Flying Kiwis – February 2
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
There’s some Deadline Day drama for ya: Winston Reid to Brentford on loan for the rest of the season.
Turns out he won’t be going back on loan to America after all, instead he’s staying close to home in London with a team that’s up near the top of the Championship. Which all things considered is about as good a move as he could have gotten: this means competitive football for a Premier League aspiring club, it means not having to leave his wife and kids behind during a pandemic as he jets off for foreign opportunities, it should mean getting to play regular football, and it also keeps the West Ham flame burning too just a little thanks to the proximity.
Or to put it more succinctly...
Right on, Si.
Further to that quote were these details from the gaffer: “We felt we needed to bring an extra centre back in to the Club. Pontus Jansson will be out for at least six weeks and Luke Racic came back from his loan at Northampton Town with a back injury, so they are not available. Our medical staff are also helping Charlie Goode with his ongoing medical issue, so he has not been able to be part of our squad.”
Pontus Jansson was a fan favourite at Leeds while Chris Wood was there, funnily enough. But yeah as long as the man is fit then Winston Reid isn’t “challenging” for those places, he’s commanding them. A manager’s got to be fair to the existing lads when he speaks though, s’pose. Speaking of managers saying things, this was what Moyesy had to say in the week leading up to this loan move...
David Moyes: “[Winston] had a bit of time off when he got back from America. He’s going to play for the under-23s tonight and he’s been training for the last two to three weeks. It’s a little bit like Reid doing his pre-season. We have him back and if he wants to go out on loan we’ll be open to that. But we’re also very happy to have him around the place. He’s been a great ambassador for the club and he’s someone I respect greatly. At the moment we have four centre-halves who are competing for positions and we don’t have too many openings in that area at the moment.”
Oddly that quote, from Moyes’ pre-game press conference before their 3-1 loss to Liverpool, was picked up by the West Ham bloggers focussing on the bit about the club being open to him going out on loan again. As if that wasn’t obvious already... dude literally just got back from a loan. What’s more fascinating there was Moyes adding that they’re happy to have him around, albeit without being able to guarantee game time. Might have just been Moyes being polite to a club hero but it suggested that Reid had options there. Ultimately he chose the option that allowed him to play the most football and that’s fair enough but when that loan ends he’ll presumably return to West Ham for preseason and will still have two more years remaining on his contract. Never quite know what’ll happen.
The four centre-halves that Moyesy referred to are Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna (who have been starting and playing well lately – Dawson even scored the goal against Liverpool, albeit ‘twas only a consolation) as well as Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena (a pair of experienced alternates). So yeah he’s not lying about the logjam... but Liverpool did apparently inquire about Diop amidst their own defensive crisis before signing Preston’s Ben Davies. In fact they might have even considered someone a little closer to home if you believe the rumours...
You probably shouldn’t have believed the rumours. Especially not when they’re emanating from the Daily Star and when words like “readily available” are used. Readily available doesn’t mean there was Liverpool interest whatsoever, no more than you’re interested in answering that survey when you get cold-called during dinner. Unsurprisingly Transfer Deadline Day came and went and Winston did not sign for Liverpool – though Brentford also have red in their jerseys so could have just been a misunderstanding. Or a ploy from the agent to force a Brentford move over the line by faking some urgency.
But before he left he did play that U23s game that Moyes was talking about...
Southampton were the opponents for the PL2 clash, Reid the only regular first team name on show (though a couple of his teammates had debuted in the FA Cup game last week). Reid played a tidy 45 minutes before he was replaced at the half with the Hammers leading 2-0 thanks to a double from Mipo Odubeko. Southampton would improve with Winnie off the field, getting back into it with a goal on the hour, but then Dan Chesters added a third for a 3-1 WHU win.
Anyway, back to Brentford for some words from the man himself...
Up Next: Thursday at 8.45am vs Bristol City, then Sunday at 4am away to Middlesbrough (NZT)
Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)
Burnley were getting absolutely battered in the first half against Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins gave the Villans the lead on quarter of an hour while Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley were running them off their own park – the latter hitting the crossbar at one point while Grealish and Watkins each went close on other occasions as did Bertrand Traoré and John McGinn. How it was only 1-0 at the half, nobody knows. On came Jack Cork for Burnley, his first league appearance of the season after injury, but still it felt like we were in for more of the same. An inevitability as to when Villa might score again.
