Flying Kiwis – April 29
Meikayla Moore & Ally Green – Calgary Wild (Canadian Northern Super League)
Calgary Wild lost their inaugural game last week and it was Meikayla Moore who conceded the decisive penalty. To be fair, she played very well outside of that moment, leading the way at the back for the Wild, but that one mistake spoiled things. Fortunately, this week the Mouse made amends...
In the second minute of the match, no less. That’s the Wild’s first ever goal, more history from Meikayla Moore... and it set Calgary on the tracks towards their first ever win. One goal swiftly became two when Meggie Dougherty Howard scored a deflected effort in the seventh minute. Then Aussie forward Kahli Johnson added a third after 26 mins. It was emphatic enough that they subbed off Moore at half-time (she’d been knocked to the ground late in the half with an attacking corner but she looked to be moving fine when she went to ask the ref about it at half-time… precautionary at worst) – although Ally Green stayed out there at left-back until the 78th minute. By that time, opponents Halifax Tides had gotten a goal back via Markia Guay on the hour but Johnson scored a wicked finish catching the keeper out of position in the 82nd min to seal the deal on a 4-1 victory.
Meikayla Moore: “I’m absolutely chuffed to get on the board, especially our first goal for the club, it’s really special. Scoring goals is not my mainstay as a defender, but whenever we get an attacking free kick, especially in that area, it’s certainly my job to try to put my head on it and today I was able to.”
Great to see Moore and Green both immediately starting games and, especially in Moore’s case, having a really positive impact on the team. This was the kind of win that should give the Tide heaps of confidence. But there was one stink aspect to this game: it should have also been a debut for Milly Clegg with Halifax Tides... except she wasn’t in the matchday squad.
There’s been no explanation why so we’ll simply have to assume she had an injury. The Tides picked an all-Canadian front three and with a brand new league that’s played up the patriotic aspect as much as the NSL has, that could be a hurdle for Clegg minutes. But it’s irrelevant in this case because she wasn’t even on the bench. Clegg moved on loan to Halifax specifically to get minutes after barely featuring for Racing Louisville last year. You’d imagine Halifax offered some assurances for that move to come to fruition. Clegg does have a kiwi comrade on the coaching staff in Katie Barrott (formerly the Wellington Phoenix U20s coach). No dramas. In the meantime, it’s Moore and Green in the spotlight.
Up Next: AFC Toronto vs Calgary Wild on Friday at 11am (NZT)
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
Wembley Stadium. FA Cup semi-final. The priority is top five in the Premier League and qualifying for Champions League – a quest that was complicated further this week by Manchester City, Newcastle, and Chelsea all winning while Nottingham Forest didn’t play, meaning that Forest have dropped to sixth (with a game in hand that’ll send them back to third if they win) – but they were also only two games away from winning a shiny, shimmering trophy. Crystal Palace awaited in the final having won 3-0 against Aston Villa the day before. Nottingham Forest versus Manchester City would determine who’d meet them.
Chris Wood hadn’t started any of Forest’s previous FA Cup matches. He was injured for the previous round and came off the bench in the others, with these games usually seen as an opportunity to give Taiwo Awoniyi some minutes. Not here though. It was The Woodsman up top, playing at Wembley Stadium for the first time in a knockout capacity (though not for the first time overall because he scored there against Tottenham when Spurs were temporarily using the stadium while their new one was getting built).
Those massive occasion games can be difficult to settle into, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience with them. Nottingham Forest were always going to want to sit back and soak things up but they caught a wobble straight away when Rico Lewis drilled a shot into the bottom corner after 110 seconds to give Man City the lead. And it’s pretty hard to play that low block when you’re losing. City kept near-permanent possession in the initial phases, it took twenty full minutes before Chris Wood had an involvement that wasn’t an aerial challenge.
It got better after that. NFFC managed to string a few passes together which pushed Man City back. There were even a couple of instances where they tried to block them in deep, though City always managed to pass through. Wood was eyeing up a square ball from Hudson-Odoi but got blocked out by Joško Gvardiol before CHO was called back for an offside (Wood vs Gvardiol was a good battle). Still only 1-0 to MCY at the half. Nuno Espiroto Santo responded by subbing on Anthony Elanga... who responded by nearly scoring with his first touch (after another CHO square ball across the box). Suddenly that lead didn’t look as daunting... at least until Gvardiol banged in a header from a corner kick five mins into the second spell to make it 2-0. Mats Sels had just made a spectacular recovering leg save to keep out 8 but Forest couldn’t deal with the resulting set piece. Early concessions in both halves.
