Flying Kiwis – August 6
Elijah Just – Motherwell (Scottish Premiership)
Going from four League Cup games against lower division opponents to suddenly hosting Rangers on matchday one of the new Scottish Premiership season is definitely diving in at the deep end. But Elijah Just had no dramas with it. He held the starting role he’d swiftly earned through those cup games and then showed ‘em all why by setting up an 87th minute equaliser as Motherwell claimed a 1-1 draw...
It’s pretty obvious that EJ was trying to chest that ball down for himself. But credit to the bloke because he was happy to step aside when it landed for Emmanuel Longelo in a better position and the Englishman put that thing where it needed to go. Accidental assists are still assists.
And thus continues a really promising start to Just’s Motherwell career where he’s been reunited with his old AC Horsens coach and found a spot in the starting team there waiting for him. This was his first goal contribution (although he did score in a penalty shootout during the League Cup) but he’s been actively involved in all of these games. In fact, he probably should have scored a back-post header earlier in the Rangers match. He also nearly set one up with a dinked cross that was nodded over the top.
This was a strong team performance from Motherwell that builds upon their work in the cup. They caught Rangers with a new coach, Russell Martin, following after Champions League qualifiers during the midweek... and punished them for being wasteful and disjointed. Rangers were bang average and Martin duly ripped into his team afterwards. In contrast, Motherwell played to their plan and might have even snatched a win had the game gone a little longer. Good mahi.
Elijah Just: “When you play a team like Rangers who have a lot of quality in the first game, it’s important you apply yourself the way the manager wants you to. We did a really good job at that. The boys were very courageous so it’s a step in the right direction for us. It was very intense, the fans were loud. When I went to warm up, I got the feeling of - this is some proper football. But when the game got going, I felt good and comfortable. As the game went on and we didn’t have the equaliser after a few chances, you start to think, OK we really need something here, but when the goal went in we pushed on and had another two chances at the end so we’re really happy.”
Just was substituted off in stoppage time, making this the most he’s played for his new club. He’s gone from 28 minutes to 45 minutes to 59 minutes to 77 minutes to 90 minutes across his five appearances. This also marked his Scottish Premiership debut. Not a competition that’s had an abundance of kiwis over the years but in the past few decades we have seen Alex Greive, Chris Killen, Rory Fallon, James McGarry, Steven Old, Michael McGlinchey, and George Stanger all precede EJ with varying levels of success.
Up Next: St Mirren vs Motherwell at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
George Stanger - Kilmarnock (Scottish Premiership)
Elijah Just came away from his week one game feeling satisfied... George Stanger did not. The good news is that he built upon his strong work in the League Cup by winning a starting spot in the Kilmarnock back three at the first time of asking. And that was going great for about an hour with Killie leading 2-0 against Livingston after goals from Djenairo Daniels (38’) and David Watson (42’). Then this happened...
Red card for George Stanger in his long awaited return to the Scottish top flight. One of those double jeopardy ones where it was deemed both a penalty and also a sending off after Stanger was ruled by VAR to have hauled down his man. There’s no doubt that he tugged on the bloke’s jersey after losing stride with him but that was harsh. Especially with the keeper right there. Penalty seems fair, bonus red card not so much. But that’s how the cookie crumbled and now he’ll have to serve a suspension too.
Killie coach Stuart Kettlewell: “I do have complaints about the red card. I actually felt that Muirhead has the initial pull on George. If we deem both pulls the same, then is the foul earlier in the incident? I do want the centre-back to deal with the ball. I don’t think it’s going at enough pace to guarantee that it’s going back to the goalkeeper. But even at that, George’s contact, is it enough for Muirhead to go down in the fashion that he does? Is it a red card? I probably sit in the camp of it being soft. The game hinges on that one moment, in my opinion.”
Kilmarnock were 2-0 up when that happened. Livingston then scored the penalty and later grabbed an 86th minute equaliser for the game to end 2-2. Definitely one that got away from Killie... and unfortunately George Stanger was the one who left the gate open. He’ll learn from that.
