Flying Kiwis – May 28
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
It all came down to this. Nottingham Forest versus Chelsea on the final day of the season with Champions League football on the line. It’s a situation that would have been inconceivable to Forest fans at the beginning of the campaign – they’d been battling relegation twelve months earlier – yet it’s required a bit of a slide for them to fall into a spot where they were also relying on other results. The bottom line is that NFFC would qualify if they beat Chelsea and either Aston Villa or Newcastle United dropped points. They’d drawn 1-1 away against Chelsea in the reverse fixture and this was the goal they scored...
Forest looked like their top form selves again in beating West Ham last week and it was the same story against Chelsea from the opening whistle. They were looking to be direct and aggressive with Chris Wood lurking in front of goal. They were firing in crosses of all description to try and feed him, while Wood did his best to reciprocate with his hold-up play trying to free his running wingers. But there were very few chances on the end of all that with Chelsea’s defence muscling up well and the Blues were equally quiet aside from one glaring moment when Pedro Neto side-footed over the top. Lots of tension, limited action... until a couple mins before the break when Wood got his foot onto an Ola Aina cross at the near post. The keeper also came out to challenge and Wood bunted it very slightly over the crossbar. Tricky chance but by far the best thing Forest created in a scoreless first half.
The other relevant games were also goalless as they all kicked off concurrently for their second stanzas... though Forest still needed to score to take advantage of that. Instead they conceded. Five mins into the half, NFFC unable to fully clear a corner kick. Neco Williams only partially won his header as the ball came back into the box and that allowed Neto to sneak around him and lay the ball across for Levi Colwill to tap home. Not good. On came Callum Hudson-Odoi against his former club as NFFC gambled with a more attacking formation. Then another big chance fell for Wood as he volleyed a nod-back way over the top on the spin. He was offside, wouldn’t have counted... although let us not forget he was also in a three-way tie for most offsides this season so that’s another for the tally.
Chelsea responded with a defensive sub, bringing on Lavia for Jadon Sancho. It was also around this time that Everton took the lead against Newcastle... which admittedly didn’t change anything for Forest. They still needed to win. Meanwhile, Nico Dominguez got mashed in a tackle and had to be replaced so that ensured there’d be plenty of stoppage time. Forest were well on top by now but breaking down set defences has never been their forte. Aston Villa conceded in their game. Then, with around five mins to go, Villa conceded again. Everything was working in NFFC’s favour except for their own result.
Nottingham Forest continued to search. Elliot Anderson shot into the back of Chris Wood. Eight mins were added and it was in the fourth of those minutes that goalie Mats Sels sent one long into the path of Wood, who took it down on his knee in the area but leaning back he couldn’t get the volley on target. In a game this significant, the tough chances were all he was going to get and he wasn’t able to defy the odds with any of them. Nottingham Forest got what they wanted with Everton winning 1-0 against Newcastle and Manchester United winning 2-0 against Aston Villa. But they weren’t able to capitalise by beating Chelsea, instead going down 1-0.
Therefore it’s a seventh place for Nottm Forest, earning Europa Conference League football – the club’s first entry into UEFA competition since 1995–96. They’ll have to win a playoff round qualifier to get into the League Phase but that’ll happen in mid-August so it won’t affect their preseason activities... an important factor for Tyler Bindon and Marko Stamenic as they seek to break into the squad for that campaign.
Chris Wood finishes with 20 goals in the Prem, tied for fourth in the Golden Boot ranks. Could yet be more individual recognition coming his way as end-of-season awards get passed out. It’s been a career-best season for The Woodsman. It’s been amazing for all of Nottingham Forest... but it will sting to know they finished just two mere points away from Champions League qualification. The Woodsman did bag the Golden Flag though. Most offsides in the league for the third time in his career – having also achieved this with Burnley in 2018-19 and 2019-20. On all three occasions, he scored 10+ goals in those seasons. He gets called offside when he’s hunting off that last defender and when he’s hunting off that last defender it means he’s looking for goals. It ain’t a coincidence.
Now, here are some additional statties that you’ll already have read if you subscribe to our Substack newsletter...
Wood scored his 20 goals from just 13.5 xG, exceeding the expected mark by +6.5 which was the second best in the competition behind Bryan Mbuemo (20 goals from 12.3 xG). Mbeumo did take twice as may penalties as Woodsy though, as well as more shots overall.
