Marco Rojas – Colo-Colo (Chilean Primera División)

Had to wait awhile for this moment but it’s finally arrived: Marco Rojas has made his debut for Chilean powerhouse club Colo-Colo. Or Marco Rojas Walen to be more accurate. He’s going with the double last name on his #10 jersey now that he’s in the fatherland – his full name is Marco Rodrigo Rojas Walen and it’s probably fair to say that ‘Rojas’ alone wasn’t gonna be specific enough whilst playing in Chile. There’s another dude in his own team called Jeyson Rojas and the club he debuted against, Palestino, had a guy out there called Benjamín Rojas Ferrera. Just to clear that up.

Rojas’ move to Colo-Colo was confirmed an entire month ago. Since then he’s been trying to whip himself up to the required match fitness. Remember he joined in his A-League off-season when the Chilean league was more than halfway through. Plus also he missed that All Whites vs Costa Rica game with illness and those suckers can linger, particularly if it was covid.

In his first week at the club, coach Gustavo Quinteros said that Rojas was merely getting up to scratch (“We are going to leave it for the following week so that he can feel stronger”). One week led into two weeks and then Quinteros clarified that Rojas was still building himself up (“Marco is still preparing. He is not 100% yet”). But the week after that he scored in a training game against Barnechea and next thing the coach was finally ready to give him that promotion.

Rojas was included in the squad to face Palestino in the Primera División. His 10 jersey amongst the subs. And with the game still all tied with half an hour remaining, on he went in place of Alexander Oroz as the right winger in their 4-2-3-1 formation.

It wasn’t exactly shaping up as an ideal debut for him. Colo-Colo were looking like dropping two points in their title race – although they’ve got a big lead at the moment – and Rojas himself was showing some rustiness. Not only that but the style of play is quite different to what he’s been used to in Australia. Very physical, very quick, very direct. Not always a short passing option for him and he got caught on the ball a couple times. Did have one shot attempt but it was blocked. Also he made a nice lay-off for a teammate to shoot on target, but mostly the ball wasn’t coming his way when it should have thanks to the frantic chase for a winner.

Luckily Marco Rojas’ excellence doesn’t come from his ability to dribble around opponents, as he got stuck doing a couple times in this game. With him it’s all about his movement off the ball. A couple minutes into stoppage time he made that clear for all to see with a perfectly timed run to get in behind the defence. Colo-Colo had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half so you know the VAR wasn’t messing about. Here’s the proof that he was onside...

The move almost opened up for him to shoot but a poor first touch put an end to that. But Rojas didn’t hesitate. Quick turn and a gentle nudge back to fellow sub Marco Bolados and that fella placed it smoothly into the bottom corner. There’s your winning goal. Marco Rojas with the assist. Turns out it was a dream debut after all.

A 1-0 win here makes it six wins on the trot for Colo-Colo who are now nine points clear in the title hunt (although Ñublense can cut that to six points with their game in hand). Late drama has been a feature of that streak as this was the second of those six games to have an injury time winner and another was won in the 84th min.

Gustavo Quinteros: “Marco Rojas is a very interesting player, very skillful. It was difficult for him to get his fitness up at first and he still has a long way to go, today he did exactly what we asked him to do. He was decisive for the goal.”

Rojas wasn’t necessarily expected to play in this match. The talk was of him debuting in the Chilean Cup game a few days later so had they not been chasing a goal then he might have gone uncalled upon. But they were and the rest is history.

Up Next: Chilean Cup round of 16 vs Ñublense... first leg on Thursday at 10am and second leg on Monday at 9.30am (NZT)

Joe Bell – Brøndby IF (Danish Superliga)

A difficult prospect awaited Joe Bell and his Brøndby team in the second leg of their Europa Conference League third round qualifier. They were away in Switzerland against FC Basel, foreign territory in a closely balanced tie, nursing a delicate 1-0 aggregate lead after the home leg. And after a 15 minute delay to kickoff to get the fans all in following train delays the task was made clear as FCB immediately applied the pressure. Forced a save within two minutes. Hit the post after ten minutes. Couple of hopeful penalty shouts. Brøndby were gonna have their work cut out if they were gonna survive and advance.

