Flying Kiwis – July 6
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
Ten games into this up and down season, Viking finally hit a new milestone: first draw of the campaign. Naturally it was a game they should have won against a Stabæk team stuck in the relegation zone but such is life... they did well not to lose it in the end. Joe Bell didn’t play this match though – he was suspended having already picked up four yellow cards in nine games prior.
Things started sharp with Henrik Vevatne hitting the crossbar for VFK in the 15th minute, quality header from a free kick but didn’t quite get over it enough. However despite bossing most of the game to this point they fell behind in the 26th minute when Antonio Nusa smashed one in at the near post. Luckily they then won a penalty which Veton Berisha thumped in and that was the score at HT. Berisha then scored two minutes into the second half and Viking had come from behind to take the lead... fast forward to the 67th minute and they were down 3-2 after Herman Geelmuyden bundled one in and then Nusa popped another useful shot away. Serious danger of losing to one of the bottom teams until substitute Yann-Erik de Lanlay blasted in an 83rd minute leveller to split things 3-3.
With that one out of the way, Joe Bell immediately came back in to the line-up to face defending champions Bodø/Glimt in a game that, would you believe it, also ended in a draw. No draws at all for the first nine weeks then two come at once (albeit against teams at the opposite ends of the ladder).
A first half of minimal events took a twist late on when Bodø/Glimt won a penalty (Bell was among those pleading that the bloke had been offside – depends who the last touch came off, s’pose) which Patrick Berg barely managed to squeeze past the keeper who’d dived the right way. But just two minutes later Veton Berisha tied it back up again, clever run on the end of a quick bit of thinking from Bell to chip a free kick in early before the defence was ready. Berisha took care of the rest – chalk up another Joe Bell assist. En. To. Tre.
Ten minutes into the second half Berisha put Viking in the lead with a really great diving header from a tight angle... yet once again the teams were only split for a few minutes as B/G had made it 2-2 soon after. Low volley from Berg that snuck under the keeper. It was Bodø/Glimt who then perhaps expectedly came closest to winning things. Ulrik Saltnes had a couple headers, one off the crossbar and one slightly wide. Joe Bell did swing in a cross in stoppage time that was nudged over the top but it wasn’t really close.
Nah, 2-2 was a pretty good result for Viking in the end. They’ll take it, especially in a game where they only had 24% possession (though that’s misleading as VFK are a counter attacking team looking to play that ball early rather than knock it around). Good from Bellinho... here he is leading the way for Viking in the expected assists stats. 3 assists from 2.12 xA...
Might just sneak one more game in before he flies to Tokyo? We shall see.
Up Next: VFK vs Strømsgodset on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Abby Erceg – North Carolina Courage / Ali Riley - Orlando Pride (American National Women’s Soccer League)
Abby Erceg and Ali Riley are amongst a small selection of Football Ferns players with 100 or more international caps. Erceg was the first to that mark, Riley was the third. They’re second and third overall in Football Ferns appearances: Erceg with 141 and Riley with 134 and both should add to that at the upcoming Olympics. They’ve played heaps of footy together... but before this NWSL season they had never played against each other.
This was the second head to header following a 2-1 Pride win in May and this time it was a top of the table clash too, Orlando having been chilling at the top the whole way while NC have come good of late (especially since USA international Sam Mewis returned – though she’s now off with the USA team). Ali Riley started at right back. Abby Erceg started at centre back. Opposite sides of the pitch but still, off we go...
Straight away the Courage scored. Third minute of the game, the clock reading 2:40 as Debinha picked off an errant pass in the Pride half and ran through to slip one past the keeper. Easy as that... and this after Sydney Leroux had forced a save after only 11 seconds up the other end. The Courage were good value and they quickly turned their attentions towards finding a second with a Jess McDonald cross bouncing just wide after hitting a defender and then Abby Erceg demanded the best out of goalie Ashlyn Harris with a header from a corner kick. Her speciality, pretty much... but she was thwarted on this occasion. Even still she would have had a tap-in at the second attempt had that rebound been squared back to her (although it was probably offside, tbf).