With 20 goals from 65 shots, Wood had the best goals per shot ratio of any player in the Premier League with more than five goals scored. Patrik Schick of Bayer Leverkusen (21 goals from 68 shots) is the only player across the Big Five Leagues with 20+ goals scored at a better goals-per-shot ratio.
Nobody in the Big Five scored more than 15 goals whilst attempting fewer than two average shots per game except for Chris Wood (1.98).
Moise Kean (Fiorentina) and Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) were the only Big Five players with more offsides than Wood... and they were so far ahead of everyone else (Kean 57, Mbappe 44) that if makes you wonder if the stats are broken. Or if they adjudicate offsides that differently between the nations.
Chris Wood scored nine goals with his right foot, eight with his head, and three with his left foot. He only took seven left-footed shots all season so to score from three of them was pretty nuts.
He also scored one goal from 11 shots outside the area. He scored 15 goals from 43 shots in the wider penalty area, and he scored 4 goals from 14 shots from within the six yard box. Here are his 20 goals mapped out by where he scored them...
Up Next: Another 20 goals next season, why not?
Liberato Cacace – Empoli FC (Italian Serie A)
Over in Serie A, Empoli have been in a doozy of a relegation scrap which came down to the final round with five different teams still eligible for the drop. Empoli’s situation was simple enough: a win against Verona and they’d be safe, leaping above their opponents via head to head record. A loss and they’d go down. A draw and it’d depend on other results – particularly Lazio vs Lecce, because if Empoli and Lecce both drew then it’d require an extra “play-out” game to see who stayed up and who went down after their equal records across the season.
Empoli being Empoli, they went and conceded in the fourth minute of the match as Suat Serdar toe-poked one into the bottom corner. Disastrous beginning for the Azzurri. However, they had no choice but to throw caution to the wind from there and as the half progressed they started to make a few things happen. That culminated in a very timely equalising goal from Jacopo Fazzini following up on a parried shot in the 43rd minute, ensuring that the score was 1-1 at half-time. Forty-five minutes left to get it done.
Two things happened in the Lecce game at around the same time as Empoli equalised. First, Lecce took the lead via Lassana Coulibaly. If that result held for the remainder of the match then Empoli would need to win in order to stay up. But also, shortly after that goal, Lecce were reduced to ten men when Santiago Pierotta got his second booking in the space of ten minutes. A goal in the right direction of either of those games and Empoli would be back where they wanted to be. Here’s a half-time graphic of some of Cacace’s mahi...
Not sure if Empoli were aware of the proceedings in that match, but they didn’t really seem to be playing with a whole lot of desperation as the game resumed. Probably less to do with mentality and more to do with their season-long dearth of goals leaving them without much confidence in that direction. There were a few Cacace corner kicks whipped into the mixer but not a lot else. Therefore they subbed Cacace (and Liam Henderson) after only 58 minutes knowing that they needed to gamble on goals. Instead they conceded when Domagoj Bradaric flipped in a header on 69’.
From there it all fizzed out. The game, the season, the Serie A status of Empoli. Lecce held on to win 1-0 despite the red card so it would have required victory for Empoli to survive and what they got was a 2-1 defeat. There were some conspiracies in Italy over the last few weeks that Empoli, a financially stretched club, would welcome relegation for the parachute payments that they’d get. Obviously that’s not the case... but after four seasons in the highest division they will be back in the seconds next time. When you only score 33 goals in 38 games you can’t really complain. They survived on the final day last season thanks to a very late goal but this time there was no such drama.
That relegation suggested the possibility of Liberato Cacace and Empoli versus Niko Kirwan and Calcio Padova in Serie B next season, with Padova having been promoted from Serie C. But don’t get too excited. That would require Cacace remaining into the final year of his contract and it’s far more likely that this Verona defeat was the last time he puts on an Empoli jersey. Having been the subject of considerable transfer interest across the previous two windows, followed by a relegation, it’d make sense for Empoli to cash in on him. We’ll see what happens.
