Daisy Cleverley - HB Køge (Danish Kvindeliga)

Another week, another kiwi champion in Denmark. Daisy Cleverley joined HB Køge almost exactly a year ago, that transfer announced right around the time that they were wrapping up a second consecutive league title. Now they’ve done it for a third time and that means a Kvindeliga winner’s medal for DC. Not a bad way to polish off your first season as a professional, aye?

It was a final week draw against Brøndby that sealed the deal… although the championship was merely a formality, since even if HBK had lost to second-placed Brøndby they still would’ve lifted the trophy on goal difference as long as the margin of defeat didn’t reach double figures. They did actually concede just before the break to hit the sheds down a goal (courtesy of a simple goalkeeping error dropping a corner kick). But only down a goal. Nothing to worry about.

Daisy Cleverley started the game and played the first half before being replaced by Beate Marcussen (half games for the midfielders have been a relatively common theme at the club, with DC having been subbed on or off at HT on five occasions). Kelly Fitzgerald went on to equalise after 66 minutes, also from a corner kick. The game ended 1-1. Celebrations ensued.

Funky thing is that Marko Stamenic just won the Danish Superliga title with FC København which means that both the men’s and women’s top flights in Denmark were won by teams with a kiwi midfielder in their ranks.

Coincidentally, Brøndby was the same team that Cleverley made her debut against at the start of the season. All combined, Cleverley played in 13 games, starting seven of them, though never got ninety minutes in any. An injury or two didn’t help, particularly when she missed out on HBK’s Champions League qualifiers. Good news there is they’ll get another go next season and hopefully this time they get a more favourable draw than having to play Juventus in the final playoff round. Contract deets around women’s footy are notoriously obscure so fingers crossed she’s still with the club next term. We’ll find out in due course. Before that there’s a trophy to be embraced and then a Football Ferns World Cup squad to try and make.

Up Next: Ferns camp, probs

Dalton Wilkins - Kolding IF (Danish Division 2)

Move on up. When Dalton Wilkins left FC Helsingør a couple years ago, it was to chase more consistent game time after coming back from a long-term injury. In order to do that he dropped a division to Kolding and it’s paid off nicely as he’s gotten exactly that for a progressive team. That progress wasn’t reflected in last season’s results as they finished their term in the relegation rounds… albeit easily avoiding any danger there. But this time it’s been different. Third place after the initial phase and since then they’ve kept grinding out big results against their promotion/title rivals.

Kolding took on AB away from home this weekend having already climbed to the top of the table. With two teams getting promoted and the two clubs directly beneath them playing against each other they had a golden opportunity if they could bag another three points. And, mate, they wasted no time at all in getting on the right track. 32 minutes into this match, KIF were already up 3-0. Wilkins sparked the first of those goals with the throw-in to Paul Ngongo.

This was the second week in a row that KIF had been up 3-0 after barely half an hour. They did the same thing against Aarhus Fremad last week with Thomas Mikkelsen scoring all three. On that occasion, Dalton Wilkins went close to making it 4-0 when he tried to chip the keeper from distance (something he has some prior experience with) but his effort narrowly missed the target. On this occasion he was subbed before the break. He’d been limping a bit but also he’d gotten an early yellow card and with his team 3-0 up they weren’t about to take any risks. The second half without him wasn’t too flash but they got the job done for a 3-1 victory. In the other game that mattered, B 93 beat Esbjerg 2-1 and you already know that that meant: promotion city, baby.

Back in the day, Wilkins joined FC Helsingør alongside Elijah Just. Callum McCowatt, another Ole Academy bro and fellow member of that 2019 Eastern Suburbs championship team, joined them one year later (Nando Pijnaker also passed through on loan but only briefly). Wilkins left last season to drop a division. Elijah Just left at the start of this season, jumping up into the Superliga with AC Horsens. Callum McCowatt stayed put. Now Wilkins has been promoted, Just has been relegated, and the three former teammates could be meeting as opponents next season. That is, if the transfer window doesn’t serve up any fizzy stuff first. You never know.

There is still one last task for Kolding this term. They’re on 66 points and B 93 are on 65 points. One round of games remains. Kolding face Esbjerg, who can still get promoted with a win if B 93 also loses, whereas Kolding needs to match or betters the B 93 result (home to Thisted, the worst team in the champo rounds) in order to claim the 2.Division title to go with their promotion. Which, by the way, would be Wilkins’ second such title because he also won this league with Helsingør in his first full season there.

