Flying Kiwis – August 20
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
To think that there were people out there genuinely panicking about Nottingham Forest’s lack of preseason goals, completely overlooking the inevitability of The Woodsman in their presence. One of the golden rules of sports is that preseason results don’t matter. NFFC only scored once in seven friendlies but they were trying out some different shapes and experimenting with all sorts of players, as you do in preseason. One thing we saw a lot was Chris Wood starting alongside a second striker, usually new Brazilian signing Jair Cunha... but when the real stuff started they were in their tried and true 4-2-3-1 shape and it took exactly five minutes for Chris Wood to pop them in front against Brentford...
Cool, calm, and collected from Big Christopher. But what you don’t see there is NFFC assistant coach Rui Barbosa jumping up to celebrate on the bench and banging his head against the roof of the dugout so hard that he needed six stitches. Good thing the medical staff was right there next to him ready to go.
Chris Wood also scored on matchday one last season – something he’s now done on four occasions starting with his first ever Premier League goal which was a late equaliser for Leicester City vs Everton to begin the 2014-15 campaign. He has five goals in eight games (422 mins) in EPL season openers across his career, the fifth of those coming later in this very same Brentford game. If you’re spotting a discrepancy in those numbers, that’s because he scored again in first half stoppage time. You wanna see how a striker at the very top of their game, perfectly in-sync with their teammates, operates then take a peek at when Woodsy begins this run...
The ball hadn’t even reached Elliot Anderson and Wood’s already at a gallop. They must have spoken about targeting the spaces behind the Brentford defensive line for that to be so front of mind. The other thing this highlights is how well Nottingham Forest pressed as a team to win possession. That’s how Chris Wood was able to react so fast – he knew the mistake was coming and he knew exactly where Anderson was to capitalise. So, so good. It’s peak Nunoball – and might even hint at a new evolution after their counter-attacking style ran out of steam late last season. Nottm Forest held 55% of possession in this game having averaged 41% in 2024-25.
In between those two Wood goals was a debut strike for Dan Ndoye (the man who has replaced Anthony Elanga) and that added up to a 3-0 half-time lead for Nottingham Forest. They would later concede from a silly handball penalty but they managed the second half as efficiently as they always do for a 3-1 opening day victory. Chris Wood played 79 minutes before being subbed immediately after the concession to give new signing Igor Jesus a debut.
No hat-trick for the Woodsman but a hugely confident start to the new term nonetheless – check out our most recent Substack newsletter for an array of Chris Wood stats and records in the wake of these two goals. The one that matters most: he’s now only one goal shy of catching the record Australian goal-scorer in the Premier League, Mark Viduka. Fingers crossed he gets that done before the Soccer Ashes in a few weeks. The All Whites haven’t beaten Australia for over two decades so we need to stock up the banter shelves with whatever we can find.
Something else happened this week too. Scoring a match-winning double against Brentford is nice but as we know Chris Wood’s been doing this stuff ever since Nuno Espirito Santo took over at Nottm Forest. In that time, only only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah & Alexander Isak have scored more Prem goals than him (and that list drops to only Salah if you discount penalties). That mahi doesn’t go unrecognised. It was pretty special when Chris Wood won EPL Player of the Month for October 2024. Now he’s taken that even further with selection into the PFA Team of the Year, as voted for by his fellow players. Put simply, this is one of the most incredible individual achievements ever managed by a New Zealand footballer...
Up Next: A very feisty meeting away against Crystal Palace at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Matthew Garbett - Peterborough United (English League One)
Finally, after months of waiting, Matt Garbett has a new football club. He’s joined the influx of All Whites to the English leagues by signing a two year contract (with a third-year option) at Peterborough United. Same division as Ben Waine’s Port Vale. He’ll be the first New Zealander to ever play for the Posh.
This is undoubtedly a step down from the level he was at with NAC Breda in the Dutch Eredivisie and his new manager, Darren Ferguson (son of Sir Alex), even acknowledged that fact. But we all know that NAC tenure didn’t end very well. The so-called attitude issues were heavily overstated – he was dropped for one game because the coach felt his training levels had dipped, a decision he later admitted was meant as a motivational tool. But MG’s eventual icing out was purely tactical. Carl Hoefkens runs a tight ship in Breda and Garbs has a habit of roaming out of position to try and get involved. For the All Whites, that’s often been to his benefit. For NAC Breda, it cost him his job. But there was never anything personal about it, in fact Garbs won a lot of praise at the club for how well he conducted himself while training with the U21s for the second half of last season.