Both teams had yellows within twenty mins. Very feisty contest. BIF were hanging in there despite it all, getting through the first spell unscathed before a cooling break midway through the first half (triggered slightly early due to a stoppage after an FCB dude got hit in the nuts). But in the 38th minute the walls were broken. Shove in the box, penalty given. Rough call but the dude did have his arm extended. Fabian Frei buried it on 40’ to tie the tie up on aggregate.

Hold on, wait a minute, the first half wasn’t done yet...

Quick response from Brøndby and Joe Bell was right in amongst it with the assist, feeding the ball forward for Mathias Kvistgaarden who did the rest with poise and precision. A lovely goal which hadn’t really looked like it was coming at all and the Danish team were back in front. Except that the first half still wasn’t done and in the fifth added on minute FC Basel scored again. Recycled ball after a corner kick and a pinpoint glancing header from Andi Zeqiri nestled into the bottom corner. No away goals rule so we were back on even pegging at 2-2 agg.

Brøndby started the second stanza much more ambitiously yet it was still Basel creating the best stuff. Couple big defensive moments kept things even. An FCB fella got booked for dragging back Joe Bell by the jersey. The game seemed to waver as both sides had spells of ascendancy yet tiredness seemed to take over by the end of it. The last thing these teams needed was an extra half hour but that’s what they got as it went to extra time. Basel forced a couple saves from the impressive Mads Hermansen while their bloke Andy Diouf rattled the crossbar with a great strike... and that was as close as either team came so we headed off to penalties. Albeit not before Joe Bell got himself a very fatigued yellow card at the death.

FC Basel went first in front of their home fans... and scored. Josep Radošević was first for Brøndby and he hit the bar. FCB scored their second. Yousef Salech then blasted off target for BIF and was so devastated that he bit the collar of his jersey and tore all the way through it with his teeth. No kidding...

Hermansen did save the next one (straight down the middle) before Mathias Greve scored to get BIF on the board. But Basel converted their next before Peter Bjur’s penalty was saved and that was that. A poor showing in the shootout from Brøndby after an exhausting 120 minutes spent doing a whole lot of defending (final shot totals read FCB 30 with 11 on target compared to BIF 9 with 3 on target). A 2-1 loss on the day. A 2-2 draw on aggregate. A 3-1 loss on penalties. The European quests ends there.

But their Superliga campaign is only just beginning. A couple early losses has got them playing catch up, however they were able to put the disappointment of that penalty shootout loss behind them in a hurry with a 2-0 win over Odense. Joe Bell with another full game as he appears to be establishing himself as a key player... and he was involved with a sharp run into the area, cutting the ball back for Christian Cappis to shoot in the 12th minute. That shot hit a defender’s hand. Josip Radošević made no mistake from the penalty spot (despite having missed in the shootout – big man mentality right there).

Then Oscar Schwartau banged in a beaut on the turn in the 32nd minute and Brøndby were able to see things out from there by controlling possession and keeping things sturdy at the back (Schwartau becoming the club’s youngest ever goalscorer at 16y89d). They did hit the post later in the first half, coulda been three. All goods, nobody’s gonna kick up a fuss about a 2-0 result that gets them back to winning ways. OB’s best threats all came in the last ten minutes. Bell didn’t do a whole lot on attack but he was influential in all that possession, completing his passes at a shade under 90% and almost getting to triple figures in terms of total touches. A few highlights over here.

Up Next: Away to AaB on Monday at 4am (NZT)

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

At least Sligo Rovers knew that they were probably going out of Europe regardless after a 5-1 defeat to Viking of Norway in the away leg. Nothing to lose back at home. But they did have an injury toll to cope with and the worst of them was captain Gary Buckley. Since that first leg it’d been confirmed that he’d torn an ACL and his season is thus over. Horrid news for him... at least this means that Nando Pijnaker is likely to start most games from here on out. Including this second leg vs Viking. Max Mata was also elevated into the starters with top scorer Aidan Keena out with a niggle.

It’s a long way back from 5-1 but Rovers did have a few enticing attacks early on. Max Mata got himself a yellow card 12 minutes into the match to show how his team were up for it. Meanwhile Viking were more or less content to drag things out with their lead in tact. Max Mata had a header on 18’ that went straight at the goalie. A couple other clever touches that didn’t lead to anything. Curious footy.