Lynn Williams also went close with a shot over the top, then with about ten mins left in the first half Toni Pressley chopped down McDonald and that was a penalty. Lucky for the Pride, they happen to have the best penalty-saving goalie in the comp and sure enough Williams was denied by a diving Harris – Ashlyn Harris’ third penalty save of 2021 already. And it was very nearly 1-1 as the Pride got out on the attack while NCC were still recovering and it was a rare ill-timed Abby Erceg pass towards a teammate on the wing which was charged down by Taylor Korniak... who wasn’t able to beat Casey Murphy 1v1.
Murphy had a fair bit more work to do as Orlando came out of the break all fired up however it was save after save from both goalkeepers here, a clinic from the pair of them. Right up until the 66th minute when Havana Solaun put her big toe through one to make it 2-0 to the Courage. Full games for both Riley and Erceg as the 2-0 for NCC sees them leapfrog OP into first place in the standings. The Courage initially said that Erceg would play this game and then next week’s before heading off to the Olympics, so assuming that timeline applies to Ali Riley as well and they’ll each get one more game in given that Orlando’s game is a day before North Carolina’s one (not so convenient for Katie Bowen though, more on her soon).
Meanwhile...
NWSL: Abby Erceg (NCC) - Erceg remained a reliable mainstay on the North Carolina back line throughout the month of June, stretching her pass distribution clip to nearly 90 percent and helping the Courage to a 3-1-0 record through the last four games.
Up Next: Orlando vs Racing Louisville at 11am on Saturday & Washington vs NCC at 11am on Sunday (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
The bulk of the Olympic men’s football squad flew out for Tokyo over the weekend... but not Michael Boxall who was holding fort for a couple extra games given that his league is in-season right now. But that might have backfired as he’s copped a mighty injury scare after having to be replaced in the first half of Minnesota United’s latest. Took a knock to the leg, needed treatment, couldn’t continue.
It wasn’t fully clear when he got hurt but by midway through the first half it was noticeably troubling him and after clearing one into the stands he hit the deck and would end up being replaced. The manager later confirmed a groin muscle complaint. For the Loons, they were going to lose him for a spell anyway with the Olympics coming up but him being subbed off here ended a streak where he’d played every single minute of the MLS season to date a little earlier than they’d planned on. Brent Kallman replaced him and Kallman would have a large role to play in the rest of that game. We’re currently awaiting the results of Boxall’s MRI scan to see what the scope of the damage is.
The Loons were already 1-0 down when Boxall went off and were playing absolutely awful. Bakaye Dibassy gave the ball away stupidly in defence to allow San Jose Earthquakes to take a 15th minute lead as Cristian Espinoza squared for 17-year-old Cade Cowell to score. It’s actually possible that Boxall first did his injury sliding to try and block that thing on the line, who knows. But particularly after he went off Minnesota looked dodgy at the back while the chances up top disappeared too with the pressure they were under. That is... until the fourth minute of stoppage time when a corner kick ended with Kallman squeezing in an equaliser from a tight angle.
Not enough to satisfy the coach who made two further subs at the half, upset at his team digging their own holes. And that seemed to do the trick. Minny were all over them and honestly should have scored a couple more by the time Ramon Abila eventually put them into the lead in the 69th min on the rebound after missing a VAR-awarded penalty kick. But Benji Kikanovic rolled into the area in the 82nd min and scored via a deflection for a 2-2 draw. Strange game that one... but mostly thinking about Michael Boxall’s status right now, tbh. He was initially going to play one more midweek game before departing for Tokyo but that feels unlikely now.
TwinCities.com: Loons captain Michael Boxall injured his groin near his hip joint and was subbed out in the 29th minute; he will have a magnetic resonance imaging test Sunday, Heath said. Boxall was called into New Zealand’s national team for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was expected to leave the Loons after Wednesday’s game at Colorado. “Obviously we don’t know where that (injury) is going to leave him regarding the Olympics, etcetera, but we will have a better idea (Sunday) when he’s had a night’s rest and we see where he is,” Heath said.