The fact that he was told to look for a new club in January and didn’t find one until August has surely been frustrating for all involved. It’s meant that he hasn’t played a second of competitive club football since 15 December 2025 (although he has added four caps for the national team in that time). But finding a gig that matched his ambition and also his need for game time was never going to be simple. Clubs like to hype up the international pedigree of kiwi players when they sign them but they don’t base their scouting on Oceania qualifiers. Maybe World Cup performances could tip a few transfers but nothing short of that.
It’s club performances that they focus on and Garbs has had a weird club career. He played 20 league games for Falkenbergs in Sweden split between the first and second tiers. He then spent two years with Torino in Italy where he was very good for the Primavera team but only ever played nine minutes of first team footy in an early round Coppa Italia fixture. And when he joined NAC Breda, they were a mid-table second division club. That they went on a crazy playoff run to get promoted in his second season was something even the Breda faithful never saw coming. Garbs was mostly playing off the bench during that run, by the way. He then made 12 appearances in the Eredivisie, scoring one goal, before the shenanigans ensued. Lots of good stuff in there but we’re still waiting for him to settle into the player he’s capable of being. Hence why he’s signed in League One whereas the bros Cacace and Bindon (and soon Stamenic) have landed in the Championship.
PUFC manager Darren Ferguson: “Matt comes with a good pedigree having played at the top level in Holland and I know that is a high level, certainly above League One for sure. He is a New Zealand international and quite a few clubs in for him. We spoke to him on Zoom, he liked what he heard and how we play and what he brings to us is such good flexibility in midfield. He can play anywhere in midfield, 6, 8, 10, whatever you want to call those positions these days. He is a good size, plays off both feet and I am excited about this signing. People might not know him because he hasn't played in the English league, but he is a tough boy, athletic and will definitely improve us.”
Peterborough United had a rancid start to their season, losing 2-1 to Cardiff City and then 2-0 to Luton Town to begin their League One campaign before being knocked out of the EFL Cup by Accrington Stanley with a 2-1 loss. But that was before they signed Matt Garbett... and the chairman is promising more moves where that came from. This is him here...
The only issue is that Garbett missed all of preseason so it could take a few weeks to get him up to speed before he’s involved. For that reason, he was absent from the 2-0 loss to Wigan on the weekend and then also the 1-0 loss to Barnsley this morning. Yes, that does mean that the Posh have lost all four league games so far plus been knocked out of the EFL Cup already. It’s been a horrendous start... perhaps that easing-in period might get accelerated.
Up Next: Peterborough vs Bradford City at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Milly Clegg - Halifax Tides / Meikayla Moore & Ally Green – Calgary Wild (Canadian Northern Super League)
The first time that Calgary Wild and Halifax Tides played, Meikayla Moore and Ally Green both lined up for Calgary but Milly Clegg was injured for Halifax. The second time they played was immediately after an international window that all three were involved in. Green played 45 minutes despite only flying in on the morning of the game and even scored a magnificent goal. Yet Moore and Clegg were both rested having had heavier workloads for the national team. The third time they played, Clegg and Moore were both there but Green missed the match. Well, Calgary and Halifax have just played for the fourth time (out of five) and finally we got all three NSL New Zealanders involved at once.
But wait there’s more. Not only were there three kiwis in the starting teams, Halifax Tides also had Katie Barrott as acting head coach. KB has been an assistant for the team since day one but took the reins for this one-off opportunity with head coach Stephen Hart unavailable. Hart is a former Canada men’s national team coach who took over as interim coach of the Tides six weeks ago after Lewis Page shifted back into an academy role. According to Halifax’s press release on the matter, this makes Katie Barrott “the first New Zealand-born female head coach to lead a professional soccer club worldwide”. There have been NZ-born female Football Ferns coaches in the past (Nora Watkins, Alison Grant, and Wendi Henderson had short stints)... but so far all four Wellington Phoenix head coaches have been born in the United Kingdom and our coaching exports (like Olli Harder, for example) have mostly been men, what few of them there have been. Which makes this a lovely slice of history made by Katie Barrott, who previously helmed the female side of the Wellington Phoenix Academy.
Clegg lined up on the right wing again, a position where it’s harder to get into good shooting areas. It also meant going directly up against Calgary left-back Green – there was even an instance near the beginning when Clegg tried to dribbled past and nutmeg AG with a shimmy move but Green dealt with it. Clegg’s next major involvement was an overlapping run through that led to a drilled shot on target and a parried save.
Moore was at CB for Calgary and her most memorable impact was getting sprigged in a late challenge and requiring physio attention (the Halifax forward was yellow carded). MM was fine to continue and then nearly broke the deadlock just before half-time. Clegg had committed a foul out by the sideline. Ally Green sent the free kick long into the box where Moore flicked a header towards the near post. Keeper touched it wide for a corner.
