Flying Kiwis – April 16
CJ Bott - Leicester City (English Super League)
Many Football Ferns were handled with care by their clubs after returning from the international window. Katie Bowen only played off the bench for Inter Milan, for example. That was in a 2-1 defeat to Sassuolo – the first time that Bowen has played as a substitute in Serie A. Ali Riley was an unused sub as Angel City won their first game of the season (1-0 vs Chicago). But not CJ Bott. She had an FA Cup semi-final to play and 180 minutes for the national team plus a couple of long-haul flights weren’t going to keep her out of that one. Leicester City versus Tottenham Hotspur (at Tottenham Stadium) for a place in the final at Wembley. These are the ones they dream about.
In front of a massive crowd of 18,000 pundits, Leicester City had some trouble against the Spurs press at first. They were turning the ball over in midfield and got lucky on a couple of occasions when Tottenham’s counter-attacks came up empty-handed. But then a funny thing happened. One of those turnovers wasn’t as clean as the others and CJ Bott stepped onto the loose ball and drove forward into the attacking half. The Foxes almost lost the ball, instead they were on the hunt. Bott drew the attention of the defensive line then slipped it wide to Jutta Rantala. JR cut inside from the right and smashed home a shot with her left, from just inside the penalty area. 1-0 to Leicester City, against the run of play, after 12 minutes. CJ Bott with the assist.
They very nearly made it 2-0 when Sam Tierney forced a great legs save from close range... though otherwise the game settled down from its frenetic beginnings once that goal went in. It was the settler for LCFC, who were much more assured afterwards. Lots of energy, lots of battling. In other words it was a perfect game for CJ Bott – who also went close to creating another chance near the end of the half when her long ball was misplayed by a defender, only Deanne Rose couldn’t get a shot on target.
So far so good, although Spurs ramped it up with a couple of chances to begin the second stanza. Leicester continued to control a scrappy midfield-orientated game, mostly dealing with the directness of the Spurs attack. Time ticked away as their opponents made substitution after substitution. But then one little mistake, as Josie Green made a shambles of dealing with a ball over the top, allowed Jessica Naz to rush in behind. CJB put the burners on to try and make a challenge but there was too much ground to make up and Naz buried the equaliser in the 82nd minute. Spurs have been scoring late goals throughout this cup run and Leicester City were the latest victims of that trend.
Bott made a crucial block on Charlotte Grant in the penalty area to prevent Spurs repeating the trick on another counter. Kiwi denying Aussie. Martha Thomas then went inches away from scoring only for Liza Kopp to make a spectacular save for LCFC, who were barely hanging on for extra time. But that they did. That meant thirty more minutes for CJ Bott as if she wasn’t fatigued enough already (if she was, you couldn’t tell tbf).
CJB was booked towards the very end of regular time for a mistimed tackle. She was very fortunate at the start of extras to avoid a second yellow when she pulled back Matilda Vinberg and the referee deemed that a free kick would suffice as punishment. Instead the Foxes almost scored from a free kick of their own as Rantala’s effort was tipped onto the crossbar (from a similar range to where she scored from earlier). Bott burst past Grant to whip a threatening delivery into the area later on. Onwards we went... until Martha Thomas rose up to head Tottenham into the FA Cup final in the 118th minute of the match. An excellent finish after a flick-on from a recycled corner. The Foxes could not find a response in the short moments that remained.
Many knockout games are decided by fine margins and this was no different. Leicester City led for 74 minutes and seemed to be on course until one defensive error cost them badly. They barely scraped through into extras from there yet Rantala’s shot off the crossbar could have been the winner just as easily as Thomas’ header was. This was Leicester City’s best ever FA Cup run, but alas it ended short of a trip to Wembley. Tottenham will face Manchester United in the final. Leicester City have a couple more WSL games left in their season.
