buried and it was 4-3 now. Very soft penalty, tbf. Thankfully PSV took care of business as Ryan Thomas took a short corner in stoppage time, seeking to hold it up and waste time, but he and fellow sub Eran Zahavi worked it so well that Sangare was able to get to the byline and square it for Malen to tap in a sitter and 5-3 was the way it ended. Happy times.
For a bit of context, this was Roger Schmidt talking in the lead up to the AZ game...
“It is positive that Mauro, Ryan Thomas and Érick Gutiérrez are back. They have been out for a long time. They are not 100 percent now, but every minute they play with the team helps them get in top condition. That's how the situation is now. It's better than before Christmas anyway.”
Up Next: Home to RKC Waalwijk on Sunday at 8am in the Eredivisie (NZT)
Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)
Ria Percival continuing to pop up in the statties.
Spurs took on West Ham this week in Olli Harder’s first game in charge of the Hammers – here’s a good profile on Harder btw, giving a bit more background on his vast travelling career and his kiwi connections (born and raised in Aotearoa to German parents)... gotta love a quote like this: “I didn’t watch a lot of English football – growing up there wasn’t too much on TV, and when there was it was at about four in the morning. I liked Blackburn because of Ryan Nelson, and more recently West Ham, because of Winston Reid. I’m a big Kiwi fan and a big fan of having Kiwis in the league. For me it’s good that I had a connection with West Ham before.”
Sweet as, hopefully get a couple New Zealanders signed up next season? Of course Ria Percival played a year with West Ham when she first moved (back) to England so that’s another link. Here she lined up against them however it was back to right fullback for her on this day having mostly played as a defensive midfielder this season. Pretty proficient at both so no worries. Might be worth mentioning at this point that this was Rehane Skinner’s first game as the new boss of Spurs too.
Percy had to do some scrambling to try and cover Emily van Egmond early on but then Tottenham had a strong period which culminated in Lucy Quinn slamming in the opening goal on 35 mins, Gemma Davidson with the pull-back assist. A well deserved goal in a first half that didn’t have a huge amount of moments... though that would change in the second spell. West Ham had several chances. Becky Spencer had to be sharp with the gloves while the post and a couple defensive blocks also came to the rescue. Spurs did have some sparse opportunities to add to their lead and buy some breathing room but for the most part it was backs to the wall as WHU chased an equaliser which they wouldn’t ever find. Guts to Olli Harder but that’s a clean sheet and a valuable 1-0 win for Ria Percival, whose Tottenham team have now won three in a row – granted this one was far from vintage after five weeks off between games. Highlights available on the FA Player.
Up Next: Monday at 3.30am against Everton (NZT)
Meikayla Moore – Liverpool (English Championship)
First game back after being nominated for Player of the Month and also the first game since Vicky Jepson left as manager... but this one went the wrong way for Liverpool. Up against fellow top of the table challengers Leicester City it didn’t start out badly. They survived an early scare after some sloppy stuff at the back (Meikayla Moore playing in the midfield here, by the way) to take the lead on ten minutes as Amalie Thestrup squared one to Missy Bo Kearns from the left wing and Kearns tapped it in. But those sloppy defensive moments continued and eventually they drew level from the penalty spot with Tasha Flint, the league’s top scorer, converting in the 43rd minute. That penalty having been awarded for a foul by... Meikayla Moore. Bugger. Left a leg in just on the edge of the area, not much in it but she did definitely clip Remi Allen. Seemed like she didn’t realise Allen was there.
Mel Lawley came on for Thestrup at half time. Fifteen seconds later Mel Lawley lost the ball with a heavy touch then tracked back and dove in hard and late on Charlie Devlin to be shown a red card. One of the quickest sending offs you’ll ever see by a substitute... and it made things immensely tough for Liverpool the rest of the way as they were pushed deeper and deeper. Moore was replaced on 68 minutes as part of the defensive wall. Yet the resistance was eventually broken by Devlin as she followed up on a blocked shot by Flint with ten minutes to play and the Foxes won it 2-1. They go top with those three points while Liverpool linger 11 points behind that lot in fourth, albeit with a game in hand, looking like immediate promotion back to the top flight might just be beyond them this season.
Up Next: Charlton vs Liverpool on 8 February at 3am (NZT)
Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)
Burnley’s game away to West Ham shaped up as a nice little referendum on the form of Chris Wood. On the one hand he’s been missing some chances lately and that’s been a big talking point amongst Clarets fans as their team continues to struggle in front of goal. On the other hand he’s still their top scorer so however bad he may have been everyone else is worse. This is definitely a team-wide problem and not just a Chris Wood problem... however West Ham are one of his favourite opponents so if ever he was gonna bust out of this slump then playing against a team whom he’s scored or assisted seven of the last 12 goals his club have scored against them would be a good bet.
