Flying Kiwis – October 22
Ali Riley - Angel City FC (American National Women’s Soccer League)
The one thing that’s been missing since Ali Riley returned from that long-term injury was... well, the most important bit: the actual return. She’d made it as far as the bench after getting back into full training but hadn’t actually been subbed on in a game. Prior to this week, the last time she played a competitive game of football was for New Zealand against Zambia on 14 July 2024. But that was prior to this week. Angel City’s last home game of the season made for a perfect opportunity to say farewell not only to club captain Ali Riley but also to USA legend Christen Press, both of whom have announced their impending retirements.
Ali Riley pre-game: “I feel just so lucky to be here, standing on two feet with my boots on, able to put the kit on. It’s been hell this last year and I couldn’t have come back if it weren’t for the support of the club, my teammates, the fans, my family. Everyone who made me feel like I could do it and also that it was okay if I couldn’t. That’s more than I could ever ask for. Whatever happens tonight, I’m so proud of this team. It has been the honour of a lifetime to serve this club.”
Which didn’t really work from a footballing perspective because ACFC were beaten 2-0 by Portland Thorns. It’s not that they were distracted – the bigger blow was that they’d been eliminated from playoff contention right before this match kicked off. A draw between Gotham and Racing Louisville saw to that. Plus, like, Portland are simply a better team than Angel City.
But that at least meant the pressure was off and the focus could shift to celebrating Ali Riley (and Christen Press). That’s all the broadcast seemed to care about as the game got near its conclusion – and by the roars that Riley received when she warmed up, took her bib off, and eventually went and stood next to the fourth official it seems the crowd were mostly focused on that too. Christen Press had already been chucked on with half an hour to go so the anticipation was aimed at Ali and with eight minutes to go the people got what they were waiting for...
The roars continued every time she touched the ball. Riley had a nice spell of involvement soon after coming on where it seemed like everybody wanted to pass her the ball. The game then descended into some ‘get it in the mixer’ stuff in stoppage time but Angel City weren’t able to find a goal. Oh well, never mind.
At the conclusion they had a big old ceremony for Press and Riley with speeches made and family invited out there (Press even got her dog on the pitch). There were tribute vids (Riley’s is embedded below). Very emotional. Teammate Jun Endo was already in tears on the bench before Riley got subbed on. If you want to watch the whole thing, it’s included in the replay on NWSL Plus... free to watch from NZ as long as you sign up. Admittedly there’s not a whole lot of kiwi perspective in there but that’s to be expected. Claire Emslie spoke. Both her parents spoke. Ali spoke. It was all beautiful stuff.
There is one game left in the season but given that she only got eight minutes in what was effectively her testimonial, it’s probably best not to expect anything there. In which case Ali Riley will finish her NWSL career with 65 appearances, three goals and two assists, split between Orlando Pride and Angel City. She also played for Chelsea and Bayern Munich and most successfully spent many years with Rosengård in Sweden where she won three league titles, another three cup titles, and played 35 times in the Women’s Champions League (Ria Percival has the next most UWCL apps by a New Zealander with six). Prior to that she’d been awarded Rookie of the Year in the WPS back in America (the predecessor to the NWSL) and won the 2011 championship with Western New York Flash. Of course she also represented Aotearoa on 163 occasions, captaining Aotearoa in many of those. She’s the second most capped NZ footballer ever... just three matches behind Ria Percival – those two having shared the pitch for the majority of those games.
It would have been cool if she’d gotten a send-off for the Football Ferns too but that just wasn’t feasible. She’s played eight minutes in the past 15 months and has spoken about how her leg injury still bothers her. It’s a chronic nerve issue and she’s still taking injections in order to train and play. No need to keep putting her through all that for what’d only be an honorary gesture, especially with the team trying to build into the next World Cup cycle. But with the Ferns playing in North America next week perhaps they can get her around in a non-playing capacity.