Morgan Gibbs-White nearly scored a worldie in the 65th min with a spectacular lefty volley that ripped off the crossbar. The move came from a slick counter that involved a bit of Chris Wood hold-up play amidst the pace of CHO and Elanga. Minutes later, MGW stole a loose back-pass and, from a tight angle, only managed to hit the post. But time was running out and the game was slipping away and the Premier League remains the priority... so Chris Wood was substituted after that second woodwork rattler. Believe it or not, his replacement Taiwo Awoniyi then hit the post with a rebounded effort himself. It simply was not to be. 2-0 to Manchester City. Nottingham Forest exit at the FA Cup semi-final stage... and now have four games remaining in their season, all aimed towards qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
Up Next: Nottm Forest vs Brentford at 6.30am on Friday; Crystal Palace vs Nottm Forest at 7am on Tuesday (NZT)
Moses Dyer - Galway United (League of Ireland Premier Division)
This was Shelbourne FC manager Damien Duff speaking about Moses Dyer after the kiwi forward scored twice to haul Galway United back to a 2-2 draw against his team...
“Of course we have our meetings but you don’t need me to highlight one of the top, if not the top, strikers in the league. Unless you’re hid under a rock. So yeah we knew he was a threat. And two goals again for him today.”
Duffman earned over 100 international caps for the Republic of Ireland and nearly 400 times in the English Premier League so we’d better listen to him when he says that Moses Dyer might be the top striker in the League of Ireland. It’d be rude not to. Especially since that claim has only gained in evidence since he spoke it, what with Moses Dyer scoring another brace a week later to lead Galway United to a comeback win against league leaders Drogheda United...
Two goals in two minutes. This week it was all about his desperation and determination, hustling his way into both of those goals as Galway Utd grabbed a brilliant victory to rise up to second on the ladder - only goal difference behind the team they just beat. We’re exactly one-third through the LOI season and seven of the ten clubs are separated by three points so it’s shaping as a bonkers (and wide open) title race. And Galway United are right in amongst it thanks to the goals that Dyer’s been scoring. Mighty Moses didn’t score in any of his first four games in Ireland but since then he’s averaged a goal per game, with seven from seven. He’s now the leading goal-scorer in the division.
If you’re wondering what it would take to get Dyer into All Whites contention, there’s a precedent for picking players out of this league thanks to Max Mata and Nando Pijnaker. Those two were amongst the very best players in their positions across the League of Ireland but right now so is Moses Dyer – and he’s got an Irish legend’s testimony to prove it. What’s more, Max Mata’s best season in Ireland saw him score 11 times from 23 games (leaving midseason to join Shrewsbury Town in England) and Dyer’s on pace to clear that sooner rather than later. That doesn’t make him a shoe-in... but it should get him into the conversation if he’s still doing this in a couple of months when Darren Bazeley next picks his squad. Even back in Canada, Dyer was talking about his desire to earn an All Whites recall. He’s motivated. That’s for sure.
Up Next: St Patrick’s Athletic vs Galway at 6.45am on Saturday (NZT)
Hannah Blake & Michaela Foster – Durham FC / Grace Neville - London City Lionesses (England Championship)
That’s what we like to see... maybe not what Grace Neville likes to see but things balanced out for her eventually. Neville has started three of the last four games for London City having not been in the eleven for a league game since October before that. She’s in a good spot as the Lionesses charge towards promotion.
London City would eventually level things up through an Isobel Goodwin finish after Sofia Jakobsson used the overlapping run from Neville to instead cut inside and cross. Fair enough, it set up a goal. Thus the match ended 1-1. It wasn’t the win that would have secured LCL the championship with a game to spare but with Birmingham City also drawing (1-1 vs Newcastle) it means that LCL only need to draw when they meet Birmingham next week in order to earn Super League promotion (and a trophy).
Speaking of resurgent starter status, Hannah Blake has only made three starts since November but she made this one count with that beautiful finish. She’s got four goals for Durham this season (three in the league, one in the cup) and this wasn’t even the best of them. Lately she’s had to be content with small substitute cameos despite having been a prominent figure earlier in the campaign so she had a point to prove and she proved it. Don’t forget Mickey Foster winning possession to begin that move either.
