Alex Greive - St Mirren (Scottish Premiership)

The opening day of the new season is always a special occasion filled with hope and expectation. Players are fired up after another tough preseason, fans are brimming to be back in the stands again. Many folks will tell you that it’s usually all downhill from that moment of peak optimism just before the first kickoff. But there’s still something glorious about it that brings everyone back year after year. Speaking of glory...

Magnificent. The whole flowing move from goalkeeper to goal... culminating in an excellent header from Alex Greive for the goal that gave St Mirren the three points.

Three points that nobody thought were in any danger when Greive was subbed on after 68 minutes. A couple of early goals had set things up beautifully away to Hibernian. Firstly it was Mark O’Hara from the penalty spot after 15 minutes. Greg Kiltie had been clipped in the area and after play had carried on for Kiltie to end up getting the ball back and firing a shot on target, finally the VAR intervened and the spot kick was given. Two minutes after O’Hara’s goal, new signing Toyosi Olusanya carried on where he’d left off in the League Cup by ‘megging the keeper one-on-one after dashing through the defensive line.

2-0 up inside twenty minutes away from home... can’t complain. They had chances to make it three before the half too. However Hibs were better after the break and the Saints turned shaky. It was still 2-0 when Greive was brought on but that wasn’t the case for long. Adam Le Fondre (who is apparently still playing) finished off a rapid counter attack on 72’ then Christian Doidge snuck in a near post finish on 82’ to equalise. Not to worry. Up popped Alex Greive in the 89th and St Mirren claimed a 3-2 victory.

Thing is, he may not have even played under other circumstances. The Buddies have stocked up their striker shelves over the summer which led to AG only getting 130 minutes combined across their four League Cup group games – not even playing at all in the last of them. That day it was new signing Mikael Mandron who started up front (and scored a brace in a 4-0 win over Forfar) with Olusanya subbing in for him at half-time. Mandron was named to start against Hibs too... but was a late scratch due to an injury sustained in warm-ups. Thus Olusanya joined Conor McMenamin up front (both also new signings) and Greive was the bloke brought on with twenty to go instead of Olusanya as might otherwise have been the case.

That was a blessed thing because Greive also scored away against Hibs late last season. That was the goal that broke a six-month drought for him. Massive to see him already chucking one on the goal stack and the fact it was a late winner only makes it even better. This was his seventh SPL goal overall.

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

Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)

This was quite a week for super subs because one day prior to Alex Greive’s heroics we got this from Callum McCowatt...

Didn’t leave it quite as late which was considerate of him. This was McCowatt’s third match for Silkeborg and he’s made a bigger impact with each subsequent week. It was a small cameo in week one. Then a full half in week two in which close to scoring his first goal. Then in week three he really did score, helping lead his team to a much needed victory following consecutive losses to begin their Superliga efforts.

Despite Silkeborg having mostly controlled things, they found themselves in a spot of bother when German Onugkha gave visitors Vejle BK a 53rd minute lead. So they brought on McCowatt and he made an immediate impact with his energy and movement from an attacking midfield role. This was the third time in less than four months that he’s played against Vejle (a fellow promoted club) and he’s scored in each of those matches.

But that only tied things up which still left Silkeborg staring at another week without a win so it was up to Alexander Lind to poke in a close range finish from a low cross in the second minute of additional time to give SIF the 2-1 victory. McCowatt was also lurking in the area had the cross gone a little deeper. Not to worry. Silkeborg are on the board.

Vejle are now the only team without a point after three weeks while only Nordsjælland and Copenhagen have won three from three – the two title challengers from last term again leading the way. The Danish league was ridiculously close in 2022-23 and it looks like nothing has changed over the offseason. Except for a very clever bit of scouting from Silkeborg to sign Callum McCowatt, of course. CMC finished last season by scoring 8 goals in 10 games for club and country. He already has one for his new club in 80 minutes of mahi.

Up Next: AGF vs Silkeborg at 4am on Monday (NZT)

Zac Jones – Haverfordwest County (Welsh/Cymru Premier)

It was wondrous while it lasted but Haverfordwest County’s European journey has come to an end... with an ironic twist seeing them beaten by a controversial late penalty. This after Zac Jones had saved crucial penalties at every stage of their Conference League progress – proving to be the hero in penalty shootouts in both the semis and the final of the Welsh playoffs and then also in the first round of ECL qualifying itself. Problem was that this one didn’t quite make it to a shootout.