Ali Riley on her injury: “I went into a 50-50, landed awkwardly, and I just felt burning down my whole left leg. I had never felt anything like that before, and for months I couldn’t walk. You get like these lightning strikes burning your leg. I called them ‘zingers’. I had medical professionals saying to me: ‘It’s in your head, so if you meditate, you won’t feel it.’ That’s not correct, that did not help me. We were trying medication, injections, but the pain, it takes your breath away, like someone stabbing you. I went in the gym every day for seven months and saw no progress. And then we found a doctor in Salt Lake city who – I thank him – tried a different injection and eventually I got to where I am right now. I can use my leg to play soccer. For two hours I can be on the field and feel great. The rest of the day is still pretty tough. I can perform, I can train and I get to be with my team. But physically and emotionally, I can’t do this for longer than probably another couple of games, so I can’t keep living like this. I am retiring because I have to take care of myself.”
Up Next: Chicago Stars vs Angel City FC at 11am on Monday 3 November (NZT)
Max Crocombe - Millwall (English Championship)
The move to Millwall was one that Max Crocombe couldn’t turn down. Already in his 30s, having battled his way up the divisions from non-league stuff, when else would he get a chance to play in the Championship? Gotta give it a crack. Suffice to say it hadn’t worked out as planned over the intervening few months with Millwall also signing a loanee from Fulham, Steven Benda, to start ahead of him and both lads probably only keeping the gloves warm for the injured Lukas Jensen.
Crocs has been left to content himself with a couple of EFL Cup appearances and little else – what’s worse is that he got injured in warm-ups for one of them whereupon Benda replaced him and then they got knocked out on penalties. As a consequence of that we just saw an international window where Alex Paulsen was given both starts while Max Crocombe watched on from his increasingly familiar spot on the bench. But just as things were getting grim, something happened to brighten the road again...
Steven Benda picked up a knock in training and was ruled out of the trip to face Queen’s Park Rangers. That’s since been confirmed as a groin injury and he’s expected to be out for three weeks (manager Alex Neill said they’re aiming for the international break in mid-November). By then it might not matter because he could have lost his spot completely based on what we’ve seen from Max Crocombe in his long overdue first pair of Championship matches.
Millwall served up the good stuff with a 2-1 win for Croc’s debut. Having spent nine games watching and wishing he was involved, it didn’t take long for that to be the case. Crocombe found himself having to make a diving save within thirty seconds of kickoff...
Aside from that he didn’t have much else to do. Millwall scored two good goals in the first half via Femi Azeez (36’) and Mihailo Ivanovic (45+4’) and then managed the game from there. Crocombe only made one other save... however there’s a lot more that goes into this gig than the shot-stopping. What impressed the Millwall fans so much was his assuredness. He looked good with the aerials, hoofed the ball to decent effect, and proudly commanded his area. He did concede with five minutes to go as QPR attempted a late comeback (tap in at the back post after Crocombe had been drawn out) so no clean sheet, sadly. But a very confident performance to show he belongs at this level.
And yes you’d better believe he went down with a sudden surge of cramp shortly after the QPR goal...
Pure coincidence that his medical treatment paused the game and allowed Millwall to reset while QPR lost the momentum they’d been building. Pure coincidence that the world’s greatest time-waster only ever seems to get cramp when his team’s in need of a breather. Well, mission accomplished because Millwall won 2-1.
Alex Neil, Millwall manager: “Yeah, I thought he did [well]. His kicking was good to start with at the start of the game. He made a really good save down at his right-hand side, from Harvey Vale, a shot from the edge of the box. Then we go up that side and Will [Smallbone] has his shot. I thought that settled him down really quite quickly. To be fair to Max, he’s been biding his time. He’s been hungry to play. He was due to play the Crystal Palace game. He then missed out because he hurt his toe, so that was a bit of a blow for him. Then today he managed to get his chance and he performed well.”
There was already a groundswell among Millwall fans to see Max Crocombe given a chance, particularly after the handful of games where Steven Benda errors cost them goals, and it’s safe to say that his very composed debut has turned that inkling into a widespread belief...
But that wasn’t it for the week’s mahi. Millwall also had a midweeker against Stoke City and this time Crocombe did get his clean sheet. The Lions were superb in the first half, scoring two early goals through Femi Azeez (10’) and Tristan Crama (21’) and they probably should have had more. As it happens, that was all they needed because Crocombe made a few sharp saves and Millwall came through with a 2-0 victory that lifts them up to third in the standings.