Add that all together and Grace Neville got ninety in a result that keeps London City on track for the title and promotion, while Durham got a very commendable point against the leaders with Michaela Foster playing ninety and Blake getting an hour’s action and scoring a goal (more than double her combined league minutes across the previous four matches). All the kiwis got something positive out of the match. Happy days.
Up Next: Durham vs Bristol City, Birmingham vs London City, both at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Jacqui Hand & Olivia Page - Sheffield United (England Championship)
Alas, relegation is no longer avoidable for Sheffield United. Heading into the penultimate round, and a match at home against Southampton, they needed to win and they did not. Even if they had won, they’d still have needed to back that up again next week because Portsmouth randomly thrashed Blackburn 4-0 a few hours later. It was a disappointing way to fall short of their ambitions but they gave it a good nudge. In fact, things were looking pretty good right about this moment...
Hand was moved out to the wing for this match and she was awesome. Nearly had an assist from an excellent cross during the first half which was touched wide. She was there on hand, so to speak, to score that equaliser five minutes into the second half (they’d conceded early from a header). Kept working throughout, trying to haul the Blades to victory. But sadly a lack of sturdiness and then a lack of pace in defence saw them concede a couple more times (should have picked Olivia Page, who was an unused substitute again). Jacqui Hand then continued her performance by winning a penalty that allowed Sheff Utd to get back within range right at the end. Abbie Lafayette converted it off the underside of the bar, great pen, but that was already seven minutes deep in stoppages. The final whistle followed soon afterwards and Southampton won 3-2.
That’s the second year in a row that Jacqui Hand has been relegated from this division. It happened with Lewes, now it’s happened with Sheffield United. It’s a first relegation for Olivia Page. Not sure what that’s going to mean for either of them in the future but they do have one more game to play first – against Katie Kitching’s Sunderland. Say, how about another angle of that Jacqui Hand goal...
Speaking of Katie Kitching, her Sunderland side were began atrociously away against Bristol City getting overrun constantly at the back. Even Kitch herself coughed up possession for one of those many chances. Bristol City scoring in the first minute of the match... yet somehow that was all they managed in the first stanza, so when Ellen Jones scored for Sunderland that made it 1-1 at HT. Kitching did nearly get one assist with a sweet flick in behind the defence... but with nothing on the line they subbed her and a couple other of their regular creatives off with half an hour remaining. Sunderland ended up winning 3-2 thanks to a very late Katy Watson goal.
Up Next: Sunderland vs Sheffield United at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Tyler Bindon - Reading (English League One)
Now that’s an iconic image. Tyler Bindon draped in the NZ flag... following yet another commanding defensive showcase. There’s no way he was going to drop his standards at this stage of the season. Reading had to dig deep away against Bristol Rovers, with both teams looking capable of scoring throughout the contest, but goals from Lewis Wing (67’) and Chem Campbell (90+4’) eventually gave the Royals a hard-earned 2-0 victory. Bindon made a whopping 16 defensive clearances in a match where defences in both directions had to do a lot more resisting than retaliating. But he got the job done.
The annoying thing is that Leyton Orient also won. They beat Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 which means they’ve won five on the trot to stay ahead of Reading on goal difference. These two teams are scrapping it out for the last spot in the promotion playoffs. Birmingham and Wrexham are already confirmed to be going up. Reading, despite all their off-field dramas, still have a chance to join them... but they’ll need to better Orient’s result in next week’s final round. Leyton Orient are away against mid-table Huddersfield while Reading are at home against mid-table Barnsley. The goal difference swing is eight so there’s no way that becomes a factor. Reading need Leyton Orient to slip up, which they haven’t done for over a month, and they need to capitalise themselves.
In other news, the EFL Awards have happened and it was Richard Kone (Wycombe Wanderers) who got presented with the League One Young Player of the Year trophy ahead of Tyler Bindon. Kone then also got presented with the overall League One Player of the Season gong so fair enough. If he’s the best in the division then he’s also going to be the best young player. We’ll assume Bindon came second in the voting. Little bit annoying that there wasn’t a single Reading player in the Team of the Season though, not Bindon nor any of his teammates. Oh well, so it goes. None of those players got signed by a club that’ll potentially qualify for Champions League.
