Flying Kiwis – March 3
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
Good vibrations from the Thomas family.
Now for the main event as PSV hosted Olympiacos in the second leg of their Europa League round of 32 knockout tie. Olympiacos had punished some terrible PSV defence for a 4-2 win in Greece... but a 2-0 or 3-1 win (or better) would still be enough for the Dutch side to advance so it was all on, especially if PSV could score first. Only one change to the XI that lost the first leg: Ibrahim Sangare was suspended so Olivier Boscagli moved into midfield and Nick Viergever took his spot in the back four. Off we go.
Nervous signs to start. Olympiacos came flying out of the gates once again and Philipp Max was booked very early. It genuinely felt like PSV could concede at any moment when they were pressured at the back. But they settled down and began keeping the ball in better areas, Eran Zahavi with a shot over the top in the tenth minute to get the wheels in motion. Donyell Malen was blocked by a sliding defender. Then in the 23rd minute a Ryan Thomas corner kick was delivered beautifully to Zahavi who rose to head it down and on target and although the keeper got a fair chunk of it, the ball still squeezed in for that massive first goal.
Olympiacos still had plenty of chances but they weren’t nearly as clinical as they had been at home. Which meant that when Zahavi curled a free kick into the top corner in the 44th minute, PSV were suddenly 2-0 up and in the lead on aggregate. If they could hold out for the second half then they’d be on the way to the next round.
That second half though... mate. Emotional carnage. Olympiacos made a double change at the break, then nearly scored four minutes later as Mady Camara rocked the post with the keeper well beaten – probably gotta credit Ryan Thomas for scrambling back to put just enough pressure on Camara that he couldn’t quite place his drive. Those kinda chances were flying around at both ends. Malen and Max both went close for PSV. Then in the 78th minute a free kick from Kostas Fortounis came back off the crossbar.
On the one hand, PSV were riding their luck for sure. On the other hand they probably should have put it beyond reach with a third goal. They still hadn’t made a single substitution as Roger Schmidt almost seemed worried to affect the balance with his team trying to hold on. Then came a couple decisive moments. In the 86th minute Donyell Malen hit the post from range. Two minutes later they conceded. Youssef El-Arabi’s header had been saved by Yvon Mbogo but he couldn’t close down Ahmed Hassan on the rebound.
A deceptively tough finish... and a killer blow for PSV. It meant they trailed in the tie again and immediately Schmidt subbed off Thomas and Gotze to bring on a couple wingers, going all out for another goal in stoppage time. But they couldn’t do it. A 2-1 win on the day but a 5-4 defeat on aggregate. The 88th minute goal dooming them to elimination and it’s now only the Eredivisie that they have left to play for. Heartbreaking way to go out, even if the damage was really done in the first leg. The Olympiacos fellas were in ecstasy to progress in such dramatic fashion and they’ll face Arsenal in the next round.
But there was no time to be licking wounds as PSV then had to go and play Ajax a couple days later. Ajax had also been in Europa League action (beating LOSC 4-2 on aggregate) so no excuses for tiredness. Clearly not, as Schmidt named an unchanged eleven for a game that they really needed to win in order to have much hope of catching Ajax for the title.
Denzel Dumfries had to slip a goal-line clearance off his own post as Ajax seemed to carve PSV open early yet that turned out to be a false warning. Dumfries reckoned he shoulda had a penalty after showing a clean pair of heels down the right flank then angling back inside. Still got a shot off which was saved. Then a while later Thommo won back a loose ball that he whipped to Malen who drew a foul on the edge of the area. Suddenly Eran Zahavi appeared and for the second straight game he scored directly from a free kick. The dude’s got the knack. 1-0 to PSV at half-time.
Ajax made a change in the backline at the break, Perr Shcuurs brought on. And they would’ve been pretty shocked that Sebastien Haller couldn’t get a free header on target soon after the resumption. Could easily have been 1-1 right there. But on we went, PSV going close a couple times before Ryan Thomas was subbed off in the 73rd minute having done his dash... and it was after he’d gotten his high-fives from the coaching staff that all the drama happened.