But that didn’t quite work out. Ninth minute of the game and a slight deflection on a cross from Ben Mee meant James Tarkowski couldn’t clear it and Michail Antonio was lurking at the far post to put WHU in the lead. Simple as that. Not great marking, not great coordination, not great with the two CBs spoiling things for each other. Not great for a team who has been awful away from home to already be trailing.
Chris Wood largely kept to the last man trying to set a physical tone but he had his hands full with Angelo Ogbonna who wasn’t to be barged over. He also had his head full late in the first half by Craig Dawson. The pair had clashed as Dawson eased a ball out for a goal kick, Wood giving him a nudge to the ground for his troubles, and the very next chance he got Dawson stuck an elbow into the back of Wood’s head. Wood then tripped him up as he fell over. Bit of a nasty move by Dawson to be fair but he got away with it, Woodsy quickly returning to the game after the mandatory ‘off to the sideline’ thing.
Two major moments for the big fella. One was when he peeled off his marker down the left (which was the Dawson side not the Ogbonna side, tellingly) to run onto a Robbie Brady through ball. He turned the corner at the goal-line, waited an instant longer to give his mate in the middle the chance to get to the near post, then crossed low where it was actually Aaron Cresswell to turned it in for an own goal... except Wood was all this time later finally flagged for offside. Had to give the VAR the chance to overrule it or whatever, which they didn’t. Equaliser chalked off. He also had a snapshot just wide earlier on from an opportunistic low drive outside the area which he made good contact on but couldn’t quite get it on target.
Burnley subbed on Dwight McNeil for some much-needed variety in their attack at half-time but it was West Ham who seemed more likely to add a second. They came out with a boost in possession and several chances (having already hit the post through Ogbonna in the first half). The Clarets held on, somehow, and with about quarter of an hour to go they started to get more of a foothold on attack as WHU began to settle for what they had... but Chris Wood had already been subbed off in the 72nd min. Ashley Barnes was replaced before him. Rather annoying because after Wood left the game was when they were in the best positions to actually take advantage of what he does. Same drama they had last week against Man United. Anyway, it ended up staying as a 1-0 West Ham win so that referendum result went stink.
Up Next: Liverpool vs Burnley on Friday at 9am (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Colchester United (English League Two)
First game back since the calendars changed and it was a handy 1-1 draw at home against Cambridge United... who are fourth on the ladder yet Tommy Smith and the lads managed to restrict them to only a handful of shots all afternoon and only two of them on target, both of which being their 12th minute Harvey Knibbs goal which put Colchester behind in the mud and the snow at Colchester Community Stadium. Proper lower league footy here, mate. The move started when Smithy seemingly rugby tackled Paul Mullin just outside the area and that bloke was incensed...
But the he got back up, snuck into some unmarked space, got the ball with room to shoot, and unleashed one which Dean Gerken saved but then Knibbs tapped it in on the rebound. Bad start however after that the Colchester defence was pretty great. Things weren’t as flash on attack, though Smith did have a header early on which went close, but they got themselves level in the 39th minute as Callum Harriott’s off-target shot was deflected in off Greg Taylor for an oggie. Couldn’t find a winner but an okay way to get back up and running again.
Up Next: Away to Morecambe on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Deklan Wynne – Phoenix Rising (American USL Championship)
The USL signings are coming thick and fast now. Max Mata, then Kyle Adams, now Deklan Wynne (good chance of more to come too). Wynne initially signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps back in 2015 but only ever played for their reserve team in the USL outside of one Canadian Cup game in 2017. He seemed to be close to breaking through in the 2018 season but that was when Anthony Hudson took over the Colorado Rapids and swiftly moved to trade for Wynne.
There he played all across the backline, logging 36 MLS appearances – the same amount as another All Whites left back in Tony Lochhead – but a broken foot in 2019 held him back and then Uncle Tony got the sack and Wynne spent the entirety of 2020 on the periphery. Seven times he made the bench but never did he get out on the park. The last time he played a proper game was June 2019 so no surprises that he wasn’t re-signed when his contract expired and no surprises that he was happy to get the hell outta there.
Phoenix Rising is generally one of the top USL sides. James Musa played there for a couple years as they competed for championships and while this does mean a drop in tiers for Dekkers, it also much more importantly means he’ll be able to get back to the business of playing football. Fella played 35 times in the USL for VW2 too so he knows the league well. His signing was pretty immediately welcomed by fans too... seems they’ve been desperate for a left-back.