Up Next: Colorado vs Minnesota, Thursday at 1pm (NZT)
Katie Bowen – Kansas City (American National Women’s Soccer League)
31st minute of KC’s match away at Gotham FC and they fell behind. Ifeoma Onumonu with the low curler from just inside the box and Kansas City were in a familiar position. Yet to win a game all season, this is the way things have been going. But unlike most games here they had a response. It took until the 83rd minute before Mariana Larroquette’s equaliser but it was definitely worth the wait, a stunner of a goal chipping the keeper from outside the area on the run.
Magical moment to earn a 1-1 draw and only KC’s third point of 2021... only problem was that Katie Bowen was an unused sub so no need to dig deeper. That was Bowen’s last chance to kit up for her club for a wee while too because with KC’s next game not until Monday NZT that kinda conflicts with her travel plans for the Tokyo Olympics. Priorities, you know. So it goes.
Up Next: Monday at midday away to OL Reign (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Colchester United (English League Two)
Tommy Smith: “I'm delighted to get it done and be committed to the club for another two years, it was always something I was looking to do. It was a difficult year last season, but I know what the owner and Chairman is trying to do with the club and it excites me. We don't want to be there again, we've got ambitions of pushing towards the top seven. Today is the start of that.”
Smithy did still have a year on his contract with the U’s but hey why wait? He’s extended until the end of the 2022-23 season, presumably with a little bump in the pay cheques too as is the tendency with re-signings. He played nearly every minute for Colchester last season and, although the team only actually dodged the very real threat of relegation towards the end, they have high ambitions for the next campaign and Tommy Smith will be a huge part of those.
Up Next: New season starts in about a month’s time
Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
This one got out of hand. Another game in which Tuiloma started, as he always seems to do these days, but the things fizzled out away to Austin FC. They went down 2-0 after conceding a couple goals in the space of five minutes (28th and 33rd), Jon Gallagher’s finish after a square ball about eight yards out was one thing though Tuiloma did get beaten to the ball as Diego Fagundez went through soon after for the next one.
But Portland were able get back into the game after Jeremy Ebobisse pulled one back deep into stoppage time and that set up a big second half for them, a comeback there for the taking... except they never did manage another shot on target. Then Alexander Ring flicked in a lovely header in the 77th min off a free kick before Hector Jimenez added another in the 81st as again Portland conceded again soon after conceding. Tuiloma threw himself at that Jimenez effort in a desperate attempt at a block (after his left back had coughed the ball up softly) only for Jimenez to drop a shoulder and cut inside to score as Tuiloma slid past. Ah well, it’s not as bad as what he himself did to this poor soul earlier on in the game...
4-1 was the final score. It’s a tough one for Portland who have a few players away at the Copa America right now and will soon lose more when the Gold Cup and Olympics come around (though not Bill Tuiloma, he’ll be hanging around). This game felt like some of those difficulties catching up with them.
Up Next: Portland vs FC Dallas on Sunday at 2.30pm (NZT)
Elliot Collier – Chicago Fire (American Major League Soccer)
Another quiet one for EC as the Fire had an uncharacteristic result: a win. A comfortable 3-0 win, even... which meant we didn’t get a Collier sighting off the bench until the ninetieth minute.
Home against Atlanta United, the Fire took the lead on 34 mins through Ignacio Aliseda with a deflected shot from just inside the area, his first goal for the club and he’d bag a second in stoppage time too with a beautiful finish that needed no assistance whatsoever in finding the net. Then chuck in a 58th min Przemyslaw Frankowski goal as the Fire flooded forward from midfield – their mobility in the middle the real difference between the teams – and Chicago were cruising. At least Collier got a touch this week.
Up Next: Home to Orlando City at midday on Thursday (NZT)
Deklan Wynne – Phoenix Rising (American USL Championship)
The #FreeDeklan movement has finally seen results. Having been largely excluded from Phoenix Rising squads this year – this following a year in which he didn’t play at all for Colorado Rapids – Deklan Wynne has been loaned out to Oklahoma City Energy, a fellow USL Championship club albeit one in a different conference. Good move for Deklan as he joins a team which has found some nice form lately after an awful start to the campaign.