None of the NZers were involved as Calgary took the lead after 59 mins. That goal emerged from a nicely worked move on their right edge culminating in a close range header that barely crossed the line. Moore could have made it 2-0 when she put a post-corner scramble over the bar later on. Then she produced a crucial block at the other end. It finished 1-0 to Calgary with Moore and Clegg playing full games and Green getting 64 mins. Still no goals for Clegg but it’s hard to blame her when she’s out on the wing for a team that has only scored 10 times in 16 games. Another impressive clean sheet for Moore and Green though. Keeps them only three points out of the top four.
Up Next: Montreal vs Calgary at 4.30am Sunday, while Halifax have a weekend off (NZT)
Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
We had three New Zealanders qualify for the Europa Conference League this season. Chris Wood got there with Nottingham Forest while Callum McCowatt (Silkeborg) and Joe Bell (Viking) were also in the pot. There was even the potential for more depending on what Forest did with Stamenic and Bindon. Alas, we haven’t even gotten to the playoff round yet and already the Aotearoa involvement has ceased for another year.
In Nottingham Forest’s case, that’s because they got ‘promoted’ to the Europa League after Crystal Palace’s ownership issues made them ineligible hence they swapped competitions. It’ll be straight to the UEL League Phase for them. No dramas there, that’s an upgrade – although Marko Stamenic and Tyler Bindon won’t be with them after their respective transfers (only a loan for Bindon so his chance could come in future seasons). But there’s no silver lining for the other lads because Silkeborg and Viking have both failed in qualifying.
Bell’s Viking had a tough tie against İstanbul Başakşehir and their wasteful home leg, combined with a couple of super long range finishes from the visitors, left them with a 3-1 deficit ahead of the away leg in Turkey – one of the most notoriously difficult countries to play in due to the huge crowd support. Viking did manage to score first thanks to a 34th minute own goal, briefly bringing them back within one goal of forcing extra time... but the lead only lasted five minutes before Başakşehir equalised and the 1-1 second leg scoreline was nowhere near good enough. Full game for Joe Bell who did his best to keep the Vikes battling away but the damage was done in the first leg. Viking lost in the semi-final of the Norwegian Cup last month and have now been knocked out of Europe so the focus shifts entirely towards their Eliteserien title race (where they had a bye this week).
McCowatt’s Silkeborg had more of a chance of doing something special and progressing to the ECL playoff round. They’d only lost 1-0 at home against Jagiellonia Białystok, meaning that parity was at least within reach as they travelled to Poland. But that didn’t last very long. They conceded twice in the first half to be 3-0 down with 45 minutes of the tie remaining. Callum McCowatt stayed out there until the end and for much of the second half he looked to be the most likely bloke to make something happen, floating around and seeking to create things. Very good with his distribution. Couple of blocked shots. But the damage had already been done.
Silkeborg did score a couple of very late goals to salvage a 2-2 draw on the night but that still left them one shy in a 3-2 aggregate defeat. McCowatt started all four games of SIF’s Conference League efforts, scoring once (joining Max Mata and Logan Rogerson in having scored in ECL qualifiers before). However, we’re going to have to wait another year before we add to James McGarry’s lone Conference League appearance from 2023-24 with Aberdeen – to date the only NZer to have played in the tournament proper.
Happily, Silkeborg were then able to bounce back with a second consecutive win in the Superliga. They were 2-0 up after 11 minutes against Viborg and looking sharp, with Callum McCowatt setting up the second goal despite falling on his arse in the process...
Silkeborg coughed up that lead to be stuck at 2-2 by half-time... but they seem to be finding their feet again after a rough start and continued to create good chances. SIF survived a lucky break when a Viborg goal was disallowed by VAR midway through the half and then they snatched the victory with a stoppage time penalty after VAR spotted a handball. Would have been a very different outcome without the video assistant. McCowatt was subbed after 63 minutes, no doubt in light of having played a full game during the midweek. Even with these Thursday-Sunday turnarounds, McCowatt has still started 8/9 games this season.
Up Next: FC Midtjylland vs Silkeborg at 0:00 Monday (NZT)
Marko Stamenic - Swansea City (English Championship)
All that wondering why Marko Stamenic still hadn’t been loaned out by Nottingham Forest had to make a person wonder if perhaps, just maybe, they weren’t planning on loaning him at all. Turns out that’s exactly what the situation is, except it’s a bit of a monkey paw arrangement because the lack of a loan is not so that they can keep him around for a Premier League debut. Rather, it’s because they’ve chosen to sell him outright.
So it goes. Simply being signed by a big club comes with no guarantees, sometimes the opportunities are there and other times they aren’t. Stamenic managed to featured in four preseason friendlies and was posing in the new NFFC jersey at media day roughly 48 hours before undergoing his medical elsewhere. Chris Wood said that he impressing folks at training. Lots of good experience there. But business is business.