Sligo Rovers were running the show (with Viking’s permission) but weren’t looking like a breakthrough. An early goal might’ve put the cat amongst the pigeons only it never happened. Yet just before the end of the first half the home side did get some reward. Big deflection off a cross from Will Fitzgerald floated into the net and the crowd loved it. Kind of a fluke to be honest. No dramas.

The second half occupied all the same areas. Sligo Rovers with the ball being unable to break down the VFK defence... until one particular instance. A penalty in the 73rd minute won by Frank Liivak and taken by Frank Liivak and also missed by Frank Liivak. Had that gone in then we’d have been talking about a 5-3 aggregate score with quarter of an hour to play and one more quick goal could have caused chaos. Instead things eased towards their conclusion. Max Mata was subbed off with ten to go. Nando Pijnaker remained out there for the duration as he helped his team earn a European clean sheet. 5-2 aggregate defeat but the 1-0 win on the day certainly restored some pride after the first leg. Can’t complain.

Could probably find a few complaints about the LOI game against St Patrick’s Athletic a few days later though. A couple of changes made to the team but Pijanker and Mata both started. They had a bright enough start but fell behind after half an hour in messy circumstances as a defender took the ball away from his own keeper. Nando Pijnaker rushed across to try and halt things but Serge Atakayi was composed enough to change his angle and slide the ball into an empty net.

Mark Doyle got himself sent off for a reckless challenge to reduce St Pat’s to ten men in the 64th minute only Sligo couldn’t take advantage. No equaliser. 1-0 loss. Ninety mins for both kiwi lads. With 11 games remaining, Rovers have gotta catch up ten points on Derry City to get to third for European qualification... though they do play Derry City twice in that time which certainly helps.

Up Next: Away to Finn Harps on Saturday at 7am (NZT)

Andre De Jong – Royal AM (South African Premier Soccer League)

Mate, all that sitting on the bench (or in the stands) for AmaZulu over the last three years, it seems Andre De Jong banked up plenty of karma points for his patience. Because now he’s cashing them all in at once. This dude just had one of the best weeks of his entire career.

Chippa United were up first in the midweek and it was ADJ’s first half goals which set this one up for victory – making Royal AM the only team to win their first two matches this season. De Jong had tried his luck with a free kick from the left side of the penalty area but he curled it over the top. Half an hour in he had another chance and this time he crushed it. Overlapping on the right side, he took one touch to settle and then stroked a shot past the keeper and inside the far post.

Finally after three years of trying he had his first PSL goal. The second was then a little quicker in arriving. 41st minute and a long range free kick shot by a teammate was deflected off the wall and ADJ intercepted it perfectly to guide a header in for 2-0. That’s the way.

Their opponents were better in the second half and eventually did get some reward for that as Chippa halved the deficit with 15 mins remaining... but it only took a minute for Royal to restore it. Poor back pass under pressure and Ruzaigh Gamildien did the business. No major chances for the hatty as far as De Jong is concerned but this was a headline grabbing performance from him at his new club. 3-1 win, final score.

Royal AM lost their perfect record as they were bumped off 3-1 by Stellenbosch in the next fixture. However ADJ was at it again with a second half consolation goal. Ricardo Nascimento had scored an OG earlier in a match that Royals had trailed in since the second minute and he was seeking amends when he lined up an effort from distance in the 83rd minute. That shot bounced off ADJ with a generous enough deflection that not only did the ball beat the keeper for a goal but that goal was credited to Andre De Jong. Get that into ya. Three goals in the space of four days after none in three years.

Yeah you know it. Although let’s keep in mind that those 34 appearances for AmaZulu only totalled around 1500 minutes. He’s already played more complete games for Royals than he did in those three years with his last club and it’s not a coincidence that after being given a bigger role with more responsibility he’s now all of a sudden delivering the G’s. We’ll see if he can repeat the dose with another double gameweek on the cards.