78th min and PSV seemed to go 2-0 up. It was Yorbe Vertessen, who had replaced Thomas, who initially bottled a great chance but smartly attacked the second effort to head home. Huge goal until it was disallowed for what looked like a handball as he tried to control the rebound. Again there was a foul on Dumfries that might have been a penalty on another day (ref had already whistled an earlier foul though) while further chaos ensued as Lisandro Martinez stomped on Zahavi but escaped a red card. Then Dumfries, absolutely fed up with this penalty concept by now, handled the ball in the box with a minute left. That led to a fracas between him and Dusan Tadic, with Dumfries resorting to some cheeky dark arts...
But Tadic buried the penalty to earn a 1-1 draw. So close to a huge victory, just as PSV were so close to advancing in the Europas. Couldn’t quite see it out to the end on either occasion. The trouble between Dumfries and Tadic meanwhile carried on after the final whistle.
Here’s what Tadic had to say in his post-game interview: “Of course. I put ball [down] to shoot penalty, and three players come to make hole. They were really kicking the pitch. He come to me and say that I am pussy and that I am not leader and that I will miss penalty. Of course, when you score goal, you tell him also bad words back… you cannot say, ‘Thank you that you tell me that I’m pussy.’ It’s not possible! Probably I tell him something in Serbian, because in Serbia we have too many bad words. We could write 200 books [of bad words]!”
Rightio then.
Up Next: Away to Fortuna Sittard on Monday at 2.30am (NZT)
Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)
Been a long break for Spurs, three weeks since their last game, but here they were against Everton in a winnable contest that ended up being all sorts of entertaining. Ria Percival was still sporting the ol’ face mask and it was she who put in a brilliant ball to Angela Addison early on as Spurs got out on the break after defending a corner kick. But just when Addison was lining up her shot, with only the keeper to beat, Danielle Turner got a foot in to block her. Soon afterwards things took a turn in the other direction as an Everton header struck an arm in the box and that was a penalty. Kerys Harrop caught flinching. Valerie Gauvin converted for the 6th minute lead and then, incredibly, she did the same thing in the 18th minute after some tussling from a corner saw Alanna Kennedy whistled and yeah 2-0 down inside twenty minutes is a terrible way to start any game.
But Spurs hauled themselves back. Ria Percival won a ball in midfield in the 36th min and Kit Graham played a super pass to Addison who this time could not be contained, lifting it past the on-rushing goalie for 2-1. Both teams continued to create chances but it was Spurs who struck next as Gemma Davidson punted a volley home in the 57th minute following a determined run.
Back on level pegging with about half an hour to go... but they couldn’t hold on. Jill Scott nodded in from a corner just three minutes after the equaliser. Scott’s first goal since rejoining Everton on loan from Man City, the England legend who during the international break earned her 150th cap for her country. One of the few players with more caps than Ria Percival... sad to think of other national teams playing games.
Spurs didn’t really look like scoring again. The early penalties were too much to overcome and it ended 3-2 to Everton. On the plus side, another full game for Ria Percival maintains her record of having played every minute so far this season. Only nine players still can say that and four are goalies (including Grace Moloney who’s rudely keeping Erin Nayler on the bench at Reading). Percy’s also the oldest of the nine.
Up Next: Brighton vs Spurs, Monday at 3am (NZT)
Winston Reid - Brentford FC (English Championship)
After three straight defeats it was imperative that Brentford got back to winning ways in their midweek match against Sheffield Wednesday. Imperative. They’d dropped from first down to third over the previous week or two so manager Thomas Frank, for the first time, served up the defensive squadron that the fans had been calling for: Winston Reid partnering Ethan Pinnock in the middle, with Mads Bech Sørensen sliding out to the left and of course Henrik Dalsgaard on the right.