Also, Kirwan won’t be there either way because it’s been reported that Padova have opted not to re-sign their club captain after four seasons of service. Sounds like he was keen to stay but there is a limit on the squad sizes in Serie B with only 18 registered senior players allowed (with the rest being U21s), not to mention financial constraints, thus decisions had to be made. Kirwan alternated at right wing-back with Alessandro Capelli last season and it seems they’ve decided to move forward with Capelli instead, who has been offered a new contract. Kirwan will leave Padova having played 120 games with eight goals and three assists to his name – and by the sounds of it he could be leaving Italy altogether with the aim of putting himself in the window for World Cup selection with the national team.
Up Next: Off to Canada for some All Whites games
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
Alright, enough of the disappointments, time for a Michael Boxall goal...
Ah yes that’s just the tonic. The original delivery from the corner was a little beyond him but Boxy stayed with it and hunted down the lob back into the middle, bravely nodding the ball past the keeper at close range. Boxall doesn’t score a lot of goals but he’s usually good for one or two per season... and let’s not forget he also scored the goal that sent New Zealand towards World Cup qualification a few months ago.
This wasn’t to be a winner because opponents Austin FC scored an excellent counter-attacking equaliser on 27’ and then neither side was able to find another. Austin finished the first half much stronger after scoring. Minnesota recalibrated in the second and it was only a timely deflection that stopped Joaquin Pereyra from scoring a wicked volley after one of Boxall’s long throws had bobbled around a bit. 1-1 was the final score.
The Loons drop to third in the Western Conference... but they continue to grind out results atop a defensive record that’s bettered only by the Vancouver Whitecaps. As it happens, it’s Vancouver vs Minnesota coming up next. And because these things usually skew towards the defenders who score goals, Michael Boxall also got selection to the MLS Team of the Matchday. Sweet as. He was only on the bench but close enough. This is his third selection of the season. 36 years of age and still running rings around these yanks. This came after he played the second half of a 3-2 comeback win against St Louis in the US Open Cup, with Anthony Markanich scoring in the 85th and 88th minutes to send Minny Utd into the quarter-finals.
As for Finn Surman and the Portland Timbers, Surman also featured in the US Open Cup (his debut in the competition) when he was picked in a back three for the trip to San Jose. He gave them a big defensive effort as always but the Timbers conceded in the 116th minute and lost 1-0. Surman was subbed off with two minutes of extra time left so that they could chuck on an extra striker. It was then a similar story away against Orlando City in the MLS where they defended stoutly but couldn’t create enough on attack. Surman played the full thing (in a back four this time) as Portland went down 1-0.
Up Next: Vancouver vs Minnesota at 2.30pm on Thursday; Seattle vs Minnesota at 10am on Monday (NZT)
Bill Tuiloma – Charlotte FC (American Major League Soccer)
Look at that, would ya? That’s what happens when Bill Tuiloma is allowed to play some football. It doesn’t happen very often - he’s only managed 197 minutes in MLS across four matches since July 2023 – but when he’s finally let off the leash he’s still got those old Tuiloma tricks up his sleeve. If only they let him take some free kicks in this game too. Or a penalty.
This was a US Open Cup tie away against DC United and although Tuiloma’s goal did give them a 2-1 lead after an hour... they went on to concede an 86th minute equaliser. Charlotte would score again five minutes into extra time but that was another lead they couldn’t hold. They were still 3-2 up when Tuiloma’s lack of match fitness caught up to him and he was substituted off after 100 minutes with USA international Tim Ream as his replacement. Alas, the magic was gone without Tuiloma. DC United levelled up and the teams then proceeded to embark upon one of the worst penalty shootouts ever witnessed. Charlotte missed four out of five while DCU missed three out of five. DC United advance to the quarter-finals and sadly there goes the main avenue that Bill Tuiloma had for game time.
Bill Tuiloma: “Just gotta be ready. The gaffer’s said this from the start, it’s not just the elven. We need every single player. It’s going to be a difficult sequence of games and we need everybody to be ready to perform.”
There is another avenue for him because Tuiloma was included in the latest All Whites squad as cover at right-back after injuries ruled out both Tim Payne and Storm Roux. In fact, that recall was announced on the same day as his goal-scoring cup appearance.
