Flying Kiwis – April 30
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
You know who is truly one of the most consistent of all the Flying Kiwis? Week in week out delivering 7/10 or better performances, never anything less, whilst captaining his team as its all-time leading appearance maker? This bloke: Michael Boxall.
Boxy went above and beyond this week. Barely a minute into Minnesota United’s match against Sporting Kansas City he popped up at the back post, lurking with intent, to score his seventh MLS goal. He’s usually good for one or two per season and now he’s on the board for 2024. More importantly, it was a perfect start to this game...
Yeah boy. Funny thing is, he scored the last time he played Sporting KC too. That was last October, a late goal in what proved to be a 3-1 defeat. This time was different. SKC did breach the new back three shape of the Loons after 37 minutes (Alan Pulido with the goal) but by then MNUFC had already scored again from a Tani Oluwaseyi tap-in (25’). Admittedly, Willie Agada had earlier missed a great chance firing over the top, then also had a goal disallowed for offside. Both came from Sporting finding space in behind the back three... but the Loons tightened that up in the second half to claim a 2-1 victory. Sweet as. Two wins in a row. Minnesota are just one point off the top of the Western Conference. Now let’s see another angle of that goal...
Knee slide needs work tbh.
Across the nation, Adilson Malanda returned from injury for Charlotte FC so that meant it was back to the bench with Bill Tuiloma. Who knows when his next opportunity will come around. Charlotte lost 2-1 to New York City. Speaking of injury comebacks, Tyler Boyd made one of those for Nashville, getting 13 mins off the bench - his first minutes for a month following a hip injury. And, as expected, Jay Herdman was back with the reserves at Vancouver Whitecaps. Ninety minutes with a yellow card in a 1-0 loss against Real Monarchs 2 in the MLS Next Pro comp. Finn Linder was an unused substitute. The Caps can only give Herdman one more short-term deal this year (unless they sign him permanently to the first team) and they’re probably going to want to use that wisely.
Over in the NWSL, there’s nothing new to say about Racing Louisville who scored a 90+5th minute goal against Gotham FC (Reilyn Turner with the finish) only to then concede a 90+7th minute equaliser. Rose Lavelle finished that off after the keeper spilled a high ball. Not great. Spoiled a superb Abby Erceg performance which deserved the clean sheet it was on target for. She blocked four shots, made four clearances, and completed her passes at 93%. But this is how RL roll. It was their fifth draw from six matches and in three of them they’ve allowed an equaliser after the 85th minute. Obviously no Milly Clegg yet for them, nor Macey Fraser for Utah Royals. Ali Riley did play for Angel City but only off the bench in a 3-1 defeat against Kansas City. It was 1-1 when she was introduced after 81 minutes. Hence why we’re letting Michael Boxall take all the hype from this week’s American output.
Up Next: Atlanta United vs Minnesota United at 11.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Malia Steinmetz – FC Nordsjælland (Danish Kvindeliga)
Pick your spot, Malia. Right on.
This goal didn’t have too much consequence on the match but it was a cool moment. Her first goal for Nordsjælland, and a lovely finish at that. This was the first leg of the Danish Cup semi-finals and FCN were up against Næstved, a second tier club. A match that they were expected to emerge with victory from and that they did.
An early goal from Alma Aalgard got them going. Karen Knudsen added another before the break. However, it was Nicoline Schroder’s red card for Næstved which really ended the resistance after she was booked for two separate fouls near the end of the first half. The underdogs had to do the rest with ten women, conceding a penalty within a minute of the second half kicking off and then eventually leaking a few more goals to spoil any possible hope of a miracle comeback in the second leg. 7-0 was the final score. FCN with one foot and nine toes into the cup final. Catch a full replay over here if you’re keen.
Nordsjælland are actually trying to go back to back, having won the Danish Cup last season. Obviously that was before Malia Steinmetz arrived but the experience is still there around her. This was Malia speaking to the club’s media team in preview of this match...
MS: “I have heard a lot about the cup final last year, everyone still talks a lot about it. It was a really big thing for the club and it would be great to be able to play us in a cup final for the second year in a row. We have a strong belief that we can but it requires a good performance and a good starting point for us on Saturday. Personally, it would also be fantastic for me to reach the final. One of the reasons why you play football is precisely to get to play in such matches. And the two semi-finals we have to play now will also be special. So I'm looking forward to that.”
