Flying Kiwis – October 29
Elijah Just – Motherwell (Scottish Premiership)
For all his brilliant start to life as a Motherwell player, Elijah Just hadn’t actually scored for Motherwell yet. He’s third in the Scottish Premiership with three assists and he’d had several close calls for goals of his own. Even in this game he had a few. But when that first goal finally came, damn was it a memorable one. Third minute of stoppage time. Smashed past the keeper to win the game. Then he peeled off to celebrate with a steely look of contentment that comes with a job well done – he was probably the calmest man in the stadium in that moment.
Motherwell needed this win. They’d started the league with five consecutive draws before finally beating Aberdeen 2-0 while Just was injured. He then missed a loss against Celtic (and some All Whites games) before returning in a loss against Falkirk. This team have been playing some gorgeous football and EJ has been heavily involved in all that yet they’d struggled to turn those performances into results. After a poor first half away against Livingston left them 1-0 down at half-time (and fortunate that it wasn’t more), it seemed like another stink one was on the way. Until Elijah Just helped turn things around.
The second half was like an entirely different as Motherwell got back on terms thanks to a handball penalty converted by Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (59’) and the Aussie forward soon had the ball in the net again, tapping in after Just had broken the defensive line and unselfishly squared the pass after drawing out the keeper. But Just was judged offside – which looked obvious in the moment although the replays showed it was actually a very tight call. He then set up another great chance with a flick pass between two defenders in the area only for Callum Slattery to blast off target. As the game slipped into stoppage time, Just again got denied by the offside flag, this time nodding home after a teammate had hit the crossbar. Turns out he was offside then too. Not to fear, we know how this story ends. He was simply waiting for the most dramatic moment. Livingston 1-2 Motherwell. Hugely valuable points for the Steelmen.
Elijah Just: “We're really happy, but already we're thinking about Wednesday and our next fixture. When the games are coming so fast we're just looking at game after game and we have to keep playing well. I think we're playing well, but we've left a lot of points on the table so we need to keep working hard. When the results go our way a little bit better I'll enjoy it even more. Where we are in the table and the congestion of teams, three points is really important. We will take care of Wednesday and then look ahead to the weekend.”
But hold on because that’s not all. Kilmarnock may have lost 3-1 at home against Rangers but they were level at 1-1 at half time and the reason that was the case was because of George Stanger’s second goal of the season. He’s always had a knack for popping up on the end of set pieces and this was another example of that happy tendency. Would not have expected him to be outscoring Elijah Just at this stage but hey the season is yet young. The main thing is that we’ve got two kiwis balling out in Scotland right now and they both scored goals this past matchweek...
Up Next: Motherwell vs Dundee at 8.45am Thursday in the Premiership; Motherwell vs St Mirren in the League Cup semi-final at 6.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Liberato Cacace - Wrexham (English Championship)
The conservative thing would have been to give Libby Cacace another game or two off the bench after returning from two separate muscle injuries to begin his tenure with Wrexham – the first injuries of his professional career, by the way. But that would be underestimating how valuable this guy already is to his new club despite only having played a handful of games. Cacace missed seven of Wrexham’s first nine league games before returning with half an hour off the bench against Stoke last weekend. They lost that game 1-0. They’d only won two of those nine matches. Oxford United were coming to town for a midweeker and they needed their kiwi left-back so it was straight back into the starters for Cacace.
Where he was awesome in a 1-0 victory. The first half was brilliant from Wrexham, best they’ve played in front of their home fans to date. Nathan Broadhead squeezed one over the line after 14 minutes to give them a 1-0 lead that they probably should have extended along the way. Cacace was finding all sorts of space up the left wing. He smashed a shot on target after one of those runs early on, winning a corner. He got the honours of hitting an indirect free kick after the Oxford keeper handled a backpass to avoid a freaky own goal (smashed it straight into the wall though). He also hurled in some crosses and did plenty of good work consolidating possession – albeit with a few stray passes while he figures out his combinations and gets accustomed to the pace of the Championship. All things considered he looked fantastic.
The second half wasn’t as flash. Cacace became a lot less prominent as the fatigue began to set in, given his lack of match fitness, although it was mostly that Oxford Utd changed their formation at the break which instantly brought them back into the game and then it really got frisky after Callum Doyle was red carded for Wrexham on 67 mins. But the Red Dragons battled through for the clean sheet and the 1-0 victory. Cacace played 88 minutes before getting his rest. That took him to 277 total minutes played for the club and Wrexham have not conceded a single goal while he’s been out there.
