Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)

Now we’re talking. Ryan Thomas is working his way back from ankle surgery that ended his last season, so when preseason started he was one of a couple fellas not at full participation levels as they eased him back up in. But come the third preseason friendly game, a 0-0 draw against VfL Osnabrück, he was finally ready to make his return with a half-hour cameo off the bench.

We’re still in the phase where they play a different XI each half, substitutes running rampant, so he’s not too far behind. Especially since his first XI status probably depends on whether they sell a couple guys or not (Donyell Malen being heavily linked with Liverpool and Dortmund atm). However the timing’s still pretty handy here as those crucial Champions League qualifiers against Galatasaray begin next week so having another reliable option back in contention is huge for Roger Schmidt, even if he’s only good for short and sharp stints at the moment. Regardless of all that, Thommo’s clearly just chuffed to be back out on the pitch...

How’s it feel to be back, fella? “Ah yeah very good. It was nice, it’s been a long time. The rehab’s been going good so far so yeah it was nice to get the first minutes under the belt.”

Why was it that you didn’t play the first couple friendlies? “Mainly to make sure the ankle was completely calm before I started any games or anything like that, that’s why I started with thirty minutes today to make sure the ankle came off better than what we’d hoped. That was the case so all happy.”

Did you bring the energy you hoped to? “Ah... for about five or ten minutes. That was about it and then the tank was empty. But that’s normal. Gotta wait two or three weeks and then hopefully I’ll be back to full fitness.”

Up Next: First leg of the UCL qualifiers at home to Galatasaray is on Thursday 22 July, kickoff time TBD (NZT)

Ryan De Vries – Sligo Rovers (League of Ireland Premier Division)

There’s a new continental competition in town this season: the Europa Conference League. A third tier cup comp designed to limit the qualifiers for the Champions League and Europa League, to give teams that are constantly knocked out in those qualifiers something more tangible to aim for, and to allow for the Europa League to be shrunk from 48 to 32 teams. Tidying things up a bit. It is what it is.

Anyway, the first ever Conference League has begun with the initial round of qualifiers and Ryan De Vries thus became the first New Zealander to take part in it. Greg Draper would have joined him on the same day but of course he’s left TNS now. RDV was named to start in the front three away against FH of Iceland in a cautious game in which the Bit O’Red arguably had the better chances though they had a rough time handling FH’s Scottish forward Steven Lennon who hit the post late first half.

De Vries was replaced on 64 minutes soon after which Sligo Rovers had a great spell with a couple close calls... then the tie took a down swing when Greg Bolger was sent off for a second yellow after the ref concluded he’d taken a big ol’ dive in the penalty area. 77 minutes played and the Irish team would have to close this out with ten men. They didn’t. 85 mins on the clock and Lennon popped up with another header and this one wasn’t getting saved. 1-0 to FH after the first leg though with the second leg in Ireland and the away goals rule having been canned by UEFA they’ll still back themselves to turn this around.

Other Flying Kiwis involved in UEFA club competitions this upcoming season (as it stands)...

• Ryan Thomas (PSV): Champions League second qualifying round

• Logan Rogerson* (HJK): Champions League first qualifying round

• Winston Reid (West Ham... maybe): Europa League group stage

• CJ Bott (Vålerenga): Champions League qualifying round one

* HJK have already won their first leg against Budućnost Podgorica 3-1 – with all three goals coming in the opening quarter of an hour – though Rogerson’s been injured and still hasn’t played for the club since signing late in the NZ Premiership season from Auckland City. Also obviously Winston Reid’s status with West Ham is rather doubtful.

Up Next: Second leg at home to FH on Friday at 5am... and then Waterford vs Sligo Rovers, Monday at 3am (NZT)

Sarpreet Singh - SSV Jahn Regensburg (German 2. Liga)

As the regular patron (and Patreon?) of The Niche Cache that you hopefully are, you’ve probably already read this bad boy about Sarpreet Singh’s loan deal to SSV Jahn in the German second tier. All the context you need has already been written there but a few more days do mean a few more developments and oh look he’s already had the chance to play a couple friendlies.