However six minutes into the second half Chris Wood battled his way up against Tyrone Mings for a lobbed ball over the top and as they tussled, with Mings trying to shield it out of play, Wood was able to kick it into Mings’ shin and win a corner. Both dudes took a sec to get back on their feet after getting tangled up in the fall but they were fine. A relatively basic moment in the game... except then Ben Mee rose unmarked at the far post from the corner delivery to smash in an equaliser. All coming via a tenacious bit of play from The Woodsman not giving up on that first ball. That goal spurred Burnley into action and suddenly, unbelievably considering the one-way-traffic of earlier, we had ourselves a genuine contest.
66th minute of the game and finally that One Big Chance fell to Chris Wood. Dwight McNeil had slipped it down the left wing into the run of Jay Rodriguez who pulled it back past the penalty spot to where The Woodsman was lurking. He stroked a side-footer making powerful contact but Emiliano Martinez made a brilliant save to deny him. Bugger. Two minutes later Jack Grealish scored for Villa. Double bugger.
That would have been another one of those desperate talking points, the contrast between the save by Martinez and the winner for Grealish... except that it wasn’t the winner. The excellent Dwight McNeil equalised with quarter of an hour to go thanks to a low cross that somehow evaded everyone to drift inside the far post. Then four minutes after that, mate...
Remarkable header there from The Woodsman. McNeil again involved, it was his cross that stood up for Wood to flick down and perfectly in. No saving that one. Tally that up as Wood’s fourth goal of the season and his first since before Christmas while it was also the first time Burnley had scored three in a league game for eleven months and the third game in a row in which Wood has scored against Aston Villa (and fourth in five).
The Clarets didn’t even try to score again. Wood got the ball at the start of stoppage time and went straight to the corner flag. Time wasting abounded... and it did the trick as Burnley held on to claim a 3-2 win. What a crazy game – they looked miles out of their depth in the first half only to swim all the way back to the shallows on their own for three points. Winning goal courtesy of Christopher Grant Wood.
But wait there’s more...
The Woodsman: “There’s no getting away from it. It’s been a hard season for us boys. Barnesy got off a little run before last week, Jay fired on Sunday and Vyds before that in the Cup, so it was on me to start firing. Every week I try my best to score. Sometimes it doesn’t happen but thankfully it did happen today and now it’s about me building on this and going again.
It was a nice finish, if I say so, but it took an age to go in. It went very slowly and the boys on the side said it took an age to walk itself into the back of the net, but I was just thankful it went in and it’s another three points, which was the best thing for us. It was nice that I could contribute, not just trying to work hard and fight and hold the ball up but actually get on the scoresheet.”
It was a good day.
After which the Clarets took a trip to Chelsea to face Thomas Tuchel’s side and that was not a good day. Burnley kept it tight but Chelsea were far too good, taking the lead five minutes before the half through Cesar Azpilicueta slamming in on the overlap before clinching it near the end via another defensive player as wingback Marcos Alonso scored a bit of a ripper on the close-range volley. Chelsea weren’t always fluid under their new manager, still working through the confidence dip of the last few months, but were always in control as Burnley created absolutely nothing. Like, they didn’t even have a shot until second half stoppage time. 2-0 was the final score.
Chris Wood, who was partnered by Matej Vydra – third strike partner in three games thanks to injuries – battled away up top but this game was played at the other end. He had 24 total touches and a full quarter of those were aerial challenges that he won. Then he limped off with a knock in the 62nd minute. Awkwardly dropped to the ground untouched soon after they’d subbed Vydra off so both strikers were changed within a few minutes. Wood did walk off under his own power and the manager later said he felt the change was precautionary more than anything, what with all these games following in a hurry these days.
Sean Dyche: “[Wood] has got a niggle on his hamstring. I don't know how that's going to be yet. [Jay Rodriguez] has just come back after few weeks with a knee, so we had to be careful with another three-game week coming up.”
Up Next: The dreaded Manchester City on Thursday at 7am (NZT)
Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)
It was Spurs against Chelsea in a London Derby of the toughest order. Tottenham started brightly against the team on a WSL record unbeaten streak (32 games!) as Sheila Zadorsky had a shot over the bar on 13 minutes. Then from the goal kick Spurs won it back and Kit Graham ended up with the ball on the edge of the area, back to goal. She searched for an opening. It wasn’t there so she slipped it back to Ria Percival charging out of midfield. Percival slipped slightly as she struck it first time with the left boot but it flew towards goal with power... only for Ann-Katrin Berger to tip it onto the post. Argh, so close. Percival has scored a couple times for Spurs but never in the WSL and that would have been a screamer.