Sadly, that streak finally ended on the weekend. Having helped the team to a much-needed victory, Cacace was eased back to the bench for the weekend’s visit to Middlesbrough as one of three changes. Josh Windass put them ahead after seven minutes with a deflected long strike but against a very good Boro team they struggled for possession and didn’t have too many more worthy shots – albeit Keifer Moore did hit the crossbar with a header, missing the opportunity to go two up. Boro made four half-time substitutions though, so Wrexham definitely had them rattled.
Cacace came on in place of Ryan Longman for the last 25 mins with the Red Dragons still grasping that 1-0 advantage and it was a clever touch from to slip between two Boro players and drive into the other half that led to Moore’s missed header. Cacace looked sharp (he always does), coming up with a few smart defensive acts and making good decisions with the ball. But Middlesbrough’s pressure did pay off with ten to go when Hayden Hackney got around George Dobson too easily to head home a deep cross from Cacace’s side. That was 15 mins after he’d been subbed on so it took 292 mins for Wrexham to concede with him on the pitch. The match ended 1-1, as Wrexham managed to cling on the rest of the way for a handy point.
They then made a bunch of changes for the EFL Cup fourth round where they lost 2-1 to Cardiff City. Libby Cacace wasn’t in the matchday squad – meaning he didn’t play any of their League Cup matches this season. Big game on the weekend to save him for instead, when Wrexham host the league leaders.
Up Next: Wrexham vs Coventry at 9am on Saturday (NZT)
Max Crocombe - Millwall (English Championship)
Across the Championship and EFL Cup, Millwall have won 5/5 games with Max Crocombe between the sticks and they’ve won 4/10 games with Steven Benda in goal. Winning early round cup games is one thing but since Benda got injured, Crocombe’s done three in a row in the Championship (his first three Championship appearances), keeping clean sheets in the last two of those and only conceding late in the other. The most recent victory was a 1-0 result against Leicester City who were playing Premier League last year, where Crocs made three saves on a flawless afternoon. It was second half stoppage time before the Foxes got a shot on target from inside the penalty area. Meanwhile, Femi Azeez scored for the fourth game in a row (and also won a penalty which Mihailo Ivanović missed) as Millwall have hauled themselves all the way up to third on the ladder after 12 matches.
There are some obvious differences between Benda and Crocombe. Benda plays further off his line and is a much better passer. Crocombe, however, is stronger in the air, a more effective shot-stopper, and seems the more composed presence of the two. Benda conceded 1.33 goals per ninety minutes (nine games), Crocombe has conceded 0.33 goals/90 (three games). Benda has a save percentage of 57.1%, Crocombe right now is at 88.9%. We were already talking last week about how he seemed to have taken his long-awaited opportunity as the Millwall number one and that shout has only gotten stronger since the win against Leicester City.
Up Next: Away to Oxford Town on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Marko Stamenic - Swansea City (English Championship)
Hold up, don’t forget about this bloke either. Swansea City won 2-1 against Norwich City with Zan Vipotnik scoring both goals. Much needed points after three games without a win... and look who assisted the first goal...
We’ve seen that before. Graceful, smooth midfield mahi from Marko Stamenic. It’s something he does so well, carrying the ball through the midfield. That’s a first goal contribution for Stamenic with the Swans... to go with his four yellow cards. Crazy how quickly he’s become an integral part of their team.
And hopefully, having missed their EFL win against his very brief former club Nottingham Forest in September, he’ll get a crack against Manchester City in the next round tomorrow morning. Without ever making a Premier League debut, this could be the fourth time in his career that he’s face Man City (with a third different club!). Three of his first four Champions League appearances were against those blokes.
Marko Stamenic: “I’ve had the opportunity to play them probably more times than I’ve wanted. I played against them in Copenhagen and at Red Star. My dad was laughing that the odds are more often than not that you’re going to draw Man City in this cup — look what happened! No, [Haaland] didn’t play in [New Zealand’s friendly] against Norway but I’m hoping he plays here. Of course. You want the best players to play, so you can test yourselves against the best. But we won’t treat him any differently. We’ll stick to our game plan.”
Up Next: Swansea vs Man City in the EFL Cup at 8.45am Thursday (NZT)
Kees Sims - GAIS (Swedish Allsvenskan)
It has been an insane season in the Swedish top flight. Mjällby have shocked everyone to win the championship, a humble club from a fishing village with a population of just 1500 people... and they didn’t only win, they’ve broken the record points tally with two games to spare. This a club that has maybe 15% of the budget of previous champions Malmö, who themselves were beaten 3-1 at home by Hammarby most recently which confirms that Hammarby will finish second for their best finish in over two decades.