Up Next: Hibernian vs Kilmarnock at 2am on Monday (NZT)
Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
When we last checked in with Silkeborg, they’d conceded a silly late goal to only draw 1-1 against KA Akureyri of Iceland in the first leg of their Europa Conference League second round qualifying tie. That meant they had to go to Iceland and win if they were to progress any further. By no means a task that was beyond their capabilities... but jeez they didn’t make it easy for themselves when Tonni Adamsen missed an eighth minute penalty, awarded after a random handball, and then another penalty up the other end was converted to leave Silkeborg in a 1-0 hole at half-time. Very gentle foul from the goalie for that pen but that’s what happens when you leave the door ajar.
Happily, Silkeborg brought the desired response in the second spell, beginning when Callum McCowatt chopped past his man near halfway and then threaded a ball up the line for Jens Martin Gammelby whose low cross was touched home by Adamsen at the back stick. 54 minutes gone. Soon afterwards, Adamsen scored again with a dinked finish in the 62nd min and SIF were ahead in the tie. That should have been it... except their keeper couldn’t hold a low cross from a KA counter which allowed an 85th minute leveller to force extra time. McCowatt lasted about five more minutes before he was subbed – Silkeborg had made a change after 45 minutes and then nothing until the extra time period. Fortunately, Tonni Adamsen completed his redemption arc after that missed penalty by smashing in a 114th minute winner from outside the box. Absolutely ripped it in off the underside of the crossbar. 3-2 to Silkeborg who are now two rounds away from making the ECL group phase.
The third round of qualifying starts in a couple of days with Silkeborg hosting Jagiellonia Bialystok (Poland) in the first leg. Those guys eliminated Novi Pazar of Serbia 5-2 on aggregate. Should Silkeborg advance past that challenge then their playoff round will be against the victor of Hajduk Split (Croatia) vs Dinamo City (Albania). After that it’s the League Phase, sweet as.
Silkeborg won’t be hitting those fixtures up in any sort of form though. Not only did they slog their way through the mud to get past KA, they’ve also now lost all three Superliga games following a 1-0 defeat against Randers. The extra timer in the midweek surely left them exhausted and that’s presumably the reason why McCowatt was named on the bench. They subbed him on for the last fifteen as they chased an equaliser and he did manage a couple of shots from outside the area, one on target and one blocked. SIF also had a disallowed goal shortly after he was introduced while the Randers goal came from a penalty awarded via VAR following some wrestling at corner kick time. It was one of those days for SIF... problem is they’ve had three of those days in a row to begin their league campaign. Not only are Silkeborg the only team without a point on the board, they’re also the only team that hasn’t even scored a goal yet. Yikes.
Elsewhere in the Europa Conference League draw, Joe Bell was given a rare day off with Viking FK already holding a 7-0 lead against Koper (Slovenia) from the home leg. No chance of them blowing it from there... and they didn’t, winning 5-3 thanks to a couple of late goals. Adds up to a 12-3 aggregate victory. Get that into ya. Viking have been drawn against Istanbul Basaksehir of Turkey in the third qualifying round, with either Universitatea Craiova (Romania) or Spartak Trnava (Slovenia) awaiting in the playoff round should they advance.
Viking have been able to direct their full attention towards the visit of Basaksehir thanks to a bye week in the Eliteserien. They got a few games out of the way with earlier to clear the calendar, hence they’ve played more than anyone else in the league (allowing them to build up their lead at the top). Therefore this was a week for others to try and catch up... which did annoyingly happen when Bodø/Glimt won twice to go bounding up to second place, one point behind Viking with a game in hand. Brann also won but they’re out of immediate range of VFK. As too are Tromso after they only drew on the weekend. Thanks to that result, Tromso will still one one point adrift of Viking even if they win their two games in hand. But all things considered this was a very profitable week for Viking and they banked those profits without Joe Bell even having to break a sweat.
Up Next: Silkeborg vs Jagiellonia at 5am on Friday in ECL third round qualifiers... Viking vs Basaksehir is also on at the same time (NZT)
Grace Neville - Ipswich Town (English Super League 2)
After six seasons with London City Lionesses, Grace Neville was very harshly released after the club achieved promotion to the WSL. But no worries because she quickly landed on her feet at Ipswich Town. This is back in the second tier where Neville has long-since proven herself a quality performer (including some very good form late last season for LCL when she finally got a decent chance to play), linking up with a club that’s seeking to establish themselves in the second tier having just been promoted.
