James McGarry - Aberdeen (Scottish Premiership)

As far as club debuts go, this was a good one. James McGarry has only been with Aberdeen for two weeks and it wasn’t immediately clear how soon they’d unleash him into the action. He wasn’t in the squad for a 2-1 League Cup second round win over Stirling Albion last week... but he did make the bench for the Europa League playoff against Häcken of Sweden. First leg, away from home. Winner advances to the Europa League group stage while the loser drops into the Europa Conference League group stage. It’s been 15 years since Aberdeen last made the Europa group stage.

That was the situation, that was the aim... yet as the game progressed things weren’t looking great for the Dons. The Swedish side caught them on the break after 35 minutes with Amor Layouni finishing off the move. Häcken were proving the better team, owning much more possession and getting plenty more shots away, and midway through the second half that spilled over into a second goal after a VAR-awarded penalty for handball. Ibrahim Sadiq did the honours (69’). Thus it was at 2-0 down away from home that James McGarry was summoned. Not only James McGarry but also fellow new signing debutant Jamie McGrath was brought on at the same time in a double switch. McGrath played in the midfield. McGarry went to left wing-back.

Skip forward to the final whistle and Aberdeen were celebrating a famous comeback, having gotten out of there with a 2-2 draw. What’s more is that one of Häcken’s defenders was sent off for a second yellow near the end and will therefore miss the second leg. Bojan Miovski (75’) and Nicky Devlin (79’) got the quickfire goals and in fact it could have been even better had McGrath’s late strike not been disallowed.

McGarry wasn’t directly involved in either goal but he did impress after he came on by giving plenty of energy to the cause with his workrate up the wing and also holding his own on the physicality front. No surprises there. His first major involvement was a crunching shoulder-to-shoulder tackle down by his own corner flag that dropped his opponent to the turf. There was also a very tasty cross whipped in later on in search of a possible winner. Decent way for him to say g’day.

A few days later McGarry followed this up with his league debut for the club, subbed on for most of the second half’s action in another thrilling late 2-2 draw. But for the Flying Kiwis sake we’ve gotta give that game to a different headliner...

Up Next: Second Leg against Häcken is on Friday at 6.45am (NZT)

Alex Greive - St Mirren (Scottish Premiership)

There’s no stopping him these days, is there? Alex Greive is already halfway towards match last season’s tally of four league goals and he’s doing this as an impact substitute. Two goals in just 63 minutes of action this SPL term. Keep this up and there’ll be plenty more minutes coming his way.

It helps that St Mirren might actually be really good this season. They’ve certainly started that way, having won their first two Premiership matches, including the 3-2 opening week win against Hibernian in which Greive scored the 89th minute winner. They’ve also pushed on through into the third round of the league cup thanks to a 1-0 win over Motherwell last week but Greive was an unused sub for that game.

Against Aberdeen they were excellent for most of the afternoon, although a misjudged long curling free kick from Jonny Hayes did give the Dons the 1-0 half-time lead as St Mirren’s goalie watched it bounce and swerve inside his far post. However Greg Kiltie’s 59th minute penalty followed by Alex Greive’s sweet finish on 76’ had them deservedly in the lead in the latter stages. This despite Aberdeen going to their trump card nice and early: James McGarry subbed on in place of Hayes after only 52 minutes (Greive joined the match on 70’). A rare kiwi derby in the Scottish Premiership – if that’s every happened before than it didn’t happen often (Chris Killen, Rory Fallon, Steven Old, and Michael McGlinchey did overlap to various degrees so they surely met each other at some stage).

The Saints were all over them prior to that weird goal conceded and they were all over them, with some reward this time, afterwards too. But they didn’t shut the gate behind them. Deep into injury time, James McGarry tried to line up a shot on the edge of the area. It didn’t open up for him so he slipped a square pass to a teammate whose own shot ploughed into the arm of a sliding defender. VAR. Penalty. Converted by Bojan Miovski in the tenth minute added-on. 2-2 was the final score. Thus St Mirren have to settle for sitting second on the table trailing Celtic on goal difference. It’s not the worst place, to be fair.

Up Next: Livingston vs St Mirren, Sunday at 2am (NZT)

Indiah-Paige Riley - PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)

Well, we’d been waiting to see what enticing Football Ferns transfers might happen off the back of the World Cup. Paige Satchell to London City Lionesses was a goodie but this one is even better as Indi Riley makes her return to Europe, following two and a half seasons with Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark by joining PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch top division.