And currently fending off all challengers in third is GAIS, a club that was in the third division three years ago. We know the story here: starting goalkeeper injured, 22yo New Zealander Kees Sims gets to step up for the last five matches as they chase European qualification. They won 2-1 against Norrköping in the first, they won 3-2 against Djurgården in the second, and now they’ve put away IF Brommapojkarna 2-0 in the third. Clean sheet for Kees Sims who made four saves (including an outstanding 1v1 save near the end), was excellent with the ball at his feet, swept effectively behind his defensive line, and looked completely assured throughout. The local paper said he was “nearly flawless”.
Thanks to that Malmö result, GAIS now only need to win one of their last two matches (the second of which is against Malmö) in order to qualify for UEFA competition for the first time in 35 years. With a four point buffer and decent goal difference, they could lose both and still finish third, depending on other results. In any other season, if there wasn’t a fishing town winning the league, then this would be the talk of the entire nation. Nevertheless, GAIS are on the brink of something special and they haven’t missed a beat since Kees Sims took over the goalkeeping duties. The only worry is that their manager Fredrik Holmberg is doing so well that he’s now being linked with every available job in the country... including the national team gig.
Up Next: GAIS vs Östers IF at 4.30am on Monday (NZT)
Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premiership)
The funny thing about Andre De Jong’s national team recall is that after three years of being the forgotten man, overlooked even as his Stellies coach called him “one of the most underrated footballers in the country”, is that when the planets finally aligned for him to get back in the All Whites it was during one of the biggest dips that he’s experienced since joining his current club having gone 14 games without a goal across all competitions to start the season. He’s still been starting most games, continuing to be an important figure for the Stellies during what’s been a disappointing start to the season for the club. But no goals and only one assist in 14 games ain’t ideal.
Yeah but we don’t have to worry about that any longer...
That’s right, our guy scored twice in a hugely exciting 4-3 win against Golden Arrows (both simple finishes but who cares about that) as Stellies conceded three equalisers but not a fourth. Very valuable league win after their poor start.
Just prior to that, De Jong had skipped the 0-0 draw CAF Confederation Cup qualifying first leg away last week, against FC 15 de Agosto in Equatorial Guinea. Would imagine that was a logistical thing since that match took place just four days after Norway vs NZ... doubt they had a direct flight to Equatorial Guinea, right? Either that or he was simply rested. Anyway the second leg was at home on Monday morning NZT and would you believe it he scored then too. Stellies won 4-1 to breeze into the group stage for a second season in a row. Nothing to worry about there. Especially not with Andre De Jong rediscovering his touch, scoring three goals in two games to brush off any thoughts of a drought...
That wee ADJ dip means he hasn’t had a lot of mentions in these columns lately – only so many yarns can fit in any given article (and only so many hours in the day to watch, write, and research). Because of that, there hasn’t been room to mention that there was some sneaky transfer talk regarding Mr De Jong a few weeks ago. The PSL’s transfer window closed at the end of September and right before it did there was suddenly a strong rumour that Orlando Pirates were in the hunt for ADJ, only to miss out as negotiations collapsed around Stellenbosch’s unwillingness to sell a key player without time to find a replacement.
Nothing happened there but it’s been said that Stellies would be open to chatting further in January (ADJ is under contract for the rest of this season so there’d be a transfer fee in it for them... and also the risk of losing him for nothing at the end of the term if the player decides he wants to leave). Pirates are the team that beat Stellies 3-0 in the MTN8 Cup Final a few weeks back. Stellenbosch are in the CAF Confederation Cup but Pirates are competing in the CAF Champions League. Stellies only just got out of the relegation zone (after ten games) thanks to this latest win, Pirates are third with two games in hand that could send them top. This could be one of those Unrefusable Offers, particularly if De Jong can bang in a few more goals over the next two months.
Up Next: Marumo Gallants vs Stellies in the quarters of the Telkom Knockout at 6am on Thursday (NZT)
Matthew Garbett - Peterborough United (English League One)
Meanwhile in League One...
That’s the second of the season for Matt Garbett and it was another well-struck hit from outside the area, making things happen for Peterborough United. Not quite as flash as his first but they all count the same. Sadly, this goal wasn’t enough to save his manager’s job. Poor old Darren Ferguson got sacked by the Posh after the 2-1 defeat against Blackpool, ending his fourth tenure at the club... but at least it was a nice firing. Not often you lose your job and still have your old boss calling you the greatest to ever hold the role. With with Peterborough sitting last with only 10 points from 13 games it was clear that something had to change though.