Up Next: Thursday at 5.30am against Orlando Pirates, then Monday at 1am against Gallants (NZT)

Jacqui Hand - (Finnish Kansallinen Liiga)

Not even two minutes on the clock and Jacqui Hand was at it again. Popping up in the right place to finish off the low cross from Olivia Ulenius for her fifth goal of the season – she’s got three goals and an assist in her last four games.

That goal gave Åland United the early lead against Ilves. About twenty minutes later they won a penalty which Monica Hagström dispatched to make it 2-0. Then Sanni Ojanen headed in from a corner kick after 26 mins. Two quick goals to go with the early goal and Åland were in cruise control. Margarida Sousa’s header made it 4-0 five minutes into the second half and that was the way it finished. AU could’ve scored more if they needed to but nah.

With two games remaining, Åland United are now guaranteed at least fourth place... and they might even go further. PK-35 Vantaa have kinda fallen off a cliff lately losing three games in a row including a 7-0 defeat this weekend away to champions-in-waiting KuPS. They’re only three points clear of Åland right now... and guess who they play next week in the penultimate round?

Up Next: PK-35 Vantaa vs Åland United, Saturday at 11pm (NZT)

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

Not to be outdone by Jacqui Hand’s exploits in Finland, Logan Rogerson continued his own supreme form by getting on the scoresheet in just the seventh minute of FC Haka’s game against Oulu. And what a brilliant goal it was. The speed in getting onto that ball in the first place. The composure to slow it up as a second defender came across to close down his initial lane. Then the power and precision with that unstoppable blast into the roof of the net. Get. In.

Typical of his recent performances, Rogerson was involved in plenty for FCH. That pace down the right wing almost helped him set up another one in the 24th min but the keeper got to the low cross first. But this was a funky sort of game and instead Rasmus Karjalainen tied things up on 27’ as his shot through traffic caught the Haka goalie unsighted as it fizzed down the middle of the goal.

Immediately afterwards Rogerson played in Lee Erwin but his effort went just wide. Ten mins later Rog got in behind and pulled one back for Erwin who miss-hit his first time attempt. And there was another one before the half was done but this time Rogerson’s cross was spoiled by a sliding block. Dude was absolutely everywhere. The form is immaculate.

Haka deservedly retook the lead on 58’ as Jude Arthur poked the ball over the line from close range after the Oulu keeper had spilled a corner. Then Rogerson got at it again with a gorgeous bit of skill to slide between two defenders only Erwin couldn’t get a touch on his ball across the face of goal. But again they were dragged back when Samuel Anini lifted the ball over the FCH goalie who’d come rushing off his line way too keenly.

A game they should win was suddenly in big doubt. Not sure why it took until the 85th minute for Ollie Whyte to be subbed on. It’s a good thing it happened though because it was him dropping into a pocket to collect the ball and then pushing it forward that led to Stavros Zarokostas bundling in an 88th minute winner. Got there in the end. 3-2 to FC Haka. Mint way to rebound after the loss last week.

Logan Rogerson: “Collectively we’ve played well as a team and have been able to score a lot of goals. Personally, the time with the national team gave me a lot more confidence. I got to train and play with top players there. In addition, Teme [coach Teemu Tainio] has believed in me and given me responsibility, and that brings self-confidence.”

Up Next: FC Haka vs HJK on Tuesday at 1am (NZT)

Chris Wood - Newcastle United (English Premier League)

Another very late cameo for The Woodsman. 87 minutes gone when he made his introduction in Newcastle’s 0-0 draw away against Brighton. He’d been given plenty of instructions on the sideline and the Magpies instantly hurled a long throw down the line for him to flick on. There were a couple of those as well as a nice bit of strength to secure the ball as Newcastle tried to transition from defence to attack. Realistically there’s really not much that Wood can accomplish playing such late cameos as these... but it’s good to see him playing some part in both matches so far.

Newcastle didn’t have a single 0-0 draw in all of last season but that’s what they got here. Two very well-drilled teams on a sizzling afternoon meant for some quality football but didn’t leave much room for the funky stuff. Callum Wilson had an early chance denied because of a high boot. Nick Pope made a couple very nice saves to keep Brighton out. Newcastle also needed goal-line clearances on multiple occasions. Dan Burn had a strong header up the other end that went over the top. Not one of those games that always felt destined for a goalless draw but it was one where neither team will argue with that outcome.