Up Next: Reading vs Barnsley at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Max Crocombe - Burton Albion (English League One)
Max Crocombe, back on April 20: “The noise was magnificent, I could hear them from the changing rooms when I went back in before kick-off. That sort of stuff gets you over the line because you can see what it means to them. It’s important that we respect that by giving our all, hopefully then we can give them something to smile about at the end of the season.”
There has been an unfortunate amount of relegation chat in recent weeks so here’s a glorious tale of a team that might just survive the drop despite all the odds. It took Burton Albion until their 14th game of the season to finally get a win and they’ve been adrift in the relegation zone basically the entire way. But it’s a long campaign in League One and Burton have steadily been stacking up the points since January. After winning 2/25 games to begin things, they’ve won 9/19 since. The latest was a 2-1 victory against Cambridge United which not only confirmed that Cambridge would be going down, it put Burton on the brink of mathematical safety.
Crocombe was typically assertive between the posts, making four saves including an impressive double stop midway through the second spell while Burton were up 1-0. In a feisty game, both teams got red cards in first half stoppage time. Cambridge first, Ryan Loft getting marched for a bit of off-ball retaliation. Then Burton’s JJ McKiernan for a second-yellow after clattering into the CU goalkeeper. Cambridge thought they’d snatched a point with an 84th minute equaliser until Dylan Williams slipped a sharp finish home in injury time to put Burton one point away from their target with two games to go (including a midweek catch-up)... and even if they lose both they’ll probably still stay up thanks to their goal difference.
The key to Burton Albion’s goal difference is that, despite not scoring particularly freely, they’ve conceded ten fewer than Bristol Rovers and twenty fewer than Crawley Town (the two clubs that can still, in some abstract theory, overtake them). That’s probably got a lot to do with the New Zealand international goalkeeper who has made 128 saves in 41 appearances this season. Third-most in the entire league and with that game in hand he could go top before it’s over.
Northampton Town and Mansfield Town are properly safe as they occupy the two spots directly above Burton Albion. Northampton have done just enough to arrest their slide, despite Nik Tzanev not having played since February. Add in the way they treated Matt Dibley-Dias and it’s hard to feel too kindly towards that club at the moment. But they’re better than Mansfield Town. It’s a good thing those jokers started well because they’ve been plummeting with only two wins from their past 21 matches... that’s almost as bad as how Burton began.
The latest was a 4-0 defeat to champions Birmingham where, believe it or not, Ben Waine got nearly thirty minutes off the bench (with a yellow card but not shots). That’s the most he’s played in a league game since November. He’s just been gathering moss on the bench as Mansfield continually ignore their loanee striker and the only reason he moved up in the pecking order this week was because one of the guys who’d been starting ahead of him just got sentenced to 14-months in prison for hitting and killing a cyclist with his car in 2022. That incident seems to have been a genuine, if careless, accident... but the fact that Burton kept picking him while the court case was ongoing was... questionable. Waine’s got an option on his Plymouth contract for next season which they’re unlikely to pick up (although Plymouth are probably going to be relegated back to League One which could alter things). Seems he’s nearing a crossroads in his career.
Up Next: Burton vs Wigan, Weds at 6.45am (NZT)
Indiah-Paige Riley - Crystal Palace (English Super League)
Won’t dwell too much on this game because it was the low point of a low season. Crystal Palace were at home against West Ham United pretty much needing to win to have any hope of avoiding relegation... and they lost 7-1. At home. Against West Ham. That’d be bad enough against Chelsea or Arsenal but this was against a bottom-half opponent. Absolute shambles. With that, relegation has been confirmed.
The only good thing for Indi Riley is that she wasn’t to blame for most of it having only been named on the bench and not summoned until there were 78 minutes on the clock and West Ham were already 5-0 up. Shekeira Martinez scored four times. Viviane Asseyi got a blinder from distance. Emma Harries then came on and scored two more for the Hammers but it was briefly 5-1 and that state of affairs came about because Indiah-Paige Riley picked up a loose ball out on the right wing and went charging into the area, drawing a lunge out of Riko Ueki and winning a penalty. Katie Stengel buried the spot kick.