Two in a row with Max Crocombe between the sticks... in fact it’s four from four if you count his EFL Cup appearances as well. Should have been picking him all along but having to earn his way in after beginning as the back-up is normal procedure for Max Crocombe. He’s done it at Grimsby and Burton Albion. Now he’s doing it at Millwall.
Up Next: Millwall vs Leicester City at 3am on Sunday (NZT)
Alex Paulsen - Lechia Gdansk (Polish Ekstraklasa)
Meanwhile Crocombe’s rival for the All Whites number one spot simply carried on his fine form as Lechia Gdańsk won 2-1 away against Piast. They scored from a wonderful free kick five minutes before half-time, conceded from a cut-back and shot five minutes after half-time, and then thrillingly won it from a counter attack deep into stoppage time. This was one of those results that can kickstart an entire season.
Paulsen only had a couple of saves to make. Nothing he could do about the goal but he closed down the angles brilliantly to make a 1v1 save with a couple of minutes to go. If he didn’t step up there then it would have been a very different story. Plus it’s the same thing as Crocombe where it’s not only the saves he makes but the confidence he exudes. AP has looked comfortable since the first moment he arrived in Poland... even the Polish national team know about that.
A goalkeeper like that can make a big difference. Lechia have now played as many league games with Alex Paulsen as they did without him and the uptick is clear to see. Note that they did get a points deduction otherwise 15 points would be enough to put them in 11th place... but even with the deduction they’ve now risen out of the wooden spoon position and a couple more good weeks could see them comfortably midtable.
Lechia with Alex Paulsen:
1 W | 2 D | 3 L | 12 GF | 17 GA | -5 GD | 5 PTS
Lechia w/o Alex Paulsen:
3 W | 1 D | 2 L | 9 GF | 10 GA | -1 GD | 10 PTS
Up Next: Away to Rakow Czestochowa at 2.45am on Monday (NZT)
Kees Sims - GAIS (Swedish Allsvenskan)
And since we’re talking goalkeepers, here’s another one who’s been up to excellent things. This was the second of five starts that Kees Sims is going to get in the absence of the injured Mergim Krasniqi as his club seeks to close out the Allsvenskan term with European qualification. He didn’t keep a clean sheet in this one same as he didn’t in the last one but you know what he did do in both? He won.
GAIS beat Djurgården 3-2 this week, doing what they’ve gotta do in order to stay in third place. Sims made two saves along the way (one was a kick closing out at his near post, the other was a routine one from a long shot) on top some quality work sweeping behind his defence. GAIS went 2-0 up inside 25 minutes and played from in front the rest of the way. They conceded on 35’ to make it 2-1 when a chip into the area was chested down and then smacked past Sims from close range. They hit back on the hour to extend the lead again. Then they leaked one more with twenty to go as a cut-back cross was smacked into the top corner. No saving that. That last concession set up a sweaty finish but GAIS held on. Two down, three more to go.
Now here’s some more goalkeeping news...
Henry Gray’s popped back up for a brief stint with Braintree Town where he won Young Player of the Year after a half-season loan in the previous campaign. The club is local to Ipswich and he’s only been playing U21s (outside of his recent mahi at the U20 World Cup) so it all makes sense. Not sure how long he’ll be around but he went straight into the starting eleven this morning for a 3-2 loss against West Brom U21s in the EFL Trophy group stage. Would have been more fun had the WBA team included Gray’s NZ U20s teammates Noah Dupont and Joe Wallis but nah neither of them were involved. But you know who was? Tommy Smith. His late addition to the All Whites squad was obviously more about his off-field mana given that he’d been too injured to make the squad in the first place. But he start this game... before going off injured after 38 minutes.
Up Next: IF Brommapojkarna vs GAIS at 7am on Tuesday (NZT)
Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
Okay enough of the goalkeepers, time for some goal scorers and no surprises that this bloke would be dipping his toes again. Callum McCowatt can’t stop scoring goals for Silkeborg and he especially can’t stop scoring against FC København. Last time he pocketed a hat-trick against them as SIF fought back from three goals down to draw 3-3. This time he only scored once but it was the crucial first goal on the way to a 3-1 victory...
To put it simply, that’s the best win of Silkeborg’s season to date. They beat the defending champs and they beat them kinda comfortably, blitzing them with three goals in the last twenty of the first half and then controlling things from there. They’ve been so inconsistent this year but maybe this’ll be the one that really gets Silkeborg going.