Up Next: The pesky prospect of Manchester City, at home on Monday at 3.30am (NZT)

Vic Esson - Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League)

Wasn’t expecting that after Esson had been on the bench for the season opener. Seemed that perhaps Jenna Fife had retained the starter’s gloves at Rangers... but in came Vic Esson for game number two so perhaps we’re gonna get a tag team thing going on. Dual ones. It could also be a matter of resting Fife for the Champions League qualifier coming up later in the week so there’s that too.

Whatever the plan is, Esson made her Rangers debut away to Aberdeen... and it’s not entirely clear if she even had a save to make. Aberdeen did fire one wide of her post at one stage mid-first half but Rangers were already a goal up by then. There was also a deflected long-ranger that Esson gathered up soon after which might count.

It took 24 mins before Lizzie Arnot opened the scoring for Rangers but once she did they never stopped. It was 4-0 by half-time. It was 8-0 at full-time. Arnot scored four goals including a couple penalties while Rachel McLauchlan, Katherine Hill, Kirsty Howatt, and Dina Orschmann got the others.

An 8-0 win means that Rangers have won two out of two whilst scoring 22 goals and conceding none. The fixtures will get a lot tougher from here but that’s one hell of a gauntlet laid down already. Shout out to Vic Esson on the cruisey clean sheet. The next task is to make it through the first Champions League qualifying round. The’ve got Ferencvaros (Hungary) in their first match and if they win they’ll take on the victor of group hosts PAOK (Greece) and Swansea City (Wales) for a place in the second qualifying round.

Up Next: UCL qualifier on Friday at 6am against Ferencvaros (NZT)

Meikayla Moore – Glasgow City (Scottish Premier League)

How about the drama? Glasgow City weren’t at their best away to Motherwell, having trouble creating chances at first and then later having trouble finishing chances. Defensively they were solid but a nil-all draw would’ve been two dropped points very early in what’s likely to be a hotly contested three-way title race. No way at all for the defending champs to begin. But no need to worry because a last-gasp corner kick was headed in by Jenna Clark for a 97th minute winner. Meikayla Moore with her first full game for her new club. Two wins outta two for City. That’s the way.

Same as Rangers, Glasgow are also embarking on a bit of the ol’ Champions League qualifiers. They’re hosting their tournament which begins by facing Roma (Italy). Then it’s either Paris FC (France) or Servette (Switzerland) to follow in the next match. Win both and they’ll be one two-legged tie away from the UCL group stage.

Up Next: Hosting Roma in UCL quals on Friday at 6.35am (NZT)

Olivia Chance - Celtic FC (Scottish Premier League)

Liv Chance logs that first appearance of the new term. Came on for the last third of the match away to Partick Thistle with a 2-0 lead already in tact. Lucy Ashworth-Clifford with the first after 23 mins then Chloe Craig adding a second from the penalty spot on 54’. That was all the scoring in a much more closely contested game than what the Ghirls had last week.

Chance missed all of preseason due to international break and the standard required couple weeks of holiday. She was an unused sub for game one and here got 25 mins off the bench helping make sure they got through for the win. Nearly set up Liv Fergusson but LF’s shot was saved. Later she ran through herself but the offside flag went up. No worries. Two wins from two. That’ll do.

Also in the other game of note... there wasn’t much of note as Katie Rood played 57 minutes for Hearts in their game away to Spartans. It was goalless when she was subbed. Hearts took the lead about ten mins later but then conceded twice to lose 2-1. Ah well.

Up Next: No UCL for this lot so they’ll face Spartans at home on Monday at 1am (NZT)

Liberato Cacace – Empoli (Italian Serie A)

Big yarns over here on Libby Cacace’s status with Empoli heading into this new season. Have a read of that if you haven’t already and you’ll understand why he was on the bench as the Azzuri played Spezia in their first Serie A fixture... and remained on the bench the whole way through. Empoli conceded late in the first half and spent the rest of the match trying in vain to find a goal of their own before losing 1-0.