First was a 2-0 win over Wien, Singh named to start as one of the dual 10s in a 4-2-2-2 formation... love that for him. Sure enough, you play him good minutes in a helpful position and he delivers. Twenty minutes into the contest Singh swung in a free kick that was headed in by captain Benedikt Gimber for the first goal. Four minutes later Max Besuschkow scored again and SSV Jahn were looking sharp. Singh would be subbed off at the break with the game easing off in that second half and regular substitutions interrupting the flow. But it ended 2-0, Singh got half a game with an assist (presumably), and that’s a pretty sweet way to start.

Then came a 2-2 draw with Wacker Innsbruck in which Singh extended himself for a sneaky 55 minutes. Building up that fitness ceiling. SSV Jahn equalised twice in this match, Benedikt Fischer scoring straight after they’d gone behind around quarter on an hour into things, then eventually they avoided defeat with a 90th minute leveller following Wacker’s 68th minute goal. Don’t seem to be highlights out there available for these lower tier friendly games but all goods. Sarpreet Singh going straight in there as an attacking midfielder... that’s what we wanna see.

You can also see a few glimpses of the fella at the team media day in this clip...

Up Next: Opening game of the season is on Saturday 24 July at 11.30pm away to Darmstadt, with two more friendlies to play before then (NZT)

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

Folks, we’ve got shenanigans at play here. Although Abby Erceg and Ali Riley each remained with their NWSL clubs for this weekend’s matches, it turns out that Tom Sermanni had requested they be released a week earlier – a request that was accepted for Katie Bowen at Kansas City but not for either Erceg or Riley. Sermanni then lost his cool in a rare display of negative emotion trying to explain his annoyances to Olympic media – the clubs holding on to key players perfectly allowable under the FIFA window rules but there’s certainly a dose of hypocrisy when you look at the same clubs releasing Brazilian and Canadian players earlier when asked to. Bit rude of them... especially as Sermanni used to coach not only the USA national team but also the Orlando Pride themselves.

More on that drama in our latest Substack email so sign up to that sucker for the good yarns on a Monday and Friday. Always worth a geeze for kiwi sports fans. Anyway, the bottom line of it was that these two did sneak in one last club game before hopping on that 16-hour flight from the east coast of America to Japan. For Erceg that meant a match away to Washington Spirit and, well... all those other missing Olympians sure made a difference.

The Courage were dropped 2-0. They were able to keep winning after their USA players left but take Debinha and it was a bridge too far. Ashley Hatch gave Washington the lead in the 12th minute of a very soggy Saturday night’s footy with an almost accidental finish as a cross dropped into her path after NCC goalie Casey Murphy, who’d earlier made a point blank stop to deny Dorian Bailey, came out and didn’t claim it.

That goal at least got the Courage going and Erceg went as close as anyone to levelling things up – showing another reason why they were so desperate to keep her around. A few minutes until half-time, long throw into the area which bobbled around a bit, and Abby Erceg smashed a snapshot towards the roof of the net only to be denied by a great reaction save from the keeper. Then from the corner kick she headed it off the crossbar. Gutted. She does have one goal this season but could well have had three or four with a bit more luck.

Soon afterwards in first half stoppage time, Washington broke away with a two on two situation at play, with Ashley Hatch able to beat Erceg for pace in behind to double the lead. Devastating time to concede and with NCC being without a few of the usuals up top they struggled to get much going in the second half. Jess McDonald had a decent chance but it was Ashley Sanchez for Washington who kept going closest. Not sure how she didn’t get one but whatevs.

2-0 to Washington the final score. North Carolina are still top of the ladder as all the Olympic players have now departed... but only on goal difference. This next month is gonna be very interesting as under strength teams look to take advantage of each other while the main focus is on the international stuff.

