Flying Kiwis – October 5
Anna Leat – Aston Villa (English Super League)
Anna Leat has had to wait patiently for her chances since she turned pro, that’s one of the sacrifices you’ve gotta make when you start off in one of the toughest leagues on the planet. With West Ham last year she played backup to Aussie international Mackenzie Arnold. With Aston Villa this year she’s backup to England international Hannah Hampton.
Thankfully there are always cup games with rotated elevens in which to get amongst it. Leat watched the Villans win their first two WSL games from the bench but she was given a debut for the Conti Cup group stage opener against Manchester United. And how’d it go? It went like this...
Villa hit the crossbar early through Rachel Daly however Nikita Parris put United in front on 16’ with a ripper of a strike from distance. Top corner, couldn’t be stopped. Not even by Anna Leat. But the Villans were right up for this match and would hit the post again in the second half before Daly eventually tied it up with a header from a free kick on 72’. No less than they deserved as the teams battled on towards a 1-1 draw. Although it took something special from Anna Leat near the end to make sure of it...
She’s actually saved that with her left hand reaching backwards. Despite everything else that Leat would do afterwards, her manager made a point of highlighting that save in a post-game interview. The rest of it doesn’t happen if Leat doesn’t somehow make that stop to earn a draw and force a penalty shootout – as is the custom in Conti Cup group games with a bonus point on offer for the winner.
The rest of it was Anna Leat making four (yes, four) saves in the penalty shootout. Both teams scored their firsts but then Leat denied Hayley Ladd. The advantage didn’t last because Daly missed for Villa and then Kenza Dali also missed to leave Villa on the brink. Leat had to stop Ella Toone from scoring United’s fifth or it was all over... and she did. Then she also saved Hannah Bundell’s attempt before the best of the bunch with a one-handed denial of Ona Batlle. Mayumi Pacheco scored for Villa to make it 4-3. Aston Villa got the bonus point. Anna Leat with an absolutely brilliant performance in the shootout.
Leat got absolutely mobbed by her teammates afterwards, the whole lot of them making a line in her direction before burying her in the huddle. So good. Watch it back and you’ll notice that Leat dives the right way for every single penalty that she faced.
Up Next: Might as well take this energy into the Footy Ferns, aye?
Alex Greive - St Mirren (Scottish Premiership)
Before the international break, St Mirren broke a 38-game unbeaten league streak of Celtic’s as they beat the perennial reigning champs 2-0 in a thrilling upset. But Alex Greive didn’t play, an unused sub on that occasion. After the international break, which he missed the first game of due to a late arrival and then played off the bench in Auckland in the second (including getting a set of sprigs to the ribcage from St Mirren teammate Keanu Baccus), Greive was apparently then late getting back to Scotland.
Weird one there because the two Aussies at the Buddies both arrived back on Wednesday local time. On the other hand, Greive didn’t get there until Friday which his coach Stephen Robinson wasn’t too chuffed with – ominously saying that he plans to have a word to NZ Football. Good luck with that, bruv.
SM coach Robinson: “Look, I’m a big supporter of international football and boys getting called up. I’ve worked at that level so I know how hard it is. But it’s been a bitty week. We haven’t had a full squad together to work with. But you can’t have everything. You can either have lads missing out on international squads and moan about it or you can see them get called up and moan about the travelling when they come back. The Aussie boys were back on Wednesday and trained that day. I’ll be speaking to Alex and New Zealand. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation for it but I want to find out why he’s just [now] arriving back. That’s because I want everybody available and fit. We run with a small squad. We’ve got a couple of knocks with our strikers.”
It does seem odd that there’s a two day diffo between when the Aussies arrived and when Greive arrived – although if Danny Hay gets an angry voicemail then he can rightly point out that Greive was late in joining the All Whites squad as well so it goes both ways. But if Coach Robbo was upset at him beforehand then he quickly forgot all about it when Alex Greive did this off the bench against Livingston...
Let’s hear from that manager again: “We showed character when down to 10 men and Alex has travelled half way round the world and I gave him a bit of stick, but that's how you answer it.”