As for McCowatt, no worries there. This was his sixth goal in his last five appearances and he has seven goals with an assist overall (12 games). Don’t forget the one he scored in Conference League qualifying either. McCowatt remains the equal-second top scorer in the entire Superliga. He was picked in the Superliga Team of the Month for September and just added another Team of the Round to his resume as well. He’d also played ninety minutes in five of his last six outings just to emphasise how important of a player he has become for this club.
Up Next: Vejle vs Silkeborg at 2am on Monday (NZT)
Abby Erceg - Deportivo Toluca (Mexican Liga MX)
Another one for Abby Erceg, making it two goals in her last three games. She’s always a threat from set pieces and we’ve known that for years. She also made 12 defensive recoveries, won all of her headers, and completed 89/92 passes in this game – which Toluca won 2-0 away against Necaxa.
This result confirmed with a game to spare that Deportivo Toluca will be competing in the Apertura playoffs this year. Their last league game is against one of the bottom teams and as long as they avoid defeat they’ll finish fourth, albeit that won’t quite be enough to qualify them for next year’s NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup (determined by combining the Clausura and Apertura standings from 2025). But that’s okay, who cares about that. What matters is that they’ll soon be competing in a two-legged quarter-final. Abby Erceg, one of Aotearoa’s most decorated footballers ever, is back competing for silverware.
Up Next: Toluca vs Puebla on Saturday 1 November TBD (NZT)
Hannah Blake & Michaela Foster – Durham FC (English Super League 2)
Mickey Foster Olimpico? Come on, we’ve seen that one before. Many times in fact... nobody does it better. But this was a particularly meaningful one because she scored it against WSL club Liverpool during their League Cup group game on Thursday night local time. Cup footy means a bit of rotation so Hannah Blake only played half an hour off the bench (and Mariana Speckmaier was an unused sub) but Mickey Foster just so happens to be a massive Liverpool fan so she wasn’t going to miss this.
Foster only played the first half during which Liverpool expectedly dominated. The Reds had taken the lead after 27 mins when Ceri Holland scored a banger but a second goal proved tricky for them against this deep-set Durham team... which included Foster not at centre-back where she’s predominantly been used this season but in midfield (where she’s likely to play for the Football Ferns next week). That meant a few more chances to step over halfway than she’s been used to lately. Only a few given the state of this contest although that was enough to allow her at one stage to rip a shot from range that was tipped wide by the keeper at full strength. It was from the resulting corner kick that she made it swish.
Liverpool then ramped it up even further in the second spell and ended up winning 2-1 thanks to an 86th minute winner. Bummer. Durham nearly snatched a point off a WSL team and would have had a penalty shootout for a bonus point to follow. Wasn’t to be... can’t really argue after only keeping 25% of possession though. On the whole, it was another encouraging performance.
There isn’t much to say about Sunderland’s 1-0 loss to Sheffield United in their game. Again there was rotation and that meant Katie Kitching only got about twenty minutes off the bench. Sunderland are in the same group as Durham and have now lost both games, already eliminating them from any chance of progressing to the knockouts. They were previously beaten 5-0 by Liverpool. Durham are also out so it’ll be a dead-rubber when they face each other next month.
Which brings us to Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town where not only did Grace Neville play ninety for the visitors but we also finally got another Indy Riley appearance! She played the full game at right wing-back for Palace, just her second game of the season following a start in the 4-4 draw against Southampton in WSL2. Must be something about Indi Riley and exciting footy because this one was also a thriller, with Ipswich equalising twice along the way before Crystal Palace won it 3-2 with an 83rd minute goal. Neville nearly scored from a long free kick that missed everyone until it was cleared off the line. It was 2-2 at that point. Riley stayed very busy up and down that wing, looking to take on defenders and whip in crosses. Hopefully she’s passed the audition for more games.
Up Next: Football Ferns duty for all of the above
Liberato Cacace - Wrexham (English Championship)
Now that’s what we’re talking about... thirty minutes for Libby Cacace returning to the Wrexham side after injury. They said he was targeting a return after the international window and that’s exactly what’s happened. Cacace played in his customary left wing-back role in a 1-0 defeat away against Stoke City.