Up Next: For what it’s worth, North Carolina are at home to Houston Dash on Sunday at 11am (NZT)

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

A day before that NCC game, the Orlando Pride took on Racing Louisville. Ali Riley played the full game at right back and it took the full game to get a result. The Pride had the first notable chance as Erika Tymrak clipped the top of the crossbar with a first time strike inside ten minutes but Louisville were easily the better side in the first half and would take the lead on 21 mins when a move down the left side of Orlando’s defence allowed Ebony Salmon to get in behind the defence. Salmon, once a teammate of Olivia Chance at Bristol City, bumped off Ali Krieger and slid the ball home past Ashlyn Harris for 1-0.

The Pride weren’t so badly affected by Olympic absentees at the back where they have a heap of veterans like Harris in goal and Krieger and Toni Pressley at CB. All three big time USA internationals but no longer in the squad. Not to mention Ali Riley being kept back for this one last match. But in the attacking areas they were without the likes of Marta and Alex Morgan and thus they had some mighty trouble creating much of anything.

It wasn’t really until the last quarter of an hour when things got desperate and they began trying to get the ball into the penalty area by any means necessary that they began to threaten consistently. Sydney Leroux, another international vet no longer picked by USA, had a couple headers at the back post that she couldn’t quite hit at full capacity. The second from an Ali Riley cross. Then in the fourth minute of injury time goalkeeper Harris found herself all the way up on halfway with Louisville defending deep, pumping a clearance straight back into the mixer where it was allowed to bounce and Leroux snuck in for the late, late equaliser. 1-1 the final score. Dramatic finish.

The coach said afterwards that it was the team’s worst performance of the season so to get a point on a day like that is decent, even if there’s plenty to be improved upon. Though Ali Riley doesn’t have to panic about that too much as she was on a plane to Tokyo the very next day – after saying the draw allowed her to leave without “a bitter taste” in her mouth.

Up Next: Portland vs Orlando, Monday at 2.30pm with no Ali Riley (NZT)

Marko Stamenic – FC Kobenhavn (Danish Superliga)

More good preseason vibes here as Marko Stamenic got another solid run out in FCK’s final preseason match. After playing the full contest in a win over CSKA Moscow last week, he’s gotten to play the second half of a 1-0 defeat against Rapid Wien. The loss was a fair result on the surface but of course friendly games are never all about the result. Stamenic has only played one senior game for the club to date but has gotten some great opportunities here on this tour, helped by club captain Carlos Zeca being unable to travel with the group after contracting the coronavirus. Zeca being a central midfielder too and all. Regardless, it’s great to see Stamenic working his way quickly up the pecking order at the club.

Good shot in those highlights of Stamenic having a crack at goal from outside the area late on, albeit he hits it straight at the keeper. There’s also a missed tackle down the right wing and a cross that he blocks in the mix. It’s the opportunities that matter most though – the fact that he’s getting these games at all. And with the team heading back to Denmark now ahead of the new season kicking off next week, Marko Stamenic will say his temporary farewells as he instead heads in the other direction to join up with the OlyWhites in Japan (who are fresh from a 2-0 warm-up game win over Australia... yeah get some).

Up Next: Season opener for the non-Olympian FCK lads is 2am on Monday against AaB (NZT)

Vic Esson – Avaldsnes IL (Norwegian Toppserien)

Them two NWSLers weren’t the only Olympic squadies still polishing off the club commitments before joining the Ferns. Vic Esson was initially named as a travelling reserve so no surprises that there’s no similar complaints about her staying with Avaldsnes right up until the due date but it worked out well for the club because they had their starting keeper (and New Zealand’s third stringer) for a crucial match-up against one of the teams that seem most likely to be with them in any impending relegation scrap.

And, mate, what a send off for Vic Esson. Three goals and a clean sheet to boot. Despite the recent struggles of both clubs this was a proper open-ended contest that regardless of the final score could have swung in any direction. Esson made a fantastic stop at 0-0 to deny Kristina Maksuti at her near post after a low cross had picked Maksuti out in space. Did well to punch away the corner after too. Meanwhile Avaldsnes had a similar chance saved and a header from a corner cleared off the line and about three decent looks off the same corner kick at one point... anybody’s game.