This result would have been easier to take had Ria Percival been playing for Tottenham. Instead she’s out on loan this season having joined Palace in the week prior to Spurs’ first FA Cup game so she played no part in this run. With Bott unable to join her in this club, Percival still remains the most recent NZer to play in an FA Cup final. She did so with West Ham in West Ham United in 2019. Donna Baker (Knowsley United in 1996) and Maureen Jacobson (Millwall in 1991) are the other kiwis in that club. Jacobson is the only one who’s won the competition – in fact she was the first non UK/Irish player to ever lift the Women’s FA Cup. Sidenote, Ria Percival was the only NZer to play in the Championship this week, getting ninety and a clean sheet as her Palace side won 1-0 against Birmingham to move back into first place.
Up Next: Away to Arsenal at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
Ah now those are the healing powers of nature in action. Joe Bell with a lovely assist in Viking FK’s third game of the season, a 1-1 draw against Brann. His first assist for a year and a half at club level – granted, he did get one for the All Whites during that time. Bell had a tough time of it with Brøndby and even his return to Viking wasn’t an immediately great fit due to Markus Solbakken having taken his exact role in the midfield. But Solbakken was always likely to leave between seasons and Bell’s return was always more about setting VFK up to withstand that loss in 2024 and beyond.
That’s where we are now and things are unfolding rightly as planned. Bell’s looking as settled as he was before he left, winning tackles and completing clever passes and even creating a bit on attack too – as evidenced by this slick left-footed assist to Lars-Jørgen Salvesen. Just like the Bellinho of old. That’s what we’ve been waiting for.
Although... to be clear, they did not win this game. Probably quite lucky to get a point out of it, in fact. Brann hit the crossbar in the seventh minute, though VFK had a really good spell after that. Bell skewed one cross after stepping up and winning the ball on the press but then got it spot on at the next opportunity for the assist on 22’. Soon afterwards he was close to another, feeding Salvesen on the ground this time who drilled a shot on target that was saved. Bellinho involved in pretty much everything.
Yet the second half told a very different tale, with Brann really putting the clamps on that VFK defence leading to a 70th minute leveller from Ole Didrik Blomberg. Some awful defending in the run-in to that one. Brann would have another goal disallowed for offside while poor finishing cost them further opportunities. Viking scraped through with a point from the 1-1 draw. Bell was subbed off with about quarter of an hour to go, gathering big praise all around for his performance not only in this game but in all three games so far.
There we go. Viking also played a cup tie during the week in which they won 5-0 away to lower tier Varhaug, although Bell took a rest for that one. Remember that he did have a wee injury during preseason which caused him to skip the All Whites games. No need to go nuts with it.
Up Next: Viking vs Fredrikstad on Monday at 3am (NZT)
Tyler Bindon - Reading (English League One)
Genuine question: What can’t this bloke do on a football pitch? In his last few games we’ve seen a goal and now an assist. Plus a spectacular goal-line clearance. Lots of silky passing from the back. Strong tackling. Leadership beyond his years. Clean sheets. It’s difficult to recall the last time a kiwi footballer made such an impact in their first year of professional football, let alone at his age and at that level. Not to mention for that club in that financial situation (which admittedly has helped give Bindon more of an opportunity as the Royals have been forced to lean on cheaper youth players).
Following his goal last week, and his generally excellent form going back for months now, Bindon continued to use his head to good effect in a 2-0 win against Bristol Rovers. He set up their opening goal by flicking on a long throw towards Sam Smith in the eighth minute. Reading would score again through a thunderous Lewis Wing direct free kick just before half-time and then they managed things sweetly from there... thanks in large part to an outrageously good bit of defending as Bindon made a diving header clearance off the goalline with his keeper beaten. Unreal. Again: what can’t this bloke do? Just look at this...
We did have a clip of the assist and the clearance on the ol’ socials but it got blocked across the board so you’ll have to check the assist out in the highlights package...
Tyler Bindon got himself a nod in WhoScored’s League One Team of the Week on the back of all that. More recognition for his brilliant sustained form.