Not a great overall performance from St Mirren, to be honest. Livingston were the better team for most of it but didn’t really create enough to reflect their positive play and were wasteful with what they did. Hence the game was there for the taking as Keanu Baccus made a late run into the area to head in from a Ryan Flynn cross with twenty to go. However a handball blocking a goal-bound shot earned SM forward Joshua Ayunga a straight red card (and a suspension for next week, which could suit Greive) which threatened to swing the match back the other way.
Helpfully Sean Kelly put the resulting penalty into the stands... but Livingston still did draw level with five to play thanks to Bruce Anderson’s powered downward header. At least until a late corner kick allowed Alex Greive to do his thing and the Saints marched on with a 2-1 win that sends them all the way up to third on the ladder after eight games. Good yarns.
By the way, Ryan Strain was one of the two Aussies who got back two days earlier than Greive. Strain was subbed on at the same time as Greive with half an hour remaining... and he lasted five mins before an existing injury flared up and he needed to be subbed back off again. So maybe he shoulda taken his time travelling back as well.
Up Next: Away to Rangers on Sunday at 3am (NZT)
Jacqui Hand - Åland United (Finnish Kansallinen Liiga)
Well now, look at that. Jacqui Hand’s fantastic first year as a pro just got even better with a Suomen Cup winners’ medal to hang around her neck.
Åland United won it 2-0 over HJK, scoring the opener after 12 minutes as 15-year-old Olivia Ulenius (who was later named played of the day) brilliantly set up Anna Westerlund – who at 33 is more than twice her age (and is also the all-time most capped Finnish international). There was then a fair bit of defensive work to be undertaken as HJK controlled a lot of the ball... but AU were able to limit their chances and then regularly break away on the counter themselves.
Hand had an effort or two that got the crowd on the edge of their seats. She also had to do a lot of tracking back from her left wing position, can’t shirk those responsibilities in a cup final. But the thing about Jacqui Hand is that barely a game goes by in which Åland have a positive result where Hand wasn’t involved in at least one goal.
Five mins into the second half she found a bit of space on the other side of halfway. Looked up and spotted Riikka Lilja on the right. Pumped a raking long ball over to Lilja... who took it down, angled inside, and curled a brilliant finish into the net (as Hand sprinted all the way through into the area in support). Of course she got an assist in the cup final. Of course she did.
That gave them forty more minutes to hold on. Mission accomplished. HJK’s best moments came near the end, including hitting the crossbar in the last minute of stoppage time, though by then time was on AU’s side anyway with that two-goal cushion. Hard to break down a team whose left winger is making these kinda effort plays, tracking all the way back to cut out a cross then stepping up again to block a second phase shot...
This, incredibly, is the third year in a row that Åland United has won the Suomen Cup (and the fourth year in a row that they’ve made the final). They did win the league title in 2020 but you have to go back to 2009 for their previous league championship and the last couple years they haven’t really been a part of the title race at all. Yet their cup form is always something special. Jacqui Hand with her first professional trophy, yeah go on. Get some highlights here.
Up Next: After the international break they’ve got two more league games to try and hold onto third place on the ladder
Vic Esson - Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League)
The first leg was nuts. Champions League second round qualifiers against Benfica with the Portuguese club emerging 3-2 victors after Esson was adjudged to have scored an own goal for the final strike. Esson also made some quality stops along the way, to be fair – and there was some controversy over whether the OG actually crossed the line (although also if she hadn’t juggled it there wouldn’t have been a problem).
Needing to get a win in Portugal in the second leg to qualify for the group stage was an ominous prospect, but then you never know. The longer they could restrict Benfica the more chance they’d have. They did show they could score goals against this team in the first leg so just gotta not concede many/any. The goalie tasked with that aim was, once again, Vic Esson. Preferred in all four Champions League fixtures for RFC.
And this is what she set about doing...
One save after another, some of them impressive dives and some of them simply holding her position and letting the striker make the mistake with a rushed finish (there was also a shot off the crossbar at one stage so shout out to sheer luck as well). It was enough to keep the tie scoreless at the half. Then for a little longer. Then for longer after that. But a draw wasn’t enough, Rangers also needed to score themselves... and in the 87th minute the Benfica keeper spilled a corner kick at the feet of 16yo Emma Watson who thus sent us to extra time. 3-3 after 180 minutes... thirty more to follow and penalties after that if required. You know for sure that possibility would have been in Esson’s head.