Crystal Palace got thrashed and they got relegated but at least Indi Riley had a nice moment there. Time will tell whether she stays with Crystal Palace now, where she’d probably tear it up in the Championship, or if a transfer comes calling. There are still two games to go in the WSL though. Might as well make the most of them. The next of those is against CJ Bott’s Leicester City... although Bott didn’t play for the Foxes in their 1-0 loss to Manchester City this week. They got her to do the player preview and she didn’t even play. Weirdly, the same thing happened when they played Brighton back in November. The coach did say midweek that there were no new injuries to report but the way CJB plays she’s always at risk of a sudden sneaky knock. By the way, Crystal Palace’s relegation at least means that Leicester City are officially safe.
Up Next: Crystal Palace vs Leicester City at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
If you want to see a ridiculous game of football, check out the highlights of Viking FK’s latest. They were up against Tromsø in home conditions yet found themselves 1-0 down after nine minutes due to an awful defensive giveaway. Joe Bell almost levelled things up just before the break when he ripped a long shot along the ground and just past the post... but it was 2-0 to Tromsø within two minutes of the second spell kicking off after VFK’s defensive line messed up their offside trap. Viking got a goal back five mins later only to immediately concede again. Bell wasn’t able to make a tackle at the start of that move, probably wishing in hindsight that he’d fouled the dude instead. That made it 3-1 to Tromsø after 54 minutes.
Then the comeback happened. Viking swiftly made it 3-2 and then piled on the pressure. Bell had another shot, this time from inside the area, which he fizzed off target. Viking kept going and, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, they got that equaliser when Bell headed a Zlatko Tripic cross back into the middle and after some pinball it was smashed into the net at close range. Not quite an assist but close enough. That wasn’t all because VFK then went and scored again to take a 90+6th minute lead from a header off a corner. Amazing mahi... until they conceded again for a 4-4 draw.
Full game with a yellow card for Joe Bell. He played a key role in that equaliser and had a few chances of his own throughout. This is more of the impactful attacking version of Joe Bell that they were hoping to see. Viking are sitting fourth after five games. They’ve scored 16 goals which is by far the most in the division... but they’ve also conceded the equal most (11). It’s the defence that’s been spoiling them and it was the same again here given how weak those first couple goals they allowed were.
Meanwhile in the Women’s Toppserien, it was a week of contrasts for Liz Anton and Liv Chance at Kolbotn. They had a midweek game against Brann which they lost 7-0... but then quickly bounced back to win 1-0 against Lyn on the weekend. Both kiwis started both games, as has already become the norm. Good yarns there. Also since this is a long edition with lots of stuff to get through, and it might as well go somewhere, let it be known that both Eli Just (SKN St Polten) and James McGarry (Kallithea) made injury comebacks this week. Also Kate Taylor’s Dijon FCO drew 0-0 with Montpellier which guarantees their top four qualification (first time that club has done so). Taylor got about 73 mins in a central defence that has kept five consecutive clean sheets.
No such luck for Ben Old who came off the bench for Saint-Étienne in a 3-1 loss against Strasbourg. Betsy Hassett played ninety minutes for Stjarnan as they won 2-1 away to Tindastoll, much needed after 6-1 and 6-2 defeats to start the season – seems that Hassett’s playing left-back for them at the moment and this was her first league start since her maternity break. Callum McCowatt did ninety for Silkeborg but they lost 2-0 to Lyngby. Still top of the relegation round standings though. Nice to see Grace Wisnewski getting some minutes for Lexington SC – she’s started their last couple games, though she was subbed off at half-time of a 3-1 loss to Dallas Trinity this week. Wiz has only gotten 301 mins across ten appearances this year. Not a lot of sharing going on there. Both Lara Colpi (FC Thun in Switzerland) and Jana Niedermayr (Kleinmünchen in Austria) started in good wins that give those clubs huge boosts in trying to dodge relegation.
Up Next: Thursday at 4am, Viking vs Hausegund (NZT)
Marko Stamenic – Olympiacos (Greek Super League)
With Olympiacos wrapping up the league title with room to spare, and having a cup final still to prepare for, the hope was that perhaps that would create a bit of room for Marko Stamenic to get some rotation minutes. Turns out that it did. Not only was he in the starting line-up to face AEK Athens – the first time he’s appeared in a Super League game since the playoff stage began and only his second league start since the beginning of December – but he lasted the whole ninety minutes which is the only the second such instance across the entire the Greek league campaign.