Phil Parkinson, earlier in the week: “Libby's been back in full training this week so he's looking stronger each day. It's been disappointing for him and for us but sometimes things happen and you've just got to get on with them. We've took our time and made sure he's right. He did a lot of work with the medical team on the grass last week; while other people were off, he's been in working and now he's joined in fully and he's ready to go.”
The defeat means that Wrexham still only have 10 points from 10 games but it’s important to note that the goal happened before Cacace was introduced, meaning that they still have not conceded with Liberato Cacace on the pitch. 189 minutes and counting. They’ve shipped 16 in the other 711 minutes (working out at almost exactly two goals per ninety minutes when Cacace’s not out there). They may choose to be careful with how they reintegrate him given that he’s already had one setback this year but there’s little doubt that he’s a first eleven dude for the Red Dragons.
Elsewhere there was a 0-0 draw for Swansea City away against Southampton in which Marko Stamenic played 84 minutes and got a yellow card. He was the only one of the four Championship lads who started for the All Whites during the last window and that didn’t slow him down at all. Three yellows in seven appearances means he’s already nearing a suspension though.
As for Tyler Bindon, he was an unused substitute for two Sheffield United victories: 1-0 vs Watford, 3-1 vs Blackburn Rovers. He’s the next man up at centre-back but is going to have to wait for his chance similar to what Max Crocombe has done. Good to at least see the Blades finding a bit of form under Chris Wilder’s watch. Bindon had teacher’s pet status under the previous manager but the wider dysfunction meant that was never going to last. This is a battle-hardening phase of his career which should make him a stronger, more resilient player in the long run (just think about what the start of Chris Wood’s career looked like and what he’s achieved since).
Up Next: Wrexham vs Oxford United at 7.45am Thursday, then Middlesbrough vs Wrexham at 3am on Sunday (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
Joe Bell didn’t take the pitch in either of the All Whites games during the October window – not even the one in Norway where he lives and works. He was held out with an injury niggle and the reason they didn’t want to risk anything is because he’s up to his neck in a title challenge with Viking. Bellinho is absolutely essential to what VFK have been up to and if they can get their mitts on the trophy then it’ll be a career highlight for all involved. Legendary activities in the making... maybe.
There weren’t any major Joe Bell highlights from the match away against Tromsø, other than him leading them out as captain in the absence of Zlatko Tripic. That’s cool, they didn’t need him to do anything more than what he usually does by anchoring the midfield and getting the ball rolling. Viking conceded first against Tromsø, not an uncommon occurrence, but they promptly won a penalty to get back level and then went on to win 3-1 thanks to a couple second half goals. Aussie Nick D’Agostino scored the third from the penalty spot near the end.
All wins are valuable wins in this situation. This one was especially so because fourth-placed Tromsø were easily the toughest opponents left for Viking. With five games remaining, they’re first by a single point. Bodø/Glimt won 5-2 against Sarpsborg so nothing has changed at the top; B/G are one point back with a game in hand. Still a fair bit of water to go under the bridge... although next week B/G face Molde a mere four days after a trip to Turkey to face Galatasaray in the Champions League so that could lead to the slip that Viking are banking on. If not then fair play because Bodø/Glimt will have earned it the hard way.
Recapping our other Scandinavian title challengers, Gabi Rennie’s Eskilstuna United won 2-0 against Trelleborgs. No goals or assists for Rennie but as usual she was an absolute menace up the right wing, with five successful take-ons, three fouls won, five interceptions, and plenty of attacking touches... although her crosses didn’t quite hit the target this week. Didn’t need to. In beating the third-placed team, Eskilstuna United remain first by three points and have opened up a seven point gap between themselves and third. Automatic promotion just got one large step closer.
Owen Parker-Price copped a stink one though. His Örgryte team dominated the first half away against Falkenberg but they didn’t make it count for anything and then conceded early in the second spell. They went on to lose 3-0 after Falkenberg scored twice more in the final ten minutes (OPP was subbed before the third goal). That’s not a fatal blow to their hopes but it does drop them from first to third after both Kalmar and Västerås won their own fixtures. With three games to go, the worst that can happen to Örgryte would be a promotion playoff... but seeing as they face Västerås and then Kalmar in their next two matches there’s no reason to settle for that.