But it didn’t come to that. Rangers had fought so hard to take this thing to extras and they kinda ran out of energy once they got there. Benfica scored in just the third minute of ET through Cloe Lacasse as she broke through down the left wing and had enough pace to straighten up into the area. Esson gambled on her shooting across goal and Lacasse responded by scoring at the near post. In fairness, she was gonna bury it either way.
A second yellow for Sousa Alves put Benfica down to ten women. But Rangers still couldn’t muster a response and with a minute remaining Jessica Silva got in behind the defence and onto a long ball before finishing expertly for a 2-1 result on the night, a 5-3 result on aggregate. No Champions League for Vic Esson this season – and annoyingly HB Køge were knocked out by Juventus at the same stage, Daisy Cleverley still out injured, meaning that there will be no kiwis in the UCL group stage at all this year. Bummer. But Rangers gave it a good swing against a top Benfica side.
Esson then took her turn on the bench on the weekend as Rangers strolled to a 5-0 win over Queen’s Park in the league cup knockouts. Kirsty Howat with a hat-trick. The UCL run is over but Rangers’ domestic form remains unblemished.
Up Next: Must be an international break, aye?
Sarpreet Singh - SSV Jahn Regensburg (German Bundesliga 2)
2022 has been a disaster of a year for Sarpreet Singh. He’d been in fantastic form on loan for SSV Jahn Regensburg over the first half of the season, one of the leading assist makers in the whole comp for a team punching well above their weight. Then the team’s form began to dip. Then he got injured.
A pelvic bone inflammation proved a tricky one to overcome. It ended up ruling him out for the rest of the season as the healing process took way longer than hoped. He subsequently missed the All Whites World Cup qualifiers in which his creative presence could have been massive for a team that lost 1-0 to Costa Rica despite controlling a lot of the play. And even when he seemed to have a Bundesliga move all lined up with Werder Bremen, the pesky pelvis still hadn’t come right and he failed his medical. Instead he was loaned back to SSV Jahn where he’d be able to play once he completed his recovery... but now it turns out that’s not the case either.
Nah, apparently SSV Jahn made a mess of his registration so he can’t technically play until the next transfer window opens in January and he can be registered properly. Regensburg’s sporting director Roger Slitz resigned just last week for personal reasons having only been in the job for ten months... we don’t know that these two things are connected but it seems like a mighty coincidence if they aren’t.
Regardless, Sarpreet is going to have to wait another four months until he can play again. Just as he was getting close to a return to full training. He hasn’t been fit enough to be in contention to this point but he was seemingly on track to be back soon or else we wouldn’t be hearing about this stupid gaffe. Annoyingly, the winter break and the World Cup hiatus means there are no games from mid-November until the very end of January. There’ll be some friendlies during the break which should help him. And if there’s a silver lining here it means he won’t be rushed back early from what’s proved a niggly injury. But, yeah, Darmstadt vs Regensburg on 30 January 2023 NZT. That’s the one.
Hans Rothammer, CEO of SSV Jahn: “We are very unhappy about the processes and circumstances that led to this situation. In a personal dialogue with Sarpreet Singh, we were able to explain the facts and in particular to express our regret.”
This is what the man himself had to say on his IG story...
Regensburg began the new season beautifully with a couple of league wins and then a penalty shootout victory over FC Köln in the DFB-Pokal. They then went six games without a win – including 6-0 and 4-0 defeats – until beating St Pauli 2-0 last week. They really coulda used him sooner rather than later... but that’s why the paperwork is important.
Up Next: A meditation practice and perhaps some psychedelic therapy could be of help in the meantime
Abby Erceg & Katie Bowen – North Carolina Courage (American National Women’s Soccer League)
Was this to be the final game of the season for the Courage? Not if they won. A victory and they’d be into the playoffs no matter what else happened in this final week of the regular season. A draw or a defeat and they’d be left sweating on results elsewhere.
The didn’t win. But they didn’t lose either. Away to San Diego, it was the defences who bossed the first half though things did get progressively more open as the game went on and both keepers had work to do. The Courage certainly finished stronger. Most of their best moments came in the final twenty minutes including pushing deep into stoppage time for that crucial goal.
