Rebekah Stott - Brighton & Hove Albion (English Super League)

Call this unfinished business: Rebekah Stott has signed with Brighton for a second time. Stotty only managed eight appearances for the Seagulls after joining them in 2020 as her cancer diagnosis caused things to be snapped short but having returned to Melbourne, completed all the treatments, done a heap for charity and awareness in the process, been given that remission news, returned to the footy field, played a full season with Melbourne City, and made her return to the Football Ferns... Stotty’s back in Brighton.

When she initially signed with Brighton, it was as part of a wider trend of top A-League W players moving to Europe (and to England in particular). The exciting next step in Stott’s career. Obviously that got put on hold for a wee while but now she’s picking up exactly where she left off. Bringing it beautifully round full circle.

BHAFC coach Hope Powell: “The circumstances around Stotty’s departure in 2020 were really difficult for everyone, no one more so than for her. She had only been with us for a short period of time, but was already a popular member of the squad before she headed back to Australia for treatment. We were all absolutely delighted and relieved when we found out her treatment had gone well and that she was on the mend. Now she’s back to full fitness and wants to have a proper go at the WSL and we are happy to have her back. Taking the emotions out of the signing, we know we’re getting a really good player with proven international experience and a knowledge of the league. We’re really looking forward to working with Rebekah again.”

Brighton still have the same manager who signed Stott in the first place, former England boss Hope Powell. The playing group has gone through quite a few changes since then but there are still some familiar faces. And one thing that you can rely upon is that Brighton under Hope Powell are going to be a dependable team regardless. Since getting into the WSL they’ve finished ninth, ninth, sixth, and seventh.

This brings us up to four kiwis signed on for the next WSL season: Ria Percival (Spurs), CJ Bott (Leicester), Anna Leat (Aston Villa) & Rebekah Stott (Brighton). With more than six weeks still remaining until the campaign begins there’s still time for more too – which would be a record as we’ve never had more than four kiwis in a single WSL term before. Last time that happened was in 2018-19 when it was Ria Percival (West Ham), Liv Chance (Everton), Ali Riley (Chelsea) & Katie Rood (Bristol City)... though Rood spent a lot of that term out on loan and Chance only played three total mins on return from her ACL injury.

Up Next: First game of the WSL season is Brighton vs Aston Villa at 1am on Monday 12 September (NZT)

Nando Pijnaker & Max Mata – Sligo Rovers (League of Ireland Premier Division)

After the (somewhat fortunate) penalty shootout magic of the home leg Europa Conference League playoff against Bala Town of Wales, Sligo Rovers went straight into a tie with Motherwell of Scotland in the following round. A difficult matchup although one boosted by the fact that Motherwell are in preseason whereas Sligo are more than halfway through their own campaign. The first leg was away from home. Huge travelling support. Massive occasion.

A couple of frisky selection yarns however. One is that the hero of the Bala Town second leg – goalkeeper Ed McGinty – was subsequently sold to English club Oxford Town so they no longer have his services. The other is that in expectation of a tough fixture it was decided to play a little more conservatively which meant only one centre forward in the line-up rather than the usual one up and one in the hole arrangement they’ve been using. That meant Max Mata was only on the bench. And he was kept company by Nando Pijnaker who also missed the cut. Not ideal. But understandable for tactical reasons.

Both teams had chances inside the first two mins, definitely good signs for Sligo as the underdogs here. Even better signs on 27’ as a soft back header from the Motherwell defence was harried onto by Aidan Keena rushing the last man. With the keeper stranded off his line, Keena lobbed him on the half-volley. Sligo Rovers were 1-0 up and the goal itself instantly vindicated the decision to play Keena up front alone. Fair enough.

Naturally the home side were gonna take that as a wake-up call but despite having the bulk of the ball for the rest of the half they only fashioned a couple big chances (still shoulda scored when Connor Shields turned a low cross wide of the goal though). The second half was then more of the same. Rovers defending like mad (with an extra midfielder in the ranks) and limiting Motherwell mostly to long shots.

Max Mata was subbed on after 77 mins and he had two great chances to extend the lead. A ball over the top seemed to put him through but he under-hit his dribble and could only hit it gently at the goalie as the defence recovered. Pretty much his first involvement. Then there was a back-post header on 84’ which he struck well, getting over the top of it, and it would’ve given the keeper a real test had a defender not stepped across and blocked it at close range. Some appeals for a handball but nothing given.