Graham got a shot of her own away soon after but eventually Chelsea figured out what they were doing and in the 27th minute Melanie Leupolz blasted a shot from way out which swerved inside the post. Slightly misjudged by the keeper and that was the main difference between Percival’s shot and Leupolz’s shot. But once they took the lead it was all over. Abbie McManus then scored a debut own goal (having signed on loan from Manchester United), heading a shot that woulda been saved otherwise past her own keeper. From 0-0 and playing well to being 2-0 down within two minutes. Sam Kerr added a third with a perfect header before the half was out and there was no coming back from that.
Percival, who was back in centre-mid here, made a pretty brilliant headed clearance to deny Pernille Harder’s volley while guarding the post from a corner. Looked like it stung a bit as she ended up tangled in the net and needed a moment to re-compose herself... by the way note the snazzy face mask that Percival was rocking here. Haven’t seen that before this season but she has had a few blood noses before. Didn’t stop her putting her face in the way of that fiery Harder shot though.
Leupolz eventually scored a fourth from the penalty spot after a handball. 4-0 was the final score as Chelsea made it 33 league games without defeat as they push for another WSL title. Spurs are back in the middle of things in seventh with 12 points from 11 games. Full game for Percival in that double pivot midfield alongside Australia’s Alanna Kennedy.
Up Next: Away to Aston Villa on Sunday at 1.30am (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)
He’s baaaaack. Late in the transfer window and Bayern have officially recalled Sarpreet Singh from what was intended to be a season-long loan. But having only played 12 times in all competitions for FC Nürnberg he wasn’t really getting what he was supposed to from that experience. A good run of starts early this year brought some renewed hope but unfortunately it didn’t bring good results and the team was reshuffled once again these last couple matches with Singh back on the bench.
Dieter Hecking, FCN Sporting Director: “Together with Bayern and Sarpreet, we have agreed that this step is the right one for everyone. We wish him all the best for his sporting and personal future.”
It’s no secret that Singh wasn’t getting the games he would have wanted. It’s also been well-publicised that he’d struggled with the physicality of second tier of German football – the Bundesliga is fast and technical, the third tier has a lot of young players, so the one in between is where all the rough battlers end up. Singh always said the right things about working hard and doing what he can for the team however his mini-sabbatical late last year wasn’t the best sign of a happy player and what’s interesting is that Bild have reported that it was Singh himself who asked for the loan to be terminated. No point pissing around in a bad situation. Singh had zero goals and zero assists in his time with FCN (meanwhile goalie Christian Fruchtl who also joined FCN on loan from Bayern at the same time has yet to feature even once).
As for Bayern Munich, they’re just churning away as always. Not quite as unstoppable as last season – particularly not when they were stunned in the DFB Pokal by second tier side Holstein Kiel with a 90th minute equaliser and then a defeat via penalties a couple weeks back – but they’re clear top of the league table at the halfway point and have a Champions League knockout tie against Lazio in a month’s time. Not to mention the Club World Cup in a fortnight. And Singh’s return happens to coincide with midfielders Javi Martinez and Leon Goretza both having to enter quarantine after positive covid tests. Corentin Tolisso is also out injured.
Obviously Singh wasn’t gonna play against Hoffenheim the day after this move was announced but that game does give us an insight into what he’s returning to. Joshua Kimmich and Marc Roca were the central midfielders there – Roca has been pretty poor this season but there wasn’t much other choice. That’s not really Singh’s position and they’re much better stocked in the attacking midfield roles where Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller & Kingsley Coman all started (and Douglas Costa, Leroy Sane & Eric Choupo-Moting came off the bench) but as options get stretched in one area it tends to open up opportunities in others too. Will be curious to see if he does get a go with the first team while they’re short of dudes of if he hangs out with the reserves to get minutes in his legs. He hasn’t been included in their squad for the Club World Cup if that’s any indication.
Up Next: Saturday at 8.30am away to Hertha Berlin (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Sint-Truiden (Belgian Pro League)
STVV are so much better under Peter Maes than they ever were under Kevin Muscat. Not to be harsh on Muscat or nothin’ but that’s just a fact. A few smart signings, some resurgent belief amongst the crew... it’s definitely working. This week they had a couple games and we’ll start with Gent away where Argentinian midfielder Facundo Colidio put them into the lead in the 23rd minute. Stunner of a goal on the volley from the on loan Inter Milan fella.