Alas the 0-0 draw might mean a third clean sheet in a row but it also meant their fate was out of their hands. Chicago vs Angel City in the final game of the season. NCC needed Angel City to either draw or win by fewer than 16 goals... but if Chicago won then they’d take the final spot instead. Angel City were all but mathematically eliminated however Ali Riley could still do Abby Erceg (and perennial unused sub Katie Bowen) a solid favour.
Up Next: ...
Ali Riley - Angel City FC (American National Women’s Soccer League)
Ali Riley had a tough time of things bouncing around clubs during the pandemic so seeing her end up playing in her home city – and captaining them no less – has been nothing short of a joy in 2022. And it seems that the feeling goes both ways with the support that the expansion team has been able to garner. Wasn’t quite enough to sneak them into the top six but an honourable campaign all the same and they had the chance to end it on a high by denying Chicago a playoff spot.
Which... they didn’t do. No need to beat around the bush with it. Chicago looked like they had an extra gear from the very beginning and while LA held on for most of the first half they zoned out in stoppage time as Sarah Luebbert was able to dodge a few tackles and slide in Mallory Pugh who’d snuck around her marker. Pugh buried it for 1-0. Jun Endo did do a few things for Angel City but otherwise it felt like a matter of time until Chicago scored again. An excellent Yuki Nagasato finish accomplished that on 77’.
2-0 to the Red Stars and there will be no New Zealanders in the NWSL playoffs for the first time since 2014. Abby Erceg herself has made the finals in all of those years since, alas that streak is now over. Erceg will be back. She’s under contract with NCC having signed an extension recently. Ali Riley will also return with Angel City. Katie Bowen is a free agent though and likely to move having only made two NWSL appearances all year. Ah well, so it goes.
Up Next: Nada, season over
Nando Pijnaker & Max Mata – Sligo Rovers (League of Ireland Premier Division)
This was not a good game for Sligo Rovers. Just to get that point out in front. At home to Shamrock Rovers, who are probably going to win the title, they were well beaten. Conceded in the 15th minute, the 37th minute, then the 70th minute. Always close enough that there was a little bit of hope still burning but never close enough that you felt they could actually spark a comeback. However Nando Pijnaker did his best by turning in that lovely free kick delivery with a gentle touch for his first goal in Sligo colours.
Max Mata and Nando Pijnaker both started. Mata had a couple decent moments in attack but it was hard to find the service against the best team in the land. Pijnaker arguably could’ve done more with the third goal that Shamrock scored (although he could just as easily have scored an own goal against that low fizzing cross) but the goal he scored was nice. Not able to muster a comeback though. 3-1 to Shamrock Rovers.
Only three teams qualify for Europe and right now Sligo Rovers are sixth. So with five games remaining they would need to win every single one of those and have Dundalk lose every single one and hope that St Pat’s also drop enough points to be caught. It’s not gonna happen, let’s be honest. Good thing they had a lovely run in Europe this year whilst both Pijnaker and Mata were there – Nando of course only being on loan, although Mata has signed a new deal with the club.
Up Next: UCD vs Sligo Rovers on Saturday at 7.45am (NZT)
Betsy Hassett - Stjarnan (Icelandic Úrvalsdeild Kvenna)
Stjarnan went into the final day of their season knowing that a win against Keflavík would clinch them second place on the table, their best finish for several years. It was also Betsy Hassett’s final game for the club as she’s obviously leaving to join the Wellington Phoenix. As it happens, Breidablik lost 3-2 to Thróttur Reykjavík so they could have lost and still come second but hey that’s no way to finish off the year’s footy.
Nah, the Stars polished things off in style with a 4-0 win at home to Keflavík. Katrín Ásbjörnsdóttir led the way with a hat-trick before Jasmín Erla Ingadóttir added another with quarter of an hour to go – earning her the league’s Golden Boot award. All that was missing was a Betsy Hassett screamer... but you can’t have everything. Stjarnan bossed this game from start to finish and with their second place effort, Hassett leaves the club having qualified for the preliminary stages of next season’s Champions League.
Hassett played three years with Stjarnan, joining them at the start of a rebuild and leaving them as a UCL club. During that time she played 49 league games scoring 9 goals. Prior to that she also had two and a half years with KR in the same league where she featured in 38 league games (3 goals). Now the Wellington Phoenix beckons... her first taste of the A-League having played in Iceland, Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and England already but never in Australia.