Even without a Max Mata goal, Sligo Rovers still held on to win it 1-0, taking a crucial lead into the home leg on Friday NZT. Just the club’s fifth ever win in European competition and if they can repeat the performance next up then they’ll hope to add just a third ever European tie victory to the mix. The team that advances will face either Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) or Joe Bell’s old team Viking (Norway) in the third qualifying round... after which there’s the playoff round and then the group stages.

Up Next: Friday at 6am, Sligo Rovers vs Motherwell, ECL second qualifying round leg two (NZT)

Joe Bell – Brøndby IF (Danish Superliga)

Joe Bell’s begun the new season as twelfth man for BIF, same as he finished the last one. But a midweek trip to Poland to play Pogoń Szczecin in some Europa Conference League qualifiers was always likely to require some rotation and what do you know Joe Bell was selected to start. One of three changes from the Superliga opener – with Bell operating not as a CDM but in that same right CM in a diamond role that he played off the bench in that previous match.

You never quite know what to expect in these continental qualifiers. Brøndby are the stronger team on paper but when styles and footballing cultures clash the paper tends not to matter. Yet BIF started well. Bell fired one over the top after a clearance from a corner. There was a decent penalty shout declined. A few incisive moments where the Danish club was able to get to the by-line and whip in a low cross. Finally they got their biscuits. 27 mins gone and it was another of those cut-back situations. The first shot was blocked but Blas Riveros, the left back, buried the rebound for the first goal in the tie.

Good yarns. Except that they should then have gone on to add another before the half was out. Lots of good chances, forced a few strong saves, but nothing they managed to take full advantage of. Because in the second half the home side began to get a handle on things (and the smoke from flares in the crowd blinding out the BIF penalty area didn’t help their defensive quests either). Joe Bell was the first Brøndby dude replaced (on 67 mins) with Mathias Greve coming on in his spot. However they couldn’t hold on. Conceded in the 84th minute. Had to settle for a 1-1 draw going into the home leg this week.

They then had to face Nordsjælland in the Superliga a few days later which was always gonna be a brutal turnaround and they didn’t handle it too well as they conceded in only the third minute. Eventually they found a leveller through Josip Radošević from the penalty spot (the bloke starting ahead of Bell at CDM also apparently on penalty-taking duty) in the 56th minute, though if we’re keeping it a hundy here it was a pretty soft penalty call.

Radošević didn’t last much longer as he was swapped out for Bellinho after the hour mark with the game tied at 1-1 at that stage. That state of affairs lasted fine for about ten minutes, during which BIF spent most of the time on attack and Bell was looking great, winning tackles and moving the ball around. But then they conceded twice in four minutes and went on to lose 3-1. Bell got a yellow card near the end for dragging a guy down to prevent a counter attack. Nordsjælland and Horsens are the only teams with perfect winning records after the first two Superliga rounds.

By the way, if Brøndby are able to come through with the win in the second leg against Pogon then they’ll advance to face either FC Basel (Switzerland) or Champions (Northern Ireland) in the third qualifying round. FCB won the first leg 2-0 so they’re looking good for that spot.

Up Next: ECL second round qualifier leg two at home to Pogon Szczecin on Friday at 6am... then away to Silkeborg on Monday at 4am (NZT)

Jacqui Hand - Åland United (Finnish Kansallinen Liiga)

Jacqui Hand amongst the goals again. Her third of the season for Åland United, helping them along to a 3-1 win over HPS in their first game back after the mid-season break (it had been six weeks since their previous match) and keeping them fourth on the ladder. Hand’s goal was a simple enough finish at the back stick, showing great instincts to be in the right place to ensure her team capitalised on the attack as a corner kick was cleared and then crossed back in again.

That goal came about a minute after they’d conceded an equaliser. Took the lead through Sanni Ojanen at the penalty spot on 30’ only to fail to hold it any longer than three minutes. But then Hand struck and before the first half was through Monica Hagström finished off another off the cut-back to make it threes. Jacqui Hand played all ninety minutes. Also picked up a yellow card late in the first half. Onwatds with pride.