Grace Neville: “I think Ipswich is a really ambitious club and the team feels ready for this step up to the second tier. Hopefully I can add my experiences to the group as well. Everyone has been really welcoming so far and I now can’t wait for that first game of the season to come around.”
Joe Sheehan, Town Women Manager: “Grace is a very experienced full-back who has recently played an important part in London City’s promotion to the Women’s Super League. We have admired the way Grace plays for a long time and we think she will add a lot of value to our group.”
Nice. This should be a spot where she can get back to being a regular starter, maybe even a leader within the group. With CJ Bott signing for the Wellington Phoenix last week, we are now sadly left with zero WSL players this upcoming season... which would be the first time since 2010 that’s been the case, snapping a 15-year streak if nothing else happens. Don’t love that development. Ah but all the cool kids know that the WSL2 is where it’s really at. Hannah Blake and Mickey Foster at Durham, Katie Kitching at Sunderland, Indi Riley at Crystal Palace, and now Grace Neville at Ipswich Town. There’s also Rebekah Trewhitt one division lower with Lewes FC.
Up Next: WSL2 kicks off in early September
Nik Tzanev – Newport County (English League Two)
The third and fourth tiers in England got their seasons underway over the weekend and Nik Tzanev has earned headliner status. This after another fine display in goal for Newport County as they drew 1-1 against Notts County. Tzanev made an immediate name for himself at his new club when he starred on debut in the EFL Cup prelims last week and he followed that up with another four saves in this one to help the Ironsiders claimed a very decent point at home in week one. Notts hit the crossbar early and dominated the first half yet it was Newport who took a 49th min lead when Gerald Garner ran onto a long throw. Notts County equalised from the penalty spot after 65 mins but managed nothing more.
Elsewhere in League Two, there’ll be no sign of Max Mata for some time after he suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury recently. His Shrewsbury Town side drew 0-0 with Bromley to get underway. But the news was better for Matt Dibley-Dias. MDD missed the end of preseason with an ankle injury yet was fit enough to get a few minutes off the bench for Chesterfield in their 1-0 win against Barrow. Only the fourth senior appearance for the Fulham loanee. There was no time to do anything much aside from ticking off his debut (and ensuring the Spireites didn’t concede a late leveller) but this gives him something to build from.
Up Next: Crawley Town vs Newport County on Sunday at 2am (NZT)
Ben Waine - Port Vale (English League One)
Up a division we had Ben Waine and Port Vale. Waine-o’s spent his entire time in England on the outside looking in, fighting for minutes off the bench, but he was really good for the Vale during preseason and that led to a week one start away against Rotherham. He was picked in a front three of himself, Lorent Tolaj, and Jayden Stockley. Stockley played through the middle and Waine was out left but they all had room to run and press and get involved with PVFC employing a 3-4-3 formation where the wing-backs held the width.
Alas, it was a shambles of a performance for the first 45 minutes of Vale’s 150th season of existence. The half-time whistle arrived with them trailing 2-0 and down to ten men. None of that was Waine’s fault. He actually looked alright, holding the ball up nicely and meeting the required physicality of the game. He nearly snuck into a 1v1 at one stage but a heavy touch held him back. He looked especially sharp when he was able to run in transition, including one move that ended with Waine putting a header on target after linking with Stockley. But the red card made the front three untenable and a triple substitution followed at HT with Waine (and Stockley) among those removed – and this was after Waine had to play the last ten minutes of the first half dropping into an advanced midfield position.
In the second half they reverted to a makeshift 4-3-2 and managed to grab a goal back after an hour. A red for one of the Rotherham lads then allowed PVFC to give it a real nudge for the last fifteen, however they still fell short. 2-1 final score. Usually Darren Moore’s Port Vale shape up with three in the midfield and two up front so the inclusion of Waine as a third forward was a surprise and potentially a reward for hitting the ground running in preseason. Dunno if they can justify keeping that formation after how badly it went in this game but at least this shows that Waine is already more in the plans at Port Vale than he ever was at Plymouth Argyle or Mansfield Town. Both of those former clubs are also in League One this season.