And it did the trick. Sheffield Wednesday started the game pretty well but couldn’t take advantage of the turnovers they were winning in midfield. Brentford soon adjusted and they took the lead on 23 mins as Sergi Canos volleyed a loose ball off target after some scrambling in the box from a long throw but Bryan Mbeumo was able to divert that Canos shot goalwards with a cheeky header. Winston Reid had kept the ball alive at the near post before it was deflected across to Canos in the first place.
It’d take a while before Brentford made it safe, the second goal didn’t come until the 74th minute. But while the attack didn’t quite function at capacity until Ivan Toney came on midway through the second half, the defence was in control throughout. Relegation-threatened Wednesday reverted to hoofing crosses into the box and Winston Reid just ate them for breakfast. Eventually Saman Ghoddos buried a nice finish and then Sørensen scored a header from a Ghoddos free kick in the 83rd that just snuck in despite a hand from the keeper. 3-0 to Brentford and Winston Reid’s name was all over the positive reaction.
Phwoar, that’s a lot of love. What did you reckon about them three points, Winnie boy?
Couldn’t hardly change a winning combo when Stoke came to town on the weekend... so they didn’t. Same back four and thus consecutive starts for Winston Reid. But they had the worst possible beginning, a lazy pass out from the keeper intercepted and Jacob Brown put Stoke up 1-0 in literally the first minute of the game. Whoopsadaisie.
Brentford were still down a goal as they hit the half, with Winston Reid having come closest to a leveller. He’d powered a header over the top from a corner kick unmarked near the penalty spot and wasn’t too sure how he’d missed. But ten minutes into the second spell, just as things were getting frisky, up popped Vitaly Janelt with a rocket of a shot off his left foot. Spare ball outside the box and he straight up thumped it. Top corner. All even again. After which it was Brentford with the momentum and they kept on in search of a winner that would finally arrive through the obvious source – Ivan Toney – in the 79th min. His 25th of the season. A vintage performance this certainly was not but the Bees are back to those winning habits of not so long ago and that’s what matters. With Watford losing to Bournemouth the same day that means Brentford are three points clear of them in second now (seven points behind leaders Norwich).
Up Next: Away to Norwich at 6.30am on Thursday (NZT)
Jana Radosavljevic - Werder Bremen (German Bundesliga)
This article need a bit of cup heroics, you reckon? Dead right it does... *Jana Radosavljevic has entered the chat*.
Rado was on the bench for Werder Bremen as they faced SV Meppen in the DFB-Pokal round of sixteen, giving her a decent view as Lina Hausicke appeared at the back post to pop in the opening goal for Werder in the 26th minute of the match. It was a lead that they’d hold relatively comfortably for the rest of the half but just before the hour they lost it. Victoria Krug lurking on the line after Lena Pauels had almost been able to parry away Agnieszka Winczo’s powerful header from a free kick. Krug putting it over the line from on the line and that saw Werder immediately go to the bench with Radosavljevic (and Nina Lührßen) chucked on.
Chances flowed but there was no splitting the teams through ninety minutes so it was off to extras and late in the first spell Meppen took a major advantage. Kalyn Flaws almost didn’t mean to score, the ball seemed to hit her rather than the other way around and then everybody reacted slowly, none more so than the Werder keeper who seemed to think it was heading wide... until it didn’t. 2-1 to Meppen and Werder were on the brink of going out. But only for about four minutes. Because before that half was over, Agata Tarczynska ran onto the ball in the box after a flicked-on header and her finish was perfect. One touch then shoot. Boom. Fifteen minutes later we were off to penalties.
Both teams converted their first three spotties.
Then it was Jana’s turn...
Not the best penalty of the lot but hey all that matters is that they go in. Would’ve looked tidier had the keeper dived, either way she still outguessed her and the gentle roller that you can’t get across to must be about as rough as it gets for a goalie. Panenkas excluded. After which if there was any lingering frustration from Pauels after the way she conceded the second goal, she made up for it with a top save against Meppen’s fourth attempt and then the scorer of the equaliser, Agata Tarczynska, converted to send Werder Bremen into the next round.