These weren’t empty minutes either. It may have only been pride on the line but Stamenic had plenty of that to offer as he sought to take his rare opportunity and given the rivalry between Olympiacos and AEK Athens... pride is more than enough. Olympiacos did the job with a 2-0 victory (the fifth time from six matches that they’ve beaten their arch-rival this season) and Stamenic finally got a positive reception from the ruthless Greek media. He was used as more of a box to box midfielder rather than the less effective defensive midfield duties he usually gets and his energy and workrate shone throughout. Just check out his footwork in creating the move for their first goal...
With a bit of luck, he’ll have earned a couple more of these stints because there are still two more league games plus the cup final to go. At the very least he’s shown that he’s got plenty to offer when used in the right way. Olympiacos didn’t really need him, okay fair enough. But we’ll see what the story is when he reports for pre-season with Nottingham Forest.
Up Next: Olympiacos vs PAOK on Monday at 5am (NZT)
Vic Esson - Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League)
It’s about bloody time Vic Esson got another start. The usual back and forth between her and Jenna Fife was getting rather pesky after Essons’s run of seven starts from eight matches was followed by a debut for Icelandic third-choice keeper Telma Ívarsdóttir and then six consecutive Fife starts including the League Cup final and several key SWPL fixtures. In other words, Esson’s best run of starts in a Rangers jersey was followed by her worst run of benchings.
They won that League Cup final but defeat against Hibs in the SWPL last match might have been a tipping point. Either that or coach Jo Potter wanted to try something different by giving her dual number ones longer spells of appearances so that they could better keep up their match rhythm. If that’s the case then fingers-crossed we can hope for plenty more Esson over the remaining six fixtures of this term… fixtures that will conclude with a Scottish Cup final against Glasgow City after Rangers breezed past Aberdeen in the semi-final. They won 5-0 with Jane Ross scoring a hatty. Rio Hardy and Lizzie Arnot also scored. It was only in the last ten mins that Rangers found the last two goals but they’d led since the eighth minute and Vic Esson was never troubled.
With that, Rangers have qualified for six consecutive cup finals. Three seasons in a row they’ve made both the League Cup and Scottish Cup deciders, winning four out of five so far. Esson has been between the sticks for both previous Scottish Cup finals. Before that there’s work to be done in the league. Rangers missed out on the title to Celtic on goal difference last time. This season they’re six points clear of Celtic with by far the best goal difference but it’s the unexpected upstarts of Hibernian who lead Rangers by two at the top with five rounds to go. Rangers vs Hibs is the final match of the season.
Up Next: Rangers vs Glasgow City at 6.45am on Thursday; then Rangers vs Motherwell at 5am on Monday (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Empoli FC (Italian Serie A)
Chris Wood and Vic Esson weren’t the only ones with cup semis this week... although this one was understandably less exciting. Empoli had already lost the first leg at home against Bologna by a 3-0 scoreline, utilising a rotated team that prioritised their relegation battle instead. Libby Cacace never ever seems to be rested, no matter what position they pick him for, so he also played again in the second leg, getting to do the left wing-back duties. His best position. Sweet as.
Empoli conceded in the seventh minute to make it 4-0 on aggregate. They got a goal back through Viktor Kovalenko on 33’... but that was where the interest ended. Bologna had it under control. They scored another one later on to win 2-1 on the day and 5-1 on aggregate. It’ll be Bologna vs AC Milan in the Coppa Italia grand final. Bologna were by far the most intriguing club that got linked to Cacace in the last summer transfer window so if fortune is in favour then maybe he just had a sneaky audition over these two matches. You never know.
Cacace was subbed after an hour even though there was no reason to rest him for the weekend’s Serie A fixture given that he was suspended after his booking against Venezia. That was his first yellow card since November but his fifth overall and apparently they don’t have the late season amnesty rule in Italy. Therefore Cacace had to watch from the stands as Empoli lost 2-1 against Fiorentina (they were 2-0 down after 25 mins) to edge them another step closer to relegation. The Azzurri are only two points from safety with four games left but it’s hard to see a team on a 19-game league winless streak getting that done.
At least Libby finally got a rest though. Over the past three months he’d started in 16 consecutive games for club and country across the various competitions. 11 of those were full games and up until the Bologna second leg none of them were less than 80 minute efforts. That’s iron man behaviour.