In the other semi-final, AGF sprung a surprise 2-1 win against Brøndby thanks to a 75th minute penalty from Sarah Dyrehauge Hansen. Ally Green didn’t feature as she increasingly hasn’t been lately after mid-season signings dropped her down in the pecking order (a pity because she’d been in very tidy form for club and country). Still, her team has the advantage after the home leg of the semi-final.
Back to the original idea... when was the last time that Malia Steinmetz scored a goal? She’s a defensive midfielder so it’s not exactly her mission statement. She has got a couple of assists for FCN already. Never scored in the A-League though, across 39 games in three seasons. Has not scored for the Football Ferns after 29 caps (being injured for the Olympic Qualifiers earlier this year didn’t help). In other words, nothing in the professional realms prior to this banger. She did put a few away for Northern Tigers during her NPL days, at least.
Up Next: Back to trying to win the league, with HB Køge vs FC Nordsjælland at 0:00 on Sunday – could be up to three New Zealanders involved in that match (NZT)
Marko Stamenic - FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbian SuperLiga)
Seven days ago the story was about how Red Star came through with the late drama in beating Partizan 3-2, with a penalty very deep into stoppage putting them in cruise control towards another championship. But they were also to meet Partizan again a few days later in the Serbian Cup semi-final. Would that one prove any different?
Nope, not really. Partizan had one half-chance early on but then Peter Olayinka bagged a quickfire brace (27’ & 29’), both of them back post finishes after chipped crosses. Marko Stamenic played the winger into space for that second goal. That put Red Star in full control and they never relinquished it, taking the 2-0 victory to advance into the final and therefore on the brink of another trophy, having beaten their closest rivals twice in a week across two different competitions. What’s more is that Marko Stamenic played ninety minutes (despite getting a yellow card). That’s six games in a row that he’s started now, entrenching himself back in the first eleven.
The sixth of those games happened next when Crvena zvezda faced Vojvodina. He played about an hour before being subbed in search of a little more attack. They never found it... held 0-0 to break a nine-game winning streak across all competitions. They’re still 15 games unbeaten though and despite the loss they somehow extended their lead because Partizan lost 2-1 against TSC (their fourth loss in a row including the two Red Star defeats). With five matches remaining we’re starting to get close to confirmation territory. Six more points will do it... meaning if they win their next game and Partizan lose theirs then that’s the Superliga title all sorted.
Up Next: Crvena zvezda vs Backa Topola on Friday at 5am (NZT)
Ria Percival – Crystal Palace (English Championship)
The scenes, the scenes...
All Crystal Palace needed was a point to guarantee the Championship title and they got it. Even if they’d failed then they still would have won as Charlton’s 2-0 victory over Southampton was nowhere near enough to overturn the huge goal difference span. But that was irrelevant as Palace and Sunderland played out a nil-all draw. In another timeline this might have been an effective promotion playoff except that Sunderland dipped to finish third overall. No WSL for Katie Kitching next season (unless a transfer comes along).
This wasn’t much of a game. Percival got ninety at right back as per usual, though she’s a pretty conservative one in that position. Palace score so many goals they don’t need the right back taking any risks so she mostly just holds it down defensively. Sunderland had the better chances but Katie Kitching only played off the bench in a rotated side and they couldn’t find the cutting edge. Palace were all about the party afterwards. They earned it off the back of another clean sheet – one of six they kept in the nine games that Percival started.
Incredibly, this was the first season in which Crystal Palace have been a fully professional team. With that they moved grounds, hired Laura Kaminski as a first-time manager, employed a new head of women’s football (Grace Williams), and then proceeded to score by far the most goals in the division (55... next best was Southampton’s 39) whilst winning the most games and of course tallying up the most points.
Ria Percival: “We’ve just chipped away each week. If you think of the bigger picture, you risk throwing points away. Getting promoted will be a dream come true for some of those girls.”
The trick is how many of those girls they can keep in the squad, because most players in the Championship only sign one-year deals and more secure offers might come along. The same applies to Percival who is only with the Eagles on loan... though promotion could change that. She has another year on her Spurs deal but now that Palace will be in the same division it could make more sense to join permanently, or even sign another loan agreement, at a club where she’s now established, with WSL experience that will be essential in a young squad, and where she’s likely to get way more playing time.