That win continued to nudge Reading towards mathematical safety. A 2-2 draw against Barnsley away then took them a further point closer to that target. Less Bindon magic in this one, though you could argue that opening goalscorer Sam Smith poached that headed goal away from Bindon by leaping right in front of him. This was a very open game with both teams having 20+ shot attempts. Reading took the lead in the 21st and 81st minutes but conceded equalisers within five minutes both times. So it goes. With 50 points overall, they’re one more positive result away from guaranteed safety – a mere formality at this stage despite how unlikely it felt a few months ago.
Up Next: Burton Albion vs Reading on Sunday at 2am (NZT)
Matthew Garbett - NAC Breda (Dutch Eerste Divisie)
How about that? Matty Garbett with the 42 second goal, getting NAC Breda off to the best possible start against Dordrecht. His finish was a tap-in but he sparked the move on halfway with a quick one-two then driving forward at pace and sliding the ball wide, before carrying on his run towards the back post. Brilliant midfield work. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Only one slight issue... NAC Breda then proceeded to lose 4-1. Some awful goals conceded as well, just a terrible evening of football from them despite that perfect start. On the plus side, Garbett now has a goal contribution in consecutive games following his assist a week ago. He’s starting to find the consistency that his team’s fans and media were beginning to demand of him. On the negative side... everything else. That’s one point gained from the last four matches and there’s now an eight-point gap between themselves in seventh and the team in sixth. With four rounds left, they’re still in position for some promotion playoffs but other teams are closing in on them. Best leave it there for this week. Hopefully Garbett’s next trick inspires a stronger team outing.
Up Next: Away to Den Bosch at 6am on Saturday (NZT)
Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premier Soccer League)
Yessir, keep them coming. Stellenbosch are in outrageously good form these days, currently nursing a 21-game unbeaten streak. They’ve already won the Carling Knockout Cup and are now into the semis of the Nedbank Cup after crushing SuperSport (former club of Jeremy Brockie and Michael Boxall) 4-0 in the quarters. ADJ scored the third of those goals after having gotten a double in the previous round. Here he started and played 84 minutes. Could have had an assist or two in there as well though it hardly mattered. He’s been getting a good run of starts lately as the team have been stacking up positive results – they’re also second in the PSL, way behind Malemodi Sundowns but clear of everyone else on course for continental qualification. Sweet as.
Up Next: Thursday at 5.30am away to Sekhukhune United; Monday at 3.30am away to TS Galaxy (NZT)
Abby Erceg & Milly Clegg – Racing Louisville (American National Women’s Soccer League)
They didn’t blow a two-nil lead this week, so that was pleasant. They didn’t blow any kind of lead... mostly because they never had one. But they also didn’t allow one, battling away to a 0-0 draw against San Diego Wave for their second clean sheet of the campaign and a fourth consecutive draw. Undefeated and also winless after a month of NWSL action – those are some definitive glass half full or half empty areas.
Erceg was solid as always, making a few clearances and completing her passes at a high percentage. Her leadership was obviously important as RL survived some difficult moments in the initial quarter of an hour, though it was they themselves who had the better of the second half. Including a Taylor Flint headed goal from a corner with twenty to go which was then disallowed by VAR due to an offside player obstructing the goalkeeper. Other than that, RL’s chances weren’t clear enough to feel aggrieved at being shut out (although Ary Borges had one great opportunity near the end) while San Diego’s efforts were betrayed by crap finishing. The draw was a fair result.
No Milly Clegg as she only just got back to full training during the international window. That’ll take a few more weeks to ramp up. Even then we don’t yet know how significant of a role she’ll have this soon after joining the team – you don’t see a lot of teenagers in the NWSL, although that is changing these days. But Erceg’s been as good as she always is so no worries there. Already mentioned that Ali Riley had a rest after Footy Ferns duty with Angel City winning 1-0 away to Chicago Red Stars courtesy of an own goal by Maximiliane Rall (40’).