Probably not gonna go any further, not when they’ve been drawn away to Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals, but quite a ride to get there. Not that you never know with cup footy.
Up Next: SGS Essne vs Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, Sunday at 3am (NZT)
Hannah Wilkinson – MSV Duisburg (German Bundesliga)
As for the other kiwi in the Frauen Bundesliga...
They were supposed to be playing Eintracht Frankfurt but positive corona tests in the Zebras squad meant everyone had to go into isolation. Not the worst for Frankfurt either since their coach and two players were already in isolation after testing positive themselves. This after Duisburg had already had a game postponed for bad weather coming out of the winter break. Hannah Wilkinson signed with this team during that break and is still awaiting a competitive debut for a team which now has gone two and a half months since their last game. Hey, maybe next week.
Up Next: Sand vs MSV Duisburg, Monday at 2am (NZT)
Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)
There he is. 73rd minute of the match against Tottenham The Woodsman showed his face once again. However Gareth Bale also showed his face that day and Spurs won it 4-0 in a canter so decent reps but nothing else. Wood looked a tad rusty, to be honest. No shots to mention. Hopefully there’ll be more to talk about when he faces one of his old clubs in the midweek.
Sean Dyche on Wood’s chances to start vs Leicester: “We hope so, there is no reaction I don't think to today. We are having to make decisions for some of the players because we are looking at the game schedule and the days that they have missed through injury so that was a tougher decision but we will get another couple of days training under his belt and hopefully he will be injury free and certainly available for selection.”
Sweet. If he does play against the Foxes, and he’ll surely play some part at least, then he’ll have the chance to score for the fourth game in a row against them... which would make him only the second player in the Premier League era to score in four straight games against a club he used to play for. Craig Bellamy was the other.
Up Next: Burnley vs Leicester, Thursday at 7am (NZT)
Meikayla Moore – Liverpool (English Championship)
London Bees came to town this week and Liverpool whupped them 3-0 to get back into a little form after three games without a win. Just what the doctor ordered. Meikayla Moore started in central defence and played the full contest. And also the sneaker pic. Happy days.
Actually ‘whupped’ is an exaggeration because this was a close game for a most of the way. The Reds made an immediate point of attacking down their left wing through Ashley Hodson and it was Hodson who struck a low cross to Becky Jane at the far post whose shot was almost but not quite cleared off the line so rack that up as an 8th minute goal. After that though... it got trickier. A second goal proved tough to come by and London Bees came out in the second half with a heap more purpose and for a while there it really felt like an equaliser was on the way. But Ceri Holland scored a massive second for Liverpool with quarter of an hour to go and soon after Amy Rodgers curled one into the bottom corner to book the points.
3-0 win to keep the Reds in fourth. Moore with a clean sheet as well as a couple attacking moments... she had a header glanced wide in the first half, off a corner kick, and in the second half she almost got a touch on a ball that had been flicked her way but nah. All goods.
Up Next: Away to Crystal Palace at 3am on Monday (NZT)
Katie Rood - Lewes FC (English Championship)
No game this week for Lewes so how about a podcast instead? Good yarns.
Up Next: Away to Charlton on Monday at 3am (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Sint-Truiden (Belgian Pro League)
STVV have had a habit of wilting in the big moments of close games, it’s been much better under Peter Maes than it was under Kevin Muscat but there’s still that tendency. This is still a struggling team near the bottom of the table. Against Eupen, another team on the outskirts of that relegation battle, that was the case again.