Same as in the previous round, Tuiloma captained Charlotte FC in this US Open Cup game. It’s the contradiction of his situation that his club appreciates him enough to think of him as a leader within the group but not enough to let him have any MLS minutes. That’s why he was an unused sub a couple of days later as Charlotte won 3-2 against Columbus Crew, making it 15/15 games as an unused sub in Major League Soccer’s 2025 season. Add that to the 25 instances last year and the six other instances since the injury in mid-2023 that knocked him down the pecking order... and that’s an astonishing, unfathomable, outrageous 46 occasions that he’s been in the matchday squad and ignored over the past 22 months. With only four appearances (two were starts, two were subs). Surely the coach could at least give him ten minutes every couple of months just to be nice about it? Because this has gone way past the stage of rudeness.
Up Next: Toronto vs Charlotte at 11.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Vic Esson - Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League)
Rangers may have stumbled in their quest to win the SWPL title but they did still have a Scottish Cup final to end the season on a high. They were at Hampden Park against Glasgow City, who pipped them to Champions League qualification on the final day of the league, and the short version is that they won. The score was 3-0 to Rangers with goals from Mia McAulay (25’) and Kirsty Howat (38’, 51’). That gives them a Scottish Cup and League Cup double for the second consecutive season. It doesn’t make up for last week’s disappointments but it was as good of a response as they could have hoped for.
The reason we’re sticking with the short version is that Vic Esson was left on the bench again. There was a spell around January/February where she played in seven out of eight games... but since early March she’s only played once. That was in the Scottish Cup semi-final (they won 5-0 against Aberdeen), so even though Jenna Fife played all the way down the stretch in the league stuff, there was hope that Esson would get the cup final. But she didn’t. That means Esson ended the campaign only appearing in one of the last 14 games. Not sure why she fell so far out of favour when the last couple years have been spent neatly alternating Fife and Esson in a far more balanced fashion than this. The only time we got to see her recently, prior to the cup final celebrations, was when she gave the Scottish PFA some quotes about personal tax workshops...
Esson played 16 times across all 2024-25 competitions, keeping nine clean sheets. She conceded exactly one goal per game... although six of those came in the UWCL qualifying defeat against that same Arsenal team that eventually went on to win said Champions League. Fife played in 25 matches while mid-season addition Telma Ívarsdóttir played once. It was Fife who made 10/12 of the SWPL starts against their main title rivals Hibs, Glasgow City, and Celtic. Poor results in those title challenger games (3 wins, 4 draws, 5 defeats) were what cost them the SWPL championship so make of that what you will. Makes you wonder if Vic Esson might have reached the logical conclusion of her time with Rangers.
Up Next: Hmm...
Matthew Garbett - NAC Breda (Dutch Eredivisie)
Nothing unexpected about this development, although the note about how he considered his ice-out to be “unreasonable” was a rare insight into that whole situation. Basically, the coach decided ahead of the January window that Matt Garbett didn’t fit his tactical system and so he wouldn’t be including him in squads from that point onwards. Garbett was told to look for a new club but when the window ended he was still stuck with NAC Breda. Either he didn’t find a decent alternative or he thought he could work his way back into the mix or maybe he was waiting until the end of the season when he’d potentially become a free agent.
Carl Hoefkens never budged so Garbett has spent the past six months training with the U21s. But at least the wider club has done right by him in opting not to take up his contract option for next season. There was talk that they might in order to protect some on-sale value but fortunately they’ve decided to let him walk for free. There doesn’t seem to have been any bad blood involved, it was purely a footballing decision. Nevertheless, it was a decision that left Matt Garbett out in the cold. His last Eredivisie game was in mid-December (although he has played twice for the All Whites since then). Not ideal. But that chapter is now over and we await to see where he ends up next... having had six months to stew on it.
Up Next: Options galore
Elijah Just - SKN St. Pölten (Austrian Erste Liga)
Last game of the season and the Wolves were trying to hold onto third place in the 2.Liga, knowing that a win away against last-placed Lafnitz would achieve exactly that. Elijah Just only recently returned from injury but goals in consecutive bench appearances meant he was promoted to the starting side to see if he couldn’t add to that tally again. Or, alternatively, create a few chances for others. Like he did in the eleventh minute when he won possession in the opponent’s half and then put one on a plate for Claudy M’Buyi Kabamba to make it 2-0 bright and early...
