Flying Kiwis – June 3
Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
Even in what ought to be a down week, with most European seasons wrapped up and the women all on an international break, the Flying Kiwis shelves can still produce bangers like this. Callum McCowatt won the Danish Cup with Silkeborg last season. The man himself was influential as Silkeborg progressed to the final – including scoring against FC Copenhagen in the quarters – though he only got quarter of an hour off the bench in the decider (a 1-0 win against AGF). This time, in 2025, he starred throughout their cup run, especially in the semi-finals against Bröndby, and there was no doubt whatsoever that he’d be in the starting eleven for the final... against FC Copenhagen.
Despite having beaten these guys in last year’s dream run, Silkeborg were big underdogs against the club that has won three of the last four Superligas. They were slight favourites in the previous final but not here they weren’t. Unfortunately, that showed as FCK scored three first half goals and kept it steady from there. The first goal went in after 141 seconds after SIF failed to cover a cross to the back post and they never recovered. Probably lucky not to lose by more, in all honesty. 3-0 to FCK. McCowatt played 70 minutes but nothing really fell for him. Oh well. It was still back to back cup finals for Silkeborg after only ever making two previous finals in the club’s century-long history.
Because of that cup final defeat, Silkeborg missed out on qualification for the Europa League... but they did have a backup plan for getting into Europe via the playoff against fourth-placed Randers. Silkeborg earned that fixture by finishing top of the relegation section. The game wouldn’t have needed to be played if they’d won the cup but since they didn’t the season was expanded for one more week as Silkeborg tried to secure Europa Conference League entry. And what else did you expect but for Callum McCowatt to be right in amongst it...
Pelle Mattsson had given SIF an eighth minute lead with an absolute rocket strike running onto the ball from twenty yards out. McCowatt then got the second on 26’ to extend the lead and his goal was just as impressive. CM carried that thing from halfway, angled into a shooting position, then smacked it into the bottom corner. Since February, McCowatt has played 18 games for Silkeborg (the last 14 of those were all starts) and has contributed seven goals and four assists. He’s been on a remarkable and consistent run of form which hopefully now will carry smoothly into All Whites camp.
Silkeborg were awesome in that first half and nearly scored again when they hit the crossbar after one of McCowatt’s in-swinging corner kicks. But Randers managed to pull a goal back five mins before the break and that did add some nerves to the equation. Suddenly, Silkeborg were a bit more careful with the ball, more aware of that lead. But they scored again with twenty to go and the joy quickly returned. Jeppe Anderson finished off that counter attack and it should then have been four except Tonni Adamsen missed a penalty in stoppage time, striking it off the post. No worries. A 3-1 win was every bit as useful, ensuring that Silkeborg qualified for UEFA competition two seasons in a row. They were the last team in Europe across the three continental competitions to earn their qualification.
That’ll be unfinished business for McCowatt because he was injured when Silkeborg lost 5-4 on aggregate against KAA Gent (Belgium) in their Conference League prelims this past season. They were 4-3 up into stoppage time of the second leg only to concede and then lose in extra time. Might have been different with a fit Callum McCowatt around. Finger crossed we get to find out in a few months.
Up Next: Silkeborg will enter in the second qualifying round this time, one round earlier than before (when they were in as cup champs)... those games will happen in late July and they’ll be a seeded team
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
There was a feature on Michael Boxall that Minnesota United produced at the start of the season in which Boxy fired out the sizzling line: “I don’t know how this age thing works. I’ve never been this old before but I’m, like, waiting for when all the young people are running past me. And I’m still waiting”. That quote’s turning out to be extra prescient with Boxy laying down commanding performance after commanding performance... even though he’s three years older than his head coach Eric Ramsay.
This week began with a Wednesday evening (local time) trip up to Canada to face the league-leading Vancouver Whitecaps and although the Minnesota Utd attack might as well have stayed at home, the defence brought the goods to ensure the Loons returned with a 0-0 draw. In truth it was a terrible game of football with very little to get excited about. But a point away to the best team in the competition, including an eighth clean sheet in 16 matches, only further vindicates the legitimacy of this team (who are also into the quarters of the US Open Cup).