PSV’s men’s team was of course the former home of Ryan Thomas, let’s hope that Indi Riley has better luck there than he did what with all his injuries. She’ll be the first kiwi to play for the women’s team there however Betsy Hassett did spend the 2016-17 season with Ajax in the same division where she won a league and cup double. NZ U20s international Emma Pijnenburg is currently with Feyenoord’s academy team.

IPR has signed a two-year contract with PSV. Their press release states that she had several options, as well a 21yo creative winger with World Cup experience should, and that she was convinced to join PSV thanks to their style of play, their faith in younger players, and their general positive trajectory. PSV finished fourth last season so Riley won’t be back in the Champions League just yet. Interesting to see that she’s joined them mere days after last year’s top scorer Esmee Brugts left for Barcelona. Brugts was Netherlands’ main left back at the World Cup though was a creative forward for PSV (call it Rachel Daly Syndrome).

PSV Vrouwen Manager Sandra Doreleijers: “[Riley] is a very skilled player with experience at the highest level. In the conversations with her, we were confirmed to be a match. We are confident that she can succeed here.”

Indi Riley: “[I know that] they’re young and eager to get going and we want to put PSV on the top of the table. That’s what we aspire to do and I’m happy to be a part of that. After talking with Sandra [Doreleijers, the manager] and Roeland [ten Berge, head of women’s football] I really liked their philosophy and the way they wanted to play. They play some exciting football and I want to be a part of that. There were some other clubs from Sweden and America but PSV was the best offer.”

Up Next: Still in preseason mode for another fortnight so there’s time to get settled

Claudia Bunge & Daisy Cleverley - HB Køge (Danish Kvindeliga)

And another one. It had been expected that Claudia Bunge would look for a move over to Europe after the World Cup. She’d had links to a couple of top flight English clubs a year ago but chose to give Melbourne Victory another swing, no doubt partly because they were the two-time defending champs and also partly to ensure her playing time ahead of that World Cup. The assumption was that it’d be her last season with them.

However the Victory threw in a sneaky one recently when they revealed that Bunge was actually still under contract for the upcoming season. That never ended the transfer speculation but it did complicated it. If any of the established kiwis in the ALW are ready for that next step upwards then it’s CB and as it turns out the Victory were merely being cheeky buggers because about a week after that contract update they announced that she was leaving and the very next morning she’d been unveiled at HB Køge – already in the jersey and everything. That didn’t all suddenly happen overnight, did it?

So it wasn’t the English WSL that Bunge left for but instead the Danish Kvindeliga, specifically to join the three-time defending champions HB Køge where she’s going to meet a few familiar faces. Most obviously it’s her Ferns teammate Daisy Cleverley who has been with HBK since last year. But also former ALW foe Deborah-Anne De la Harpe (previously of Perth & Sydney), an Aussie-born Irish international who signed with the club in July.

HBK head coach Kim Daugaard: “Claudia brings reliability, quality, and some valuable experience to the club. She is safe on the ball and meticulous in her defensive work and her addition gives us even more options in the backline. We are very pleased that we have been able to agree this signing.”

Claudia Bunge: “I am immensely happy and excited about my switch to HB Køge. After talking to the coaching staff and Daisy Cleverley, whom I know very well and have just been to the World Cup with, I was quickly convinced that HB Køge was the right move for me. I will do everything I can to help my teammates and the club – and hopefully together we can build on the success that the team has already achieved.”

No word on how long the contract is for but they did say they’re hoping to have her ready in time to debut next week for their second game of the new season. She’s already missed the first one but that’s all good because Daisy C had her covered...

Yep, opening game of the new season and there was Daisy Cleverley starting in the midfield for the Danish champs. Cleverley was in and out of the starting line-up last term and then missed most of preseason due to the World Cup but she was good for a 62-minute shift against FC Thy-Thisted Q as a slightly rusty HBK were able to grind out a 1-0 victory to claim the three points.

Cleverley could have had an assist in the first half with a smooth cross from the left edge of the penalty area which landed right on Beate Marcussen’s head but the attempt didn’t have the power to beat the keeper. That was one of several decent sights at goal where HBK just lacked that cutting-edge finish. But the pressure kept up and eventually that led to a scrappy one from Samantha Chang (on club debut) early in the second half. Would’ve been nice to add a second at some stage since Thisted’s best chance of the match came in stoppage time and could’ve meant dropped points... but they got there in the end.