Up Next: Kolding vs Esbjerg at midnight on Saturday/Sunday (NZT)

Abby Erceg – Racing Louisville (American National Women’s Soccer League)

If Abby Erceg is happy with a draw then so should we be too. Louisville were at home but they were also up against one of the top teams in the league – San Diego Wave, who went first on goal difference thanks to this point. San Diego haven’t been crazy goal scorers this year and they were missing talisman Alex Morgan to injury but it still took a big defensive effort to keep them at bay. Needless to say Erceg was all over that winning three aerial duels, three clearances, and two interceptions in a well-rounded performance.

She also went as close as anyone to winning this game. Hanging forward after a corner kick, Erceg got up to win the header from another cross back into the mix but her shot was too close to the keeper. On target but not placed well enough. Other than that… not too much went on. San Diego skied a few good looks from distance. One or two nice saves in there from RL goalie Katie Lund on the way to a fourth clean sheet of the year. Count it as a 0-0 draw. Lots to like about that from Louisville, although the next step will be turning a few more of these draws into wins. But it’s a process and for now things are tracking nicely.

Abby Erceg: “I though the game went well. Obviously with the result we’re happy. Anytime you can get a point against these top two or three teams, really happy. I though defensively we had a really, really strong game. I though Jules [Lester] and [Katie] Lund in particular had really strong games. Attacking wise I think we were a little bit slow today, we didn’t have the same danger feeling to as that we usually have so that was a little bit disappointing but really, really happy with the defensive side of the game.”

Erceg also completed 85 out of 86 attempted passes which even for a central defender operating with the most space to knock those things around is pretty crazy. That includes 57/57 for passes longer than 15 yards.

Up Next: Challenge Cup on Thursday at midday against Houston Dash, then it’s Gotham at 8am on Monday (NZT)

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

Yeah not so many positive responses after this one. We’re talking Washington Spirit vs Angel City and it was a competitive game but once again ACFC were doomed to defeat. We did get ninety minutes for Ali Riley at right back which has been kinda rare lately, she was on the bench a couple times in May and has been subbed off a few times along the way also. But back to back nineties have re-established the captain’s place in the team, it would seem.

However this Angel City team are struggling, there’s no doubt about it. They came into this game with only one win in their past eight NWSL games (as well as a few winless Challenge Cup games in that span) and they weren’t looking any better when they found themselves 2-0 down in the first half away to Washington. Ashley Hatch on 33’, heading in after Ashley Sanchez’s miss-timed shot had dropped onto the crossbar. Then Sanchez got one of her own on 41’ with a great back-post header leaping over Ali Riley in the process.

ACFC did get a goal back in first half stoppage time via a great hit from Mary Alice Vignola but they couldn’t find a second. Some really good chances in the second half, especially with a frantic late push for a point, although they nearly got burned on the counter several times too. 2-1 was the final score. With one point from their last five, ACFC are only goal difference off last place.

Up Next: San Diego Wave vs Angel City at 8am on Sunday (NZT)

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

It’s that peculiar time in the Flying Kiwis calendar where most of the leagues, especially in Europe, are now in their offseasons. Only a few keep ripping in through the middle of the year – mostly in America and a couple Scandinavian nations. Luckily there are a lot of NZers employed at football clubs in those countries to keep this column burning away throughout the year… however you may have picked up a trend over the last wee while that those ones aren’t going too flash at the moment. Especially the folks in the MLS and NWSL.

Minnesota United are usually hovering around the top of the Western Conference but this year they’ve had real troubles scoring goals and getting wins… and the past weekend may have been a low point. They travelled away to CF Montreal and got munted. Ex-Loons forward Mason Toye scored in the seventh minute running into space down the middle after Boxall had stepped up. Midfield couldn’t handle the pace and the finish was sharp. Five minutes later it was 2-0 as another of their regular fullback lapses saw Minnesota cut apart by a simple (but expertly executed) switch of play.

Boxall made an excellent block against a scissor kick later in the half. Tidy bit of defending. However this wasn’t about to get any better. They did have a chance or two to get back into the game early second half but then Toye scored his second following up on a parried save on 57’ and that was the end of the fightback. Montreal scored again before the game was done to ensure a 4-0 final score.

At least there was this Boxall big shoulder highlight...

In the MLS, with so many teams making the playoffs, it only takes a 3-4 game winning streak to change everything and despite this game there has usually been a strong defensive platform for Minnesota United. Emanuel Reynoso is back now for a creative spark and the Western Conference is pretty cluttered at the moment. Every team except LAFC has lost at least five games. The Loons can easily turn things around… but at the moment they’re in a slump despite the best efforts of Boxy and his shoulders.