OKC interim head coach Leigh Veidman: “It was important to find a left back and give us some more depth there. With Deklan’s experience and resume, it was a no-brainer to add his quality to our team. He’s a very calculated, methodical thinker. He picks and chooses when to go forward or when to stay, and his ability to make the right decisions is one of the reasons why he spent so much time in MLS.”
A reminder that Deklan Wynne has not played an official professional game since June 2019. He’ll get his first chance to break that two-year drought next week.
Up Next: OKC Energy vs Indy Eleven, Sunday at 12.30pm (NZT)
CJ Bott - Vålerenga (Norwegian Toppserien)
Midweeker first and you know how this lot beat Klepp 7-0 last time? Well on Thursday morning NZT they popped Stabæk 5-0. A dozen goals in two games with none conceded, everybody eats.
CJ Bott was in the starters playing at left back against Stabæk. This one was a knockdown from the beginning, Synne Jensen slipping in the opener in the 7th minute before a fantastic Dejana Stefanovic header made it two from a 20th minute corner. Could have been more by that time too and while VIF settled down for the rest of the half, they struck quickly in the second stanza with Stefanovic sliding in Elise Hove Thorsnes to score in the 47th. Thorsnes then deflected in a fourth in the 65th min and Bott was among those subbed off with 13 minutes remaining and the points in the bag... though there was still time for Thorsnes to compete a second half hatty. Nothing to worry about there whatsoever.
Vålerenga vs Rosenborg now, the main event, the two teams with perfect winning records after six rounds and therefore – it stands to reason – the two biggest title contenders in 2021. CJ Bott in the line-up again for VIF as they looked to pick up where they left off last week with those 7-0 and 5-0 wins (on the right side of the back four this time)... and Bott was in the action early. Beaten by a ball in behind her which nearly led to a Rosenborg goal as the low cross was diverted just wide, then overlapping up the other end she nearly set one up with a cross chipped in from the byline that was headed past the post.
VIF got what they were looking for in the 31st minute when Ingibjörg Sigurdardottir nodded in from an in-swinging corner kick for a lead they’d take into the break despite the copycat nature of this game - Rosenborg nearly scored from a corner themselves only their header came back off the post with everyone beat. Would have been a mirror image. Anyway, VIF negotiated the first spell of the second half too, nudging closer to a huge victory... and then things took a twist. A well organised back four was proving tough to break down so Elin Åhgren Sørum didn’t even bother on 64 mins and just thumped it in from distance instead.
An amazing goal which set up a crazy end as both teams pushed for the win and VIF probably shoulda got it too but Dejana Stefanovic missed from the penalty spot. Bashed it down the middle and the keeper read it, dropped to her knees to save it... with the ball scooping up into the crossbar and down to safety. Then in the 90th minute their goalie couldn’t quite reach a cross that was tapped back for Sara Kanutte Sørensen Fornes to win it for Rosenborg. 2-1 to Rosenborg, final score. Not quite how it was meant to go.
Up Next: IL Sandviken vs Vålerenga on Sunday at 1am (NZT)
Vic Esson – Avaldsnes IL (Norwegian Toppserien)
Bit crap over here. Avaldsnes played Lyn at home and in a game of few chances it was the away team who had most of them but for the longest time it seemed that Vic Esson was gonna single-handedly earn her team a point. She saved a couple 1v1s in the first half, she pulled off a diving stop from a header in the second. But then just as Avaldsnes finally started looking like they might score one they got skinned on the break as Anna Nerland Aahjem was too quick onto the ball over the top and Esson couldn’t deny her this time. 84th minute winner for Lyn, 1-0 the final score. That’s a rough one, mate.
Then they were away to Arna-Bjørnar (who are believed to have signed Emma Rolston if they can get the technicalities taken care of – hopefully after the Olympics we’ll see that happen) and a rubbish first half saw Mia Jalkerud score a hatty against them and Avaldsnes thus fell to a 3-0 defeat and with that fell to last place after seven rounds.