Hwlffordd were 2-1 down after the first leg so they needed to win at home against B36 Tórshavn in the return fixture. No easy feat against the best team from the Faroe Islands as the away game had proved... and it wasn’t long into this one before Zac Jones was having to rush off his line to smother a runner in behind. He soon had a defender to thank for a brilliant goal-line clearance off a corner, that bloke copping it right in the... ahem... midriff, shall we say. Typically committed work from Hwest who did look dangerous whenever they could swing a cross into the area. Granted, they may have gotten lucky with a handball shout later in the half. Still 0-0 at the break. Hwlffordd within range but needing that goal.

Jones made a good save to pluck a direct free kick out of the air. Hard tackles were flying in from both teams and that meant lots of free kicks both ways. One of those free kicks was a Haverfordwest one lobbed long and flicked on... and then converted at close range by Ben Fawcett after 66 minutes. That’s what they were looking for. All tied on aggregate.

With both teams now wary of mistakes the chances dried up and extra time became a necessity. Extra time also didn’t seem to be offering much either. No worries for HC who’d won penalty shootouts to advance at every step of this journey. Except you already know we didn’t get that far.

Because in the first period of extras, a B36 forward controlled a loose ball with his back to goal six yards out then turned and fired on target. His shot hit a defender in the guts. The referee gave it as a penalty for handball. There was no VAR to overrule what was clearly a poor decision (even if it did hit his hands, they were tucked within his silhouette). Jonesy pleaded the case as much as anyone but there was nothing else to it. Jann Benjaminsen struck an unsaveable effort into the top corner as Jones dove the wrong way. B36 were back in front in the 100th minute of this second leg clash. They were able to hang on for another twenty mins to advance 3-2 on aggregate.

It was a pretty scandalous way for the Haverfordwest County European tour to end... but then that’s always a risk for the underdog team. They managed to keep it close but close games sometimes get decided by silly moments like that. Regardless, it was a brilliant run from Jonesy and the lads and now attention turns back to the domestic scene which is just about to begin. In fact, it has already started. Haverfordwest County then met the Cardiff City U21s in a Welsh League Cup match... which they lost 4-0. But Jones didn’t play and nor did most of their regulars. They rested the lads from the ECL qualifiers and instead picked a team with seven debutants, mostly all club academy graduates. Fair enough. Cymru Premier kicks off in a week.

Up Next: Home to Pontypridd Town at 6.45am on Saturday (NZT)

Max Mata - Shrewsbury Town (English League One)

Last week there were rumours, this week there was fact. Max Mata has signed a three-year contract with Shrewsbury Town in the English third division, moving for an undisclosed fee from Sligo Rovers. This after the Shrews manager Matthew Taylor (you may remember him playing for Portsmouth back in the day – he was also a teammate of Winston Reid’s at West Ham for a wee while) flew over to Ireland to watch Sligo Rovers lose to Drogheda United recently. Sure enough within days the deal had been completed.

There was talk that they were also keen on Nando Pijnaker. Mata was unveiled on his own but there’s plenty of room left in the transfer window to figure that out. With Mata, there was more immediate rivalry for his services which may have forced Shrewsbury to speed things up.

STFC head coach Matt Taylor: “Max was a player we've spoken about for the past three weeks and I went over to Ireland to watch him. We'd like to thank the chairman for facilitating that and Max's transfer over from Ireland. I was very impressed with what I saw. He has exceptional footballing intelligence, scores a variation of goals, is hungry to fulfill his potential and we fought off a host of other clubs to get him. I'm excited for the fans to see him in a Shrewsbury Town shirt. He is of course very talented but more importantly, he's the right type of person to fit within the group.”

Shrewsbury Town finished mid-table in League One last term. 12 out of 24 teams. This will be their ninth consecutive season in the division so they’re a very stable club. Never been higher than the second tier of English football but have existed since 1890. Most of their signings this offseason have been defensive which should help Mata ease on into his new club... and match fitness won’t be an issue since the Irish season began in February meaning he’ll be at mid-season levels from week one. It’s going to be a long year of footy for him though. Especially with further All Whites trips likely.

This is the third year in a row that Sligo Rovers’ top scorer has been sold. The Bit’O’Red have particularly made a habit of dealing with League One clubs... in fact the striker that Mata served his apprenticeship under last term, Aidan Keena, now plays for Cheltenham whom the Shrews coincidentally met on opening weekend. Also, Shrewsbury Town are in the same EFL Trophy group as Forest Green Rovers so there could be some Max Mata vs Jamie Searle battles incoming.