This wasn’t to be a straightforward afternoon though. Lafnitz came back at them later in the half and then pulled a goal back five mins into the second spell after St Pölten’s goalie failed to save one he probably should have. Elijah Just almost had another assist threading the ball through for Kabamba who was denied 1v1 with a hat-trick beckoning. His recent match fitness being what it is, Just was subbed off with twenty to play and the Wolves promptly conceded on 74’ to draw 2-2. That result allowed Kapfenberger to leap ahead of them on the table with St Pölten settling for fourth place instead. Doesn’t really make much difference, to be fair.
Elijah Just wrapped up his loan spell with six goals and two assists in 19 matches (1114 minutes). That’s an outstanding collection for an attacking midfielder, especially considering the calibre of some of those goals he scored. St Pölten have an option-to-buy in the deal so they’ll probably want to do something about that, assuming they have the money to make it a permanent move. If not then Just does have one more year on his AC Horsens contract, although it feels unlikely he’d go back there. Just has had transfer interest from higher levels in the past and his recent highlights for club and country will have kept his name on many spreadsheets.
Up Next: Let’s see how that option-to-buy goes
Moses Dyer - Galway United (League of Ireland Premier Division)
Moses Dyer has scored some beautiful goals this year so he’s allowed a scrappy one in the rain every now and again. Not sure if he was shooting or crossing as his kick from the edge of the six yard took a big looping deflection and probably should have been cleared off the line. But it wasn’t so that’s another one for the Mighty Moses who remains the outright leading goal-scorer in the League of Ireland. Come on.
Even more valuable is that this goal got Galway going towards a 2-1 victory against Cork City. That snaps a four-game losing streak for Galway United, even if they did need an 85th minute winner from Conor McCormack to get it done (after Cork had equalised from the penalty spot shortly after Dyer’s goal). Dyer had one other notable chance in the first half when he fizzed a volley slightly wide. He was a big presence within this win as he continues to grow his reputation over in Ireland. That’s in contrast to Oskar van Hattum (Sligo Rovers) and Norman Garbett (Dundalk) who have both been out injured for several weeks.
Up Next: Shamrock Rovers vs Galway United at 7am on Saturday (NZT)
Gabi Rennie - Eskilstuna United (Swedish Elitettan)
Would you look at that? Fresh from scoring her first goal for Eskilstuna United, Gabi Rennie’s gone and got another one. She scrambled home the third goal from a corner kick in a 5-0 win against Team TG... plus she also assisted the first strike with a rapid overlapping run and sharp cutback pass. Another influential outing from Rennie at her new club, so influential that they could afford to sub her off after only 65 mins with the result in their pockets already. Rennie’s got two goals and three assists from seven appearances. Safe to say she’s picked up right where she left off after a fine season with Aland United in Finland’s top league last year.
This was also another wonderful result for Eskilstuna United. Team TG aren’t some last-placed easybeat. They’re a midtable side who won last week and Eskilstuna just smoked them. Since getting tonked 4-1 by Uppsala in round one, Eskilstuna have won five and drawn one, scoring 18 goals and conceding only three. It’s still early doors but the top two clubs in the division get promoted to the Damallsvenskan and, as it stands, EU are in second place just one point behind leaders Umea.
Up Next: Häcken II vs Eskilstuna at 0:00 on Sunday 8 June (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
It was completely out of character... but Viking FK won 1-0 this week in a rare low-scoring game. They were away against Kristiansund and claimed all three points thanks to Edvin Austbø’s 57th minute goal. Great result considering how under the pump they were for the initial twenty minutes of this match. They battled through that spell, survived a goal disallowed for offside, and began to get comfortable. Then they survived a second disallowed goal against them before Austbø did what he did.
Joe Bell was full of sneaky little passes towards his forwards and the goal stemmed from exactly that situation as he collected a square ball on the edge of the area and first-timed it into Jakob Segadal Hansen with room to shoot. Hansen’s effort was parried out but Edvin Austbø buried the second attempt. A couple of very good saves from their keeper later an VFK had a rare clean sheet victory in the Eliteserien.
Not a rare victory because they’ve had heaps of those lately. It’s just the clean sheet bit that was rare – their only other cleanie in the league was a 0-0 draw... but they’ve won 7/10 matches and Joe Bell continues to impress in the midfield. Last year he was a classy presence at all times but this year it seems he’s been challenged to be more impactful, especially in attack, and he’s doing exactly that.