Up Next: Sunday at 9am, RL vs Utah Royals (NZT)
Bill Tuiloma – Charlotte FC (American Major League Soccer)
The drought is over. It has ended. An injury to Adison Malanda opened the door for Bill Tuiloma to make a rare start, lining up at CB alongside Andrew Privett, ending his long exile of MLS appearances. Praise be to He.
There’s been very little defensive rotation under Dean Smith and Tuiloma apparently isn’t being considered as a wide defender any longer. Just a back-up central defender sitting on the bench waiting and waiting and waiting for his chance. Last season he’d turned up in a trade only to find that Charlotte FC didn’t understand the player they’d signed, nullifying his attacking set piece abilities and asking him to be a player that he’s not. That didn’t go so well and then he got injured. By the time he recovered he’d lost his place and he never got it back. So it was that he went... brace yourself for this awful statistic... nine full months without making a single club appearance. Not even as a substitute. His last game for CFC was on 15 July 2023. A 2-0 loss to CF Montreal. That isolation finally stopped in a 3-2 win against Toronto FC on 14 April 2024. Worst part: he was an unused sub on twelve separate occasions during his isolation.
Okay then, how did he track? Yeah... alright. He was definitely rusty as is to be expected after such a long absence of games. Definitely don’t check the comments sections because there’s some residual bad will against him from the Charlotte FC fanbase from last season (which even then is unfair). It was Tuiloma’s long ball that led to Kerwin Vargas’ 39th minute goal, although he didn’t do the best on Prince Owusu’s equaliser on 49’, stepping up too late to keep Owusu onside. He also sorta cost them another goal at the other end when a possible response five mins later was randomly disallowed. Liel Abada’s sneaky set piece effort (converting on the second attempt after a chip over the top, courtesy of a rebound off the post) was deemed illegal thanks to a slight hold by Tuiloma on a defender several metres away on the edge of the area. But that was a ridiculous decision, laughably overzealous officiating, can’t blame a bro for that. Anyway, both teams scored again then Partick Agyemang won it for Charlotte in the 85th minute.
Dean Smith, Charlotte head coach: “I’ve no idea, I think the referee’s made a mistake, in my opinion, for Liel’s first goal from the free kick. He felt it was an infringement from Bill. He didn’t give offside, he said it was an infringement from Bill. It wasn’t. So they got that wrong. But just pleased we put the game to bed in the end.”
“I thought [Tuiloma] came in and did really well. We had the game against North Carolina FC the other week for him and he got ninety minutes so he was match fit. He trains really well, he’s got a great attitude. So I didn’t really have any qualms about putting him in. He knows the league, he understands the league, he’s been in it a long time so I thought his experience would certainly help young Privett who I think’s done really well at centre-half so far.”
Good good. That NCFC game was presumably a friendly but there’s no information about it anywhere. Probs behind closed doors. Important thing is that the manager seems to think on him fondly and thought he played well. Also hyped up his “good switch of play”. There was then a very weird moment when a journo asked how Dean Smith compared Tuiloma’s style with Charlotte to that with the New Zealand national team...
Dean Smith: “I’ve no idea because I’m not a big watcher of the kiwis, of the national team with New Zealand. I used to a few years ago because I know Ricki Herbert who was the head coach but not at the moment.”
Fair enough. In other news, Minnesota United lost 2-1 to Houston Dynamo despite having the better of most of that game. Second defeat of the season for them. Full game and a yellow card for Michael Boxall. Coincidentally, Tuiloma and Boxall’s teams face off next week so if Tuiloma can hold his starting spot for one more week then we’ll have ourselves a head-to-head on our hands.
Up Next: Charlotte vs Minnesota on Monday at 10am (NZT)
Marko Stamenic - FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbian SuperLiga)
Marko Stamenic had only started three of Crvena zvezda’s past 14 league games when it came time for some cup football during the midweek, thus a welcome opportunity for some rotation. Nothing to worry about there: some of that was before the managerial change, then he missed some time due to injury. Lately he’s been in a decent spot, where he’s played at least 30 minutes in six of the past seven matches (including those three starts), so we’re all good here. Still, this match against Vrsac in the Serbian Cup quarters did offer his first ninety minute game for Red Star since October (he’s gotten 4/4 full games with the All Whites in that time).