Of course, it’s extra useful to see Cleverley getting a start from the get-go in light of the Champions League qualifiers that are coming up next week. DC missed out on these ones last season due to injury so there’s a bit of unfinished business there. HBK did make the group stages two years ago but missed out in qualifying last time. Now they have both Daisy Cleverley and Claudia Bunge to take them through so nothing to worry about there, surely.

Also happy to report that Ally Green started AGF’s first game of the campaign too... but she was one of two players subbed off at HT against Kolding, already trailing 3-0. It ended up as a 4-0 defeat. Moving on.

Up Next: Nordsjælland vs HBK at 2.30am on Sunday (NZT)

Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)

Yeah bro. Not only was this Callum McCowatt’s second goal for Silkeborg already, not only was this another start for him in a big game, but his boys went and sprung a big upset victory against defending champs FC København to go with last week’s win against the other major title challenger FC Nordsjælland.

That FCN win didn’t serve up any class McCowatt stuff. He did get the start but he was subbed off at half-time with the scores still level. Fair play because that worked out as they started the second half with a bang, scored from the penalty spot, then bagged another against the run of play to hang on and win. But this week was different. McCowatt retained his spot in the starting lineup (as a left winger/left sided number ten) and delivered probably his best effort yet in a Silkeborg jersey.

The initial indicators suggested nothing of what was to follow. FCK got going like a house on fire, scoring inside of four minutes and generally controlling the game. However one thing that SIF did fantastically was they took care of the ball, actually keeping more possession than their direct-running opponents did in the first half (although that balanced out to 45% overall), and McCowatt’s steadiness higher up the park certainly contributed to that. He completed 83% of his passes for the afternoon and also worked hard to win the ball (two tackles and two interceptions). Silkeborg were therefore able to slow things down without conceding a second and then Pelle Matsson snuck home an equaliser just before half-time.

The game continued to unfold mostly in the Silkeborg half but a stumble by a Copenhagen defender on 57’ allowed Alexander Lind to rush through and put SIF into the lead. Then quarter of an hour later McCowatt was able to guide home that header from what might’ve been an intended shot from Anders Klynge (72’). McCowatt now has two for the term – only Lind has more for the team. He finished last season with 8 goals in 10 games for club and country. He has 2 in 272 minutes already since jumping up a division with Silkeborg.

McCowatt was subbed after 78 minutes which makes this his longest outing yet in the Superliga. SIF did get fortunate at times, with FCK denied a possible penalty along the way. It’s also true to say that they scored with all three of their big chances – then again they created three big chances against the defending champs so that in itself put them into the chase. After six games Silkeborg now sit fourth with 10 points. Nordsjælland and København are tied first on 15 points and Silkeborg have beaten them both in the past fortnight – the only blemish to either team’s record having each won 5/5 aside from their SIF defeats.

Up Next: Sunday/Monday at midnight at home to Hvidovre (NZT)

Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)

Woodsy at Old Trafford, nothing new here. He’s even scored at this ground before, twice in fact, including once in a 2-0 win for Burnley away to Manchester United. The only two Premier League clubs that he’s played more than twice against without ever scoring are Chelsea and Liverpool.

Chris Wood got nine minutes plus stoppage time against United, part of a double change alongside Anthony Elanga (a former MUFC player) as Nottingham Forest chased a pathway back into a match which they’d led 2-0 after a mere four minutes. Early goals for Taiwo Awoniyi and Willy Boly. However Man Utd pretty much owned them from that point onwards with a Bruno Fernandes penalty eventually putting the home side into the lead roughly five minutes before Wood made his introduction.

Wood had a funky moment pressing a pass out from the keeper and winning possession. There was a mint knockdown for a Willy Boly shot which drew a very good save. He almost got onto an Elanga cross, getting inside position on his marker but unfortunately the keeper came out and covered it. A few sneaky instances buried in there. But yeah nah it ended up as a 3-2 loss. He should get a bigger role in the midweek when Nottm Forest host his former club Burnley in the EFL Cup.

Up Next: You know it, Nottingham Forest vs Burnley on Thursday at 6.45am in the EFL Cup, then it’s away to Chelsea in the EPL at 2am on Sunday (NZT)

Meikayla Moore – Glasgow City (Scottish Premier League)

It was Rangers against Glasgow City. The first of the Big Three meetings this season. Vic Esson was again stuck on the bench for Rangers, she missed all of preseason (under a new manager) due to World Cup duty and hasn’t been able to get a look-in past her mate Jenna Fife in the four proper matches since. That’s been frustrating. However Meikayla Moore’s situation has been the opposite. She was rested for the 4-1 win against Motherwell in the midweek but started the previous couple of games (all clean sheet victories) and was back in the eleven for the Rangers game.