This result keeps Viking top of the table with only a couple of clubs still capable of catching them by winning their games in hand. The main one of those is defending champs Bodø/Glimt, whose Europa League semi-final run means they’ve only played six games whereas Viking have played ten. Those two clubs play each other on Thursday NZT and then Viking have to back up with a match against Molde. Two huge games leading into the international break that’ll give us a good indication of how legitimate this nine-game unbeaten streak of VFK’s really is.
Up Next: Away to Bodø/Glimt on Thurs at 7am; away to Molde on Mon at 5.15am (NZT)
Jana Niedermayr - Union Kleinmünchen (Austrian Bundesliga)
That vision is from a few weeks ago when FC Blau-Weiß Linz/Kleinmünchen wrapped up a 2-0 win against Dornbirn to guarantee their top flight status for another year. They’ve since had a narrow 1-0 loss away to SCR Altach before polishing off the campaign with an 88th minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw versus FC Bergheim. Here’s an end result graphic from the league’s account that doubles as a nice snapshot of Jana Niedermayr in her element...
FC Blau-Weiß Linz/Kleinmünchen entered the relegation rounds in eighth place out of ten teams. From there they played once more against each of the rest of the bottom six teams and in those games they grabbed two wins, two draws, and one defeat. Excellent form, earning enough points that they rose up to seventh in the final standings. Even though neither of the parent clubs (Blau-Weiß Linz and Union Kleinmünchen) seem to want to give their combined women’s team any proper coverage, the Austrian FA keeps wonderful records so it’s possible to tell you that Jana Niedermayr played every single minute of every single game this season. All 23 of them in the Bundesliga plus three cup games too. Huge mahi. Only six players across the entire Austrian top division made it through the season without missing a minute and Niedermayr was one of them.
After spending the previous year and a half in the youth team for St.Pölten (who won yet another Bundesliga title this season), Niedermayr left for senior footy and she certainly found it. She was a mainstay in the BWL/Kleinmünchen defensive line. Even scored a goal in one of the earlier rounds. Unfortunately for her, she’s a central defender and that’s the hardest position to get into the Football Ferns at... but an ironwoman campaign like that ought to at least get her into the wider picture.
Up Next: A well-earned rest
Lara Colpi – FC Thun Berner-Oberland (Swiss Super League)
Here’s another happy non-relegation story. Lara Colpi’s on the books with Young Boys Frauen but she’s had this funky loan deal that allows her to play for both FC Thun’s senior team and also YB’s U20s team at the same time. Hence that instance earlier in the season where she scored for YB U20s and then against YB’s Super League team within the space of a few days...
All up, Colpi scored five goals in ten appearances for YB U20s but she hasn’t been seen with them for a couple of months. That’s because FC Thun had dire need of her once they entered the relegation playoffs. This team was a shambles for much of the season, losing their first seven games and only taking two points from 16 matches before suddenly whipping out two quick wins to give them some momentum leading into the relegation rounds.
Colpi didn’t play much in the initial struggles, only making four appearances through until the end of February. Then she scored her goal against Young Boys and since then she’s been there for almost everything, starting in nine of the last ten and playing full games in most of those. What’s more, from the disastrous position they found themselves in a couple of months ago, this lot won three and drew three across the relegation rounds to finish top and retain their Super League status for another year. Lovely stuff.
And guess what? FC Thun have already announced Colpi as their first signing for next season. She joins on a permanent basis with a one-year contract. Young Boys won the Super League and qualified for Champions League so while it would have been a dream for her to break into that squad… it probably wasn’t going to happen. This outcome works out much better, plus it proves what a positive impact she made at FTTBO for them to have wasted no time in bringing her back.
Up Next: More of all that
Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premier Soccer League)
There we go, cool little recap of the season for the Stellies (apart from the American accent in the voiceover for some reason)... with plenty of Andre De Jong sightings therein. Stellenbosch put the finishing touches on their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Cape Town City this week, ensuring third place in the standings for another year of continental football. They’ll be back in the CAF Confederation Cup... the same competition they made it to the semi-finals of a few weeks back.