Swansea City are the clever jokers who have seen the light. The Swans had been tracking him all window with the initial rumours suggesting a loan move, although that may have been a media/fan assumption. You’d have to imagine they could have gotten him on loan but these guys are serious about their intentions so they’ve whipped up a transfer fee instead – although it remains to be seen if that fee will match what NFFC paid for Stamenic one year ago. A further clue emerged about a week ago when Swans minority owner Snoop Dogg (the one and only D-O-Double-G) randomly started following Marko on Instagram – something about Welsh clubs and celebrity owners, aye?
We’re still waiting for confirmation of this move as of the time of publishing... probably because Nottingham Forest want to bring someone in before they let someone go. They’ve been very busy over the last few days confirming the signings of Omari Hutchinson (winger), James McAtee (attacking midfield), and Arnaud Kalimuendo (striker) and are very close to getting Douglas Luiz (midfielder) through the door – the current Juventus, former Aston Villa man.
Whatever the situation, we know the Stamenic announcement is imminent for several reasons:
It’s already been made BBC Official
The coach has spoken publically about the move
He’s already training with the Swans
He was in the stands to watch them beat Sheffield United on the weekend (granted, he could have just been supporting the bro Tyler Bindon)
Swansea City accidentally uploaded (and then quickly deleted) his introduction interview to their YouTube channel...
Alan Sheehan, Swansea City manager: “Marko is a player that we've been after for a while. He'll bring some physicality, athleticism and is another international coming in the building. He's showed a real willingness, a real good character, which is so important because we want bring in players and sometimes we want them in sooner, but getting the right people for what we're trying to do is so important for the football club. We don't just sign anybody, it's got to be the right ones that fit into our group to how we want to play. So to bring Marko in is a really good signing. You need to be as strong as you can in the middle. It gives us options whether we can play three or four in there sometimes, which is potentially something to look at for us.”
Let us not forget that Stamenic was on the verge of signing in the Championship with Coventry City a year ago. A transfer fee was agreed with Crvena zvezda but then Nottingham Forest swooped in to snatch him up instead for a reported £4.6m transfer fee (a slight raise on what Coventry were prepared to pay). He won a third-consecutive league and cup double playing for Olympiacos so we can’t fault the decision. But the English Championship has been beckoning with its siren call for awhile now and it seems he’s finally succumbed.
Up Next: Release the announcement video (again)!
Tyler Bindon – Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
The good news is that Tyler Bindon had a much-improved performance in his second Championship game. He’d been solid but with some messy moments in the loss against Bristol City but this time, away to Swansea City (with Marko Stamenic watching from the stands), there were no defensive slips. Bindon was partnered by the veteran Jack Robinson and that pairing was streets ahead of game one’s scrambled efforts. It now appears that Wrexham are looking elsewhere for a left-sided CB (Man City youngster Callum Doyle is the current rumour) so Robbo and Bindon might get to be a recurring partnership after all. We shall see. The Blades will surely still seek to sign a new central defender given that they currently have zero depth in that area.
Bindon was defensively sound, blocking a shot and making seven clearances, but he was also very useful going the other way too. His cross-field switches appear to be a focus and he was getting up there for set pieces where his flick-ons and lay-offs could easily have led to an assist. It’ll take some time to win over the fans, especially if the team is losing, but this was a step in the right direction.
Alas, Sheffield United were beaten 1-0 after some bloke called Ronald (just Ronald) scored midway through the second half for the Swans. That means that United have lost both games and have a -4 goal difference, putting them dead last in the Championship standings at this very nascent stage. Much work to be done. Pressure is already mounting on manager Ruben Selles. Clearly they first thing they need to do is sign a few more players to replace the ones that were allowed to leave without contingencies.
Moving on to the rest of the Championship crew... there was no rest of the Championship crew. Marko Stamenic hasn’t been unveiled by Swansea yet, while Libby Cacace missed Wrexham’s 3-2 loss against West Brom with a minor injury. His manager Phil Parkinson later explained: “Libby had a bit of tightness in his hamstring. We weren't going to risk him”. Very rare injury for the durable Wellingtonian – who never missed a matchday squad for Empoli in three and a half seasons of Serie A footy except for two instances of yellow card suspensions. With Wrexham’s defence again conceding goals, we can update the running tally to say that they’ve allowed 0 goals in 85 minutes with Cacace at left wing-back and 8 goals in 185 minutes without him.