Up Next: Gotta celebrate that promotion first of all
Jacqui Hand - Lewes (English Championship)
It wouldn’t have been right if Jacqui Hand played half a season with Lewes and never scored a goal. Fortunately we don’t have to worry about that, because in what will probably be her final match for the club she did this...
Hand had a busy game throughout. She usually does. Up against London City Lionesses, this match also marked the return to the starting team for Grace Neville after the injury she sustained away on Footy Ferns duty back in February (at the Olympic Qualifiers at which Hand was one of the standout performers). Neville played off the bench last week and started this week... though she got into some trouble being pressed by Hand early on, finding a teammate with a pass but the Lionesses quickly turned it over from there and almost conceded on the break. Then they did concede from a corner kick, which got stuck under the feet of both Jacqui Hand and also a couple of defenders in the six-yard box... before it squeezed out to Aimee Claypool who did the rest. No assist but JH was still involved in the goal. 20 mins gone.
Not only were LCL very swiftly level via a Chantelle Boye-Horokah deflected strike (24’), then Danielle Carter (43’) and Emma Mukandi (55’) also scored on either side of the break. Relegated Lewes were staring down the barrel of another defeat. That was when Jacqui Hand tapped home at the far post to make it 3-2 after 57 mins... however they never got particularly close to scoring again. 3-2 to LCL was the final score. Hand was subbed off after 82 minutes, the exact same time as Paige Satchell was subbed on for the Lionesses. Neville lasted 75 before she took her seat. And that was that for the English Championship season.
NZers in the WSL Championship 2023-24:
Katie Kitching (Sunderland) – 21 games | 1601 mins | 3 goals | 5 assists
Grace Neville (London City) – 17 games | 1423 mins | 1 goal
Paige Satchell (London City) – 15 games | 931 mins | 2 goals | 1 assist
Ria Percival (Crystal Palace) – 11 games | 822 mins | 1 goal
Jacqui Hand (Lewes) – 10 games | 758 mins | 758 mins | 1 goal | 2 assists
Also had Olivia Page at Sheffield United but she didn’t play a league game. Sat on the bench 11 times, including in the finale, but did get a couple of spots in the WSL Cup. She’s more one for the future. Time will tell who ends up back again next season. Neville’s been a mainstay with LCL for several years so she’s a good shout, though you’d have to think Hand will be looking elsewhere after Lewes were relegated. Same as the Crystal Palace thing, it’s almost all one-year contracts at this level.
Up Next: The long pesky offseason
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
We’re up to two assists in five matches now for Joe Bell, operating from the heart of that Viking midfield. It’s just like old times. Not to mention the excellent passing numbers and the strong defensive contributions. It’s like the Brøndby move never happened.
Haaaving said that, the team around him has yet to quite figure things out. They had a scrappy 1-0 win in game one and have failed to win again since. Hence how they found themselves in a ridiculous contest against Odd: a 3-3 draw with both teams scoring in stoppage time. Viking fought back from the brink of defeat to the brink of victory to end up brunk with a draw.
Joe Bell also played a big role in Viking’s first goal as he swung a deep cross over towards Zlatko Tripic at the back stick, who nodded it across goal for Harald Tangen to tap home after 25 mins. Yet within ten minutes of that moment they were trailing 2-1. First goal a massive deflection. Second a well-taken finish off the cut-back with too much room to shoot on the edge of the box. Viking spent ages trying to find an equaliser before Bellinho finally set one up in the 86th minute (it was a sideways pass just outside the area, nothing special, but an assist is an assist).
Six minutes were added on. We were into the fourth of those minutes when Zlatko Tripic popped up to send the away fans into raptures with what appeared to be a very late winner. Odd got a red card soon after that... but that meant we went beyond the six minutes and the Odd ones were able to smash in a thumping leveller on 90+7’ for a share of the points. That’s what we’re dealing with right now from this Vikes unit. They did at least slip through to the third round of the Norwegian Cup with a 4-3 win against Torvastad. Had to score a couple of late goals there too, albeit with a heavily rotated team. Bell played the last half hour off the bench (subbed on with VFK down 3-2).