Other than that the big moments were mostly leaning towards Gent. Several important stops by the STVV keeper to keep that side of the scoreboard at zero. Yuma Suzuki did go close with a low pumper of a volley in the second half but towards the end it became more and more a matter of holding on for that win... outside of the odd counter attacking moments. Three times as many shots for Gent. Almost two-thirds of possession. Libby Cacace with a quiet game by his recent standards as there wasn’t a lot coming down his side which maybe explains why something unprecedented happened in stoppage time with that 1-0 win only minutes away: Liberato Cacace was subbed off. The first time he’s been subbed off for STVV, the first minutes that he’s missed since his debut. Part of a double sub that included a bit of time-wasting...
Unfortunately they didn’t waste enough of that time and in the fifth minute of time added on they conceded an equaliser after a free kick on the edge of the area was whipped in and wasn’t cleared and a shot back across goal was deflected into his own net by Daniel Schmidt. Gutted, bro. Cacace leaves the field and they bottle it.
Things were happier the following game as Cercle Brugge came to town and again there was a first half lead for STVV only this time they actually built on it. Christian Brüls in the seventeenth minute on the way to a 1-0 lead at the break. Not much else happening in that opening 45. STVV trying to keep it tight as they do while their opponents were hesitant in the middle of a poor run of form. Cracking strike from Brüls though.
Cercle Brugge, who were managed by Paul Clement (a former assistant at Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid & Bayern Munich under Carlo Ancelotti each time) until he got sacked after this game, stepped it up after HT with a couple close calls. Then it appeared to get even worse as Libby Cacace dropped to the ground untouched, clutching at a leg. It looked like maybe a quad injury and pretty quickly the physios were out there to attend to him, helping him over to the sideline as the subs started warming up on the opposite side. But you know what? A couple cheeky sprints down the sideline to test it out as the game continued and before you knew it Cacace was back out on the field again risen from the grave like Count Dracula at sundown.
And just in case folks were still worried about his fitness, he immediately launched into one of those branded Cacace Runs which came to a halt when he passed the ball to a dude who’d lazily strayed offside but soon after that he fed a clever ball down the left wing towards Ilombe Mboyo who drew a foul. Two fellas stood over the ball to cross it in, the first dummied over it, the second shaped to kick then hesitated. The defensive line stopped and as they did the first guy whipped in the ball from his opposite foot to where Jorge Teixeira headed in unmarked to make it 2-0. Such a clever set piece routine. And a crucial goal.
Things took a swing for Cacace with about ten minutes to go when he shouldered a bloke off the ball who was trying to get around him to the by-line to cross but the whistle blew and out came a yellow card. He did raise an arm in there so yeah there was a case to be answered. Libby wasn’t happy about it but that might have been more because it was his fifth of the season so he’ll miss their next game. It’ll be the first game that he’s missed since he signed.
Anyway, on a yellow and having already had an injury scare and up by two spare goals it made sense to sub him off for the final stages. He wasn’t too chuffed about that either. Thankfully STVV hung on and did the business... in fact they even added a third goal deep in stoppage time thanks to Chris Durkin and a heavily deflected shot that looped over the keeper. A 3-0 victory against a fellow relegation scrapper and these three points lift them up to 14th on the ladder, eight points clear of their vanquished foes in the relegation playoff spot and probably a win away from entering the mid-table clutter. There are nine games remaining in the season.
Up Next: Lokeren-Temse vs STVV in the Belgian Cup R32, Thursday at 8am (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
Significant game away against Feyenoord this week and woah matey this did not go as planned. Ryan Thomas got the start in that advanced midfield role again but the fellas behind him didn’t quite do their jobs as Feyenoord’s fullback Lutsharel Geertruida got on a run down the right wing in the seventh minute before cutting it back to a wide open Mark Diemers on the penalty spot. His shot went through the keeper’s legs for 1-0.