Despite getting the signing completed prior to the match, Max Mata wasn’t able to feature in Shrewsbury Town’s season opener though. Still gotta sort out that visa so he missed the 1-0 win over Cheltenham. Ryan Bowman scored the only goal early in the second half. Hopefully he’s ready for the League Cup match midweek.

Up Next: Leeds United vs Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Cup at 6.45am on Thursday; then Stevenage vs Shrewsbury Town in League One at 2am on Sunday (NZT)

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

NWSL: Abby Erceg (LOU) - Earning her second-straight nomination to the Best XI this season, Erceg continued her strong play in Racing Louisville’s defensive half. Appearing in three of four matches this month, Erceg recorded more than 50 tackles, 43 clearances and 22 interceptions.

Oh yeah sure nothing major just Abby Erceg earning the 10th NWSL Team of the Month selection in her career, putting her tied-second on the all-time tallies. It also means consecutive TOM nods having made the June version as well. Those defensive stats above include Challenge Cup games, by the way, suggesting that those were also part of the consideration for this Team of the Month thing. Doesn’t make a difference but just in case you were curious. Here are the NWSL Team of the Month records...

• 11 - Casey Krueger

• 10 - Debinha, Sam Kerr, Becky Sauerbrunn & *Abby Erceg*

• 8 - Jess Fishlock, Crystal Dunn, Megan Rapinoe & Lynn Williams

Erceg had missed last week’s Challenge Cup match with a slight injury – the first minutes she’d missed all season in any competition. She wasn’t about to repeat that not even for a relatively meaningless final group stage game. Thus she was back in the mix for the trip to KC Current... but that game didn’t go to plan.

For starters, Kristen Hamilton scored inside three minutes for KCC. The Current were a bit too hot to handle with their speed in behind, although Racing did get better at preventing them from getting into those spots. They thought for a brief second that they’d tied things up on 22’ as Abby Erceg, naturally, thumped in a header from Carson Pickett’s cross only for the offside flag to immediately and correctly say otherwise. The same thing happened again in first half stoppage time. This time Kirsten Davis was the one denied.

A goal down at the halfway stage with two of your own disallowed isn’t great but it’s at least a competitive place to be. Unfortunately that status quo got blown away when holding midfielder Taylor Aylmer was red carded a few mins into the second spell. A second yellow after tripping an opponent following her own heavy touch. That kinda ruined it for RL. Hamilton went on to score a second for KC with ten to go then Hailie Mace scored in stoppage time. 3-0 to Kansas City, who thus leapfrog Louisville to win the group... although both teams will still go through because RL will be the best second-placed qualifier.

Abby Erceg: “The last few games we've just kind of capitulated a little bit. I've had a couple of injuries and I think that's stopped our flow a little bit but at the end of the day, I just think we're not playing good enough. It's slow. We lack creativity in the forwards. And I think defensively, we just haven't been sharp enough. So, it's really disappointing. I think we're better than that. But also playing with 10 men for 45 minutes is always going to be a tough ask. I think at that point, that was game over.”

Up Next: Racing Louisville vs Angel City at 11.30am on Sunday (NZT)

Marko Stamenic - FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbian SuperLiga)

Gonna have to get used to this. Marko Stamenic’s second game for Red Star went a lot like the first as they whupped Napredak 4-0. One goal fewer than their opening round win but these opponents didn’t get a red card so close enough. Napredak did, however, concede a penalty within two minutes of kickoff. Jean-Philippe Krasso buried that one (5’ by the time they’d checked and confirmed it) and then Osman Bukari (35’) and Srdan Mijailovic (37’) extended that before the half. Krasso scored another on 71’ and there ya go. Red Star only had four shots on target but they buried them all, plus there were plenty more chances where those came from in another dominant performance.

No goals or assists for Stamenic but it’s only a matter of time until he gets into the party. Stam played as the more defensive-minded midfielder again and had things under control. He did concede five fouls and his passing accuracy wasn’t as sharp as last week but he did the job he was there to do. Another composed and combative performance from the kiwi midfielder.