A few days later they were back on the road to face Seattle Sounders – a team that they’d never even gotten a point at in ten previous away meetings. For the first 45 minutes it was nothing different to the Vancouver game (by the way, the Whitecaps followed that match with the Concacaf Champions Cup final... which they lost 5-0 to Cruz Azul without attempting a single shot). Then all of a sudden the game blew open in the second half as Tani Oluwaseyi converted a sweet counter attack for Minny on 51’, then Robin Lod scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 after 54’. The Loons conceded basically straight from kick off (Kalani Kossa-Rienzi 55’) only to promptly hit back via another Oluwaseyi goal on 58’. Four goals in eight minutes. Minnesota did concede a silly own goal with five to go that left them battening down the hatches in the final moments. But Boxy and the fellas saw it through for the 3-2 win.
That’s another famous win for the Loons in 2025, as they continue to hang around the top of the Western Conference. Vancouver is the only other team to have conceded less than a goal per game. After a couple of slow weeks and only one match this round, Finn Surman no longer leads the MLS for defensive clearances. He’s dropped to third. But rising quickly into fourth place is Michael Boxall who is the tenth oldest outfielder to have taken the pitch this season, and ranks sixth for those who’ve played at least 1000 minutes. Three of the older blokes all play for Inter Miami: Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, and Sergio Busquets. Meanwhile, Surman is the 13th youngest player to have logged 1000+ mins already in 2025.
As if that wasn’t enough, Boxall also just became the first New Zealander to make 250 appearances in Major League Soccer, having recently surpassed Simon Elliott’s previous record of 247 games...
The last thing to say here is that voting for MLS All Stars has begun and will continue for the next fortnight. Anyone who’s played in at least 50% of their team’s games is eligible so no Bill Tuiloma but Finn Surman and Michael Boxall easily clear that hurdle and what’s more have been putting up performances worthy of genuine consideration. Not that Boxy is hearing any of that nonsense...
Boxy: “Honestly, mid-season awards, it’s not really why we play this game. You want to be up for the awards at the end of the season so we just need to keep pushing and make sure we’re improving.”
Up Next: Fortunately, Minnesota United aren’t playing next week so Boxy won’t miss any club games for All Whites stuff
Finn Surman - Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Maybe it was because they heard that Darren Bazeley was in attendance, maybe it was because they simply love Finn Surman that much. Maybe it had nothing to do with either but it sure is something to see an MLS game begin with a haka...
This was a midweek game, Portland Timbers at home against Colorado Rapids, and the first half was pretty crap. The Timbers struggled to get going and Finn Surman got himself booked after 24 mins when he tugged on a jersey to slow things down. Believe it or not, that was his first yellow card in Major League Soccer. Rugged central defender yet it took 17 games for him to finally see yellow.
Granted, that put him in the unfamiliar position of having to be a little delicate with his subsequent challenges and that ended up costing Portland a goal. Surman rushed out of the line on 34’ only to fail to win the ball, then with the booking in mind he had to stand off as Djordje Milhailovic gassed it into the penalty area and popped that thing into the bottom corner. Less than ideal. Portland could have tied it back up just before the break but Felipe Mora missed a penalty after a sneaky handball went in their favour. The half then ended with Surman colliding hard with an attacker and needing a few secs to catch his breath again.
Luckily, the second half was much better. The Finn Surman/Kamal Miller partnership began to look like their regular selves again and, after surviving a Sam Bassett shot off the crossbar, Portland went and equalised through Antony (58’) before Wayne Frederick was red carded for Colorado (67’) and then Kevin Kelsy went and won it with another slick counter attack for the Timbers (76’). The closest that the 10-man Rapids got to a response was when Calvin Harris drilled an effort on target with a couple mins remaining. But his fellow Wellington Phoenix old boy Finn Surman had already guided him wide so the shot was easily parried away.