Side note: glad to see Gianni Stensness back playing alongside Bell in this team after missing most of last season through injury. A couple of old Olympian teammates reunited in Stavanger. Stensness is back to being Australian these days which means that Bell is considerably outnumbered – because joining him in the starting eleven for this game were Nick D’Agostino and Patrick Yazbek. Three Aussies and a Kiwi all at the same Norwegian club.
Up Next: Away to Tromsdalen UIL in the Norwegian Cup third round on Thursday at 2am; then home vs Tromsø in the Eliteserien on Monday at 5.15am (NZT)
Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premier Soccer League)
ADJ keeps on keeping on. Only the one goal contribution in a 5-0 win against Polokwane but it was a very important one, breaking open a game that had been in the balance with chances at both ends, including a De Jong strike that he dragged slightly past the post in the first half. The Stellies needed something extra to find some comfort and they got it thanks to a delicious low cross in between the keeper and defensive line from ADJ, allowing Iqraam Rayners to flip in his second.
Rayners then went on and scored three more to end up with five for the evening. An incredible individual haul which rightfully earned the headlines yet don’t sleep on the increasingly common contributions of Andre De Jong as an attacking midfielder. Five goals and three assists in his last 14 appearances across all competitions and he’s doing this for a team that keeps on grinding out results. 24 games undefeated.
As long as you don’t count the Carling Black Label Cup, in which they were beaten 2-1 by an All Star selection team, as a competitive match (it isn’t) then they haven’t lost a game since September. Way too many draws to be challenging for a title but Champions League qualification and a club-record second place finish are looking increasingly likely. They’ve already won the secondary cup competition and it’s a big week upcoming with two matches including the semi-final of the main cup.
Up Next: Thursday at 3.30am vs Golden Arrows in the PSL; then Stellies vs Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup semi at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Vic Esson - Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League)
Vic Esson has predominantly played the cup games this season for Rangers. Not the preference, sure, but at least they’ve been an excellent cup team. They won the League Cup a few weeks back and this week they took on perennial rivals Celtic in the semis if the Scottish Cup. Esson got a rare SWPL start last week which seemed to be a hint ahead of this one, a tune-up match to find some match rhythm. Only issue was she made a shambles of one of her rare involvements in that game which almost cost them a couple of essential points... before they scored twice in the last five minutes to win 3-1 vs Partick Thistle. You read about that one last week.
With the benefits of hindsight we can now say that it was a tune-up game and that she was being lined up to play this cup semi-final. We can also say that she did play this cup semi-final despite that uncharacteristic howler. What’s more is that Rangers won this cup semi-final, scoring late goals courtesy of Chelsea Cornet (85’) and Kirsty Howat (90+1’). And, naturally, a clean sheet from Vic Esson in the 2-0 victory.
Despite how long it took them to finally score, this was a pretty emphatic team performance from Rangers. From the outset they kept good possession and created chances. Especially from set pieces. They were recently beaten 2-1 by these opponents in the league but this was a completely different story. Celtic’s best chances were shots off target to keep Esson comfortable, thus Rangers always felt the more likely to break the deadlock. When they did it was a header from a corner kick. No surprises. Then Howat finished off a second on the runaway to seal the deal. Vic Esson and RFC remain on track for a cup double plus they’re only two points off leaders Celtic in the SWPL and will get another crack at them on Monday.
Up Next: Rangers vs Hearts on Thursday at 7.10am; Rangers vs Celtic on Monday at 11pm (NZT)
Gabi Rennie - Åland United (Finnish Kansallinen Liiga)
Now this is what we’re talking about...
Åland United needed a win after a poor start to the new season. Away to HPS, with banks of shovelled snow framing the pitch, that’s exactly what they got. Had to battle through some tricky stages as the home side unleashed plenty of danger in the first half... but then this game swung in the 54th minute when Rennie won the ball in the oppo half, charged forward with it, unleashed the winger Silja Tuominen, then cleverly dummied over Tuominen’s cut-back for Rikka Lilja to slam in the opening goal. Åland Utd would score again through an own goal off a corner kick on 69’. Then, near the end, Rennie set up that icing-on-the-cake third for her first goal contribution as a professional. Was only a matter of time after how busy she’d been in those first couple weeks.