Rising head coach Rick Schantz: “Deklan is an experienced international left back who will definitely help our team. He is very versatile and has a high soccer IQ. Deklan’s defending, coupled with his quality on the ball will fit perfectly with our style of play.”
Deklan Wynne: “Obviously being left-footed, being at left back or left centre back, I feel really comfortable on the ball and playing out, especially at left back. Most of my career in Colorado I played centre back so that really got me used to playing different positions at the back. Obviously right back is a lot similar to left back but obviously my right foot isn’t as strong as my left. So that’s something I had to adapt to but I think I’m pretty comfortable playing all four positions — even in a back three, which I did quite a lot at Colorado the last couple years.”
Up Next: Still a wait and see prospect as to when the USL might begin
Sarpreet Singh - Nürnberg (German Liga 2)
“In the beginning I had to get used to a few new things, but slowly I am starting to develop. Recently I started a couple of times in a row, which has helped my development. The move to Nuremberg was the right step for me.”
That’s Sarpreet Singh in conversation with SPOX, chatting about the loan move to FCN. He had plenty more illuminating things to say in that chat too. Like this about Hansi Flick’s role in his development and in recommending the loan...
“In the summer I talked to Hansi almost every other day about my situation and future. He looks after the whole team, but especially the young players like me. I am very grateful to him for that... Yes, he directly advised me to take the chance. Match practice is the most important thing at my age. And it is naturally not that easy to get from the professionals at FC Bayern.”
And a little bit about future ambitions...
“I want to return to Bayern as a better player in the summer and fight for a regular place. I believe in asserting myself at FC Bayern. This is my plan. But you can never make serious predictions in football. Who knows, maybe I'll stay in Nuremberg too.”
Singh got yet another start as FCN took on VfL Bochum though it was a quiet one from his perspective. He was following up as Manuel Schäffler put FCN in the lead in the 29th minute with a close range finish that bobbled over the keeper thanks to a deflection. Yet just two minutes later Robert Žulj beat a deep offside trap to level. Singh would be subbed off in the 67th minute with the scores still even though they didn’t stay even for long, Robert Tesche with a second half double scoring in the 73rd and 83rd minutes – the first a rocket from the edge of the box and the second a side-footer at the far post after a cross had been helped on towards him. Probably fair to say that now that Singh’s getting regular starts for FCN finally, the next step is to get more involved in scoring and setting up some goals.
Up Next: FCN vs Hannover 96, Monday at 1.30am (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Sint-Truiden (Belgian Pro League)
A 3-1 win over OH Leuven and how’s this for a contrast...
STVV with Kevin Muscat: 2 wins from 14 games
STVV without Kevin Muscat: 4 wins from 7 games
Double the league wins in half the opportunities. This Leuven game had a little bit of luck to it, Yuma Suzuki had given them the lead on 10 minutes with some quick movement to win the header in front of his marker but they’d conceded an equaliser on 25 mins as Thomas Henry skipped past a challenge and thumped in from about 20 yards. STVV still had some nice moments after that but it was 37 minutes in when this duel drastically changed. Cacace ran forward with the ball and slipped it wide to Suzuki breaking outside him. Suzuki then got fair clattered by Pierre-Yves Ngawa and out came the red as Suzuki clutched at his shin and Cacace walked casually over to scoop up the ball for the free kick and survey the scene.
Cacace had nothing to do with said free kick. He didn’t need to. It was a really well worked training ground routine which ended with Ilombe Mboyo heading in from close range – a goal that was initially flagged offside but the VAR took a look and told them to give it. Libby then went inches from his first goal for the club as he pummelled a low volley wide in stoppage time. No dramas coz in the 53rd minute Mboyo avoided the offside flag again before squaring to Suzuki for an easy finish. 3-1 to STVV who proceeded to close it out against the ten men of OHL for another crucial win. It doesn’t lift them up the table any but it buys them more room between themselves and the drop zone. Looks like sacking Muscat was the best thing they coulda done.
Up Next: Away to Kortrijk at 4.30am on Thursday (NZT)
Myer Bevan - TS Galaxy FC (South African Premier Soccer League)
TS Galaxy lost 1-0 to Chippa United in their latest, in which Bevan was subbed on after 66 minutes for a hefty cameo. Creating chances again too. Going the right way towards settling himself into this squad... though this defeat means they’ve still only won once from 11 games and therefore drop to the bottom of the table below their most recent opponents.