Up Next: Sunday at 10.30pm against Lazio (NZT)
Maya Hahn & Suya Haering - Turbine Potsdam (German Bundesliga)
Yeah so... not a good day for Maya Hahn. She got sent off against Bayer Leverkusen in another Potsdam defeat. Her first yellow card came for a nudge in the back of an attacker just outside the penalty area. Bayer Leverkusen hit the crossbar from the free kick. By the time she got her second yellow they were already 1-0 down. This one was for a foul near halfway where she got tangled up with the player who’d dispossessed her. Or maybe it was for kicking the ball away. Seemed pretty harsh either way. That was a 31st minute red card... long time for her teammates to last with ten women against a club challenging for Champions League.
They did alright with ten, to be fair. Held on until an hour played when they conceded a (soft) penalty. Then both teams scored late for a 3-1 final score in favour of Leverkusen. Potsdam have already been relegated... and with one point from 20 games they can’t exactly argue with that outcome. Two games remain and Hahn will be suspended for the first of those. Suya Haering got ninety minutes against Leverkusen though. Catch some highlights over here if you want to see the controversy.
Up Next: Potsdam vs Wolfsburg at 0:00 on Sunday (NZT)
Finn Surman - Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Liam Ridgewell, Timbers assistant coach: “I think [Finn Surman]’s improving on the ball. Me and him had a 25-minute conversation after training today about being on the ball and where he needs to pass it and where he needs to go. And he’s developing now… He’s exciting. He’s young and he’s hungry and he’s looking to go on to bigger and better things as well. That’s only a good thing for us.”
More effusive praise for Finn Surman. They’re even debating how fast the bro is now. He’s not that fast... but he’s smart and athletic and often that’s the same thing. Portland hosted by Los Angeles Galaxy this week and for most of the way they were bossing the show. David da Costa had given them a half-time lead and after Santiago Moreno (53’) and Kevin Kelsy (63’) scored to make it 3-0 it seemed they were cruising towards a happy road victory with a clean sheet. Then Christian Ramirez and Marco Reus scored twice in the space of three minutes and the Galaxy were back in it... until Portland scored from the penalty spot with quarter of an hour to go. 4-2 win for the Timbers.
Surman continues to lead the entire MLS for defensive clearances and again in this one there were instances of his prodigious defensive abilities. He reads the game so well. He’s already a master at winning his aerial duels. But the Timbers on the whole have conceded seven times in the last three matches so there have been some lapses at the back and Surman isn’t immune from that. Granted, Portland have won twice and drawn the other of those games so no worries. They’re up to second in the conference... rising ahead of Minnesota United after Michael Boxall’s lads were beaten 3-1 by leaders Vancouver Whitecaps. Still no Bill Tuiloma for Charlotte FC, he’s now been an unused sub in ten straight. Over in the NWSL, Utah Royals lost 1-0 to Houston Dash and Macey Fraser got a dozen minutes off the bench.
Up Next: San Jose vs Portland on Sunday at 2.30pm (NZT)
Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premier Soccer League)
They gave it all they had but the Stellies couldn’t find a goal to level their Confederation Cup semi-final tie against Simba (Tanzania). They were dominant yet the defensive wall they were up against proved a little too much. Couldn’t convert the chances they made and none of them came easy. 0-0 in the South African leg after a 1-0 defeat away. Stellenbosch’s continental run comes to an end in the final four. It’s been real. Took it further than anyone expected. Andre De Jong got a full game up front in the second leg but nothing really fell for him so now it’s back to full focus on the PSL and seeing if they can qualify for African competition again next time. They’re in fourth place as it stands, needing to get up into the top three.
Up Next: Stellies vs Chippa United on Thursday at 5.30am (NZT)
Alex Greive - San Antonio FC (American USL Championship)
Yeah, that’s the one. Alex Greive with the winner as San Antonio rallied from two goals down at half-time to win 3-2 against Colorado Springs Switchbacks. That’s his second goal for the club to go with an assist. San Antonio have won five out of seven matches to be leading the Western Conference on goal difference.