That game also delivered Crvena zvezda into the semi-finals courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win as they chase yet another trophy. Stamenic tried to get things going with a lefty-footed curler from the edge of the area which the keeper saved easily enough. So next time he turned provider, stepping into a tackle in his own half and then carrying the ball forward without hesitation. Through ball to Aleksandar Katai and that’ll do it. 1-0 after six minutes. Red Star maintained the pressure from there, yet it wasn’t until the second half that they scored again. Cherif Ndiaye on 65’ with a tidy bit of control and a slippery finish. Then Osman Bukari added another on 82’ with a very simple back-post finish off a corner kick. Happy days.
Following that, he got a rare ninety mins in a league fixture. Backed it up in a 3-0 win vs Železniča, taking over that six role in the midfield from Guelor Kanga who was absent and delivering a confident and assured performance that’ll keep him in the hunt for further such starts. Passed the ball well. Did his defensive duties. Kept good positioning. That’s the one. It’s still understood around the club that he’s capable of reaching a higher level than he has done so far with Red Star, but then it’s also understood that he’s young and still learning. Here’s his coach speaking about him...
Vladan Milojević: “We are trying in every possible way. [Stamenic] is a talented guy and we will try him in several positions. The player has his own preference about which role he likes to play, but we'll see... I'm generally satisfied with all the players. For me, the most important thing is the relationship, because this is professionalism. That's the most important thing to me.”
Mirko Ivanic (45’), Cherif Ndiaye (72’) and Peter Olayinka (86’) got the goals against Železniča, as Red Star left it a little later than they’d have like to seal the deal but regardless it goes into the books as a seventh consecutive SuperLiga victory. Thanks to Partizan also losing, Red Star are seven points clear as we next enter the championship rounds.
Up Next: TBD with those champ round fixtures
Meikayla Moore – Glasgow City (Scottish Premier League)
There was only one other Football Ferns player, along with CJ Bott, who returned from international duty to play ninety minutes for her club. CJB did so because it was an FA Cup semi-final, the biggest match of their season, gotta take the risk. Moore did so because she also had a massive game: Rangers vs Glasgow City, with potentially huge ramifications upon the SWPL title race. Sadly, it didn’t go so great for Mouse...
This was Rangers with Jemma Fife in goal, not Vic Esson. And Moore had a chance to beat her nice and early with a flicked header... but she sent it way off target. Instead they conceded first after a clumsy challenge Kinga Kozak allowed Rio Hardy to score from the penalty spot on 22’. GCFC equalised through Lauren Davidson on 36’, charging through on the counter-attack. That had things all tied up at the break and very much in the balance... until Rangers retook the lead via an outstanding long strike from Lizzie Arnot (53’) and then ran away with it in the last ten mins through goals from Chelsea Cornet (81’) and Mia McAulay (87’).
Nah yeah that’s not good for Glasgow City. They lost to Celtic before the break and now to Rangers after it. Heaps of tough mahi winning ten league games in a row to get back into the title race and now they’ve fallen way back in third place, nine points behind leaders Rangers with seven matches remaining.
Up Next: Home vs Partick Thistle on Thursday at 7am, then away to Hibs at midnight on Sunday/Monday (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Empoli (Italian Serie A)
If you thought his late-game heroics last week in creating the winning goal against Torino would begin a snowballing effect for Libby Cacace then it appears you were wrong. Bugger. It was actually less the assist and more the injury to Giuseppe Pezzella in that game which shaped to benefit Cacace the most but it turns out that Pezzella wasn’t even badly injured because, despite being subbed off in the first half of that match, he was good to go in the starting eleven for the very next one – against his previous club Lecce.