The Cacace Agenda doesn’t need any help... and the Crocombe Agenda at Millwall is rising in support as well. Millwall were beaten 3-0 at home by Middlesbrough with Steven Benda again underperforming in goal. To be fair to that bloke, he hadn’t played a competitive senior game since December 2023 when he tore his ACL on loan with Swansea City. Then again, that’s one more reason why Crocombe is arguably the safer choice. The drums are certainly beating.
Up Next: Sheffield United vs Millwall at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Another ninety minutes for Ryan Thomas, another three points for PEC Zwolle. They beat Telstar 2-0 thanks to a double from Koen Kostons (4’, 58’) to build upon the 1-0 win against FC Twente that began their campaign. They’re one of only four Eredivisie clubs to start 2/2, the others being NEC Nijmegen, Feyenoord, and PSV Eindhoven. Zwolle is the only team yet to concede a goal. Thommo got a yellow card in this game but otherwise he was pretty much flawless again in that midfield, moving the ball around with great control and getting stuck in defensively. There’s a reason the new coach made him captain.
And now he’s back in the All Whites for the first time in six years. His last national team appearance was against Ireland in November 2019 – Danny Hay’s first game in charge and the debuts for Joe Bell, Callum McCowatt, and Eli Just - and that game ended a drought of two years without a cap going back to the 2017 World Cup qualifiers against Peru. Granted, in that case it was more about a lack of All Whites fixtures than Thommo’s unavailability. Nevertheless, 18 of his 19 caps came in 2017 or earlier.
In the almost eight years since, Thomas has had three separate season-ending knee surgeries and an immeasurable number of side-niggles. There have been times when he’s had to contemplate quitting. There have been times that he’s turned down All Whites call-ups because his body couldn’t handle the extra workload. But he’s always said that if he can stay fit and healthy for long enough then he’ll make himself available again... and that day has finally arrived, with Thomas included in the squad to face Australia in September.
This comes after he started nine of Zwolle’s last ten fixtures of the 2024-25 season (the only one he skipped was a midweeker where they rested him having already avoided relegation) and he’s since come through a full preseason unscathed to play full games in both of Zwolle’s initial two fixtures. RT has gone eight months without an injury, backing up his claims that he feels as good as he ever has (on his artificially recalibrated knees). Three cheers for the wonders of modern science... in another era he would have had to retire before he turned 30.
Up Next: One week off... then PEC Zwolle vs Utrecht at 12.30am on Monday 1 September (NZT)
Grace Wisnewski – FC Nordsjælland (Danish A-Liga)
After being a late scratch from the starting line-up a week ago, Grace Wisnewski was fit enough to make her belated debut off the bench as FC Nordsjælland drew 0-0 away against defending champions Fortuna Hjørring in game two. The Wiz was subbed on in midfield for the last half hour. Not a lot of action in the game but it was a useful point for FCN that shows their intentions to win this trophy back plus it gets Grace Wisnewski up and running in Denmark. Chur chur.
Up Next: Odense vs FCN at 10pm on Saturday (NZT)
Jacqui Hand, Olivia Chance & Liz Anton – Kolbotn (Norwegian Toppserien)
Brace yourself... Kolbotn lost again. They could have gone level with Lyn had they beaten them over the weekend, which would have meant only goal difference was keeping them in the relegation zone. But they lost 2-1 and remain three points adrift with some tough fixtures coming up. Kolbotn returned from the winter break with a 2-0 win against Roa (9th)... but have since lost 2-0 vs Hønefoss (6th), 2-1 vs Bodø/Glimt (8th), and now 2-1 against Lyn (7th). In other words, they just played all of the other bottom-half teams and only took three points from those fixtures.
The Lyn defeat was especially frustrating because they played the entire second half against ten women. The teams had traded early penalties for it to be 1-1 after 15 minutes – with Jacqui Hand earning the spot kick for KIF after getting a shoulder in the back as she tried to control the ball. They leaked a header from a corner to be 2-1 down after 29 mins but hope returned when a second yellow for Nora Haaheim appeared just before the break. This was a few minutes after Hand had thumped the base of the post with a long strike.
Yet, despite near complete dominance the rest of the way, Kolbotn never found a second equaliser. Hand went close with almost the last kick of the game but that desperate effort was saved. Liv Chance had a couple of efforts that didn’t find their desired spots. Along with Liz Anton, all three of them played full games. Hand even got a yellow card for a professional foul to stop a counter attack. They shouldn’t have lost that one but they did and relegation remains a very likely possibility.
Up Next: Kolbotn vs Brann at 4am Thursday (NZT)
Owen Parker-Price - Örgryte IS (Swedish Superettan)
Now this is what we’re talking about. Once upon a time, Owen Parker-Price was only a hair’s width behind Callum McCowatt and Elijah Just in that legendary crop of Ole Academy dudes. He was in the starting eleven when those guys won the National League with Eastern Suburbs (as were Tim Payne, Andre De Jong, and Nando Pijnaker... no wonder they were so good). But OPP forged a different path for himself by heading to Sweden to join the Torslanda project where he remained for five and a half years under the guidance of Declan Edge and Dan Keat, through relegation and promotion and beyond.