Old mate Harris never played competitively for the Phoenix as he was ineligible for most of the time he was there, being a foreigner (England via Hong Kong) under the age of 18, and then even afterwards it would have required an import spot to sign him. He did make a handful of appearances for the Reserves before leaving to go to university in America. Harris was then drafted to the MLS by Cincinnati where he played a year and a half before being traded to Colorado. This is his fifth year in MLS, with a running count of six goals and nine assists from 86 games.
The Timbers won 2-1, sweet as. They followed that by waiving Peruvian central defender Miguel Araujo which at the start of the season would have felt like a brilliant bit of news for Finn Surman but these days Surman is the first CB name on the teamsheet so it’s irrelevant. And Araujo has had green card troubles so hadn’t played this year.
Up Next: Portland vs St Louis on Monday at 11am... which Surman will miss because he’ll be away with the national team (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
This was the week where Viking were supposed to prove their championship challenging bonafides. They were away to Bodø/Glimt and Molde in the space of a few days. Time to show that all these goals they’ve been scoring and games they’ve been winning were sustainable things.
Guess what? They won both of them. In the space of one week they took down the two clubs that have combined to win the last six Norwegian league titles and with that Viking have moved even further clear in top spot. Yes, they’ve played more games than anyone else. But thanks to these two victories, there’s now nobody who can catch them with their games in hand. All VFK’s gotta do is win their remaining 18 games across the rest of the year and bingo.
The Bodø/Glimt win was a strange one. Viking were 2-1 down after an hour but then a controversial red card for Jostein Gundersen swung the game drastically and, up against ten men, the Vikes scored three times in the last twenty minutes to win 4-2. Viking had been set up to try and hold a draw, or maybe snatch something late after they inevitably subbed on Zlatko Tripic. Instead they got lucky with the sending off and then were good enough to capitalise. Bell didn’t add any goals or assists to his tally, however he easily could have after setting up two fine chances in the first half, keeping busy in a game where VFK had way less possession than usual. Massive result in Viking’s season.
Then they did it again when they faced Molde to make it five league wins on the trot. This one wasn’t anything fancy but they managed to take the lead in the third minute when Henrik Saelebakke Falchener headed in from a Tripic corner kick and they held it the whole rest of the way for a 1-0 victory. Molde had most of the ball yet hardly created anything. Meanwhile, Viking weren’t exactly at their best either. They lacked their usual pop and turned over possession far too often otherwise they might have run away with it.
Joe Bell had a decent chance to make it 2-0 late in the first half, hovering at the edge of the box as a corner kick deflected his way only to strike too close to the keeper who parried it clear. Peter Christiansen later missed a penalty for Viking as they continued to leave the door open. It seemed that they’d finally spoiled things when Daniel Daga snuck in an 86th min equaliser for Molde... but luckily it was disallowed after a foul in the build-up. Might have been another fortunate decision in VFK’s favour, to be honest. Not a great outing from Viking but they still ground out a clean sheet victory and being able to win that way is one of the things that distinguishes contenders from pretenders.
Up Next: Got a few weeks off now, with internationals followed by a bye, then comes Viking vs Fredrikstad at 5.15am on 23 June (NZT)
Abby Erceg - Deportivo Toluca (Mexican Liga MX)
Toluca are back into preseason training and check it out. Looks like Abby Erceg will indeed be back for another swing with the Mexican club... who recently signed Patrice Lair to be their new coach. Lair won the Champions League in 2011 and 2012 as coach of Olympique Lyonnais and made the final in 2017 with PSG, as well as numerous French league titles in between. Toluca signed Erceg at the start of the year as part of an obvious push to add experienced internationals. Shanice van der Sanden and Amandine Henry were also part of that. In fact, Henry played for Lyon under Patrice Lair’s guidance for those two Champions Leagues (then won a bunch more after he left).