Up Next: Saturday at 11pm away to ONS (NZT)

Logan Rogerson & Ollie Whyte - FC Haka (Finnish Veikkausliiga)

Every week, seriously. Not a game goes by these days without Logan Rogerson or Ollie Whyte contributing to the goals in some way so when their latest ended in a 3-3 draw you just knew there was gonna be something. Sure enough, the second Haka goal was a Lee Erwin strike buried after a fine driven volley cross from Rog out wide.

Speaking only about the league stuff (and thus ignoring some fine cup efforts from both Rogerson and Whyte), that takes Rogerson up to 5 assists to go with 3 goals this term while Whyte has 1 goal and 3 assists (in a little over half the total minutes of his bro there so the ratio’s not too far off). Rogerson’s one of four blokes tied for second on the 2022 Veikkausliiga assist charts, with Petteri Forsell of FC Inter leading the pack with 6 in total. He’ll surpass him within a fortnight at this rate.

Bit of a crazy game against VPS. Haka conceded inside four minutes, thanks in part to Whyte losing the ball as he tried to drop in as an option only to get crowded out. Great shot from Tete Yengi... though not as good as the tenth minute equaliser from Donaldo Acka. Haka then took the lead as Rogerson set up Erwin in the 28th minute but a penalty just before half-time meant they hit the sheds all even and then another concession on 62’ had them staring down the barrel of defeat. But then Stavros Zarokostas popped up with a 93rd minute leveller. More late heroics for FC Haka, who sit fifth on the ladder and are looking good to qualify for the championship rounds. Full games for both Rogerson and Whyte here which doesn’t happen too often.

Up Next: Haka vs KuPS, Sunday/Monday at midnight (NZT)

Marko Stamenic – FC København (Danish Superliga)

Another appearance off the bench for Marko Stamenic. This time he had to wait until the 82nd minute before he was introduced but that’s two games down and Stammers has been involved in both. Exactly what we wanna see. And, after going down in an upset defeat to promoted Horsens last week, this time FCK got the three points they were after – getting their title defence underway albeit slightly belatedly.

Copenhagen were away to Aalborg. A tricky fixture but they were able to take a lead into the break with a 45+6’ goal from Viktor Claesson – following up after a header from a corner had been parried away. If you’re wondering about all that stoppage time, the reason for it was a knock to the København goalie, causing him to be replaced after eight mins. A concussion after coming out to claim a bouncing ball in his area. Hopefully that dude’s all good because it sure was a nasty one – word is he’ll miss 6-8 weeks.

Eventually København doubled that lead through Claesson again. 71st minute of the match and he was able to get a foot to a low cross into the box, albeit a heavy touch, but the defence didn’t respond in time before his second touch whipped it into the net on the stretch.

AaB’s best stuff had all come in the first half so 2-0 felt like a pretty comfortable lead. That was until a mistake at the back allowed Allan Sousa to pounce on 79’ and all of a sudden Aalborg were back in it. Almost immediately Marko Stamenic was readied to come on. Replacing Rasmus Falk in holding midfield same as last game. Offering that extra defensive boost.

The task was straightforward, simply protect his back four and the team’s lead. He didn’t go rushing forward on the counter, didn’t try any extravagant passes. Kept it tidy with no mistakes. There was a nice tackle down in the right corner. He also won a foul after an interception and made sure to use up a few extra seconds in staying down.

Then Copenhagen caught a fortunate break in the 94th minute as the Aalborg goalie misjudged a ball over the top and Isak Bergmann Johannesson was able to run around him and strike into an empty net. That was the clincher. 3-1 to FCK the final score.

Up Next: Monday at 2am away to Viborg (NZT)

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

MLS.com: “The backline features three central defenders: Jakob Glesnes (Philadelphia Union), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution) and Michael Boxall (Minnesota). Glesnes had a headed assist on Daniel Gazdag’s 1-0 corner-kick winner at Orlando City SC; Kessler’s goal-line heroics helped silence Cucho Hernandez and the Columbus Crew in a 0-0 road draw; and Boxall was nearly flawless as Minnesota stayed red-hot.”