A couple of things on the Garbett perspective here... one is that his goal had levelled things up against Blackpool (who sacked their manager a month ago) and it was still 1-1 when he was substituted with a little over ten minutes left. The Posh had plenty of chances along the way, attempting 27 shots in total (only six on target – Garbett was responsible for two of those, the other being and early crack from distance that was tipped over the top), so it was their own fault when they leaked a winning goal with five left. Point being it happened after Garbs had been subbed. The other thing is that Garbett has already become a fan favourite at Peterborough United and has been among their best performers so while any change in managers can be pesky, he shouldn’t see his role affected very much.
Up Next: Peterborough vs Cardiff in the first round of the FA Cup on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Abby Erceg - Deportivo Toluca (Mexican Liga MX)
Ah look another Team of the Week selection for Abby Erceg, her second of the season. She spent the first half of things battling through injury but since she got clear of that she’s been her usual impeccable self, including scoring a couple of goals. Obviously it’s an international window for the ladies at the moment so no club games going on... but when they come back, Toluca will have one more game to play before the Apertura playoffs swing around. They’re sitting fourth in the standings, a spot that they’ll consolidate with a win in the last game. From there it’s two-legged knockouts from quarter-finals onwards (including the final itself).
Toluca with Abby Erceg:
10 GM | 6 W | 3 D | 1 L | 21 GF | 9 GA | +12 GD | 21 PTS
Toluca w/o Abby Erceg:
6 GM | 3 W | 2 D | 1 L | 10 GF | 7 GA | +3 GD | 11 PTS
And since there was that week off, what better way to pass the time than by popping by when the Football Ferns came to town to face Mexico? There were no Toluca players in that Mexican selection, just so you know. Loyalties never needed to be split.
Notice how that picture has the two centurions in the current squad, Katie Bowen and Annalie Longo, who each would have played the most with Abby Erceg for the national team. It’s also got Milly Clegg who spent a year as Erceg’s teammate at Racing Louisville in 2024. And then there’s Claudia Bunge and Meikayla Moore who are two centre-backs who broke into the team once Erceg had settled into veteran status, effectively her two main protegees. Lovely stuff.
Up Next: Toluca vs Puebla at midday on Saturday (NZT)
Alex Paulsen - Lechia Gdansk (Polish Ekstraklasa)
It doesn’t happen very often but Alex Paulsen made a blunder this week. Rushed out to sweep a flick in behind his defensive line and he didn’t win the ball, allowing Lamine Diady-Fadiga to shoot into an empty net for the 30th minute lead. This was away against Raków and it ended up as a 2-1 defeat so that mistake was pretty crucial. First real hiccup that we’ve seen from AP in Poland – he’d otherwise been so impressively solid from the second that he arrived.
But this outcome wasn’t all his fault. Lechia drew level pretty much immediately with a nicely taken goal from Tomas Bobcek and then had the bonus of seeing Raków reduced to ten men before the first half was over. Yet somehow it was Raków that kept creating the best chances despite the numbers disadvantage. Paulsen made three or four very good stops before he was finally beaten by a rocket in the 78th minute that cannoned in off the underside of the bar from only about a dozen yards away. Unstoppable.
Subpar performance from Lechai and Paulsen wasn’t immune to the criticism... yet there’s a good case to say he made up for the mistake with his later saves. Onwards we go.
Up Next: Polish Cup on Thursday at 7.15am against Puszcza Niepolomice; then there’s a league game against Radomiak Radom at 6am on Tuesday (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - TSC Backa Topola (Serbian SuperLiga)
Take them however they come. Howling goalkeeper error? Yeah no dramas... especially when that goal drew TSC level with FK Radnički 1923 after 78 minutes. Alas, they then threw the bloody thing away by conceding a few minutes later via some horrible set piece defending to lose 2-1. A very fair result considering that Radnički 1923 hit the woodwork a couple times and had all the meaningful chances – Singh’s goal is about the only positive moment from TSC that made it into the official highlights package.
Not a good day’s work for Darije Kalezic’s side which has now lost three in a row. Singh did play ninety minutes though (with a yellow card) and he seemed to be one of the better TSC fellas out there. Good to see after he ducked out of the starting line-up for a few games prior to the international break. Singh has one goal and one assist from 11 matches this season (770 mins).