Up Next: Åland vs PK-35 Vantaa at 3.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Kees Sims - GAIS (Swedish Allsvenskan)
Seven days later and GAIS goalkeeper Mergin Krasniqi remains injured. Or sick. These things don’t always translate well... but given he’s now missed three games that suggests an injury. Either way, it meant that Sims’ Allsvenskan debut was not a one-off. He’s now played three matches in a row in the Swedish top flight and is advancing his career right as an Olympic squad is in the process of being selected. Can’t complain.
On debut against Mjällby, Sims was pretty good though he did make a mistake leading directly to the goal he conceded. The other goalie then made an even worse mistake to ensure GAIS still won 2-1. For his second appearance, Sims and the lads were away to Kalmar FF... where they scored early and led for most of a very open game before settling with a 3-2 win. Sims was beaten at the near post by the first he conceded, getting a hand to it but being unable to divert it. Tougher than it looked but he should have stopped it. He was much sharper with a great low stop, tipping the shot around the post, at the start of the second half. Plus he was flawless with a few earlier shots that were sent straight at him with power. Did well to slap away a deep cross at full stretch later on. All the while his team kept creating chances and were well worth their eventually victory... though they did concede in stoppage time from a back-stick header that Sims had no chance with.
Then they lost 1-0 away to Djurgårdens on the weekend. Unable to make it three wins on the trot with Kees Sims in goal. This was a different type of game in which DIF were the team calling their shots and GAIS went back to looking like the promoted side that they are. Sims was able to deal with a couple of tricky ones in the first half, albeit requiring his defence to back him up with the rebounds, but a cracking bottom corner effort from Deniz Hummet on 53’ was more than GAIS could handle. There was a free kick soon afterwards which Sims also could only parry, though he was able to react quickly to punch it away at the second attempt. GAIS found some fight in the last ten minutes but didn’t find an equaliser. So yeah, that’s how that one went. Brilliant seeing Sims (mostly) holding his own in a league like this.
Up Next: GAIS vs Göteborg on Tuesday at 5:10am (NZT)
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
You know there were shenanigans when the old tweets emerge...
Apparently early-20s Chris Wood was a Man City fan. These things get overrated with professionals, whose livelihoods outweigh any childhood sentimentality, but the banterverse will take notice if you stumble against that very same club in a match with title ramifications.
Despite their many woes, Nottm Forest played pretty well against Manchester City. For the second time this season they had more shots than the Citizens and more xG as well. For the second time this season, they lost 2-0 anyway. And, alas, several of those chances did fall the way of Christopher Wood who was unable to recapture his clinical nature from earlier in the year.
There was a header powered over the top on 28’ while it was still 0-0. Minutes later, Joško Gvardiol headed in from a Kevin De Bruyne corner kick for the lead. Before the half was done, another one went astray when Wood couldn’t get his feet around a heavy square ball. It was pinball stuff in the area, pure reactions, but the goal was open if he’d gotten the right contact. Then there was a similar one at the start of the second half where Anthony Elanga put a much more controlled ball right on Wood’s laces but his guided touch towards the far post was blocked. After which City subbed on Erling Haaland and he promptly scored a second goal to put Forest out of range.
Wood wasn’t the only one who skewed a couple chances out there but yeah nah not a good day at the office for him. Perhaps one that was overdue given how he’s been one of the best finishers in all of Europe this season... that stat might have been a slight exaggeration of his abilities. Only slight. At least this got his team to shut up about referees for a few days. Even Chris Wood got amongst that chat in a yarn to The Telegraph following that controversial Everton defeat. Spoke about the frustrations and whatnot. Also spoke about the relegation battle...
Chris Wood: “Everybody hopes it doesn’t, but it will probably go to the last day. We’ve got winnable games and it’s on us to win them. We’ve still got it in our own hands, and hopefully it doesn’t come to it at the end of the season where it [the controversial decisions] potentially proves costly. I’ve been here a number of times before with Burnley and Newcastle, and now Forest. It’s a position I’m used to and I’m trying to pass on my experience to everybody else.”
Yep, there are now three games left and Nottingham Forest are only just hanging on above the line of doom. The good news for them is that Luton Town also lost, while Burnley only drew. Sheffield United lost and have officially been relegated. Brentford are out of reach so it’s between Forest, Luton, and Burnley to see which two teams join Sheff Utd in the Championship next season.