Up Next: Saturday at 5am, Mladost Lucani vs Crvena zvezda (NZT)

Ben Waine – Plymouth Argyle (English Championship)

Love to see it. Ben Waine got on for the last five minutes of Plymouth Argyle’s return to the Championship. He’d served a lot of unused sub duty last season (injuries didn’t help) so there was no guarantee he’d be straight into the matchday squad let alone being one of the substitutes used but he did both and thus becomes the first NZer to feature in this division since Stefan Marinovic’s one-and-done appearance for Bristol City in March 2019. It’s been a long time since Tommy Smith and Chris Wood were ripping this thing up on the weekly.

To be fair, it does help Waineo’s case that they only really have two strikers in the first team at the moment. Ryan Hardie and himself. The manager is on record saying he’d like to sign another centre forward before the window closes. There’s always gonna be competition... but they’re also big fans of Waine at the Pilgrims, their initial scouting excitement having been raised by how he’s settled in.

Plymouth Argyle began their EFL Championship campaign with a lovely 3-1 win over Huddersfield. It was 1-1 with twenty to go and potentially on track for Waine to make it a hat-trick of super sub Flying Kiwis this week... but that wasn’t necessary because Bali Mumba scored a belter on 74’ and then Ryan Hardie added to that two minutes later. Extended highlights over here. Great to get early points on the board as a club that’s expected to have one of the lowest budgets in the division.

Up Next: EFL Cup against Leyton Orient on Weeds at 6.45am; Watford vs Plymouth at 2am on Sunday (NZT)

Tommy Smith – Milton Keynes Dons (English League Two)

The A-Listers turned out to see Tommy Smith debut for MK Dons. Ryan Reynolds was there with his boy Hugh Jackman... and they’d surely have been pleasantly surprised to see Smithy chucked straight into the starting line-up as MKD went with a back three formation against newly promoted Wrexham. Smithy might find himself on Disney+ soon, how about that?

This was a wild and wonderful game of football... and it was MKD who tore into their meal first. Sixth minute of the game, Smith went up to attack a deep attacking free kick. He was visibly held back as he competed for the ball but that didn’t matter because Eoghan McConnell turned the thing into his own net. A few minutes later Mohamed Eisa slipped between a crowd of defenders to score a beauty for 2-0 – and this was after Dons had also hit the post. An incredible opening ten mins of the campaign.

Wrexham did pull one back before half-time yet Jonathan Leko scored a brace in the second stanza, both of them brilliant goals, as MK Dons pushed it out to a 4-1 lead after 64 minutes. Wrexham did have a lot more of the ball with 65% possession and they took plenty more shots. Again they pulled one back late in the half. Then both sides scored in stoppage time, MK Dons to make it 5-2 and then Wrexham to settle it at 5-3. Three more goals than Smithy would’ve preferred to concede but you get the feeling he wasn’t too worried about that after chucking a quick three points on the board.

It had felt like Smith would probably be a backup defender for MKD, at least to start with. Preseason had suggested as much. But the back three formation worked quite nicely (the three Wrexham goals were all banger finishes rather than defensive mistakes) so perhaps we can adjust our expectations there. However there were opposite fates for the three kiwi goalkeepers at work in the EFL as the full trio were unused subs in week one.

Max Crocombe is a new signing for Burton Albion. They’ve given him the number 1 jersey and yet it was Jamal Blackman who played the 2-0 loss away to Blackpool, a former Chelsea academy bloke who also joined on a free transfer about a month ago. Crocombe played every minute of every game for Grimsby Town last season and now he’s already missed that mark for Burton after one match.

That was in League One. Down a division in League Two we had Nik Tzanev somewhat surprisingly on the bench for AFC Wimbledon having been their undoubted number one for the last couple years. They drew 0-0 with Grimsby Town with Sunderland loanee goalie Alex Bass between the sticks instead. Bass had a blinder too which ain’t particularly encouraging for Niko... although remember there had been rumours of a Tzanev departure this transfer window. Links to Blackburn Rovers up in the Championship. Nothing fresh on that account but Blackburn still haven’t signed a goalkeeper this window and as it stands only have two GKs in their first team squad. Could yet happen.

Also Jamie Searle was on the bench for Forest Green Rovers as they lost 2-0 at home to Salford City. Luke Daniels kept goal instead... although that one was much more expected. Searle was third choice at Barnsley so wasn’t likely to be an immediate starter for FGR. Daniels is also a new signing but he’s 35 years old compared to Searle who is 22. They paid a transfer fee for Searle’s services and gave him a multi-year contract. His time will come. Actually, all three of these blokes’ time may come very soon with each of their clubs in League Cup action during the midweek. Might be a chance to give the backup keepers a run. Watch out for Ben Waine on that count too.