Up Next: ALW season begins on 20 November at 3pm against Melbourne City (NZT)
Marko Stamenic – FC København (Danish Superliga)
It’s a very top-heavy Flying Kiwis when we don’t even get to Marko Stamenic until this far down. Because he’s had a pretty eventful time of it this week too, returning from international duty to find that his coach had been sacked. No more Jess Thorup, instead say hej to Jacob Neestrup – who was already the assistant manager to not too much to worry about for Stamenic, compared to if they’d hired an outsider who might have come in and wanted to drop the 20 year old kiwi fella in the midfield.
There was nothing to worry about on that account because Stamenic was on call once more to start in a midfield trio with Zeca and Rasmus Falk at home against AGF. Immediately leaping into headers and roughing dudes up in challenges. However this FCK team looked a lot like the FCK team that has been dropping heaps of points recently as the possession stats were quite even but more of the game was being played in their own half, unable to get hardly anything going in attack outside of a set piece or two. But they did defend well so it was goalless at the half.
No sooner had the second half begun than it had to be paused due to smoke from crowd flares (Scandi footy is awesome). But once it got underway properly... much better from FCK. It was the attacking runs of Mohamed Daramy that got them going and from there they were able to force a few saves, win some set pieces, and generally spend the bulk of proceedings in attack. Stamenic was getting on the ball and moving it around outside that penalty area. Shifting the point, searching for space.
Eventually they scored. Marko Stamenic was subbed off with ten to go and the bloke who replaced him, Lukas Lerager (more of an attacking mid, as well as fresh legs), slammed one in with his first touch of the game.
FCK would hang on to win it 1-0. Three important points as they strive to get their title defence back on track... although the win was blighted by an injury to captain Zeca late on. Zeca tore his ACL last season and his recovery period was part of why Stamenic got such a prominent role in preseason. He may be in for more of the same now because it’s been confirmed by the club that Zeca’s re-injured that same ligament and will need further surgery – ruling him out for the entire season. Rasmus Falk also went off injured in the first half against AGF.
And who should FCK have up next? Manchester City in the Champions League. With no Zeca and no Falk, who wasn’t considered for the travelling squad, Stamenic is all but guaranteed to start and he’ll have Erling Haaland and his mates to deal with. Welcome to the big time, fella.
Up Next: Thursday at 8am away to Manchester City in the UCL group stage (NZT)
Elijah Just - AC Horsens (Danish Superliga)
Good yarns from Eli. Subbed on after 65 minutes, sets up a goal after 67 minutes. Sadly wasn’t able to find another assist to help Horsens get a point out of their game against Silkeborg but it’s another positive contribution from Eli Just who continues to steadily acclimatise to the step up to the Danish top division.
Up Next: Tuesday at 6am against Aalborg (NZT)
CJ Bott - Leicester City (English Super League)
That’s the expression of someone who’s just lost in the 94th minute. Leicester City had already lost their first two games and are under no illusions that this season is going to be a relegation battle. But they were well on their way to a scrappy point against Everton. Not a lot of possession yet they limited what Everton could get up to so the shot tallies were pretty even. Nothing particularly meaningful though.
This one had ‘midweek stalemate’ written all over it, even after CJ Bott was subbed on at right wing-back. Everton finished stronger so the Foxes were having to get used to making clearances from crosses and set pieces. That they did... until Bott gave away a free kick on the right edge after an initial hard tackle didn’t do the trick. Hanna Bennison curled the dead ball into the danger zone and Leicester’s keeper came out to punch it... only to slap it into her own net for an OG. In a season where any points they get will need to be hard-fought, this was a stomach punch for the Foxes. 1-0 to Everton.
At least they had a Conti Cup game a few days later to target, no time to dwell on defeat. The Foxes were away against Championship club Blackburn Rovers which meant a pleasant chance to be the favourites for once. It also offered room for rotation so CJ Bott, having played off the bench in all three WSL games so far, plus both here games last year, finally got a starting debut for Leicester City. Right fullback of course.