A tight first half without many clear chances was busted over in the 41st minute as a short corner was then lobbed to the back stick where Amara Baby got his head to it and that was 1-0 to Eupen. Not good... but STVV started firing after the break and levelled things up in the 51st minute thanks to a low cross from Ilombe Mboyo which was turned in for an own goal. Except that Mboyo had been maaarginally offside when the ball wide to him was played so the VAR overturned it. Tiny margins but huge ramifications... within ten minutes this game instead took a huge swing in the other direction when Jorge Teixera was sent off for dragging down an opponent trying to run through into the box. STVV down 1-0, having had a goal disallowed, and now down to ten men as well.
They never really threatened after that. Didn’t have the muscle. Eupen on the other hand had several more chances to score and in the 89th minute substitute Smail Prevljak did exactly that when he drifted across the defence and nobody could get a foot in to stop him so he slammed it in. 2-0 to Eupen who are now five points clear of STVV. Probably not gonna see the Canaries finish any higher than they already are (fourth bottom) with only five games remaining. They’re four points clear of the relegation playoff spot. They’ll need a few more results before they’re safe... especially when they face last-placed Waasland in a couple weeks.
Up Next: Charleroi vs STVV, Saturday at 8.45am (NZT)
Michael Woud – Almere City (Dutch Eerste Divisie)
Ah bad news. A 2-0 loss to top of the table Cambuur, which makes it three losses from their last four games and that has seen them drop four points off automatic promotion (with a game in hand). There’s an extravagant playoff system if they can’t get back up into the top two but you don’t really wanna push your luck when automatic promotion is right there for the taking. Still quite a few games left to play, to be fair.
AC did have a few chances but Cambuur were clearly the better team leading up to their opening goal in the 25th minute. There’d been a penalty shout as well as a shot just wide. Then a corner kick was flicked on at the near post to Jarchinio Antonia at the back post and absolutely nothing Woudy could do about that. He did however make a really nice low stop off Mees Hoedemakers as that dude lined up a crack from about twenty yards. Big strong hand on the dive then he gobbled up the seconds. Cambuur otherwise weren’t the best at shooting on target... however a deflected shot with four mins left led to a corner kick and once again a header from the back stick thudded into the net. A close game for most of the way but only one team had that cutting edge.
Up Next: Thursday at 6.45am against FC Volendam (NZT)
Betsy Hassett - Stjarnan (Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna)
The new season is (sort of) underway in Iceland. They’re doing the Swedish thing of having a league cup with group stages before the actual league itself kicks off and safe to say things could have been better as Stjarnan lost 7-0 away to Breidablik in their first game. But they bounced back beautifully with a 3-1 win over Tindastoll in game two. Jackie Altschuld had given Tindastoll the lead going into the break but an excellent second half did the trick. Snædís María equalised in the 50th minute. Sædís Rut put the Stars on top in the 67th. Then our gal Betsy Hassett polished it off with a goal of her own in the 75th. Hassett has played full games in each of the two matches they’ve played so far.
Up Next: Away to Fylkir at 8am on Saturday (NZT)
Callum McCowatt - FC Helsingør (Danish Division 1)
None of them have been routs but that brilliant goal there made it three wins from three since returning from the winter break. All without conceding a goal. That one was to beat FC Fredericia, a win that takes them up to fourth (albeit there’s a huge gap to the top three). With Eli Just and Dalton Wilkins both still injured that meant Callum McCowatt was the only NZer in action and there wasn’t a whole lot of that action to be had. It was a tense game in which a moment of magic was the difference. McCowatt largely a ghost in the club website write-up, though he did start and play 87 minutes before being replaced as part of a defensive double sub right at the end.
Up Next: Vendyssel FF vs FCH, Monday at 3am (NZT)
James Musa & Deklan Wynne – Phoenix Rising (American USL Championship)
Arizona Sports: “Center back James Musa will be returning to Phoenix Rising for the 2021 USL Championship season, a source tells Arizona Sports. The New Zealand international spent the 2020 campaign with MLS side Minnesota United FC, but the club declined to pick up his option in December. He only made five appearances in his lone season in Minnesota, two of which were starts. But Musa is no stranger to Phoenix Rising or manager Rick Schantz. In his two years in a PRFC kit from 2018-19, Musa made 55 appearances (45 starts) in the team’s 76 matches in all competitions.”