That left Cacace on the bench all the way up until the 84th minute of a very average game. In his short time on the pitch he hardly touched the ball and had to watch as his centre-backs made a mess of a direct lump forward that led to an 89th minute tap-in winner for Lecce to take it 1-0. Empoli had a goal disallowed for handball inside of ten minutes but other than that only managed three total shots and none were on target. Their keeper made several good saves (and also nearly handballed outside his area) while Lecce had also hit the crossbar. Can’t argue with the outcome.
A poor performance and poor result for Empoli, who continue to follow up good games with bad games. They would have gone ahead of Lecce with a win whereas instead they’ve lost ground not only on the teams ahead but also a couple of teams behind them. Empoli are only one point ahead of the relegation zone with six matches remaining to save themselves. Obviously needing to pay more attention to the fact that the team’s goal difference is 1.15 goals better off when Cacace is on the pitch compared to when he’s off the pitch – the biggest positive swing in the entire squad. The idea seems to be that Pezzella is more consistent both in attack and defence than Cacace and that may well be true of a more experienced player... but as a team the Azzurri have only scored twice in the 676 minutes that Pezzella has played for them in Serie A.
Up Next: Empoli vs Napoli at 4am on Sunday (NZT)
Claudia Bunge & Daisy Cleverley - HB Køge (Danish Kvindeliga)
There’s a lot of research these days about the spike in injuries after long travel and international breaks. For that reason, there weren’t many Ferns who followed the CJ Bott example of maximum minutes after flights to and from Christchurch last week. Lots of them didn’t have to worry about it, with cup footy conveniently scheduled to give a lot of clubs an extra week of recovery. Others simply got rested... as we saw a lot of in Denmark.
HB Køge put Claudia Bunge on the bench and only gave Daisy Cleverley about six minutes at the end. That’s better than both Ally Green (AGF) and Malia Steinmetz (FC Nordsjælland) who played 24 hours earlier and were both rested from those matchday squads entirely. Not to any detriment either, as AGF caused a huge upset in the title race by defeating Brøndby 2-1 to open the door for HBK and FCN to try and take advantage. Nordsjælland did so with a 1-0 win away against Kolding. Not a spectacular performance but after losing so late to Brondby prior to the break it was the win that they needed. Moves them back within one point of leaders BIF.
On the other hand, HB Køge didn’t quite manage the same leap. They were held 0-0 in a tricky fixture against Fortuna Hjørring. They had their chances, especially in the last half hour when they really stepped on the accelerator. HBK got as close as hitting the post but no closer. Held scoreless. That does gain them one point on the leaders but only one point, thus they stay three behind Brøndby and two behind Nordsjælland. They can make that difference up when they face Brøndby next week.
Up Next: Brøndby vs HB Køge at midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning (NZT)
Deklan Wynne - Port Vale (English League One)
April is not the time when transfers usually happen but here we go anyway...
Port Vale FC: “Port Vale Football Club are delighted to announce the short-term signing of defender, Deklan Wynne. The 29-year-old left back joins the Valiants to bolster Darren Moore’s defensive options until the end of the 2023/24 season following a successful trial period with the club.”
If you’d been wondering what Deklan Wynne had been up to since leaving Charleston Battery in the American USL Championship, now you know: he was on trial with Port Vale. Curious timing, as he was announced on the morning of their 3-0 loss to Peterborough (Wynne was not involved), with only four more matches left to make an impact. However, the Valiants certainly need that impact because that defeat dropped them back into the relegation zone on goal difference behind... Max Crocombe’s Burton Albion, with a five-point gap to Cambridge United in 19th place who also have a game in hand. Very hard to imagine anyone else dropping down to spare the both of them. Port Vale do host Cambridge on the final day of the season though.