Meanwhile Charlotte FC scored an 89th minute equaliser for a 3-3 draw at home against Seattle Sounders. Their third equaliser of the match. Only thing was that Bill Tuiloma was dropped for this one. To be honest, that was probably overdue. He’s not settled into their style of play as smoothly as anticipated (which admittedly goes both ways – and the lack of emphasis on Tui’s attacking set piece weaponry is definitely a failure on CFC’s part) and their results have been better when he’s been absent. They actually played this game with a back three so that means two CBs just jumped ahead of him in the queue.

Up Next: International break, then away to Real Salt Lake on Sunday 25 June at 1.30pm (NZT)

Marco Rojas – Colo-Colo (Chilean Primera División)

Oh what might have been. Marco Rojas sent on for the last 25 minutes of the Copa Libertadores game away to Boca Juniors of Argentina. Colo-Colo were down 1-0 and in need of a goal to boost their hopes of making the knockout stages. They’d kept it close enough during the first half despite some dodgy moments at the back (along with some excellent goalkeeping and one outrageous goalline clearance by a defender) but ten mins into the second spell they were beaten by a wicked strike from Marcelo Weigandt.

But a little desperation can be a useful ally sometimes and Colo-Colo had their chances in the latter stages. That through ball from Rojas was the best of them, to no avail. The game ended 1-0 to Boca which doesn’t eliminate Colo-Colo yet since they can still go through with a win in the final round of fixtures as long as Boca also win their match. However Marco Rojas won’t be around for that.

That’s because his early release from the club is going to be granted. Reports had already suggested that’d be the case so everyone kinda knew that this was going to be his final appearance for Colo-Colo beforehand with the international window being a convenient milestone on which to wind up that contract. Although he will have to return to Chile after the All Whites tour in order to sign the documents. Bureaucracy, aye? Cool that he got to experience another Copa Libertadoes game before his departure, particularly one away against one of the biggest clubs in Argentina with a huge crowd in attendance. Unreal scenes.

Rojas leaves with a goal and five assists in 17 league games (624 minutes)… which is actually a really good record but changes to the team’s formation had limited his role this season and he wasn’t really settling in off the pitch either. Still, the goal he did score was a beaut that clinched the league title for Colo-Colo and he also recently became the first New Zealander to ever play in the Copa Libertadores.

Up Next: Gotta think the A-League surely beckons, right?

Michael Woud – Kyoto Sanga (Japanese J-League)

It’s been a long time coming but we finally got another Michael Woud sighting. Don’t get too excited though. It was an Emperor’s Cup second round fixture against Kataller Toyama of the J3-League, a good opportunity to mix things up for a midweek game and that they did. This competition, the secondary cup comp, was the one in which Woud played five times last year adding up to the bulk of his matches in 2022. Kyoto Sanga made a deep run which obviously helped. But they shan’t be doing so this time.

So far Woud has sat on the bench in one J-League game and one Japanese Cup game. 23 fixtures in total and he’d only made the bench in two of them, not playing in either. Three others keepers have played ahead of him. Thus this match against a team two divisions below was the first time he’d played at all since last October. Unfortunately they were losing after only six minutes as they gave away a penalty on the break and Woud dove the wrong way. A flicked header from a free kick tied things up on 32’ which is how it remained into the half. Then things really got tricky.

Woud did well to close down an attacker after Kataller Toyama had beaten the high line, turning the 1v1 into a corner kick – although he copped a knock in the process. That corner was diverted onto the crossbar for another close shave but then a foul in the aftermath meant a second penalty kick for the underdogs. No sweat there because this time, mate, Michael Woud saved it…

Sweet, love that. Top work. Problem was they conceded anyway on 57’ as a chip in behind the defence was lifted over Woud on the volley for 2-1. Then MW was subbed off. He’d just saved a penalty so it wasn’t like he got hooked, seemed to be an injury that he was battling through. Maybe from that earlier collision or maybe something else. But bottom line is he only lasted 62 minutes before having to be replaced by Gakuji Ota (who is the usual backup keeper).

Some kinda luck, that. First game for more than seven months and he goes off hurt. And there won’t be another Emperor’s Cup game either because although they did score in injury time to force extras, Kyoto Sanga ended up losing 10-9 on penalties. Had Woud been there, coulda been a different story. Ota saved 1/11 in the shootout. Woud saved 1/2 in normal time. Guts.

Kyoto Sanga did bounce back with a 3-1 win over Albirex Niigata but Woud was nowhere to be seen and neither was Michael Fitzgerald for Niigata, who has missed the last two games presumably also injured. He did score the week before though...

Up Next: A Michael Woud transfer would be nice tbh

Erin Nayler – IFK Norrköping (Swedish Damallsvenskan)

Erin Nayler joined Norrköping back in December, linking up with the newly-promoted Swedish top flight club ahead of the 2023 season. We’re nearly halfway through that year now and Nayler is yet to play for them. It was always going to be a battle for the gloves alongside local prospect Sofia Hern… but that’s not been the issue here. The issue is an injury.