Elsewhere Dan Morgan was also a substitute for Maritzburg. He was brought on at the half but unlike last time he couldn’t spark a goal or two and that one ended 0-0 against AmaZulu (no sign of Andre De Jong for them recently, must be injured). Bevan and Morgan play each other tomorrow morning so set the alarm for that one.
Up Next: Maritzburg vs TSG, Thursday at 4am (NZT)
Michael Woud – Almere City (Dutch Eerste Divisie)
No clean sheet for Woudy this time as he leaked a pair of them against AZ Alkmaar’s academy team. But neither goal was consequential after a rapid first half from the Almere lads. Frederik Helstrup’s header had them on top with 8:05 on the clock and by 21 minutes it was two thanks to Thomas Verheydt’s strength gave him time to pick his spot on the volley then 35 minutes gone and boom 3-0 via Damon Mirani running at that far post from a free kick and nobody even spotted him until he was wheeling away in celebration.
Woud did have to make a low stop with his right hand on the half hour so it wasn’t all one-way traffic, it’s just that Almere looked like they could score a couple more for anything they conceded. They’d already hit the post as well as having a couple decent saves against them – it could have been five or six. Sure enough they put that idea to work before the half was out. Woud had a shocker, gotta admit it, when he passed the ball straight to an attacker inside his six yard box trying to play out of defence. He tried to dive on Jesse Duin’s feet to get that ball back but Duin was patient enough to avoid him and tap it in. Whoopsadaisy. Except yeah then Almere scored again within a few minutes when Mees Kaandorp poked in from a cut-back cross.
The second half wasn’t ever gonna have the same steam to it and Almere City probably got too complacent as Woud had to make a couple saves. He also had another clearance charged down though it bounced away to a defender. Got away with it. Oussame Bouyaghlafen subsequently scored a fifth for AC and they cruised the rest of the way other than conceding a stoppage time consolation to Des Kunst. A lovely goal after beating a few defenders picking the ball up from a short corner. Lazy defending but they’d already done what needed doing for a 5-2 win and with Cambuur only drawing against NEC Nijmegen that lifts Almere City equal top, second only on goal difference (although there’s a lot of goal difference between the pair).
Up Next: Almere vs Dordrecht, Saturday at 9am (NZT)
Jesse Edge – IFK Berga (Swedish Ettan Norra)
Sweet as. Edge played almost every game for IFK Berga after signing, 19 matches in total with one excellent free kick goal. However it wasn’t enough to avoid relegation so that Ettan Norra is out of date now. They’ll be in Division 2 in one of the regions, though hopefully only for one season.
Up Next: Dunno yet
Callum McCowatt - FC Helsingør (Danish Division 1)
Hey that’s cool, Callum McCowatt scored in a friendly game against top flight club Nordsjælland (which translates to North Zealand, lol). FCH used two different teams in the respective halves with the only kiwi starting the first half being Sean Bright who is there trialling after impressing for Eastern Suburbs in the NZ Premiership lately. One of two triallists in the first half with another three plus an U19s player featuring in the second half which was when McCowatt came on. No Eli Just here... definitely not full strength at any point.
McCowatt’s goal came from a penalty after Oliver Kjærgaard was fouled, The keeper actually saved his spot kick as he went with the old panenka chip down the middle, a brilliant save reaching back with the left hand... but McCowatt followed it up to score at the second attempt. That was to make it 1-1 but the game got away from them after that and they eventually lost 4-2. McCowatt had a few other opportunities to score from open play which he couldn’t take full advantage of, such is life, although he did set up the second goal with a quick throw in. FCH plays another friendly on Thursday NZT against FC København which hopefully will also be livestreamed because Marko Stamenic is a good bet to start against his Ole Academy bros having started their most recent winter break friendly. The proper stuff doesn’t start up again until mid-February with FCH sitting eighth on the ladder after 16 matches.
Up Next: Thursday at 1am, away to Copenhagen (NZT)
Callan Elliot - Xanthi (Greek Super League 2)
You wouldn’t have thought when Callan Elliot was first revealed to be leaving the Wellington Phoenix for FC Xanthi in Greece, with the state that the A-League was in at the time, that the Welly Nix would be playing games again before him. But of course the coronavirus has hit many countries a lot worse than it has Australia and the Greek second tier took a huge delay before finally getting underway this week... months after it ordinarily would’ve started. Xanthi began the Tony Popovich era with a 1-1 draw, Aussie Josh Brillante scoring their one before they conceded in second half stoppage time. Callan Elliot was an unused sub though.
Up Next: Xanthi vs Ionikos on Thursday at 2am (NZT)
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