Not giving an abundance of detail there but the important thing is that Michael Boxall cracked the MLS Team of the Week. His first starting berth this season, having also been named as a substitute in week six. Bill Tuiloma has two TOW apps in 2022 plus one more as a sub.

And how did Boxy achieve such recognition? Ninety mins in a 2-1 win away to Houston Dynamo is what did the trick. A tough game in the Texas heat but Boxy’s been in some sharp form lately and he continued that with one of his best games all year.

Houston put Minny under a fair amount of pressure but a committed defensive effort from the Loons limited Houston to only a handful of decent chances. Then Bongokuhle Hlongwane played through Franco Frangapane in first half stoppage time and FF rounded the keeper to score. Superb time to take the lead, let’s be honest. The second half saw the threat of the home side ramp up even more as a result but despite 73% of possession and 22 total shots there seemed to be no way through that Minny defence – as evidenced by Boxy alone making FIVE interceptions.

Then Bongi Hlongwana cut back onto his left foot on 72’ and smashed in his first MLS goal to put Minny up twos. They did concede near the end as Fafa Picault drove in from outside the area on 85’. But Boxy and the lads clamped it down for the 2-1 win. That’s 16 points from the last six games for the Loons, get in there.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Minnesota United also played Everton in a friendly match earlier in the week and popped them 4-0. It was only an exhibition game, preseason for the Toffees, but still. Boxall captained Minnesota and played the first half before they subbed off their entire eleven. It was 3-0 at HT. Good fun.

Up Next: It’s a Flying Kiwis Derby as Minnesota hosts Portland on Sunday at 7am (NZT)

Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)

Good win for Portland Timbers this week as well, coming from a goal down at half-time to grind out a 2-1 victory. But Bill Tuiloma was on the bench yet again.

Given his sterling form earlier in the season it’s been a bloody annoyance to see him dip out of the starting team since his red card a few weeks back but he does still remain an important squad member popping up off the bench pretty much every time. This one was no different. Five mins after Dairon Asprilla’s winning goal (71’), Tuiloma was brought on to signal a shift to a back three in order to close things out. Had to survive some frisky moments, including one strike off the inside of the post, but survive they did.

Up Next: As above, it’s a Flying Kiwis Derby as Minnesota hosts Portland on Sunday at 7am (NZT)

Vic Esson – SC Sand (German Bundesliga)

The next stop on Vic Esson’s tour of world domination: Scotland. Signing with defending SWPL champions Rangers as the convergence of kiwis upon the Scottish leagues – and in particular the Scottish Women’s Premier League – continues. This following half a season with German club SC Sand on the back of a few strong years in Norway with Avaldsnes.

With Meikayla Moore on board at Glasgow City and Vic Esson at Rangers, if Liv Chance returns to Celtic then the expected three-pronged title race will come with a New Zealander on each of those three teams. Not to mention Katie Rood at Hearts either. Plus Rangers and Glasgow City both qualified for the Champions League on the back of last season meaning there’s that to look forward to as well.

Vic Esson: “I am so excited to be here, it has been a couple of days now and everyone has been really welcoming. The Scottish League is an up and coming league, it is closing the gap on England and there are some fantastic players who play in the league so I think it is a great opportunity for me and I'm really excited.”

RFC head coach Malky Thomson: “We are delighted to welcome Victoria to the club as we continue to strengthen the squad ahead of an exciting season. She is an experienced player who will further drive the competition within our squad which will be important as we look to build on last season’s success.”

As you can see she’s already cracked straight into preseason activities too. The coach’s comments there don’t suggest an easy pathway to the number one jersey and sure enough that looks to be the case with Scottish international Jenna Fife at the club. Fife and Esson played a half each in a 3-0 friendly win over Spartans the day after Esson’s transfer was announced, Fife getting the first half and Esson the second. The next friendly was against Celtic and this time Esson not only started but played the whole match in a 2-1 win. The gaffer said afterwards that she “acquitted herself really well” so that’s a positive.