Up Next: Serbian Cup away to Graficar at 1am Thursday; then SuperLiga against Napredal at 4am Monday (NZT)
Finn Surman - Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
The Portland Timbers played it safe in the last game of the season by not risking Finn Surman after he picked up a slight knock in training after returning from Europe where he started twice for the All Whites. No need to be silly with it. Except they lost that game 4-0 against San Diego, a result which meant they sunk to eight and would have to win a play-in game in order to get to the first round of the playoffs. Not an ideal scenario but it wasn’t all down to resting Surman - Portland only won of their last ten games to finish the MLS regular season. Not good form to take into a must-win Wednesday nighter on the short turnaround against Real Salt Lake. Winner stays alive. Losers could start their holidays early.
Obviously there was no chance of Finn Surman skipping that game. He’d have played with a broken leg if had to. Therefore he was out there as Portland fed off the crowd, having the better of the early stages with a lot of crosses into the area, and eventually taking a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of Felipe Mora goals. Things were going great until an outstanding header five mins before the break brought RSL back into it and the second half was way more about Portland getting pushed back, focusing on protecting what they’d got with only a few rare counters. RSL hit the crossbar with a bikey. They had two disallowed goals (correctly so but the pressure was still real). But eventually Kamal Miller gave the Timbers an insurance goal, Surman’s CB partner of the day, and they advanced to the next round with a 3-1 victory. Rejoice.
The MLS Playoffs are weird because the first round (and only the first round) is a best of three series. No aggregate scores, just first to two wins. Penalties after every game if required (but no extra time). Well, they weren’t required as Portland were beaten 2-1 by top seeded San Diego FC in the first game, all the scoring taking place in the first half before Jimer Fory was red carded midway through the second. That gave Phil Neville something to complain about but in reality his team was second best and now need to win twice in a row to stay alive. Finn Surman played a full game though, he was awesome. He always is in the big games. They even sent him to do media duties afterwards.
There were no such worries for Michael Boxall and his Minnesota United squad, who have been pitted against the Seattle Sounders in a fourth vs fifth seed match-up. Despite having zero shots on target and only 35% of possession in a home playoff game... Boxy and the crew held on for a 0-0 draw and then won on penalties. That’ll do it. One more win required to make the second round, two more chances to get it. Boxall was very rudely excluded from the three-man shortlist for MLS Defender of the Year despite a fair bit of campaigning for his case but, in more positive news, it’s been confirmed that he’s met the requirements for his automatic one-year contract extension so he’ll be back in 2026 as a 38-year-old. No reason not to after the best year of his career.
Elsewhere, Charlotte FC lost 1-0 against New York City FC and Bill Tuiloma was an unused sub. Plus Nashville SC lost 3-1 away against Inter Miami (Lionel Messi scored twice) with Tyler Boyd as an unused sub.
Up Next: Portland vs San Diego at 2.30pm on Sunday (NZT)
Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
It may seem like Callum McCowatt scores goals every week but that’s not true. Every now and then he goes without one, as was the case when Silkeborg won 2-1 away against Vejle. Another good result for SIF as they begin to find some consistency seeking to rise up into the top half of the table where they belong. McCowatt may not have scored but he did get a shot on target after only ten seconds running onto a flick in behind. Good save to deny him. Vejle then took advantage of a miscommunication in midfield to go one-up after eight minutes but it didn’t take that long for Silkeborg to overcome that hurdle.
Tonni Adamsen ran onto an early ball in behind to equaliser on 19’. Then after McCowatt stung the palms of the keeper with a tight angle effort overlapping on the right (a spot we’ve seen him score from more than once lately), his next major involvement was over on the left side where, having just taken a corner kick, he got the ball back and slipped past a tackle, raised his head up, and picked out a wide open Pedro Ganchas with a pinpoint cross. Ganchas powered his header into the net for the lead (31’). No goals for McCowatt this week, just a cheek old game-winning assist instead...
Vejle were a bit better in the second spell but never came particularly close to scoring. 2-1 final score, get in. Keeps Vejle in last place and lifts Silkeborg up to seventh with only goal difference keeping them out of the top half now. McCowatt played 75 minutes. He’s up to seven goals and two assists in 13 league appearances this season and remains the equal second top scorer in the division.