Jalkerud bagged first in the 19th minute with a simple finish from six yards out after a deep cross had been allowed to bounce in the area. Then she added a second on 34 mins after intercepting a pass across the backline, horrid defending giving Esson no chance there. And it was three in the 43rd when Jalkerud guided a fine header inside the near post looping just out of Esson’s range. She almost had a fourth in the second half too but Esson was able to shut her down... much better from Avaldsnes in that second stanza as they were able to spark a few close attacks themselves but nothing that got over the line and anyway the damage had probably been done.
Up Next: Sunday at 1am vs Klepp (NZT)
Nikko Boxall – SJK (Finnish Veikkausliiga)
Got a 3-0 midweek win against Marienhamn and then a 2-1 loss against Lahti a few days later. Pretty much in keeping with the way things have been going for SJK who seem destined to finish somewhere in that midtable muddle and it’s all about whether they can crack the top six and the championship rounds or fall into the bottom six and the relegation rounds. Right now they’re fifth. Nikko Boxall has played every possible minute.
Up Next: Saturday 17 July at 3.30am away against Ilves (NZT)
Betsy Hassett - Stjarnan (Icelandic Úrvalsdeild Kvenna)
Stjarnan have had some big results already this year but dropping Breidablik 2-1 away from home has gotta be the best of them. They took the lead just before half-time when a chipped ball to the back post found Anna María Baldursdóttir wide open and she easily headed in. Then in the 62nd minute they struck the hammer blow as Katrín Ásbjörnsdóttir shaped up and picked her spot. Agla María Albertsdóttir did pull one back in the 69th min but the Stars were able to navigate the rest of it for the win, toppling the second placed team and hanging out in fourth themselves with a third-straight three-pointer.
No goals or assists from Betsy Hassett on this occasion which is a rarity the way things have been going but probably a good thing for the club given Hassett’s impending Olympic sojourn. Granted she probably should’ve scored one early on which she wasn’t able to convert after Ásbjörnsdóttir had put her in with only the keeper to beat.
Up Next: Weds at 6am against Tindastoll (NZT)
Marko Stamenic – FC Kobenhavn (Danish Superliga)
Most of the men’s Olympic squad is already in Tokyo and training. Of the 22-man squad, a quick trawl through NZF’s social media suggests that the only ones missing are Michael Boxall, Joe Bell... and Marko Stamenic. All of whom had club yarns to take care of first. Bell and Boxall are squeezing in the last couple games with their seasons in the middle of things while Stamenic? Well, he got a cheeky start in a preseason match against CSKA Moscow.
It wasn’t a full strength eleven, it never is at the start of preseason, but the fella got a full game against one of the top teams in Russia (they played this game in Austria, by the way) who had Mário Fernandes, Igor Diveev, Maksim Mukhin, and Anton Zabolotny all starting after they featured for Russia at the Euros last month. Teenager Rasmus Højlund scored the only goal as FCK won the friendly 1-0. Look for Marko in #35 in the highlights here, playing as a holding midfielder.
Up Next: There’s another friendly on Saturday at 4am vs Horn, though Stamenic might have hopped a plane by then (NZT)
Moses Dyer – Valour FC (Canadian Premier League)
An injury time clincher from Moses Dyer at the penalty spot for his second goal of the season (the first was also a penalty) in only three games and Valour have won all three of those games by scorelines of 2-0. The only team with a perfect record. Taking care of business.
Up Next: York United vs Valour, 2pm on Thursday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
Look who’s working his way back from injury, aye? Whether he’s good to go in a couple weeks when PSV plays their Champions League qualifiers against Galatasaray of Turkey we’ll have to wait and see but hopefully he will be – he’s already missed the first preseason friendly as they ease him back in.
This is after Thommo had to sit out the end of last season after undergoing ankle surgery in April. Yet another injury set back for the dude, however he had been getting a sweet run of games before that and word on the street is that the club is hoping to extend his contract as RT enters the final year of his initial deal. Plus he got married the other day, congrats to the fam. Good vibes, man. Good vibes.
Up Next: The one that matters is PSV vs Galatasaray, TBD on 22 July, UCL qualifiers first leg (NZT)
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