This was Andre De Jong’s best and most consistent season in South Africa. He managed to play in 47 games across five different competitions, scoring in each of them (eight goals with five assists overall). His coach is on record claiming ADJ as one of the most underrated players in the PSL and demanding he be recalled to the national team (which hasn’t happened yet). Only one goal in 25 PSL games doesn’t quite vindicate that claim but he played big minutes for a winning team and was always prolific in the cups. Clearly he’s someone who makes his teammates better around him. Credit where it’s due for a stellar campaign and hopefully there’s more where this came from next time.
Up Next: Not sure what ADJ’s contract situation is but if anything happens you’ll hear about it here
James McGarry - Aberdeen (Scottish Premiership)
How about ol’ Aberdeen with the Scottish Cup final heroics? They beat Celtic on penalties in the final to claim their first Scottish Cup title for 35 years (and first trophy of any major description since bagging the League Cup in 2013–14). It was 1-1 after regulation time with Alfie Dorrington’s 39th minute own goal in favour of Celtic cancelled out by a Kasper Schmeichel own goal in the 83rd. They still couldn’t be separated after extra time, despite Aberdeen only keeping 18% of possession across the 120 mins. The Dons almost had as many yellow cards (4) as total shots (5) but they got to the finish line and then buried all of their penalties as Celtic missed attempts one and five. 4-3 on pens. Aberdeen are cup champs.
James McGarry was an unused substitute for the 3-0 win against Elgin City in the fourth round but that was all so very doubtful that he gets a medal. JM spent the last half of the season out on loan with Athens Kallithea where he missed a few games through injury but did still make eight appearances totalling 473 minutes of footy. That’s more minutes than he got for Aberdeen this term. Most recently, McGarry was subbed on at half-time of a 3-0 win against PAS Lamia, although that came too late to precent Kallithea from being relegated. He’ll now return to Aberdeen as he enters the final year of his contract... but the Dons have made it pretty clear that they don’t have a spot for him in their squad so expect him to be loaned or sold.
Might just also mention here that George Stanger was listed as being “in discussions” with Ayr United when they did their end-of-season squad update recently. Stanger was one of the team’s best all term but his contract just ended and there was significant interest from English League One clubs in January. Stanger opted to remain with Ayr United as they chased promotion to the Premiership... only to get injured for the playoffs as Ayr fell short of their target. Judging by this claim in the Daily Record, it sure doesn’t sound like he’ll be back...
“Gillingham are one of three or four English clubs who are interested in George Stanger. The former Ayr defender also has rival offers from the Scottish Championship and interest that could also harden up in the Scottish Premiership.”
Up Next: A few chats with the agent
Milly Clegg - Halifax Tides (Canadian Northern Super League)
Third appearance in the NSL and another step forward. Clegg played the second half of her debut against Montreal two weeks ago before starting last week against Toronto and lasting 64 minutes. This week it was 74 minutes against Vancouver. Steady progress for a player who had only gotten 74 minutes of club football combined over the preceeding 24 months (56 mins with Western Sydney, 18 mins with Racing Louisville).
Unfortunately, her team lost 2-1. They scored first via Saorla Miller after 16 mins but fumbled it from there. The equaliser arrived on 40’ when the keeper rushed out and missed the ball. The winner arrived four minutes later with a chip across for an unchallenged header. Halifax Tides have four losses and a draw from their opening five matches, though that oughta change as they get Milly Clegg fully match-fit (she’s still playing with some heavy strapping on her leg).
Up Next: Calgary Wild vs Halifax Tides at 1pm on 6 June, after the international break (NZT)
Owen Parker-Price, Dom Woolridge, Harry Moss-Edge & Sean Bright – Torslanda IK (Swedish Ettan Södra)
Two for the lads as Torslanda grabbed a 4-1 win against FC Trollhättan to snap a streak of four matches without victory. Didn’t see any Dom Woolridge in this one but the other fellas all played ninety minutes. You’ll not be surprised to know that Owen Parker-Price is tearing it up as usual with three goals and four assists already, while this was Bright’s first of the season. This was almost a kiwi reunion in this match because goalkeeper Cameron Hogg is on the books with Trollhättan... but he got dropped a few weeks ago and was only on the bench here. Torslanda are currently sixth on the table after nine games, five points off top.
Up Next: Thursday at 11pm, Torslanda vs Ariana (NZT)
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