Remaining Fixtures:
Nottm Forest (26 PTS, -20 GD): Sheffield United (A), Chelsea (H), Burnley (A)
Luton Town (25 PTS, -29 GD): Everton (H), West Ham (A), Fulham (H)
Burnley (24 PTS, -32 GD): Newcastle (H), Tottenham (A), Nottm Forest (H)
Three more games to determine their own fate.
Up Next: Sunday at 2am, Sheffield United vs Nottingham Forest (NZT)
Ben Waine – Plymouth Argyle (English Championship)
Speaking of relegation battles going down to the wire, here’s another one. Plymouth Argyle are one point clear with one match left following a 1-0 defeat against Millwall. Victory would have sealed the deal but instead they’re going to have to do something against Hull on the final day. Nervous times.
Ben Waine started that Millwall game. Given the go in place of a fatigued Ryan Hardie (who has gone ten games without a goal), one of three changes to the starting team as they try to keep things fresh down the stretch. This was Waine’s first Championship start since February... but unfortunately it kinda went the way that most of his starts have gone where he doesn’t do very much. No lack of effort but a definite lack of output as he managed only 14 touches in 70 minutes, completing four passes and having two shots, both off target. Probably didn’t help that his team were on the wrong side of the possession meter so were lumping aerials towards Waine by himself up against two massive central defenders as if that was ever going to work.
Nevertheless, it was 0-0 when he was subbed... and then Jake Cooper scored an 83rd minute winner for Millwall. Problem is now they have to face a Hull City side that can still technically make the playoffs if other results go their way, hence it might be more of a case of hoping Birmingham City loses against Norwich in order to keep the Pilgrims in the second tier. Match 46 would not be a bad time for Ben Waine to pop up with his third Championship goal... might need a fourth or fifth where that comes from too.
Up Next: Plymouth vs Hull at 11.30pm on Saturday (NZT)
Anna Leat – Aston Villa (English Super League)
Aston Villa FC: “Aston Villa Women can confirm Anna Leat will serve a one-game suspension following her dismissal against Chelsea last week. The New Zealand goalkeeper saw red in the early stages of the 3-0 defeat at Kingsmeadow for denying a goal/goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball outside the penalty area. Therefore, the 22-year-old will be unavailable for Sunday's Barclays WSL clash with West Ham United at Villa Park but will be available for the forthcoming trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.”
Sweet as, just the one game out suspended. Glad to see it. Teenager Sophia Poor deputised in her place for the 1-1 draw against West Ham (the Hammers scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time to sneak a point) and Leaty will be back for the last two matches of the season.
Elsewhere, CJ Bott was out of the eleven for Leicester City’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. Little bit of rotation there, perhaps, given how Bott has played huge minutes lately for club and country. She was subbed on after 68 mins and managed to get herself a yellow card right at the very end. Ella Toone scored an 83rd minute winner to deny what had been a pretty strong defensive showing from the Foxes, particularly from goalkeeper Janina Leitzig. It was a spectacular winner, to be fair. Bott’s yellow was for an absolute phantom foul, given for clipping the back of a United player’s leg in transition... except that Bott never touched her. It was Deanne Rose who committed the foul, so that’ll probably get overturned. Surprisingly, it was only Bott’s second yellow card of the WSL season.
Up Next: Brighton vs Aston Villa at midnight on Saturday/Sunday (NZT)
Max Crocombe - Burton Albion (English League One)
Max Crocombe: “It’s a very proud moment to take home the award and be recognised by everyone. I’m humbled and honoured and thank you to everyone who voted for me. I signed from the division below and I was in the division below that the season before, so coming in I didn’t really know what to expect. When I signed for Grimsby I was number two for maybe 20 games. I eventually got an opportunity and I’ve just worked so hard and tried to learn from difficult situations. I had more than 100 games in a couple of seasons, with a bit of success in there as well, and to test myself in League One this season I realised was a real step up for me and it was important that I got my head round it and did everything to sharpen up.
I remember the first day I came in, thinking how high the quality was. Muzzy (Carayol) was putting me on my backside a few times in training and I realised this was a massive step. But one thing you can say when you come from a lower level is that you earn everything you get and there’s no fluke in it. I didn’t see this year going as well as it has for me and you just roll with it and try to enjoy every moment. It has been a difficult year but it has also been a great year.”