These last two years back in the third tier have made it clear that he’s simply too good for the level he’s been at. Playing in the midfield, he’s scored 14 goals with 9 assists in 45 Ettan Södra dating back to the start of 2024... and some of his deeper stats are even more impressive, such as the fact that as recently as late June he’d completed more successful passes than any other player in the division by a margin that was 15% bigger than the dude in second place. This guy is awesome and finally a club has stumped up to lift him higher up the pyramid. OPP has signed a contract with ÖIS until December 2027, effectively two and a half seasons. There’s a rumour on one of the Swedish forums that they tried to sign him in January but couldn’t get the funds so it fell apart. Maybe that’s true, maybe not... what matters is that it’s happened now.
Pontus Farnerud, Sporting Director at ÖIS: “Owen is a player we have followed and been interested in for a long time, now the timing was right for all parties and it feels very good that we have found a solution with a transfer. Owen has a personality and mentality that fits well into ÖIS. He is a strong passing player with good understanding of the game that gives us additional options and quality in the squad.”
Not only is this a serious move for the 26yo jumping from lower-table third tier up until the second tier... it could soon become an even bigger jump because ÖIS are currently leading the Superettan on goal difference. There’s work to be done but it’s not impossible that Parker-Price soon joins McCowatt and Just in being a top division professional footballer in Europe.
And would you believe it, he’s already scored for his new club...
Unveiled one day, debuted the next. That deflected effort was a very valuable goal as it dug Örgryte out of trouble having been trailing 1-0 away against minnows IK Zenith at half-time. Not only that but OPP, who played ninety minutes, then slipped the pass into the area that allowed Daniel Paulson to square for Marlon Ebietomere’s 81st minute winner. ÖIS won 2-1 to continue their journey into the third round.
Same deal for Oscar Faulds at Karlstad. They won 2-1 against Umeå with Faulds getting 25 mins off the bench. This was his third appearance since recently joining the team – he’s started once and been a substitute once in the league (a division below where OPP now finds himself). However, the bros at Torslanda had already been eliminated in the previous round back in July and the fact that Parker-Price wasn’t involved in that game may have been a clue as to what was to come, preventing him from becoming cup tied. Dominic Woolridge, Harry Moss-Edge, and Sean Bright all remain with Torslanda. There’s also Cameron Hogg at FC Trollhättan but they too were eliminated in round one with Hogg not involved as his backup GK took the reins instead. Speaking of goalkeepers, Kees Sims and GAIS enter the cup with a round two match against IF Lodde tomorrow morning – gotta think Sims is a good chance to feature there.
Up Next: ÖIS vs Brage on Sunday at 1am, potential league debut for Parker-Price (NZT)
Nik Tzanev – Newport County (English League Two)
NT: “Of course I'm pleased with my own personal performance but I'm disappointed that we couldn't hold on to get a draw. It's a team game first so that's the most important thing. I'd prefer a quiet game, a 1-0 win and a clean sheet. But when I get called into action I have to make those saves to give the team every opportunity to come back into it.”
Goalkeepers all say things like that but after getting stuck on the bench for so much of last season, despite playing really well when given the chance, Tzanev has gotta be stoked with how brilliant he’s been over Newport County’s early games. His backup Jordan Wright had a very good showing in the EFL Cup so there’s competition for his spot but Tanz has been superb, as that penalty save against Grimsby attests. Just a pity they couldn’t hang on for a point, leaking a late goal to lose 2-1.
They’ve also since been beaten 1-0 by Salford City in another very close contest. Couple of pesky results but that’s through no fault of Nik Tzanev, whose absence from the upcoming All Whites squad is purely because League One doesn’t break for international windows hence he’d be risking a spot that he’s only just earned if he leaves. Same situation with Ben Waine, Matt Garbett, and Tommy Smith. Tzanev unseated Oli Sail for third choice keeper status on the previous tour and nothing that either Sail or Tzanev has done since merits any change in that ranking. Quite the opposite, in fact.
As for Matt Dibley-Dias at Chesterfield, it’s been confirmed that the ankle injury that forced him off in the first half of the League Cup defeat against Mansfield Town was the same ankle he hurt during preseason. He’s since missed two further games... but the injury is said to be a minor one and MDD was keen to play the very next game only for his coach to opt against rushing him back. He could be ready as soon as the Harrogate Town game on Sunday NZT. Chesterfield had won their first three League Two games until being beaten 4-1 away at Gillingham this morning.