Nayler was on the bench for the first two games of the season. Both were wins as IFKN had a blinder of a start to life in the Damallsvenskan but then came an injury and more than two months later she’s yet to return. It’s a tricky one because almost all the Swedish sources are paywalled but Nayler definitely had an MRI about a month ago and her coach did talk recently about the possibility of signing another goalie which suggests they’re expecting her to miss more time. One headline/excerpt even claimed that Nayler will be out until August.

19yo keeper Tyra Berggården was recalled from loan soon after Nayler got hurt and has sat on the bench nine times since… as IFK’s form has plummeted (not that you can blame a backup goalie for that). After 10 points from the first four games they’ve lost eight in a row since. Yet more to the point is that if Nayler’s going to be missing for as long as it sounds then that’s probably her World Cup gone too. We’re talking about the third-choice keeper here so arguably the least consequential spots in the squad… but still. That’s a veteran player with the experience of multiple World Cups taken out of the group (Vic Esson was a backup at the last WC, Anna Leat has never been to one)… although it would cap an incredible rise for Brianna Edwards as the next in line.

There’s still time for Erin Nayler to get back though. None of this is conclusive.

Up Next: That remains to be seen

Ally Green - AGF (Danish Kvindeliga)

Daisy Cleverley’s team came top of the Kvindeliga championship rounds, Ally Green’s team have finished top of the relegation rounds. A 2-2 draw against second-placed Aalborg didn’t really matter because they already had a five point gap opened up as of the 2-1 win over B 93 last week. Although AaB’s 80th minute equaliser did mean they also avoided relegation so good for them, s’pose.

Green played 64 minutes in this game. She also played 56 in the previous game, 90 the week before, 59 prior to that… point being that she’s been getting a run of starts for the club having joined them mid-season and now the Kvindeliga beckons once more. They’ve even had Ally Green helping sell the new kit…

Ria Percival took it even further with her modelling work for Spurs but we’ll come to that soon. Before that, know that AGF took 25 points from a possible 30 during the relegation rounds. They weren’t all that flash before that but once their top division status was on the line (and against weaker teams, let’s be fair) they turned up the heat. Greeny added a few assists amongst it all. Now the task is to try and break into the Football Ferns World Cup squad.

Up Next: Full steam ahead for the World Cup

Myer Bevan - Cavalry FC (Canadian Premier League)

Two quick goals from Myer Bevan, helping his Cavalry team rally from an early concession to win 3-1 against Vancouver FC. Never did find the third for his hat-trick although he did get a yellow card in the second half. All goods, a win is a win and this was only Cavalry’s second in nine games. They needed that. Bevan was awarded Man of the Match for his exploits and also made the CPL team of the week. With 5 goals to his name already Bevan is currently tied for the golden boot in Canada.

Up Next: Wanderers vs Cavalry, Sunday at 6am (NZT)

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

The game away to Shelbourne began with some great news leading into the international break, with Nando Pijnaker fit to return to the starting line-up for Sligo Rovers. Albeit he must’ve returned with some rustiness after missing the previous couple matches as it was his poor touch that allowed the hosts to take the lead inside four minutes. Nando nearly made quick amends with a powerful header from a corner that went just over the top. No dramas, because half an hour later Niall Morahan scored a belter to tie things up and in the end both teams were fine with sharing the points. 1-1 draw. Max Mata and Nando Pijnaker each with full games – Mata had a couple nice moments where things just didn’t break for him. Now for some All Whites fixtures.

Up Next: After the international window they’re away to UCD at 6.45am on Saturday (NZT)

Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)

Ah yes, Spurs have launched their new home kit for next season and there along men’s team players Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, and Richarlison were women’s teamers Ashleigh Neville and Ria Percival. Yep, Ria Percival representing alongside some of the biggest names in the sport (by rights she ought be one too tbf) – even after a season in which injury meant she only played a handful of times off the bench. Then again, they gave her a contract extension while she was out. Can’t say they don’t appreciate what they’ve got there.

Ria Percival is under contract with Spurs going into next season. The same is true of Rebekah Stott (Brighton) and Anna Leat (Aston Villa). CJ Bott’s status at Leicester City was less clear however they announced last week that they’d be releasing 12 players at the end of their current deals and Bott was not one of them so that’s good news. She’s a regular starter and a favourite of the coach so it was always likely that she’d be back. This news tells us that either she’s already contracted or she’s about to sign a new deal. Therefore all four kiwis in the WSL will be returning… now we wait and see if any others join them over the next few months.

Up Next: TBD

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