PSV have had a few of these poor starts recently and it’s hard enough to keep pace with Ajax even without them. And Feyenoord are no chumps, they’re hovering close behind PSV themselves under the experienced hand of Dick Advocaat. Not to say that PSV were on the back foot, they caused some trouble with a couple low crosses into the six yard box while Thommo would’ve had a famous assist from a corner kick if Eran Zahavi’s acrobatic scissor kick had gone in, but imprecision was killing them. Then it got worse as Steven Berghuis curled in a second for Feyenoord off the post after an extended scramble in defence that came from a midfield turnover. And just to rub it in some more Bryan Linssen polished off a counter attack after just dodging the offside trap and it was 3-0 to Feyenoord at half-time. What the...?
Again, it’s not like PSV had been dominated... they just defended crap and got punished by a strong team. Didn’t take their chances when they arose. Thomas’ corners were a constant menace. Zahavi had other shots. Ibrahim Sangare did head in from a free kick on 55 minutes to get them back into it but then soon after that came this unwanted sight...
Thomas had been lining up a cross from the right edge when he went down claiming a foul. What happened was he’d kicked the defender himself swinging into the cross (think Tomer Hemed for the Welly Nix two games ago) and he’d have to be replaced on 58 minutes with a sore foot. Hopefully nothing serious because the last thing that bloke needs is another injury just as he’s back in the swing of things. He didn’t miss much here though. No more goals, Donyell Malen spurning a few chances, as it ended 3-1 to Feyenoord. PSV do retain second spot but they’re now seven points back from Ajax and only one ahead of Vitesse in third (which is huge because second place equals Champions League qualifiers).
Up Next: PSV vs FC Twente on Sunday at 4.30am (NZT)
Ali Riley - Orlando Pride (American National Women’s Soccer League)
Soon indeed. The NWSL has finally announced a starting date with preseason just now getting underway before an April 9 beginning to the Challenge Cup... which is back again after its successful debut last year. This time it’ll be played in home markets rather than the bubble format all in one city. After that tournament there’s a 24-game NWSL regular season (remember there’s an expansion team joined the league this year: Racing Louisville) before a six-team expanded playoffs gets underway. Top two seeds get a bye through the first round. Six teams making the cut in a 10-team league feels like overkill, getting into some A-League territory there, but that’s in advance of Angel City and Sacramento expanding the competition further in 2022.
All of which means that Ali Riley will finally get to make her first NWSL appearance 14-months after she first signed with Orlando City back in February last year. It’s taken a while. Elsewhere it’s the same crew as Abby Erceg leads North Carolina Courage (who just had tennis star Naomi Osaka join their ownership), Katie Bowen will try and build on a consistent campaign last time in Kansas City (for the team formerly known as Utah Royals), and Rosie White has goals to score for OL Reign up in Seattle. Full preseason rosters are here.
Up Next: Countdown to April 10 (NZT)
Michael Woud – Almere City (Dutch Eerste Divisie)
Yeah that’s a blow to the ol’ promotion hopes. Somehow conspired to lose 4-0 against NAC Breda, a couple goals in each half, and with Cambuur winning that means AC are three points off top again (and three points clear of the first playoff spot – second is still automatic promotion). Just their second league defeat of the campaign. With Woudy signing on permanent terms last week there’s no fallback now, we’re fully invested in Almere City getting promoted. To be fair there’s still ages left... another 16 games of footy to play.
Up Next: Helmond Sport vs Almere, Monday at 12.15am (NZT)
Marko Stamenic – FC Kobenhavn (Danish Superliga)
Gotta throw this one in even if it’s only a friendly game. AGF were the opponents in a 3 x 45 minute match in which the regular starters (with a few exceptions as there were some dudes unavailable) played the first two thirds before the reserves got the last third, Stamenic included. And that final third was when the difference between the teams told.
FCK were 2-1 up after 90 mins... they went on to win 6-1 with Marko Stamenic scoring one and setting up another. His goal was the fourth, a header from a flicked-on corner at close range (skip to about four mins into the highlights vid). He nearly scored another header from a corner soon after... then with about seven minutes left he linked beautifully with Hákon Arnar Haraldsson for the final goal (6:15, defs have a peek). Fine work from Marko as he seems to be using this winter break to really put up a case for his second senior appearance. This was their final friendly before the real stuff returns.
Up Next: Thursday at 8am away to AaB Aalborg (NZT)
Annalie Longo & Claudia Bunge – Melbourne Victory (Australian W-League)
Good news for Annalie Longo there although ultimately she didn’t quite make it for the game away to Adelaide (Lisa De Vanna did come off the bench). But no dramas because Claudia Bunge delivered for the both of them as the Victory bounced back from that horrid 6-0 defeat a week ago with a battling three points.