LCFC didn’t waste much time in getting amongst it. Bott was her standard combative self down that right... although the best early stuff came from the other side including some lovely football passing in and out from the left corner leading to Mackenzie Smith tapping in the opener on 6’ after Natasha Flint had put it on a platter for her. The rest of the first half was rather tame as a couple Blackburn injuries slowed things down and LCFC weren’t able to work the same overloads as earlier. A couple moments for Bott getting forward including a blocked shot from range and another that went comfortably over the top plus a nice 1-2 that led to a cross which the keeper picked off.
Leicester then started the second half like they did the first and CJB played a clever pass into the penalty area as part of the extended move that led to Connie Scofield scoring their second goal after 49’. Aileen Whelan later picked off a poor pass across goal to nudge in a third on 65’. CJ Bott went on to play the full contest as Leicester City won it 3-0 to get their Conti Cup campaign off to a winning start.
Up Next: After the break it’s Manchester City away at 2am on Monday 17 Oct (NZT)
Meikayla Moore – Glasgow City (Scottish Premier League)
Would have been better if Moore had started in Glasgow City’s round of sixteen League Cup tie against Aberdeen... but one day after Alex Greive came off the bench to score a goal in Scotland, Meikayla Moore managed to do the same. Subbed on after 73 minutes and getting on the scoresheet – albeit with her team already well in front. It was only 1-0 after an hour but a couple more goals stretched it out before Moore arrived. Then they stretched it out further with two more including an 86th minute header from a Hayley Lauder free kick which marked Mouse’s first goal for the club. 5-0 was the final score. Into the final eight. Highlights.
Up Next: Hamilton vs GC on Monday 17 Oct at 2am (NZT)
Olivia Chance - Celtic FC (Scottish Premier League)
Also advancing to the quarters were Celtic as they seek to defend the first of their two cup titles from last season. Liv Chance started. Liv Chance set up the second goal with a stunner of a through ball to Jacynta. Kiwi to Aussie, a proper Anzac goal. Celtic beat Partick Thistle 2-0.
Already mentioned that Rangers advanced to the last eight with Vic Esson not playing. Unfortunately we weren’t able to make it 4/4 for the NZers as Katie Rood’s Hearts fell 5-4 on penalties against Spartans after a 1-1 draw following extra time. Rood missed her spottie. So it goes.
Up Next: Celtic vs Glasgow Girls, Monday 17 October at 2am (NZT)
Logan Rogerson & Ollie Whyte - FC Haka (Finnish Veikkausliiga)
See that? Yet another Logan Rogerson assist. This one wasn’t as flash as many of his others this year but technically he passed the ball to the dude who scored – Lee Erwin – and that’s what an assist is.
This was also the winning goal, coming with twenty to go away against FC Inter in a midweek match-up. Both Rogerson and Whyte were in the initial XI and it was a Whyte corner kick that led to the first shot of the game. He also came close to pouncing on a free kick delivered to the back stick. Haka never really looked like conceding in the first half but they also couldn’t get anything going from open play themselves.
Rogerson missed a big chance with a header from a heavy cross but the offside flag went up anyway. A bit later they did score one but from an even more obvious offside. Haka were definitely ramping it up. Had to be careful of the counter attack a couple times but a gorgeous ball from Whyte over the top nearly led to something. Just a matter of whether they could bury one... and a few mins later they did. To be fair to Rogerson, he also won the header that secured the ball up there before collecting it back off Erwin then dishing a return pass leading to the goal. A lot more to that assist than merely a simple pass.
Whyte and Rogerson were both replaced before the game ended. Not before Rogerson hit the crossbar from a cut-back into his path about seven yards out. Probably should’ve buried that one though they got the 1-0 win in the end which is what matters most.
Four days later FC Haka took on SJK at home and, oh damn, they won again. Whyte didn’t play this one, an unused sub, but Rogerson got the full ninety, delivering his first tasty cross after only 24 seconds and carrying on from there. This was a much tougher defensive task and FCH did well to still be level at the break. Then that man Lee Erwin went to work again.
There had been signs of Haka’s threat late in the first half and they carried on from there to take a 56th minute through another killer Erwin finish and say look who set it up again...