This is only a short-term deal, hence it doesn’t prevent him from gapping it in the case of relegation. It’s also perhaps worth considering Callan Elliot’s example, signing with Motherwell through until the end of the season with the understanding that he’s likely to sign with Auckland FC. Couldn’t rule out something similar from Wynne but we shall see how things progress on both of those counts.
Wynne wasn’t in the squad as Port Vale lost 4-2 to Exeter City. That leaves just three more games for him. At the same time, old mate Max Crocombe was battling away in a 2-1 win against ten-man Stevenage. No clean sheet for Max due to an 88th minute concession, he hasn’t kept a cleanie since the very start of March, but those three points were far more important as they nudge clear of Port Vale with three matches left each – including midweek games so it could be all decided by the time of next week’s FKs edition.
Up Next: Port Vale vs Wycombe at 6.45am on Thursday (NZT)
Henry Gray - Ipswich Town (English Championship)
That’s how these loan outs go, unfortunately. Henry Gray was in superb form for Chelmsford City playing every game and making a bunch of saves. His arrival coincided with the team going from fringe playoffs to climbing all the way up to second in the National League South. This was Gray’s first stint as a senior goalkeeper since moving to England. It’s a shame he’ll miss out on the playoffs now but bigger and better things should await. Gray played 22 games for Chelmsford, keeping nine clean sheets.
CCFC manager Robbie Simpson: “Unfortunately we received a call from Ipswich this morning saying that they wanted to recalled Henry due to an injury to one of their keepers. They always have three matchday keepers so with one out injury it was Henry’s opportunity to step up. As much as we would have liked him to stay with us and get some further development in the playoff games, they have their own big picture to think about in terms of getting promoted to the Premier League. It is an unfortunate thing to happen to us but hopefully it will be a really good thing for Henry, so we thank him for all of his efforts for us and will be paying attention to his future closely.”
The headline there being that Gray has been recalled to join the Ipswich Town first team. The same Ipswich Town that are currently battling for automatic promotion to the Premier League. A massive opportunity, even if it probably only means being third choice. Vaclav Hladky is the bloke who has played the majority of games this season, with Christian Walton and ex-Manchester City academy lad Cieran Slicker also getting a couple of spare appearances. It is Slicker who has picked up the injury that’s opened the door for Gray. Fresh after returning from Scotland U21s duty, he’s suffered an ankle injury which is not expected to be long term.
If you’ve not been tracking the Championship, Ipswich are battling for promotion against the three teams that were all relegated last time. They’re keeping track with the lot... though just lately there have been stumbles. Ipswich could only draw 1-1 with Middlesbrough this weekend (Gray was part of the wider group but not involved in the matchday squad – like his old Chelmsford boss said, he was recalled to be the third keeper for matchdays). Luckily, Leicester City lost 1-0 to Plymouth Argyle and Leeds United lost 1-0 to Blackburn Rovers. So Ipswich are now one point clear in first, albeit Leicester can overtake them with their game in hand. Leeds are two points back and Southampton would join them if they win both of their postponed matches. Chaos up the top of the Champo. Remember two teams do go up automatically.
Speaking of the Championship, Ben Waine did get twenty minutes in that 1-0 Plymouth win against Leicester City. The Foxes were on all-out attack by then so he hardly got to touch the ball, but he did run himself ragged to try and protect that lead. His main contribution was to pick up a yellow card for this challenge...
Up Next: Hull City vs Ipswich Town on Sunday 28 April at 7am (NZT)
Gabi Rennie - Åland United (Finnish Kansallinen Liiga)
Sound the alarm, we’ve got a fresh professional debutant. Gabi Rennie was straight in there for Åland United at the very first opportunity, playing 58 minutes on the right wing as they lost 2-0 against KuPS to begin the 2024 season. Not a lot else to say about it, she didn’t feature much in the highlights. But it does mean one more kiwi footballer amongst the professional ranks.