All that name recognition didn’t provide Toluca the consistency they needed to make the Clausura playoffs but maybe with a little more time to gel and a coach with equal pedigree things might change. The Liga MX grand final was only three weeks ago but they split the season into two distinct sections (Apertura and Clausura) so there isn’t one big long offseason as much as two smaller ones. Last year the Apertura began at the start of July so we’re actually not that far away from the resumption.
Up Next: Vamos, Abby
Zac Jones – Haverfordwest County (Welsh/Cymru Premier)
And with that, Zac Jones departs Haverfordwest County as a fan favourite and, in the eyes of some, perhaps even a club legend. He was only there for three-and-a-half years but in that time they’ve qualified for Europe on two occasions (they’d only made it once before in their history) and he just won the Cymru Premier Golden Gloves with 15 clean sheets as the club tied their highest-ever league finish of third place. That’s some pretty hefty production. And the character references are equally as glowing...
Pembrokeshire Herald: “Fans and teammates alike have reacted with an outpouring of admiration and thanks. One supporter described Jones as “the best keeper we’ve ever had,” while others acknowledged that he would be “hard to replace” and hailed him as a “Haverfordwest legend.” Jones, who joined the club in 2022, played a key role not only in league fixtures but also in European competition, where his performances raised eyebrows across the domestic and international football scene. His professionalism and leadership earned him the respect of coaches and fellow players, many of whom lifted him onto their shoulders in a symbolic farewell after the club’s final match of the season.”
You read that and you know that whatever club he joins next is going to be getting a good one. This does unfortunately mean that Jonesy won’t get to partake in the Conference League qualifiers that he helped Hwlffordd qualify for... but the strong rumour is that he’s going to stay in Wales and sign for perennial champions The New Saints, although there’s been nothing confirmed as of yet.
TNS have won the last four Premier Division titles in a row (as well as 13 of the last 16) and last year made it all the way through to the Conference League league phase, where they played against the likes of Fiorentina, Panathanaikos, and Djurgårdens. This is the club that underground kiwi hero Greg Draper had such a spectacular career with. Connor Roberts played every league game for TNS over the past three seasons but recently announced his retirement so the goalkeeper position is vacant.
Up Next: Let’s see how accurate those rumours were
George Stanger – Ayr United (Scottish Championship)
It’s that time of the year when the speculation gets rampant and breaking news can drop at any hour of the day. The kiwi players don’t tend to have to deal with as much of the nonsense which makes it easier to parse what to take on board and what to toss out. As far as Stanger goes, here are two separate scoops by two different journalists working for the same newspaper...
Daily Record, 28 May: “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.”
Daily Record, 2 June: “Colchester have stepped up their interest in George Stanger. The English League Two side want to land the defender. Stanger is a free agent after leaving Ayr United. The 24-year-old has several options on both sides of the border.”
Gillingham were linked with Stanger in January. They, like Colchester, are a League Two club. Unnamed League One teams have been mentioned in the past plus the first of those yarns has chat on Scottish Premiership and Championship interest. Seems the bloke is going to need to keep his phone on for the next few weeks.
Beyond that, it’s a cavalcade of possibilities. Without even getting into the potentially tenuous links (Libby Cacace to Roma!?) or the anticipated loans (Paulsen, Bindon, Stamenic, et cetera), there’s guaranteed movement from players like Ben Waine, Maya Hahn, Nik Tzanev, Matt Garbett, and Niko Kirwan who have all been confirmed as leaving their current spots. Already mentioned the Zac Jones and George Stanger expectations. Max Crocombe’s situation is still up in the air. Max Mata has been promised a “clean slate” if he returns to Shrewsbury Town. Most women play with one-year contracts so Hahn could easily have some transfer company while the A-League often delivers a few overseas moves each year (like Dane Ingham apparently moving to Asia somewhere). You’re just gonna have to keep checking in on these Flying Kiwis write-ups each week – as well as our twice-weekly Substack newsletter – for all the updates.
Up Next: Yarns... and lots of ‘em
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
Up Next: All Whites duty before anything else
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