Max Mata remains out for several more weeks at Shrewsbury Town... who have followed up their relegation to League Two by taking just one point from their first three matches in the division. The sooner Max is back the better.
And Ben Waine had a quiet week with Port Vale. His energy was useful off the bench for 15 minutes in a 0-0 draw away against Burton on the weekend (in which George Byers was red carded, leaving PVFC to play with ten men for 75 minutes) but then they opted against subbing him on while trying to protect a 1-0 lead against Stevenage... only to concede twice in the last few minutes and lose 2-1. That’s the first game in which Waine hasn’t played at least ten minutes since joining Port Vale. They’ve got lots of strikers competing for opportunities but Waine’s holding his own in amongst them. A couple of goals would set him apart though.
Up Next: Newport County vs MK Dons at 11.30pm on Saturday 9NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
Things were a bit boring over in the USA this week. Bill Tuiloma’s hamstring injury is expected to keep him out for a couple of weeks hence he missed Charlotte FC’s 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake – that being the first MLS game they’ve won without Tui in the line-up since 1 June. And a terrible first half led to a 3-2 defeat for Portland Timbers against FC Cincinnati, making it two losses in a row for Finn Surman since the Leagues Cup hiatus.
But Minnesota United did win 1-0 against Seattle Sounders with Michael Boxall doing his thing in central defence so that was cool. Keeps the Loons second in the Western Conference. There’s also been good news with Tyler Boyd at Nashville with Boyd upgraded to “questionable” on the injury list for the first time since his ACL tear thirteen months ago. He should be back on the pitch very soon.
Elsewhere, Utah Royals and Angel City FC drew 0-0 in the NWSL but of course neither NZer was involved. Ali Riley is on her way back from a long term injury with ACFC and it’ll take some time before she’s ready for a matchday squad. Macey Fraser hasn’t played in months for Utah Royals even though she’s also back in training after her knee injury from earlier in the season. It had been absolute crickets on that situation until this week somebody finally asked the coach what the deal is. His response didn’t explain anything...
Jimmy Coenraets, Utah Royals coach: “There's a whole background of why or why not Macey is involved in the game squad. I think that takes about 6 or 7 months of history and it's nothing Macey against us, not us against Macey. Macey's doing well at practice. She's doing her job. There's just other things happening for her right now which make it hard for us to involve her in the game squad. It's not about not wanting or not willing, it's just more like it's really a private matter that right now is keeping her out of the game squad. That's something as a coach, you have to take into account as well. Players have to want to really participate and feel in a very good spot to be able to participate. And that's just not always the case.”
You can interpret that as anything from a serious personal issue to an attitude problem. Who bloody knows? Free Macey!
Up Next: Real Salt Lake vs Minnesota Utd on Sunday at 1.30pm (NZT)
Maya Hahn - Viktoria Berlin (German Bundesliga 2)
FCV began their new campaign with a German Cup qualifying game against fellow 2.Liga club VfL Bochum (granted, Viktoria Berlin only just got promoted up to the second tier). First game of the new season and a first opportunity for a Maya Hahn debut after she signed from Turbine Potsdam in the summer. And, sure enough, there she was lining up in the midfield from the start. Hahn often got squeezed out on to the wing for Turbine so this is a return to the role she does best.
Viktoria scored via a gift of an own goal after six minutes and were looking awesome for much of the first half. Some very silky football on display... Hahn went close to scoring with a tidy shot from twenty yards out. But they conceded immediately after half-time and that made things frisky. It was a much more even game from there onwards, however a Kim Urbanek goal after 67 mins did ultimately earn Viktoria Berlin the 2-1 victory to advance. Hahn played 85 minutes and it appears she should be an important player for FCV.
Up Next: 2.Liga kicks off against Andernach at midnight as Sunday becomes Monday (NZT)
Elijah Just – Motherwell (Scottish Premiership)
EJ: “Absolutely, the way that the manager has us playing is suited to me and I’ve come in at a time when there’s been a lot of change so I haven’t had to come into a team that’s already settled and have to fight in that way. It’s been good timing for me. It was quite fast. Obviously, I’ve worked with the manager before so when he called and explained to me what he was doing and how he wanted the team to play, I pushed pretty hard to get it done as soon as possible.”
The joke last week was that Elijah Just had finally reached the point where he wouldn’t be able to keep up his trend of playing more minutes in each game than he had in the previous match. But that didn’t turn out to be true because after getting a full ninety minutes against St Mirren last week, the following task was St Johnstone in the knockouts of the Scottish League Cup and it went to extra time. Just lasted 111 minutes before he was subbed shortly after Lukas Fadinger had finally given Motherwell the lead with a close range finish (109’). They held on for the 1-0 victory. Into the quarters.