Nice. It’s a drop back to the USL for the 29 year old after his season in the MLS but it’s also an opportunity to play regular minutes again. The last time he was with Phoenix he was the second string defensive midfielder behind Jamaican Kevon Lambert (although still got games while he was away on Gold Cup international duty) but now it appears he’s being brought in as a centre-back... which means he’ll be playing alongside his All Whites teammate Deklan Wynne who himself has also made a step down in levels after in his case not playing at all for Colorado in 2020. Gotta do what you gotta do. Phoenix Rising are typically one of the strongest clubs in this division.
Up Next: Preseason starts this weekend
Tommy Smith – Colchester United (English League Two)
Terrible runs of form don’t tend to come and go without consequences in the English Football League. Tommy Smith’s been solid throughout for the U’s but it hasn’t led to results. After losing 2-1 to Exeter City at home in the midweek the consequences were the firing of manager Steve Ball. Can’t call it harsh after going winless in 13 straight games, taking them from the edge of the playoff hunt to being relegation threatened. This was a playoff team just last season... although they’ve suffered financially during the pandemic and did have to release a lot of senior players in the offseason (part of why they signed Smithy) – Ball himself had replaced John McGreal after, ironically, a loss to Exeter at the end of that last season... albeit that loss was in the aforementioned playoffs. Wayne Brown has taken over in the interim while they search for a new gaffer.
Interim bosses don’t tend to make drastic changes and it was a similar looking team that lined up against Forest Green on the weekend, including Tommy Smith bagging ninety mins at centre-back. But same dudes led to same results as they were smoked 3-0 despite Forest Green playing the whole second half with ten men. So... work to be done, pretty much.
Up Next: Sunday at 4am against Newport County (NZT)
Themi Tzimopoulos – Korona Kielce (Polish Ekstraklasa)
Oh... okay then. Contract terminated with Korona. He’d played 18 times for them in 2019-20 after first signing for them (with one goal and four yellows) as the club was relegated... then played 12 games (also with a goal and three yellows) across the first half of this season but sitting in the mid-table with no real hope of bouncing straight back up they seem to be cutting some excess from the squad. Themi being a part of that cull. It didn’t help that he’d been injured for a month prior and they kinda just got used to him not being around.
But no dramas because he’s landed on his feet. Might have even preferred it this way... Tzimopoulos has signed with Levadiakos in the Greek second tier who are sitting third after 11 games. Three spots ahead of Callan Elliot’s Xanthi. Takes him back to his native Greece and with a shot, if the team really kicks on, of playing in the top flight next season. Themi made his debut off the bench in a 1-1 draw away to Ionikos last week – one of their fellow promotion contenders.
Up Next: Karaiskakis at home on Thursday at 2am (NZT)
Lily Alfeld, Elizabeth Anton & Malia Steinmetz – Perth Glory (Australian W-League)
This was first versus last as Perth hosted Sydney FC but for about 43 minutes the Glory did really well, frustrating the Sky Blues through disciplined and sturdy defence. Liz Anton at the heart of that, Malia Steinmetz from the base of midfield too. But then Remy Siemsen was given too much room to shoot in that 44th minute and she beat Lily Alfeld at their near post to break open the scoring. So nearly getting to the halfway point unscathed. That was a tough blow.
Malia Steinmentz was then subbed off at the break with youngster Tijan McKenna chucked on in her place. Not sure if there was a sneaky injury, maybe something tactical to get a bit more attacking potency out there, or if it was just a chance to given some minutes to McKenna... but whatever the intention was it backfired immediately as Sydney came out and scored three times in 16 minutes. Princess Ibini cut back to shoot and score in the 48th, Remy Siemsen got a second running onto a chip over the top and getting there just before Anton could close her down with Alfeld kinda diving over the top of it, then Clare Wheeler finished smoothly running onto a cross at the near post in the 61st. 0-0 after 43 minutes, 4-0 down after 61 minutes.