Max Crocombe joined this team from Grismby Town a division below, linking up with an old manager although only as the backup to Jamal Blackman to begin with. Despite a long career involving several English clubs, he’d never actually played as high as League One before but it didn’t take very long before he’d overtaken Blackman as the top choice, outlasted the manager who signed him, and ended up being the Brewers’ most consistent player throughout a season which only saw them avoid relegation on the final day. Now he’s the club’s Player of the Season.
Burton Albion’s campaign ended with a huge sigh of relief after they were defeated 3-0 by already-relegated Fleetwood Town... but still survived thanks to Cheltenham being unable to win against Stevenage (they lost 2-1... though there were some sweaty moments of score-checking while Chelts were at 1-1 for most of the second half). Regardless, what a time Max Crocombe had. Sixth-most saves in League One (130) with a save percentage of 70.3% which was good for 13th in the division. Nine clean sheets despite playing for a team in a relegation battle. He was an ever-reliable presence and they probably would not have stayed up without him.
Not such a happy tale for Deklan Wynne at Port Vale because they did get relegated. Wynne never actually played for them. Only joined late in the campaign and made the bench for just one measly game. At least it kept him busy... and he is in negotiations to return for next season which makes this make a whole lot more sense.
Unfortunately this absenteeism is a common theme for kiwi fullbacks at the moment. Aberdeen played Motherwell up in Scotland this week and the left back for the Dons went off injured yet James McGarry remained on the bench, while Callan Elliot hasn’t made a matchday squad for Motherwell since early March and is yet to debut for them at all. Early March was also the last time that McGarry got any minutes. Elliot is allegedly signing with Auckland FC so if that comes to pass and he never debuts for Motherwell then it’ll be the second time he’s gone to Europe without ever getting on the pitch in a proper game (after his time in Greece with AO Xanthi).
Up Next: As soon as one season ends, preparations for the next begin
Tyler Bindon - Reading (English League One)
Reading FC: “Tyler Bindon marked a stunning opening season in professional football by securing 2nd place in the supporter vote. Having made the long journey east from LAFC last summer, the youngster has developed fantastically throughout the season, and has shown maturity in his game well beyond his years. His partnership with fellow centre back Amadou Mbengue has been a huge catalyst for the Royals fine form in the second half of the campaign, and he has also contributed at the other end of the pitch with goals against Leyton Orient and Lincoln City.”
Second place on the fan votes for Player of the Year. Lewis Wing won the award with 60% of the ballots, while Harvey Knibbs crept into third. Great recognition for an incredible season. Bindon was in and out a little to start with and alternated between central and right-sided defence... but after a few financially enforced mid-season sales he stepped into an undisputed starting CB role and was outstanding the rest of the way – as the Royals made a remarkable survival run. Back in January they had to abandon a game against Port Vale due to a pitch invasion from fans upset at the club’s awful ownership. There were points deductions. There were tales of player salaries not being paid on time. Cost cutting across the club. They even almost sold their training grounds.
At the time of that Port Vale abandonment, they were lingering in the relegation zone despite having had a nice wee run of results just prior (a points deduction will do that to ya). Since then they’ve taken 32 points from 21 games, a rate of success that would have had them challenging for playoffs if they’d sustained it over a full season. They ended up finishing 16th to avoid relegation with room to spare and it all finished with a 3-2 win against Blackpool, with Bindon subbed off with quarter of an hour to go – probably in part to give the home fans a chance to applaud him off the pitch in the final game of the season.
Bindon played the fourth most minutes in the Reading squad with 3384. Not only did he play more minutes than any other League One player born in 2004 or later but he raised the bar on the rest of those teenagers by more than a thousand minutes (next up was Shaqai Forde of Leyton Orient at 2304 mins). There are exactly 50 players who fit that criteria by the way. A little way short of Max Crocombe’s 3848 minutes, albeit. Fun fact: Bindon and Crocombe had the same number of assists this season... one each.
Of course, a campaign like this gets you wondering about possible transfer buzz. Especially when we’re talking about a youngster at a financially-embattled club (although there is a potential takeover in progress now). Bindon signed a two-year deal so he remains under contract, making him one of their most bankable players if they do need to scrape up some more cash. He’d do himself no harm by hanging around for another year with what’ll hopefully be a more stable Reading FC team, with guaranteed first team footy, but we’ll just have to hang back and see what unfolds.