Up Next: MK Dons vs Wycombe at 6.45am Weds in the EFL Cup first round (NZT)

Grace Neville - London City Lionesses (England Championship)

Yeah, she’s back. London City Lionesses had a troubled offseason with only four players remaining under contract, no coach in place, and the previous season’s squad having sent an open letter to the club begging them to invest more heartily into the club. But fair play to them because they’ve managed to appease most of those worries. They’re always going to struggle a bit financially given that they’re a standalone women’s club without Premier League money filtering through from a men’s team but they’ve done what they can and have since been able to re-sign a solid chunk of those off-contract players. Including Football Ferns international Grace Neville.

Grace Neville: “I'm very excited to be back at London City. The Club has a lot of unfinished business in the league, we have very high ambitions, and we've got the right people coming through the door in terms of coaching staff. I'm very excited to work with Carolina [Morace] and Nicola [Williams]. Their philosophy and style of coaching is very technical, which is what I think the league lacks. Having been here for five seasons, it feels like coming home.”

Neville had already joined the team for preseason about a week before signing this deal. She’s played 53 times for the club, including scoring their first ever competitive goal. Even at 23yo she’s a bit of a club veteran. The Lionesses were pretty competitive last season finishing in third place and only three points off top so if they can build upon that then challenging for promotion is definitely feasible... however the offseason kerfuffles meant there was no guarantee of that. Thankfully Neville’s return seems to be a positive hint in the other direction.

First Team Assistant Coach Nicola Williams: “Grace is one of those players who really plays for the team. It's really important that she has come back for another season because she really wants to make sure that we push for some of the objectives that she has been aiming for over the last couple of seasons. In addition to helping the team improve, one of our priorities is developing and producing national team players, so it's very positive for us to have Grace back.”

We already have four NZers on the books at WSL clubs. Not everyone’s gonna fly at that top division so it’s important to keep things flowing throughout the levels. Last season Grace Neville and Ashleigh Ward (Southampton) were the NZ representatives. Ward had already been retained while Neville has now signed up for her fifth year at LCL. But wait there’s more.

Up Next: New season begins on August 28 away to Sunderland at midnight (NZT)

Olivia Page – Sheffield United (English Championship)

That’s right, we’ve got a fresh entry to the Flying Kiwis club with 18 year old Olivia Page joining Sheffield United after a successful trial period, having previously played for Eastern Suburbs back in Aotearoa. Usually a wide midfielder or fullback, Page was part of the U17 World Cup squad last year where she featured in all three group games plus she made 11 National League appearances for the championship Eastern Suburbs team (scoring 1 goal with 1 assist). That includes logging ninety in the grand final. She’s tall and powerful, an impressive athlete. All of which should bode well at Sheffield United.

SUFC manager Jonathan Morgan: “Olivia came onto our radar last season. She’s a young player who has played for the New Zealand youth teams and she’s showed a lot of maturity already here. We’re excited to see how she develops. She’s tall, powerful and has a good engine on her and we’re looking forward to seeing how she takes to the English game.”

That means there’s now three NZers in the English Championship for the upcoming season – all likely to be playing fullback, funnily enough. Page won’t be the first kiwi to play for Sheffield United. Heck, she won’t even be the first kiwi named Olivia to play for the Blades. Olivia Chance had a short stint there prior to joining Brisbane Roar a couple years ago.

Up Next: 28 August at 2am, Charlton vs Sheffield United (NZT)

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

Dig that underlapping run, mate. That’s Logan Rogerson serving up his third assist of the season and also the first goal, scored by Elias Mastokangas, in what proved to be a 2-1 victory. Yes, FC Haka won a game. Broke that 14-game winless streak across all competitions – it had been two months since they last experienced victory.

That goal came in the 37th minute away to Ilves and it did reflect a strong performance from Haka. Rogerson had dinked in an earlier cross that had been headed on target. That one was a little too deep to expect anything of Juan Lescano but he absolutely should’ve had an assist for the fizzing cross he sent over to Mastokangas after ten mins... only the bro missed the ball entirely at the back stick. Rog himself was able to swivel on a loose ball to ping a shot on target that was pushed around the post moments later. And those are just the chances that Rogerson was specifically involved in.