Up Next: Åland vs Ilves at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
There were some concerning visions during Silkeborg’s 1-0 loss against Nordsjælland when Callum McCowatt had to be replaced during the second half after setting himself down while the ball was still in play. A few players rushed over to check on him, teammates and opposition, with McCowatt appearing ill and in some discomfort. It’s been reported that he experienced heart palpitations, but also that he is completely fine. No word on whether he’ll be available for the next game or not.
Kent Nielsen, SIF manager: “He's fine, and as you also know, I can't stand and say so much. He was startled by something but he has been looked at and he is fine. Yes, it was [a fright], it always is. But we were also quickly told that it was OK.”
Silkeborg’s defeat was a pesky one, as Andreas Schjelderup’s 46th minute goal sealed the deal for FCN. Conceding 34 seconds into the second half. McCowatt had a huge chance on 25’ when he snuck around in front of his marker to get to a cross but headed over from six yards, caught in the wrong body position. CMC played 54 minutes.
He also played the first half of their cup semi-final second leg against Fredericia a few days earlier. Silkeborg lost that match 2-0 but after their 6-1 first leg victory it hardly mattered. There were some nerves when Fredericia scored twice inside of 26 mins, hence why McCowatt was subbed at the break to secure that defence, but they got there safely and will face AGF in the final of the Danish Cup (Oddset Pokalen) early next month. Silverware and a place in Europe on the line. Huge deal. Hopefully they can pick their form up before then – that 6-1 win stands out like a sore thumb amidst their ten post-winter-break fixtures because it’s their only win.
Down a division, there was almost an assist for Elijah Just but his pass took a telling deflection off a defender to find its way into the path of Jakob Andersen. Even still, he did create the move so good to see him continuing to have an impact for AC Horsens despite the transfer rumours. ACH won 2-0 away against Naestved to make it two wins in a row after previously going six matches without a victory. Just has 3 goals and 2 assists to his name this season.
Up Next: FC København vs Silkeborg on Monday at 2am (NZT)
Myer Bevan - Cavalry FC (Canadian Premier League)
Where in the world is Myer Bevan? Well, he’s back in New Zealand apparently. He was due to report back to Cavalry FC after a holiday in between the start of the new CPL season and the Concacaf Champions Cup first round matches back in February – during which he scored his team’s first ever goal in the competition (though they were eliminated 6-1 by Orlando FC over two legs). But it seems he has not done so, instead choosing to stay back in the homeland for what Calgary Herald reported as a decision “based on family matters”.
Cavalry GM/head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr: “[Myer] returned back to New Zealand following our Concacaf fixtures and has not reported back to join the team since. What we know is there’s personal reasons for his decision to remain in New Zealand. So beyond that, we’re trying to figure everything else out. He’s still a contracted Cavalry FC player but we’re placing him on the inactive roster for now. There’s no rift between us. I can’t really go into his reasons yet because we don’t fully understand them all. I can say it is that it’s personal reasons why he’s chosen not to return with the club. I think once we understand what the full ramifications are, we can then make a further announcement.”
Bevan was Cavalry’s top scorer last season, tying for CPL Golden Boot. He also has a three-year-old daughter and he and his wife recently welcomed their second child. That article confirms that there are no health issues there with him or his family... perhaps that CPL money just wasn’t gonna cut it with an extra mouth to feed. The Calgary Herald article implies that he’s stepping away from football, though there is a professional team about to emerge in Auckland so that’s an alternative possibility. Either way, fair enough. Gotta do what you’ve gotta do.
Up Next: Time shall tell
Moses Dyer - Vancouver FC (Canadian Premier League)
Roughly one month ago we had Myer Bevan in the CPL but not Moses Dyer, now we’ve got Moses Dyer in the CPL but not Myer Bevan. Righto. Jot that down. Dyer didn’t link up with his old Valour FC team though, instead making the switch to Vancouver FC which meant he played against Valour in week one of the new season and oh yes would you look at this here’s what he did...
Okily dokily. Vancouver went on to win 4-1. Pleasant way to start the new campaign.
Up Next: Friday at 2pm against Wanderers (NZT)
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