Up Next: First game of the SWPL Is against Glasgow Girls on Monday 8 August at 1am (NZT)

Alex Greive - St Mirren (Scottish Premiership)

Might be best just to pretend that the Scottish League Cup group stage never happened for St Mirren. They seemed to be back on track with a win in game two having been upset on the first gameday... but then came a shocker against Arbroath midweek. Greive started but his cause was limited on 33 mins when Greg Kiltie was sent off for the Buddies, who immediately subbed off one of their other forwards in order to bolster the midfield back up. Didn’t work. The Buddies continued to stumble through the game down a man until the point where they conceded on 66 mins. Greive was replaced straight after. They then leaked another one at the death to lose 2-0. The second loss to lower-league opposition in three games.

They did at least beat Edinburgh City 3-1 in their final match a few days later. With their hopes of progressing all burnt out, it was very much a backup team that was picked and that didn’t include Alex Greive... although he would be subbed on for the final half hour. By that stage the damage had already been done as an early Mark O’Hara (8’) penalty and then a brace for Jonah Ayunga (35’ & 46’) set the Buddies up nicely. Edinburgh City did pull one back on 53’ but that was it. A dominant performance. Not enough to see them into the next round. Instead the focus is all on the start of the Scottish Premiership season.

Up Next: St Mirren vs Motherwell, Monday at 2am (NZT)

Callum McCowatt & Elijah Just - FC Helsingør (Danish Division 1)

So, remember how FC Helsingør absolutely fell to pieces in the latter stages of last season to spoil their hopes of promotion? Well the new season has started in the worst imaginable way...

A 6-0 defeat at home. Admittedly it was against Vejle Boldklub who were only relegated from the Superliga last season by a wee margin (one point adrift of safety, two points if you account for their poor goal difference). But that’s really not how the redemption quest was supposed to begin for FCH.

Eli Just started, Callum McCowatt was on the bench. The first goal they conceded was at least a screamer of a spinning volley after 15 mins however the second, on 25 mins, was directly from a horrid giveaway at the back that left them in a hole. It was still only 2-0 after 58 mins but then their offside trap slipped up and a third was scored, then their offside trap slipped up for a fourth, and by the 70th minute they were down five. Three goals allowed in 12 mins (the third was a penalty). Then another near the end for good measure, via an unlucky deflection but also following some shellshocked defending where they missed easy opportunities to clear the danger.

The whole thing was a shambles and worryingly reminiscent of some of their worst game collapses during that poor spell last term. Only the first goal that they allowed could be said to be more attacking excellence than defensive error and that is not a tendency you want when you’re aiming for promotion. They actually had the advantage in terms of possession and the shot tallies were pretty even... but Vejle were way more clinical whereas FCH still seemed to be carrying the weight of low confidence. McCowatt was subbed on after an hour, just as Just was subbed off. Hopefully this was merely an anomaly.

Up Next: Away to Hobro on Saturday at 4.30am (NZT)

Deklan Wynne - Detroit City (American USL Championship)

Deklan Wynne doing cool things. Not only did that goal help early a 2-2 draw against New Mexico United – which would’ve been a 2-1 win had they not conceded in the 92nd minute – but as hinted in that tweet he also won the fan vote for the best defender in the USL Championship mid-season awards.

The Detroit News: “Wynne's play, on the other hand, has maybe gone a bit under the radar, despite him being tied for fourth in USL Championship in assists (six). His staunch play at left-back has been critical for DCFC all season, as he ranks in the 86th percentile in goals above replacement, per USL Tactics, and has played a whopping 99% of available minutes. ‘He's only come out in one game, and that was in Miami, and that was not the best decision by me. I should have kept him in,’ [coach Trevor] James said.”

Yes, son. Go on.

Up Next: Sunday at 11.30am away to Tampa Bay Rowdies (NZT)

Marco Rojas – Colo-Colo (Chilean Primera División)

That right there is the coach of Colo-Colo praising how well Rojas had done in his first week of training with the club, saying that he’s “a great player and he will help us a lot”.

And then this one is the club’s technical director speaking on the timeline for Rojas, ruling him out of this past week’s match but saying that the plan is for him to be available for a debut in the match afterwards. Colo-Colo again left it late in an otherwise dominant performance against Huachipato on Sunday NZT as it took an 84th minute goal from Cristian Zavala to seal a 1-0 win. Keeps them three points clear at the top of the ladder though.

Up Next: Away to Universidad de Chile on Monday at 7am in what’ll hopefully be Marco Rojas’ debut appearance (NZT)

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