Up Next: Next time we see him will probably be for the All Whites
Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon (English League Two)
Can’t say this has come as any surprise, given how Tzanev was knocked back to second place in the pecking order at the Dons this season, watching from the sideline right up until the last couple of games when Alex Bass was injured and Tanz was able to say farewell properly before his contract expires in a few weeks. Last week’s 3-2 loss to Tranmere Rovers wasn’t so flash but then came a 5-1 win at home against Walsall in the finale which and that was a fitting way to say ka kite.
Other than that he’d been an unused sub in 43/44 games, missing one for All Whites duty and that was it. Did make seven appearances across cup competitions. All in all he made 126 appearances for AFC Wimbledon, keeping 31 clean sheets. Served his apprenticeship for several years before getting the chance to be the main man over the previous two-and-a-bit seasons... then someone else came along and did the same thing to him so now he’s moving on. The circle of goalkeeping life.
Up Next: Leave that one to the agent
Katie Bowen - Inter Milan (Italian Serie A)
Hey would you look at that? Inter Milan beat Juventus 2-0 with Katie Bowen playing the full match at centre-back. Elisa Polli (19’) and Haley Bujega (44’) got the goals. This win doesn’t change much for Inter who are either going to finish fourth or fifth... but it is one of their best individual results of the campaign. They did beat Roma 2-0 back in January, to be fair, and Roma have now officially won the Scudetto after this outcome.
Up Next: Inter vs Fiorentina at 10.30pm on Wednesday (NZT)
Riley Bidois - Loudon United (American USL Championship)
What do we reckon, was this accidental backwards touch via a rebound off the post worthy of Riley Bidois being credited with an assist?
Probably not... but who cares. The official USL statkeepers have given it to him which means an assist on his starting debut for Loudon United. That first start alone was a nice milestone, coming after three substitute appearances. Good to see, good to see. Loudon United did end up losing 3-1 to an in-form Sacramento Republic though, as they conceded twice after the 85th minute (Bidois had been subbed by then). Only other USL bloke of note this week was Kyle Adams who captained Louisville City to a 6-0 win over Hartford Athletic. Lou City have won six out of seven matches.
Up Next: Loudon United vs Detroit City at 11am on Sunday (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - Hansa Rostock (German Bundesliga 2)
Guess who got seven minutes off the bench in a 1-0 defeat against St Pauli? First minutes for Singh after since getting half a game against Kaiserslautern on March 2. He wasn’t even in the squad for the past five matches, during which time he played an hour of a reserves team game and got two assists. Once more for the folks in Rostock: Free Sarpreet!
Jackson Irvine scored the winner for St Pauli. Aussie international. That lot remain top of the table and on course for promotion to the Bundesliga whereas Hansa Rostock are now second-to-last with three games left after their third defeat in a row. Perhaps only giving Singh 348 minutes across the first 31 matches of the 2.Liga season wasn’t actually a very good idea.
Up Next: Hansa vs Karlsruher at 11pm on Saturday (NZT)
Scott Morris - Stoke City (English Championship)
If you were wondering what’s been up with Scott Morris since he joined Stoke City... the answer is not much. He’s just been keeping his head down and working away in training but he did manage to play for the U21s in their last Premier League 2 game of the season, subbed on just before half-time after Tommy Simkin got a red card...
So that was cool. They went on to lose 2-1 to Newcastle United, same scoreline as when he was subbed on. Morris did sit on the bench for one other PL2 game against Manchester City back in January, right after he was signed. But at 23 years of age he’s limited with those U21s opportunities – you can only pick a certain number of overage players and how often are you going to use them on a goalie, let alone a backup goalie? Just lucky he got this chance... shout outs to Mr Simkin for the red card. Same bloke who was one of the three separate emergency loan keepers who played ahead of Jamie Searle at Forest Green Rovers this season so he’s now made amends to Aotearoa football. Good for him.
Morris is on a first team contract and as it stands there are only three goalies on the books for next term. Simkin is one of the others, along with current backup Jack Bonham. Their main choice this season was Daniel Iversen but he was only on loan from Leicester City. If things break right, Moz could maybe be the third-choice next season. Or perhaps a loan down the tiers to establish himself. We shall see.
Up Next: Miiiight have a chance at that travelling reserve goalkeeping jersey for the Olympics
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