Up Next: Rhode Island vs San Antonio at 8am on Sunday (NZT)
Oliver Colloty - Peterhead FC (Scottish League Two)
There it is. A 1-0 win against East Fife (Colloty played the last ten minutes) has clinched the League Two championship for Peterhead FC. They would have dropped behind their opponents with a game to go if they’d lost but instead Peter Pawlett’s 29th minute goal gave them victory, promotion, and a trophy all at once. Lovely stuff. Might even mean they rotate things a bit and give Colloty a start in the last game – he scored a hat-trick in one of his other recent starts. He has 5 goals in 564 minutes overall this term. Colloty signed a contract extension a few months ago so he’ll be with them in League One next season.
Up Next: Clyde vs Peterhead at 2am Sunday (NZT)
Niko Kirwan – Calcio Padova (Italian Serie C)
Speaking of promotion, Calcio Padova have done that too. Niko Kirwan only got seven minutes off the bench in the 0-0 draw away against Lumezzane (following two games in which he’d been an unused sub – the first times that’s happened since October) but that meant he was on the pitch for the final whistle. That draw was all they needed to clinch their Serie C regional title – and even if they’d lost they’d still have been fine because Vicenza only drew their own final fixture.
This has to be one of the toughest leagues in Europe to get promoted from – Padova took 86 points from 38 games and still only just got there in the final match. Vicenza have 83 points and now have to do playoffs. This was a blessed relief for the entire club because after so many agonising failures over the past few seasons... they’re back in the second division for the first time in six years. As for Kirwan personally, he once got promoted with Reggiana via the playoffs but this is the first time he’s done the automatic route. Magnifico. As long as they keep him around – and he’s the club captain so you’d assume they will – then next season will be Kirwan’s second in Serie B following the 2020-21 campaign with Reggiana where he made 27 appearances as they were promptly relegated back down to the third tier.
However, the season is not over yet. There are three conferences in Serie C and the champs of those (Padova, Avellino, and Virtus Entella) now playoff against each other to see who lifts the divisional trophy. The main prize of promotion is already sorted but a bit of extra silverware never goes astray.
Up Next: Avellino vs Padova on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Owen Parker-Price, Dom Woolridge, Harry Moss-Edge & Sean Bright – Torslanda IK (Swedish Ettan Södra)
Righto, dig that. Torslanda lost the game 4-2 at home against Ängelholm but at least we got a few good OPP moments. Parker-Price also scored in a 6-0 win against Olympic in the previous game although that one was from the penalty spot. Good start to the new season from him. Torslanda have won three games out of five. Parker-Price, Dom Woolridge, and Harry Moss-Edge have played every minute so far. Sean Bright missed the first couple but has played full nineties in the most recent two. Standard stuff for this lot... including the OPP goal contributions.
Up Next: Eskilsminne vs Torslanda at 11pm on Saturday (NZT)
Noah Dupont - West Bromwich Albion (English Championship)
See that? That’s NZ U17 representative Noah Dupont signing his first professional deal with West Bromwich Albion. He was one of three scholars given two-year pro deals after the WBA U18s made it to the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals this season. Matthew Crowther and Rio Parmar were the other two. Dupont turned 17 in October but, like the rest of this trio, already has some decent experience with the U21s – having made four Premier League 2 appearances this season (that’s the level that Matt Dibley-Dias bosses it for Fulham).
WBA Academy Manager Richard Stevens: "As a centre-half you need certain qualities, and Noah has those. He’s strong, competitive, has a good frame which will make him a really good, modern-day defender, and he’s shown he can cope against the levels above his age group. Training with the first team when they’ve needed players, playing for the 21s and particularly when they’ve competed in the National League Cup, he’s shown he can play against men and stand up to those challenges. The attributes he has will develop him into a good footballer and I believe our programme is going to help him do that.”
Dupont was born and raised in England and has been in the WBA system since he was six years old. He qualifies for New Zealand thanks to his mother, who was born here, and after confirming his eligibility in 2023 he went on to start all three games at the U17 World Cup that year (albeit not an U17 WC we look fondly upon – losing all three games and conceding ten times). Since then he seems to be surging through the Baggies development scene.
With the U20 World Cup arriving later this year, we could potentially see him back with a fern on his chest soon enough, although he wasn’t part of the U19s qualifiers last year and would still be eligible for the next one so who knows. He’s a couple of months too old for this year’s U17 World Cup. Always gotta stay level-headed when it comes to youth prospects. Let them do their thing and see who makes it because it’s not always the obvious ones… but this guy is one worth jotting down.
Up Next: Onwards and upwards
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