Perth then made things funky for a brief amount of time as 17 year old breakout player Hana Lowry scored a rapid-fire double to make it 4-2 against the run of play... but then a great run and an even better finish from Wheeler earned her second on 71 minutes. Sydney then had a goal disallowed (rightfully) for a handball, before Wheeler shoulda had a hat-trick following Ibini being fouled in the box – Alfeld with the nudge as Ibini ran past her, though she was adamant she got a touch on the ball. Wheeler then placed said ball for the spot kick... but Alfeld saved it!
The game was so packed with goals that the penalty save didn’t even make the highlight package. Alfeld basically forecast which way Wheeler was gonna shoot, then moved early and made a pretty comfortable save in the end. In fact she actually pointed out where the ball was going ahead of time...
Mind games. Alfeld had made that big error for the third goal but other than that it was another strong performance despite the concessions. Particularly in the last ten minutes when that penalty save was also complemented by an acrobatic tip over the top... but there was nothing she could do about a heavily deflected shot that snuck in during stoppage time. Ibini with the shot though it was credited as a Sarah Carroll own goal. 6-2 to Sydney FC was the way it ended.
Up Next: Monday at 11.35pm against Newcastle Jets (NZT)
Annalie Longo & Claudia Bunge – Melbourne Victory / Paige Satchell - Canberra United (Australian W-League)
It’s a little deflating when only one of three available kiwis actually starts in a Flying Kiwis Derby. Claudia Bunge has been everpresent for Victory but Annalie Longo was on the bench as she works back from injury while Paige Satchell’s been in and out for Canberra and likewise had to ride the pine to start with.
Angela Beard got the scoring underway in the ninth minute with a blinder of a strike for the first goal of her senior career. Prooobably meant it as a cross but it dipped late and went in off the crossbar. The Melbourne side gained confidence from there and were the dominant team in the first half but Lisa de Vanna couldn’t find a way through, neither could Polly Doran... then all of a sudden Canberra struck a counter punch after a long ball from the keeper ended up with Nicki Flannery running behind the defensive line to score. Second minute of first half stoppage time. Always a handy time to score.
Annalie Longo was brought on after an hour and she did seem to add a dose of dynamism to the Victory attack... it was only a desperate defensive challenge that stopped her from sliding onto a cross in the 64th to put her side back in the lead. She went even closer in the last minute of the ninety as she picked up the ball with her back to goal on the corner of the six yard box, weaved around to try find space, but her shot was brilliantly saved and then the deflection whacked away off the line. Meanwhile Paige Satchell had come on with ten minutes left in the game though she didn’t have as much of an impact. 1-1 was the way it ended which keeps things interesting between two teams both in the hunt for the semis. Sydney and Brisbane surely won’t be caught but the other two spots are up for grabs with Adelaide and Western Sydney also heavy in the mix.
Up Next: Victory are on against tomorrow night, Thursday, at 9.05pm against Western Sydney, while Canberra wait a couple more days to face Olivia Chance’s Brisbane Roar on Sunday at 6.05pm (NZT)
Rebekah Stott – Unattached
Oh wow, straight-up shocking news there. We knew things weren’t good when she announced she’d left Brighton a few weeks back but stage three lymphoma with four months of chemotherapy on the cards... prayers up for Stotty, that’s all there is to say.
Not often that things as serious as that find their way into Flying Kiwis but the good news is that Stotty reckons it’s a cancer with a high recovery rate, particularly for people in her age range, and an unihibited return with the 2023 World Cup in mind is the target. Rebekah’s also gonna shave her hair off (in advance) for charity as well, channelling a personal trauma into something that can inspire elsewhere. What a champ.
Up Next: A full and swift recovery sounds great
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