So yeah they were worthy of the lead when they got it. Then ten minutes into the second half they doubled it via Maissa El Handji Fall. Ollie Whyte joined the fun for the last twenty minutes. Rogerson played the full thing and delivered a few more scintillating moments running in behind from the right side – unlucky to only end up with one assist, this was his most influential game in ages. There were some dodgy moments after Ilves scored with ten to go to get back in range but Haka held on for the win and there are highlights over here.

In his own game, Nikko Boxall’s Inter Turku side won 4-1 against ten-man KTP. They conceded first inside quarter of an hour but were 3-1 up at half-time and the red card followed soon after the resumption. A nice commanding victory with Boxall an automatic mainstay in defence. That’s two wins in a row for them after losing his club debut. This after he joined them at the end of an eight-game spell with only one win (the eighth game being his first). Inter are now up into the top six whereas Haka have climbed off the bottom of the ladder. Good times all around.

Up Next: Haka vs Mariehamn at 3am on Saturday; Honka vs Inter Turku at 1am on Monday (NZT)

Elijah Just - AC Horsens (Danish Division 1)

Trying to round up the rest of the Denmark lads here, and Elijah Just gets the headline because his club is the only one with decent highlights available. He only got twenty minutes off the bench against HB Køge but he almost scored, a curling effort scraped away by a diving goalkeeper near the end of the match. Thankfully Horsens won 2-0. Anders Jacobsen got a first half double to ensure that. A win after consecutive defeats had begun their campaign. Just what the doctor ordered.

We also got a Joe Bell cameo up in the Superliga, believe it or not. He played the last ten minutes for Brondby in a 3-1 defeat against Nordsjælland. Tough game, tough result. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Bell is off the chopping block but it’s nice to see there’s still something there for him in case a transfer doesn’t eventuate. BIF won their season opener against McCowatt’s Silkeborg but have lost both matches since.

Back down to Division 1, Dalton Wilkins wasn’t able to match his efforts last week for Kolding. Again he stepped up on penalty duties but this time he missed his spot kick. Nevertheless his team still carried a lead late into the match thanks to Sebastian Sorensen on 33’... albeit they eventually slipped up by conceding in the last ten to draw 1-1 away to B93. Wilkins was subbed off after 65’. Bit of a giveaway... though at least KIF remain undefeated after three games. Not bad for a team that’s just been promoted.

Also Esbjerg won their season opener 4-1 down in the third tier but Oscar Obel-Hall wasn’t in the squad.

Up Next: Danish Cup on Thursday against Sønderjyske at 4am (NZT)

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

Cool, calm, collected. Michael Boxall scored in a penalty shootout in a US Open Cup game earlier in the year and now he’s done the same in a Leagues Cup round of 32 match. He was the third man to step up for the Loons with everyone having scored so far... although Emanuel Reynoso did get to attempts at the first take, after the first was saved by the keeper leaving his line too early. Boxy thus made it 3-3... then came five consecutive misses before the other Minnesota centre-back Miguel Tapias scored to send the Loons into the next round.

That was some mint work to take down the Columbus Crew and yet how they got there was even more dramatic. Bongi Hlongwane scored first after 17 mins to have Minnesota in the lead however it was Columbus who controlled most of the match. After the Crew scored on either side of the break, Hlongwane very quickly equalised again. Columbus thought they’d won it with an 83rd minute effort to retake the lead... only for Hassani Dotson to level up even later and send things to spot kicks.

This was Michael Boxall’s return having missed the last group game with suspension after that cheeky kidney punch earned him the first red card of his professional career. That incident was covered in this edition of FKs. Now we can also add a bit more context to why it happened...

Yeah righto that explains it.

Up Next: Toluca vs Minnesota, Weds at midday, Leagues Cup round of sixteen (NZT)

Michael Woud – Kyoto Sanga (Japanese J-League)

You know what’s really rude? When a goalkeeping injury at Kyoto Sanga helps Michael Woud jump up from fourth choice keeper to backup keeper only for the league to take a break for a couple of weeks and Kyoto to sign another goalie on loan. There was a window for Woudy and now that window has been closed. Back to the dull stuff. At least Michael Fitzgerald is back for Albirex Niigata. He was an unused sub in a 1-0 loss to Nagoya but that still means a return to the squad after what was presumably an injury layoff.

Up Next: Nothing much

James McGarry - Aberdeen (Scottish Premiership)

It’s happening. Just gotta wait until his partner gives birth before he travels to Scotland, though apparently they’ve already completed the medical. Massive move for James McGarry. We’ll let it simmer until the news is official though.

Up Next: Watch this space...

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