Up Next: Away to Midtjylland at 5.45am Friday in the Danish Cup fourth round, then home vs Brøndby at 8am Monday in the Superliga (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
The story there is that a 9-year-old fan designed a special captain’s armband for Ryan Thomas to wear this past weekend, also getting to walk out with him as a mascot before kickoff. Cool story... except it didn’t end up happening. Young Moos still got to have his experience but it wasn’t with Ryan Thomas, who skipped the game against NEC Nijmegen... and then also the midweeker against Helmond Sport in the KNVB Cup first round (he might not have played that one anyway). They’ve been careful with how they’ve explained that absence, striking a balance between a minor injury and workload management, but there’s hope he’ll be back for the next match.
Zwolle coach Henry van der Vegt: “He has complaints that influence his fitness. We’re not going to take any risks.”
The report seems to be that he wasn’t entirely fit coming back from All Whites duty, having played 150-odd minutes across the Poland and Norway friendlies, and that they rushed him back into the side to face NAC Breda a few days later when perhaps they shouldn’t have. But this is nothing serious. He trained by himself prior to the cup game... which means that he still trained. There’s always going to be a bit of panic when the word ‘injury’ is associated with the name ‘Ryan Thomas’ but this sounds more like he just needed a rest. Zwolle drew 2-2 with NEC and then won 4-1 against Helmond Sport. They’re on an eight-game winless streak in the Eredivisie but have drawn three of their last five which is keeping them out of the relegation zone. Their next match is against last-placed Heracles who’ve lost 9/10 thus far.
Up Next: Heracles vs PEC Zwolle at 12.15am on Monday (NAT)
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
They put Chris Wood on the cover of the match programme for Sean Dyche’s first game in charge of Nottingham Forest... and then he didn’t even play. This was a Europa League game at home against Porto and The Woodsman missed it with a knee injury, his new gaffer having already said that he was a doubt the day prior. Not sure if this is related to whatever it was that he felt when he got subbed for the All Whites against Norway – he had gotten fifteen minutes in Ange Postecoglou’s last game in between though. Doesn’t sound like anything major.
Sean Dyche: “Woody got a knock. We’re wondering whether it's going to settle down - it’s probably touch and go at the moment, because it does need settling down. He’s been off the grass. We're going to have to be touch and go and see how that one is. We will see how he is.”
The European return hasn’t quite been worth the wait for Chris Wood thus far. He was an unused substitute against Real Betis, got fifteen minutes off the bench (with a goal from the penalty spot) against Midtjylland, and then missed the Porto game with injury. At this point not been any more prominent than he was with Birmingham back in 2011 as a 19-year-old the previous time he played Europa League. There are five more fixtures left in the League Phase so plenty more opportunities to come.
After Postecoglou coached eight games without a single victory, Sean Dyche got one at the first attempt. He picked his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation and had them looking much more solid out of possession. Very similar to the Nuno formula. Creating chances was more of an issue but thankfully a couple of VAR decisions went in their favour. There was a handball penalty upheld after 18 minutes, then Porto had a goal disallowed upon review early in the second, before another penalty went the way of NFFC with quarter of an hour to go... sending them to a 2-0 win. Both penalties converted. Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus. Devastating that Forest would win two pens in a game which Chris Wood, the greatest penalty taker on the planet, was absent for. But it was a good win that should finally get their European revival going.
By the way, the telly cameras cut away to Chris Wood watching from the stands when the first penalty was given and you just knew he was wishing it were him instead of MGW...
Woodsy was also absent for the Premier League game against Bournemouth that followed with the Cherries scoring twice in the first half on the way to a 2-0 win. Bournemouth are running second at the moment so that wasn’t a terrible result, on form it was a very expected one... though it does mean that Nottm Forest have now suffered four defeats in a row and zero wins in eight going back to the first game of the season (when Chris Wood scored a double in a 3-1 win against Brentford). They’ve only scored two goals in those eight games.
Sean Dyche pre-Bournemouth: “With Woody, we are still waiting on news. The injury is settling, but how quick it can settle we are waiting on more news on that.”
So yeah the knee just needs a bit more rest. Wait and see. Igor Jesus started ahead of him against the Cherries and had a stinker before being subbed off at half-time, with Taiwo Awoniyi taking his place and doing no better. In the meantime, The Woodsman was able to enjoy a bit of another type of football...
Up Next: Nottm Forest vs Manchester United at 4am on Sunday (NZT)
Moses Dyer - Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodian Premier League)
75th minute equaliser in an AFC Challenge Cup game away to Dewa United (Indonesia). Decent way to get the group stage underway. Moses Dyer now has six goals and two assists in nine appearances for Phnom Penh Crown.
Up Next: PPC vs Shan United at home in the next Challenge Cup match, tonight at 9pm (NZT)
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