Meaning that’s a Coppa Italia defeat and a Serie A defeat to begin the campaign and Libby Cacace didn’t feature in either of them. Fabiano Parisi so far with all 210 minutes of action. Feels like the new manager, Paolo Zanetti, isn’t as keen on rotation as the last one was but then again if they keep losing then that could change in a hurry. It’s a long season. Libby will get his turn sooner rather than later and then it’s all a matter of making the most of it.

Up Next: Home to Fiorentina on Monday at 4.30am (NZT)

Matthew Garbett – Torino (Italian Serie A)

No New Zealander had ever played Serie A football before Libby Cacace ended that drought and the wait should be a whole lot shorter for the next fella. Matt Garbett twice popped up on the bench for Torino late last season. Since then he’s aged out of the Primavera (U19) team and joined the seniors for preseason. Got a couple of subs appearances there in friendlies. All good progress.

He wasn’t in the squad for the 3-0 Coppa Italia win over Palermo last week as coach Ivan Juric was restricted to an eight-man bench (and still picked two goalies). However the Serie A rules are a bit looser. They let you have heaps of potential substitutes in that competition so as Torino travelled to face Monza they were able to bring out a couple extra seats for depth players. Matt Garbett was one of them. Didn’t ever feel like he was close to playing but his #36 was on the teamsheet and he was there in case of emergency. Edging ever closer to a first team debut.

Torino won the game 2-1. Aleksei Miranchuk scored just before the half and then Antonio Sanabria doubled that lead on 66 mins. Torino played it pretty safe from there, playing for the clean sheet, though a blitz down their right edge led to Dany Mota tapping in a consolation for Monza at 90+4’. Solid enough win first up against freshly promoted opposition.

Up Next: Sunday at 4.30am against Lazio (NZT)

Daisy Cleverley - HB Køge (Danish Kvindeligaen)

It was a club debut off the bench in week one, now it’s a first professional start for Daisy Cleverley in week two. Into the eleven as HB Køge did what needed doing away to Thisted. They took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to Mie Leht Karshoj from a corner kick. Cecilie Fløe Nielsen then scored a blinder of a strike on 38’ to stretch it out. Then a couple quick second half goals killed off the contest altogether. Mollie Belisle placing her shot well from inside the area on 57’ before Karshoj got her second three minutes later, also from a corner kick. 4-0 the final score. Cleverley subbed off after 78 mins.

Gotta rate that from HBK as they notch a second win. With two rounds gone there are only two teams to have won both matches so far: Daisy Cleverley’s HBK and Indi Riley’s Fortuna Hjørring. As it happens they’re playing each other next... but not for two weeks because FH still have to do their UCL qualifiers whereas HBK enter in the second round. FH had a 5-0 win over AGF this weekend with Riley playing the full ninety yet again, earning a yellow card. The scoring was all done in the first 47 minutes. They’re not sharing highlights like HBK are so can’t say if there were any assists amidst.

Fortuna Hjørring are hosting their UCL qualifying tournament this weekend. 5am kickoff NZT against Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) in the semi and, should they win, either Ajax (Netherlands) or Kristianstads (Sweden) in the final for a place in the second qualifying round. Tough mahi there... but maybe home advantage will tip the scales their way.

Up Next: That Fortuna game is at 4am on Sunday 28 August (NZT)

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

There are no boring games when the Courage play, that’s for sure. Not this season. That hasn’t often been a good thing though and it wasn’t again as they hosted Kansas City Currents this week. Katie Bowen’s old team... but Katie Bowen was an unused sub as per usual (boo).

Coming off the back of two 3-3 draws and a 2-2 draw before that, it appeared that we were in for more of the same as the Courage took the lead on three separate occasions only to concede soon afterwards each time. Diana Ordonez scored a scrappy one on 17’ then they conceded an even scrappier one in the 20th min. Debinha put them back up on 36’, finishing off a mean counter attack, but on 45’ it was 2-2 again when Erceg blocked the first danger only for the ball to fall to an unmarked Lo’eau LaBonta. A quality header from Erceg’s CB partner Kaleigh Kurtz on 56’ again had NCC winning... but that only lasted four minutes.

Then with a little over ten minutes remaining Claire Lavogez scored an outrageous long ranger, smacked right into the top corner no chance of denying it, to doom the Courage to a 4-3 loss.