Up Next: Port Vale vs Cardiff City at 7am on Friday (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Braintree Town (English National League)
If you were wondering where Tommy Smith would end up after he left Auckland FC one year early for family reasons, citing a desire to move back to the United Kingdom, then here you go. Braintree Town in the English fifth tier. There was never any chance of a retirement this close to the World Cup but at 35 years old with his most recent four seasons in England having been played in League Two with MK Dons and Colchester, it was going to be tough to pick up anything beyond that at short notice. All in all, Braintree Town is a pretty decent spot for him.
Tommy Smith: “I’m a good friend of Alan Judge and I was chatting to him throughout the break and he said nothing but good things about the club and that led to being put in touch with the gaffer. Things just rolled on from there, really, and I came to have a look at the club. Excited to be here and hopefully we can have a successful time.”
These things often have a lot to do with who you know and Tommy Smith knows a lot of people – remember how he acted as a character reference for Libby Cacace ahead of his move to Wrexham? Smith’s many years with Ipswich Town form the core of all those connections and Ipswich Town happens to have a strong link with Braintree Town. NZ U23s keeper Henry Gray spent a large chunk of last season on loan with Braintree Town from Ipswich (winning won Young Player of the Year for the BTFC). The same is also true of Ipswich and another Essex club: Colchester United. Smithy had a loan spell there early in his career and then returned on a permanent basis for three seasons after his time in MLS. It was at Colchester that he played with Alan Judge who helped set him up with this Braintree move (Judge also played for Ipswich but didn’t overlap with Smithy). It helps to have a lot of friends.
Braintree Town were promoted from the sixth tier to the fifth tier two years ago and Gray’s fine goalkeeping mahi helped keep them in that division last season, finishing in seventeenth place. That’s the situation that Smithy’s stepping into. They’ve held their own in year one, now the plan is to rise up the table.
This move also sets up a pretty incredible situation where there’ll be kiwi players in each of the top six divisions in England. Not sure what’ll happen with guys like Marko Stamenic and Alex Paulsen yet (more on them later) but at the very least Chris Wood will be playing Premier League. In the Championship we’ll definitely have Tyler Bindon (Sheffield United), Libby Cacace (Wrexham), and Max Crocombe (Millwall). League One delivers Ben Waine at Port Vale. League Two’s got Nik Tzanev (Newport County), Matt Dibley-Dias (Colchester), and Max Mata (Shrewsbury Town). We already had Matt Gould at Yeovil Town in the National League, though he’s more of a coach there and didn’t make a league appearances last season despite sitting on the bench for every match (he apparently had an injury issue too). Smithy will definitely be playing though. Then Zac Jones (AFC Fylde - North) and Jamie Searle (Eastbourne Borough - South) are joined by Josh Redfearn (Maidstone United - South) in the National League North/South parallel sixth tiers.
Tommy Smith: “Obviously it’s an important year for New Zealand having qualified for the World Cup. I’ve been a part of that squad for a long time now. I want to continue that, I want to be a part of that World Cup squad and playing every week is going to be massive for me in achieving that. Hopefully I can play as well as I can individually, which will help us as a team to be successful, which will keep me in that squad.”
Up Next: Smithy’s already played his first friendly for his new club and the season proper will be kicking off this weekend when Braintree Town host Halifax Town at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Oscar Faulds – IF Karlstad (Swedish Ettan Norra)
Here’s another transfer to add to the very long list of New Zealand deals over these past couple months. With his split NZ-Swedish heritage, Oscar Faulds had already played a bit in the lower leagues of Sweden prior to moving to Napier City Rovers at the start of 2024. He then proceeded to have an incredible season scoring copious goals for Rovers, including six goals and four assists in nine National League games... despite the fact that he wasn’t even going to play the National League. He went back to Scandinavia for some trials after the winter season but one move fell apart at the last moment and then another was spoiled when he got ill during his trial. Pretty nasty luck.