And Erwin did it again on 75’, albeit Rogerson was only a support runner this time. Had to settle for two assists this week which, by the way, means that he’s up to 8 for the season which is good for third equal across the entire league. Also got four goals. Erwin is the league’s top scorer with 17 which also helps that cause. FC Haka with the 2-0 win against SJK, they’ve now won five in a row and could legitimately finish as high as third if they can keep this up over the last three matches. Albeit they do play the three best teams in the nation to close things out.
Up Next: KuPS vs Haka on Thursday at 4am, then Haka vs HJK on Monday at 4am (NZT)
Stefan Marinovic - Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israeli Premier League)
That’s a 3-1 defeat for Stef’s lads who have now lost five of their first six fixtures this season. They actually started really well against Hapoel Jerusalem, hitting the post after 10 minutes before taking the lead on 21’ as Alen Ozbolt tackled the oppo goalie and scored into the empty net. But the lead only lasted a few minutes before Ofek Biton beat the (sloppy) offside trap and rounded Marinovic at speed to score. Then a video ref awarded penalty in first half stoppage time meant they were down 2-1 (Guy Badash scoring down the middle as Marinovic dove right)... and Ondrej Baco polished it off on 71’ after HTL had spurned a couple chances to equalise.
Up Next: Tuesday at 6.30am away to Maccabi Tel-Aviv (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
The Loons have really gone to shit at the worst time. A 2-0 defeat away to San Jose this week – who are last in the Western Conference – means that they have taken just one point from their last six matches. Good thing they at least got that one point because that one point is all that’s keeping them in the playoff places heading into the final round of the regular season.
They were pretty much at full strength against San Jose so no excuses. Just happened to be strangely loose at the back, fortunate to avoid going behind after 22 mins as San Jose had a goal disallowed for offside, and it wasn’t really until the second half that they began to create anything in attack. Shea Salinas scored for San Jose on 52’ from a deflected free kick – probably a fair reflection of the game to that point. Minny went close to tying it up through Manny Reynoso, but then Benji Kikanovic ran in behind on 71’ and held off Boxall’s pressure to make it 2-0. Not a good day whatsoever. Highlights here.
A win would have clinched a playoffs spot. Instead Minnesota now face Vancouver, Boxall’s original MLS club, in game number 34 and if they lose then they will not be involved in the post-season. If they win then they will be. If it’s a draw they’ll have to pray that Real Salt Lake doesn’t beat Portland (who themselves need at least a draw to be sure of finals footy) at the same time. Still a decent chance that both kiwis in the 2022 MLS make the playoffs... just need Decision Day to go well.
Michael Boxall: “We need a massive response. We know the one thing that’s been the most consistent about this season is our crowd at home always providing so much energy and a great place to play. So, we need to reward them with a massive performance. I think defensively, we need to be a bit more disciplined, and with the ball make sure we have the right attacking intensity for the full game. Why you play is because you want to play in big games. And, we’ve kind of let ourselves down by turning this into a big game. But, at this time of the year, there’s nothing better to get you ready for the playoffs than playing in these types of games. It’s all or nothing and we need to play like that and give everything.””
Up Next: Minnesota vs Vancouver, 10am on Monday (NZT)
Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Despite the undeniable swagger of their centre-back... Portland also lost this week. But dammit they were unlucky.
After a largely boring first half, they fell behind to a 51st minute Carlos Vela goal for opponents LAFC – bit of a blinder to be fair. LAFC are are a quality team with the best record in the entire league this year, but the Timbers fought back well. Hit the bar at one stage. Tui lined up a free kick that was blocked. Also didn’t get a penalty appeal that he’d asked for. So when Dairon Asprilla levelled it up with ten to go they were good value and seemed to be headed for a useful draw.
Except then Denis Bouanga skipped way too easily past a bloke in the box in the fifth minute of stoppage time and although Tuiloma did get across to challenge the shot it hit the inside of his leg and still went in. LAFC with the last gasp winner. At least Portland go into their final game knowing that a draw will be enough to make the playoffs.
Up Next: Last regular season game and it’s away to Real Salt Lake at 10am on Monday - Decision Day in the MLS (NZT)
Get amongst our Patreon whanau if you rate what we’re up to and wanna support the mahi
Also check out our banger Substacker, whack an ad to say cheers, and tell your mates about us
Keep cool but care