Back when it was Erceg and Abby Dahlkemper, this team was winning championships with the best defence in the competition. Since Dahlkemper left (first to Manchester City, then to San Diego Wave via Houston Dash) it’s not been the same. This year they’ve conceded 26 goals in 12 games and it’s getting worse as they search for answers. 20 of those goals have been during the last seven matches. They’re scoring enough to win and they’re having to settle for draws when they get to settle at all. Still last on the table. Meanwhile Katie Bowen has played one minutes of NWSL action all season. Hmmm.

Up Next: Sunday at 11am against Chicago Red Stars (NZT)

Ali Riley - Angel City FC (American National Women’s Soccer League)

Happier days for Angel City. A Savannah McCaskill goal in the 48th minute was enough to get them past the Chicago Red Stars for a 1-0 win, keeping them right in the mix for the top six. Two points back of Chicago in seventh as it stands but with a game in hand – this win was massive for them.

And while McCaskill scored the goal, the bulk of the praise probably needs to be reserved for their defence, in particular goalkeeper DiDi Haračić who was once again immense for them between the stick. Especially late on with a few crucial saves as Chicago mounted their best attacks with the final whistle looming. Fourth clean sheet of the season. Ali Riley was loving it.

Now here’s another thing...

Up Next: Kansas City vs Angel City, midday on Saturday (NZT)

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

Michael Boxall returned to the line-up after serving his suspension. His Minnesota United team travelled to Nashville SC and beat them 2-1. Took the lead through Franco Frangapane on 27’ and then Alan Benitez won it in the 75th min after Nashville had equalised on the hour. Goalie had a blinder. This was one of the good days.

(Unlike Bill Tuiloma whose Portland Timbers lost 3-1 to the in-form Toronto FC in a game they were absolutely dominated in... although did briefly look like they might steal a point from after a 73rd min equaliser before Toronto scored a couple more – Tuiloma with a full game plus he also did the team’s podcast this week).

Up Next: Minnesota vs Austin FC, midday on Sunday (NZT)

Max Crocombe - Grimsby Town (English League Two)

It’s Crocombe’s turn to lead the League Two crew this week after a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory away to Rochdale. It looked like he’d been beaten after only three minutes but the ball struck teammate Devante Rodney’s back on the line and bounced to safety – not sure he even knew much about it.

Crocombe also made a good stop from a volley while his defence continued to earn timely blocks and deflections. Somehow Grimsby survived all that and then hit the crossbar themselves late first half. It was a more even game from that point onwards. Then Luke Waterfall scored a stoppage time winner and Grimsby got all the points. Sweet as.

Elsewhere Nik Tzanev’s Wimbledon drew 2-2 with Doncaster Rovers. All the goals came in the last fifteen minutes, the Dons going 2-0 up thanks to a double from Nathan Young-Coombes (76’ & 84’) only to concede on 86’ and 90+4’ to have to share the points instead. Tzanev did make a couple banger saves earlier though. Also Tommy Smith remains out injured as Colchester fell 1-0 away to Stockport.

Up Next: Grimsby vs Carlisle on Weds at 6.45am (NZT)

Matthew Gould – Altrincham (English National League)

Thaaaat looks painful. The damage was done in a 0-0 draw away to Bromley in the second week of the English National League (fifth tier). Gould started for Altrincham same as he did last week but had to go off after 67 minutes following a collision with an attacker as he came out to punch clear a cross. Never a pretty sight. Helpfully the backup goalie saw things through to ensure the sheet clean. Two draws from two for Altrincham so far. Here’s the highlights.

Up Next: Wednesday at 6.45am away to Maidenhead United (NZT)

Moses Dyer – Valour FC (Canadian Premier League)

Good chat with Moses Dyer, who also did this...

The two goals came in a 2-0 win over Cavalry. Highlights below. He didn’t score in the 2-0 win over York United or the 1-0 loss to Wanderers since but that’s fine other people need a turn as well. Dyer is up to nine goals for the season which is good for third on the golden boot chart (four behind leader Alejandro Diaz Liceaga). Valour are currently fifth on the ladder.

Up Next: Monday at 6.30am, Valour vs FC Edmonton (NZT)

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