As you’d expect it was a tight contest between two very strong teams. GC threatened first from an inswinging free kick that was palmed away by Fife. RFC’s first chance was a cross to the back stick that fizzed through everyone and Moore was just able to lean back enough to guide it out for a corner kick. No own goals today, footy gods! No goals for anyone in the first half... mostly just long shots.

The second half was different. Rangers struck after 48 minutes, Mia McAulay dashing through on the break with a little too much pace to catch. That was from the other side of the defence to where Moore was stationed and Mouse did her best sprinting across in cover but McAulay made no mistake. However Glasgow City hit back within five minutes thanks to Brenna Lovera poaching on the end of a sharp run from Lauren Davidson. With that flurry of scoring behind us, the game went back to what it was before on the way to a 1-1 draw.

There was one other sliced clearance from Moore that flew across her six yard box. With Kirsty Howat lurking she had to attack the cross and it ended up being a good bit of defending in an all’s well that ends well kinda way. Ninety minutes for Meikayla Moore in GC’s most important game of the season so far suggests she’s now a first eleven player. Meanwhile Vic Esson will be getting itchy on that bench as Rangers are yet to keep a clean sheet after four matches. Both teams are on 10 points. Celtic are on 12 points having not had to play either of the others yet.

Speaking of Celtic...

That’s a bombshell. Liv Chance is a free agent just as the WSL clubs are getting into preseason? Or perhaps the A-League clubs instead, dunno what she’s planning but if she’s saying ka kite to Celtic several weeks into the new season then surely there’s already something else lined up. Watch this space for next week.

As to the other kiwi in the SWPL, Katie Rood’s got a video series in the works tracking her recovery from the busted ACL she suffered playing for Hearts last season. Definitely get amongst that...

Up Next: 5am on Sunday it’s Glasgow City vs Hearts (NZT)

Elijah Just - AC Horsens (Danish Division 1)

Horsens won again and Elijah Just had another influential game. What do ya know? Relegation definitely wasn’t in anyone’s plans but it’s fair to say that without the pressure of playing for their top division place ACH have been more gentle with their younger/project players and it’s paying off nicely for them.

Just isn’t the only one. There were two 19 year olds in this starting eleven (forward Angelo Nehme and midfielder Marinus Larsen) plus a 20 year old defender (Alagie Saine). They’ve been alternating wins and losses lately so it’s not like it’s been a flawless success but the main thing is that Just is now starting regularly and doing good things. Long may it continue.

Up Next: Home against B93 at 5am on Saturday (NZT)

Max Mata - Shrewsbury Town (English League One)

Look closely and you’ll spot a debut for Max Mata, who got the last half hour of a 1-0 win away to Fleetwood Town. Daniel Udoh had given the Shrews the lead just before the half as he dashed in behind the defensive line. Then Ryan Bowman was about to do the same two minutes later only this time the Fleetwood goalie took him out and copped a red card. Shrewsbury never did find a second goal, though Fleetwood did find a second red card. Fella got marched for stomping on a dude in stoppage time. No particular highlights for Mata but it was cool to see him out there at the first available opportunity (he’s in the #27 jersey).

Elsewhere Max Crocombe made another belter save or two as Burton Albion drew 1-1 with Bolton Wanderers, however Tyler Bindon missed Reading’s latest with an injury and they lost 2-1 to Exeter. Apparently he’s just that crucial to them already.

Up Next: Shrewsbury are away to Carlisle at 2am on Sunday (NZT)

Tommy Smith – Milton Keynes Dons (English League Two)

Another week, another win, and MK Dons are top of the League Two table after five games. Four wins and a loss. Smithy has started each and every one of them, including this 2-1 win over Doncaster Rovers. MKD scored twice in the first half with a Daniel Harvie pouncing on a deflection that fell his way on 16’ and then Warren O'Hora hurling home a header on 33’. Could’ve been more in a strong 45 mins of footy but Jonathan Leko had one shot fizz narrowly wide and another well saved.