Then five minutes before the break Andrea Norheim gave them the lead – no surprises it was from another corner kick. Strong downwards header that the keeper couldn’t get to. Get in there. Even then Esson still had to get the gloves dirty a few times in the second half to keep her team in the lead. It wasn’t until the 75th minute that Emma Brunes unfortunately deflected in a cross for an own goal that made it 2-0. Then a great finish from Rebecka Holum running in off the right in the 83rd minute made sure of the points.

By no means the cruisey win that the 3-0 final score suggested but a crucial result all the same. Gets Avaldsnes off the bottom of the ladder and out of the relegation zone on goal difference. With Arna-Bjørnar also winning this weekend there’s only three points between fifth and tenth (and an 11 point gap between fourth and fifth) with the bottom two teams getting relegated. That’s the first clean sheet of the campaign for Esson, though it somehow wasn’t enough to get her in another Topserien Team of the Week like she managed two weeks ago when AIL got their first win...

Meanwhile no CJ Bott, no chance for Vålerenga . Bott left for Tokyo after last weekend’s game so she wasn’t there as VIF were popped 3-0 by Sandviken, leaving them four points adrift of those opponents in third place - with Rosenborg still a step above both of those at the top of the pops having won all eight of their games so far. VIF have lost to both fellow title contenders in a row now. Those are their only dropped points so far but they’re crucial ones if they’re gonna defend that league title.

Up Next: Doesn’t matter, Esson’ll be in Tokyo

Elliot Collier – Chicago Fire (American Major League Soccer)

The regular trend of Elliot Collier’s substitute appearances still remains but the length of those appearances is shrinking. The Fire had a really nice 3-1 win over Orlando City most recently, coming from a goal down to equaliser in first half stoppage time through Boris Sekulic before Robert Beric put them in the lead on 72 mins. Chinonso Offor then clinched it in the fifth minute of time added on in the second half. Finishing those halves strong, aye? That was the difference.

Collier didn’t make his entry until the 91st minute though. Not too late to make a difference, in fact he was brought on in a double change alongside Offor, the scorer of the third goal. Offor was able to get free on the counter and spin a one-two with Przemyslaw Frankowski before burying one on the end of a 60-odd metre sprint. Meanwhile Collier only got to touch the ball three times in total (with a shot off target).

The main theme here is that it’s now three consecutive appearances for Collier where he’s been subbed on in stoppage time. He did make one start back in May but all up his eight games have combined for just 148 minutes of action. Maybe next game he’ll get to stretch the legs out some more.

Up Next: Nashville vs Chicago, Sunday at 12.30pm (NZT)

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

Bit rude of MU head coach Adrian Heath there but you’ll recall from a Flying Kiwis just two weeks ago that Heathy wasn’t exactly chuffed with the idea of Boxall leaving for the Olympics in the first place so can’t be too surprised by that reaction. He wants Boxall to stay.

Thing is, the OlyWhites cannot call up a replacement at this point so if Boxall can be available for any point of the tournament then he might as well go. Right? Might be some politics to overcome there because there isn’t actually a FIFA-binding release for men’s Olympic players – the clubs have to agree to let their dudes participate (since it’s technically a youth tournament). Boxall’s injury changes the situation there. As for the damage done... we’re still waiting for that. The MRI they said he was having a week ago hasn’t been mentioned again and Heath’s comments so far are the only update we’ve had. NZ Football are merely “monitoring the situation”. The silence on all counts is suspicious.

As for the Loons themselves, they lost 2-0 to Colorado Rapids with Boxall out injured. Ramon Abila copped a late red card just to rub it in. Ends a seven game unbeaten streak since they last lost to Colorado Rapids.

Up Next: Monday at 6am, Minny vs Seattle Sounders... but if Boxall plays that then we’ve been shafted (NZT)

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