Just had a couple of shots on target, both from outside the area with one from open play and another a direct free kick. Struck them firmly but also struck them both straight at the keeper. He almost had a gorgeous assist with a dink in behind the defensive line but the striker’s touch was too heavy. He’s still only got the one goal contribution in seven appearances – that being his assist against Rangers – but the seamless way he’s been operating within a very good Motherwell team means he’s always a threat. Motherwell remain undefeated this season with two draws in the Premiership (including against Rangers), along with one draw (winning on penalties) and four wins (one via extra time) in the League Cup. In those seven games they’ve scored ten times and conceded five.
Elsewhere, George Stanger returned from suspension for Kilmarnock’s 2-1 win against Dundee United, a result that also took them into the quarters of the League Cup. Only problem was they left him on the bench by sticking with the same back three from the 2-2 draw with Hibernian while Stanger was out. It was a little unexpected how he immediately earned a starting eleven spot after signing with the club so even if he has to bide his time as a back-up for a wee while that wouldn’t be terrible for him. We’ll see what happens when they face Dundee FC in the Premiership this weekend. Motherwell are away against Aberdeen in the League Cup quarters while Kilmarnock host St Mirren. Both managed to avoid Celtic and Rangers in the next round.
And a little further down the ladder, promoted League One side Peterhead FC suffered their first serious setback when they were thumped 4-0 away at Queen of the South. It was already 3-0 when Oliver Colloty was subbed on. They did win a penalty while Colloty was out there but Kieran Shanks pulled rank as the bloke who’d been fouled... only to balloon the ball over the crossbar. Prior to that result, they’d had a big win against East Fife and a narrow loss against Inverness. As well as a Challenge Cup victory against Aberdeen U21s in which Colloty started and scored. And... also missed a penalty so perhaps they need to practice their spot kicks at training over the next few days.
Up Next: Hearts vs Motherwell at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Matthew Warbrick - Ayr United (Scottish Championship)
“Who is this guy?”, you might be asking. Well, Matthew Warbrick is a Wellingtonian native who played a little bit for Upper Hutt City last year after returning from several years in the United States playing university footy for Virginia Uni and Bryant Uni. He was at Virginia at the same time as Joe Bell, including the season when they made the National Championship final. Warbs then upped sticks to the United Kingdom to hit the trial circuit – including some time spent training at Port Vale alongside Deklan Wynne... although neither of them got signed.
Therefore he went to Scotland and hung out at St Cadoc's YC in the very lower leagues. Dunno what he did there, aside from scoring in a West of Scotland Cup game, since it’s too far down the pecking order for there to be consistent coverage. But he must have done alright because the speedy winger recently managed to wrangle a trial with Ayr United... and that trial went well enough that they’ve snapped him up on a permanent basis. One year contract. Same club George Stanger was at last season when they made the playoffs. Sweet as.
Up Next: Hoping for a Warbrick debut in Greenock Morton vs Ayr at 2am Sunday (NZT)
James Musa & Elliot Collier – Indy Eleven (American USL Championship)
James Musa has started all but one game for Indy Eleven this USL Championship season. His compatriot Elliot Collier has started none, only making the eleven for cup games thus far. But when Musa nodded in his first goal of the season to take the lead away against Loudoun United (who themselves had Riley Bidois in the starting side), he ran directly over to Collier to celebrate with him. Probably just a coincidence since the subs happened to be warming up at the time but a funky Flying Kiwis touch all the same. Loudoun United went on to win 3-2.
Up Next: Indy Eleven vs Greenville Triumph at 11am Thursday (NZT)
Moses Dyer - Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodian Premier League)
Watch closely to see Moses Dyer score twice in a 6-0 win for the Crown against Kasuka FC of Brunei. Dyer got goals three and six to open his account for his new club. This game was in order to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup – the third tier continental competition in Asia. Mission accomplished.
This will be the fifth time that PPC have competed in the Challenge Cup but the first since 2012. Usually they’re aiming for the second tier AFC Cup, which they were in as recently as 2023-24 when they were knocked out by Central Coast Mariners in the zonal semi-finals. PPC have since opened their domestic campaign with a 0-0 draw away against Boeung Ket in which Dyer went close with a couple of headers and had a late shot blocked.
All of which is better than how Dane Ingham settled in at Sabah FC in Malaysia... his debut came in a 1-1 draw against Kuala Lumpur where he scored an own goal. Thankfully, things went much smoother in a 6-0 cup win away against Bunga Raya in game two. Ingham played ninety minutes at right-back and was involved in several good attacking forays (three of the goals were penalties).
Up Next: National Defence vs PPC at 11pm on Saturday (NZT)
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