Up Next: Viking vs Bryne at 3am on Sunday (NZT)
Elijah Just – Motherwell (Scottish Premiership)
Disappointing result but Eli Just in the graphic means Eli Just on the pitch. EJ missed two games during this absence (including a 3-2 loss away against Celtic) as well as two more All Whites games – a rare thing for a dude who had previously played in 38/42 internationals since his debut.
Just played 65 minutes against Falkirk as his team coughed up a 1-0 lead at half-time to lose 2-1. He would have had an early assist after a little give-and-go with Ibrahim Said except they ruled it out by VAR because of a perceived foul during the move. Couple shooting opportunities that Just could have done more with, particularly the lefty one that he dragged later in the first half, but his link-ups were fantastic. A nice return picking up where he left off. Now here’s an excerpt from an interview he did with the club website in which he summarises his career path to date...
Elijah Just: “They said to be careful going to Scotland because it may not be best suited to me. I’ve exceeded my expectations so far in terms of how well we’ve played, but the most important bit is being effective in getting results. We’ve had five draws in the league, but there could easily be a couple of wins in there. I do think the way we’re playing is conducive to getting good results, and it’s so impressive to see the fans on board. I think everyone can feel the belief they have in us, which is a huge help. I think coming into the start of the season, there were a few things I knew I would be able to do in terms of with the ball and connecting teammates. There are things I had to prove, which was making sure I was working hard and fighting for everything. As a smaller player, especially in Scotland, you can’t just be the player with the ball. So, I’m making a real effort to work hard off the ball and fight to help with what the team needs.”
As for George Stanger, he returned from his first senior international call-up (still waiting for a debut though) to play an hour for Kilmarnock against Hearts... where they lost 3-0 and Stanger was subbed in between the second and third goals as Killie unsuccessfully tried to find a way back. Forget that one, then.
Up Next: Livingston vs Motherwell at 3am on Sunday (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
Boxy wasn’t supposed to play against LA Galaxy in the last round of the regular season. They named him on the bench but surely would have preferred to let him rest after starting both games for New Zealand during the international window. But then Morris Dugan got injured late in the first half and Boxall ended up having to play 50 minutes. No stress, no drama. This was only the third time he’s ever come off the bench for Minnesota United in 243 MLS appearances for Minnesota United – all of them have come this year.
Minnesota United lost 2-1 in a slack performance which means they missed the chance to move up from fourth place in the Western Conference. Portland Timbers were even worse losing 4-0 at home against San Diego with Finn Surman rested entirely. He was listed as questionable after feeling some soreness during training, having also started both games for New Zealand across the international window. Coach Phil Neville said he was “50/50” going into the San Diego game. Never worth the risk even though it would have taken some convincing.
That was a particularly bad result for Portland because it meant they dropped to eighth and now have to win a play-in game against Real Salt Lake in order to make the playoffs. That’s a short turnaround... not ideal if Surman is dealing with a knock (although, again, there’s no way they’ll be able to restrain him for that).
Elsewhere Bill Tuiloma didn’t play during Charlotte’s 2-0 win against Philadelphia (in which star player Wilfried Zaha got a red card leaving him suspended for the first game of the playoffs). And Tyler Boyd got 35 minutes off the bench as Nashville lost 5-2 against Inter Miami with Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick.
Charlotte finished fourth in the East while Nashville were sixth. That means all four NZers in the MLS have qualified for post-season footy. Minnesota and Portland could meet in the conference semis if they both progress that far. The play-in game is a single-legged affair, round one is two legs home and away, and then it’s back to single match elimination the rest of the way until there’s only one team left standing. The last New Zealander to make the MLS Cup Final was Bill Tuiloma with the Portland Timbers in 2021... but he was an unused sub. The last NZer to play in the final was Ryan Nelsen way back in 2004. Long way to go before we can even think about adding to that list, though.
And of course there’s this too (Boxall finished seventh)...