Things changed in the second half as a desperate Doncaster side pulled one back on 56’ via half-time substitute Lee Molyneux. From there it was Rovers who ran the show, having a goal disallowed for offside as well as a shot off the post and a number of opportunities from corner kicks. Smith was subbed for the last fifteen, already on a yellow card. No change in formation simply refreshing the back three by removing that possible jeopardy. And it seemed to do the trick as MK Dons survived for the 2-1 victory.

Long, long, long way to go yet... but it must be lovely for Smithy to be hanging around at the top of the ladder rather then near the bottom where he tended to linger with his Colchester team these past few years.

Alas, the other two blokes in League Two happened to be playing each other this weekend... but both had to watch from the sidelines. Nik Tzanev’s AFC Wimbledon drew 1-1 with Jamie Searle’s Forest Green Rovers. Both are backup goalies as things stand – which is a promotion for Searle but a demotion for Tzanev.

There hasn’t been any fresh transfer buzz about Tzanev lately. You never know what might happen out of the blue in the last couple days of the window (which closes Friday 11pm in England, so late Saturday morning NZT) but in the meantime he should hopefully get a go in their EFL Cup game midweek... against Chelsea. Tzans played a League Cup tie against Arsenal a couple years ago now he can add another London powerhouse to the list.

Up Next: MK Dons also play Chelsea on Wednesday morn but it’s their U21s in an EFL Trophy group stage fixture, 6am NZT, then it’s away to Crewe Alexandra on Sunday at 2pm in league action (NZT)

Grace Neville & Paige Satchell - London City Lionesses (England Championship)

Perfectly adequate start to the new season, drawing 0-0 away to Sunderland. Can’t complain. Grace Neville with ninety mins in that clean sheet. No Paige Satchell in the squad though, bit too early for her yet. Olivia Page also didn’t feature for Sheffield United in a 1-1 draw with Charlton.

Up Next: Midnight on Sunday/Monday against Watford (NZT)

Marko Stamenic - FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbian SuperLiga)

Massive shocker in Serbia... Red Star lost. This was the first time that Marko Stamenic has experienced anything other than a victory at the club, including preseason. They went down 3-2 against Voždovac and if you don’t realise what a big deal that is know that last season Crvena zvezda won the Serbian SuperLiga by going undefeated throughout the entire campaign – winning 30 of their 37 games and drawing the rest. Goal difference of +77. They were 22 points clear of the nearest challenger. The last time that Red Star lost a league game was 22 months ago and they’d been on a remarkable 65-game unbeaten streak.

But no longer. They’re just gonna have to start counting up from zero again as they were unable to haul back fellow Belgrade club Voždovac after falling into a 3-0 hole. Zvezda conceded in only the fifth minute when Milos Degenek lost possession and a back-tracking Marko Stamenic wasn’t able to prevent the shot from Borisav Burmaz, who blasted it into the roof of the net. Stamenic lined up a long shot of his own ten mins later, seeking to fix that situation, but it flew just wide of the post. There were plenty more Red Star chances where that came from but everyone kept trying to blast the leather off the ball rather than worrying about placement so the keeper wasn’t really getting tested.

They missed a golden one from just in front of the penalty spot late in the first half. That should’ve been 1-1. Instead Voždovac scored a brilliant second goal from a direct move that began with the resulting goal kick. Pumped it long then Mihajlo Neskovic did the rest. Red Star basically set up siege warfare in the second half but before they could get a goal back, they conceded a third as defender Aleksandar Dragovic misplayed a long ball to allow Danilo Teodorovic to run through and score. Huge trouble for Crvena zvezda.

Should add here that Stamenic was huge for them. Lots of touches in the midfield trying to keep things moving, he completed 61/63 passes before being subbed off with five to play in order to get another attacker out there. By then it was 3-1 because Milan Rodic had guided home a header from a corner kick (amidst copious flare smoke). In the 89th minute they were temporarily denied a second by a goal-line handball. Red card and a penalty. Guelor Kanga buried the spot kick to make it 3-2... but ten minutes of stoppage time didn’t provide them with a third. 3-2 to Voždovac. Somehow you get the idea that Red Star will bounce back from this with a vengeance though.

Up Next: Home vs Novi Pazar on Sunday at 6am (NZT)

Liberato Cacace – Empoli (Italian Serie A)

There was also a disappointing defeat for Libby Cacace and Empoli... however, unlike Stamenic’s Red Star team, this one wasn’t out of character. Empoli were dropped 2-0 by Monza to make it two defeats from two plus they were also bounced from the Coppa Italia by a lower division club. This is not how Cacace Season was supposed to go.