It didn’t come easy against Adelaide. The Victory started really well, almost taking the lead from a corner kick near the start (keeper fumbled it into the post and then regathered), although Maria Rojas soon got going for ADL. Thus Bunge and company really had to be on their toes as they clung on around some poor finishing from their opponents, keeping it even long enough to then strike with the counter-punch in the 78th minute as American import Michelle Zimmerman headed in off the crossbar after a free kick to the back post was nodded across goal. That’s the way to do it. The goal only made Adelaide come at them with more desperation in the last ten minutes but that’s why Claudia Bunge got herself a Team of the Week selection as the Victory held on for a 1-0 win. Liv Chance last week, Claudia Bunge this week.
W-League.com.au: “Claudia Bunge - Melbourne Victory - By hook or by crook, Melbourne Victory simply needed to beat Adelaide United in Friday's showdown to keep their Premiership bid rolling. Jeff Hopkins' side managed to do so, 1-0, thanks to a gutsy defensive performance led by Claudia Bunge. The New Zealand international starred in a much-improved showing for Victory, who had conceded nine goals in their previous two matches.”
Up Next: Sunday at 6.05pm against Perth Glory (NZT)
Olivia Chance - Brisbane Roar (Australian W-League)
Wild game over here. Brisbane named an unchanged team from the 6-0 belter against the Victory which meant Olivia Chance in the XI again (she’d play ninety minutes). No shots or assists for Chance this time as the opposition meant more defensive positioning in that midfield but so it goes. Brisbane took the lead through Clare Polkinghorne with the header from a corner in the 23rd minute. Good value for that lead and it got even better for them on the half hour as a handball in the box allowed Emily Gielnik to put them 2-0 up from the spot and the Roar were rolling once again.
But then a giveaway from a goal kick allowed Alexandra Chidiac to whip in a lovely finish a mere 36 seconds into the second half and now momentum had flipped. Both keepers then made supreme one on one saves to preserve the scoreline before City finally drew level on 73 mins, also from the penalty spot. This one was more debatable though. Olivia Chance looking to clear a corner kick and Chidiac ran through in front of her to hack the ball away and then went down under contact. Of which there was probably enough to justify the penalty but still kinda harsh. Dunno, what do you reckon, Liv?
Not happy. Samantha Johnson scored the spottie and Chinatsu Kira and Tyla-Jay Vlajnic then had consecutive looks to put City in the lead within two minutes of the equaliser. Kira’s was missed and Vjanic blasted over on the follow up... then in the 75th minute Brisbane broke forward and Mariel Hecher smashed a beaut of a winner in off the post as the Roar took the 3-2 win. Phew.
Up Next: Western Sydney away on Thursday 11 February at 9.05pm (NZT)
Paige Satchell - Canberra United (Australian W-League)
Much gentler Paige Satchell game here against Western Sydney as for the first time she was named on the bench instead of the starting team. Satchell was still the first sub called upon, entering the game for Hayley Taylor-Young in the 55th minute... but the result was already sorted by then as Michelle Heyman sparked a comfortable 3-0 win (Heyman scoring two and setting up the own goal that was the third – bit stink as she was subbed off thinking she had a hatty before the goal was eventually classed as an oggie) with all three goals coming in the first half. As we say, quieter one for Paige Satchell there.
Up Next: Top of the table clash, Sydney vs Canberra at 6.35pm on Monday (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Colchester United (English League Two)
Look at that. 15 shots to three but Colchester lost 1-0 to a fifth minute goal against Scunthorpe. Conceded early, fought back for the entire rest of the game and never got there. Tommy Smith with ninety minutes and a yellow card. On the positive side of things The U’s brought in five deadline day signings with an emphasis on attacking players who’ll help them turn these silly losses into draws and wins.
Up Next: Wednesday at 8am away to Salford City (NZT)
Michael McGlinchey – Queen’s Park FC (Scottish League Two)
Queens Park FC: “Queen’s Park can today confirm Michael McGlinchey has left the club upon expiry of the short-term contract he signed with us in October last year. The 34-year-old midfielder, who has 54 caps for New Zealand, made 6 appearances for the Spiders during the season. Everyone at the club would like to thank Michael for his contribution during his short stay with us and wish him well for the future.”
Oh, well... okay then.
Up Next: Dunno
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