Up Next: Portland vs Real Salt Lake in the play-in on Thursday at 3.30pm... with round one starting on Monday (NZT)
Kate Taylor - Dijon FCO (French Première Ligue)
That’s a 1-1 draw at home against Fleury. There’s no shame in losing to Paris FC or PSG as Dijon have already done this season but being beaten 4-0 by Strasbourg and now dropping points against Fleury is where it gets odd. The main reason they were able to finish fourth last season was that they went undefeated against the teams beneath them. Having said that, they did draw twice with Fleury so maybe this isn’t actually that much of a drop. Anyway, Kate Taylor is one of three players who’ve played every minute of the club’s first five games. At this point it’s safe to say she’s one of our top performing overseas pros (although she did miss a wide open goal side-footing onto the crossbar from a corner kick in this match).
Up Next: Nantes vs Dijon at 5am on Sunday 2 Nov (NZT)
Katie Bowen - Inter Milan (Italian Serie A)
Another draw for Inter Milan, failing to find a way past Parma at home in a 0-0 draw. But in amongst that we saw Katie Bowen start and do an hour as the right wing-back. As mentioned last week, Inter have five full internationals competing for centre-back minutes so it’s great to see Bowen also getting consideration out wide as well to keep her around.
Up Next: Internationals... then Roma vs Inter Milano at 11.30pm on Sunday 2 November (NZT)
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
Not sure what Ange Postecoglou said to Chris Wood as he subbed him on with around quarter of an hour left in a 3-0 defeat against Chelsea. Maybe it was some tactical advice. Or maybe he just wanted to say goodbye and good luck because the writing was already on the wall at that stage.
Postecoglou failed to win at the eighth attempt and within twenty minutes of the final whistle his sacking had already been announced. Clearly they had that tweet waiting in the drafts ready to go... makes you wonder why they bothered giving him the international break if they were waiting to sack him at the next setback. But then a lot of things don’t make sense at Nottingham Forest these days – such as the decision to hire Postecoglou in the first place when his style was so incongruous with what this squad was built to do.
The first half had been alright, Forest keeping it level without creating anything of note on attack. But then they conceded twice in seven minutes to begin the second spell and when the cameras cut to the crowd and owner Evangelos Marinakis was no longer in his seat it was clear that doings were afoot. They didn’t even go down swinging... Wood touched the ball once and it was a tackle. Forget about it. The important thing is that we’ve come to the end of an error and in what can only be perceived as an act of apology towards The Woodsman... NFFC have hired his old Burnley boss Sean Dyche to be the new coach. Now that’s what we’re talking about.
The fears about how Big Ange was going to marginalise Wood because “he didn’t fit the style” turned out to be false ones. All Postecoglou did was rotate his strikers between Europa League and Premier League like any manager would. Wood was a substitute for both Europa games under Postecoglou but he started every Prem game until the most recent one... which got Postecoglou fired (that may have had more to do with Wood returning from the international break with a slight niggle than him being dropped by a manager trying to save his job). In fact, Ange even made The Woodsman his captain for the game against Sunderland. Chris Wood remained an integral part of the team during this spell even though his form dipped with a few bad misses in front of goal. The problem was a team-wide one. Everybody slumped. The team hasn’t won a game since the opening day of the season (when Wood scored twice in a 3-1 win vs Brentford).
Now he’s been reunited with a manager for whom he scored 10+ goals in four consecutive Premier League seasons. Not as prolific as he was under Nuno Espirito Santo but that’s some crazy consistency for what counts as a very long time in this sport. It remains to be seen how Dyche will set this team up but we can trust it’ll be much closer to the Nuno blueprint than the Postecoglou blueprint.
Chris Wood Premier League Goals By Manager...
Sean Dyche (Burnley) – 49 goals in 144 games (221 min/g)
Nuno Espirito Santo (Nottingham Forest) – 33 goals in 55 games (138 min/g)
Steve Cooper (Nottingham Forest) – 4 goals in 22 games (212 min/g)
Eddie Howe (Newcastle) – 4 goals in 35 games (445 min/g)
Nigel Pearson (Leicester) – 1 goal in 7 games (114 min/g)
Roberto Di Matteo (West Brom) – 0 goals in 1 game
Tony Mowbray (West Brom) – 0 goals in 2 games
Ange Postecoglou (Nottingham Forest) – 0 goals in 5 games
One from the archives...
Up Next: The Dyche Era begins at home to Porto in the Europas at 8am on Friday (NZT)
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