The first goal was an absolute peach from Andrea Colpani right at the end of the first half but it didn’t exactly happen out of the blue. Monza had gone close several times already with that Empoli defence scrambling. The Blues did pick things up after the break with a decent attacking spell but then on 53’ old mate Colpani powered a header past the new Empoli keeper, who so far is failing to live up to the legacy of Guglielmo Vicario, and Monza were up by two. Cacace was replaced soon after that. Only got 54 minutes. It didn’t get better without him. Monza won 2-0.

Up Next: Empoli vs Juventus at 6.45am on Monday (NZT)

Michael Woud – Ventforet Kofu (Japanese J-League 2)

Believe it or not, that right there was the first league appearance that Michael Woud has made since he moved to Japan. It was January 2022 when he transferred from Willem II to Kyoto Sanga and in the subsequent 20 months it’s been eight cup appearances and nothing else. But good things come to those who wait and now that he’s popped up on loan at Ventforet Kofu he’s in line to get some Asian Champions League footy.

Hopefully, at least. Kofu qualified for that one by winning the Emperor’s Cup as a second division team but their usual starter Kohei Kawata is out injured. This got covered last week. You know the story. We don’t know quite how long Kawata will be out for but it’s good news for Woud that he was straight into the starting lineup for a 3-2 loss against Remofa Yamaguchi. Wasn’t a great performance. He leaked one inside five minutes, a bit too deep at his near post, and the second goal occurred after he came out for a high ball and didn’t claim it. Then he let in a 90th minute winner. Not much he coulda done about it but still. Fingers crossed he gets a run of games to get his rhythm back.

Oh and, by the way, they did the draw for the ACL and Ventforet Kofu are in the same group as Melbourne City. That oughta be fun. Not quite as much fun as if they’d gotten Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr but close enough. The other two clubs in the group are Zhejiang (China) and Buriram United (Thailand).

Up Next: Sunday at 10pm away to Vegalta Sendai (NZT)

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

Ali Riley is such a champion. She’s also not yet out of the playoff hunt in the NWSL, not after Angel City sprung a bit of an upset in beating OL Reign 2-1. Angel City took the lead on 13’ as Scarlett Camberos drew the keeper out of position and somehow squeezed a pass across goal that evaded the entire defence before Clarisse Le Bihan thumped it home. That lead held through plenty of pressure back the other way from the likes of Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe yet it was Madison Hammond who scored next, converting on the end of a free kick cross to make it 2-0. They’d survived one penalty shout earlier but wouldn’t again as Rapinoe closed the gap from the spot on 73’. That happened straight after Riley was subbed off, just sayin’. Luckily the Angels held on for a win which brings them within three points of the playoff spots.

There was also steady progress to that cause from Racing Louisville who had plenty of defending to do in a 0-0 draw away to Gotham FC. Only had one shot on target all game and just 40% possession but Abby Erceg had another strong game, as per usual, to ensure they travelled back home with very useful point. Erceg was captain for that game with usual skipper Jaelin Howell missing. RL are on the same points tally as ACFC but with slightly better goal difference. Five games remain for everyone.

Plus there was a 1-1 draw for Minnesota United in the MLS. Nothing fancy but Michael Boxall’s lads took a point off the Seattle Sounders as they continue their own push for postseason footy. They’re currently one point out of the play-in spots and two shy of the playoffs with a game in hand on most teams around them. Charlotte FC are a little further back in the other conference although a 2-1 win over LAFC certainly helped matters... no Bill Tuiloma in the squad for that one.

Up Next: KC Current vs Angel City at midday on Saturday (NZT)

Myer Bevan - Cavalry FC (Canadian Premier League)

Dodgy penalty but okay, it wasn’t Myer Bevan who dived. He’s just the one who stepped up with ice in his veins to slot yet another goal from 12 yards as Cavalry won 1-0 against Pacific. This was his third game back since a three-game suspension for a red card, a suspension that threatened to cost him that Golden Boot but now he’s back within one of the leaders with seven more games still to play. Bevan is on nine goals, Ollie Bassett and Terran Campbell are on 10. For now the most important thing is that Cavalry are four points clear in first having just beaten the second-placed team.

Up Next: Away to Atletico Ottawa at 11am on Sunday (NZT)

Joe Bell – Brøndby IF (Danish Superliga)

Up Next: Watch this space

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