That bad luck seems to have continued after he left Napier City Rovers to join Luxembourg club Union Petange. Faulds scored twice in his first three appearances but then never broke into the starting team like he ought have. He only logged 257 minutes across 11 appearances after joining Petange after their midseason break. Something must have gone awry there... but not to worry. Faulds has left that spot and signed with Karlstad in the Swedish third-tier back in a nation he knows well.
This is another midseason move. Karlstad play at the same level as FC Torslanda with all those lads, only in the Northern section rather than the Southern section. They drew their first game back after the summer hiatus but remain in fourth place, only five points off top. That means there’s a promotion push on the cards if things click into place for Fauldsy.
Paul Olausson, Karlstad manager: “Oscar is a player who appeared on the radar during the summer and after seeing through some matches in previous teams, we decided to see him in our environment. Based on analysis, our feeling was that Oscar is a type of player that we don't really possess. A tall and tall forward with good basic technique and a clear picture of why he plays football. In training, he showed proof of what we saw in the analysis – to score. Constant presence in a box and good finishing ability with both feet and with the head. A good press player with a physical presence means that he has many of the criteria we want in a forward, so we have great faith that he will provide us with even more weight in the last third. He will be a good complement up there and we will be more versatile as we already have Bonilla and some other options that move over larger surfaces. Now we get a clean box striker. At the same time got a good feeling from him as a person. Humble and a character who shows that he wants something with his football.”
Speaking of the Swedish Ettan, there was a 1-0 win for Torslanda away against Oskarshamns down south. Weirdly there’s been almost no coverage of that game or any of the other Ettan matches returning from the break – usually there are at least some highlight packages – but guess who scored the winner for Torslanda? Owen Parker-Price, that’s who. OPP has six goals and six assists in 15 matches, plus another two goals in the Svenska Cupen. It’s proving to be another fantastic season for him... so there’s the benchmark for Oscar Faulds to aim for.
Up Next: Karlstad vs Team TF FF on Sunday at 11pm (NZT)
Abby Erceg - Deportivo Toluca (Mexican Liga MX)
Much relief over here as Abby Erceg finally made her first appearance of the season for Toluca. There’s been a lot of excitement around this team due to the hiring of Frenchman Patrice Lair as coach and a few of his French international former players joining the cause (Eugenie Le Sommer and Faustine Robert) alongside Amandine Henry who was already there. This on top of what was already a star-studded international team with Erceg, Henry, and Shanice van de Sanden. But that didn’t lead to playoff footy last season so they’ve taken it to the next level.
All the Frenchness has overshadowed everything else and made it tricky to keep up with Erceg’s status. There was never any confirmation that she’d had re-signed with the club until she was pictured in training... then the season began and she was nowhere to be seen for three games in a row. Teams are allowed seven foreigners so it wasn’t a case of other internationals getting priority. Must have been an injury, right?
Not to worry because she returned this week, starting in central defence as Toluca won 2-1 against Pachuca. Robert scored early (6’) and then Pachuca’s Charlyn Corral levelled up after 54 mins... only for Van de Sanden to quickly hit back with what proved to be the winning goal (59’). Erceg was subbed after a very tidy 70 minutes which reinforces the idea that she’s being eased back into the team after a knock. Toluca managed to hold on without her to deal Pachuca their first defeat and keep themselves unbeaten. Three wins and a draw to begin the Apertura. Plus they’ve got their best defender available again. The hype would appear to be getting vindicated.
Up Next: Toluca vs Club Leon at 1.05pm on Sunday (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - TSC Bačka Topola (Serbian SuperLiga)
Nothing too crazy here, just TSC with a really nice 2-0 win against Spartak Subotica during which Sarpreet Singh played another 89 minutes. No goals or assists yet but he continues to look threatening in that TSC midfield and he did play a key role in their crucial first goal against Spartak. Free kick sent long into the area, only partly cleared. Singh took the ball down on his chest just outside the area and smacked a volley towards goal which took a deflection into the path of Tyrone Conraad who stuck a boot out to send the ball back on target again. Keeper saved that attempt but Conraad scored on the follow up.
That was a massive moment in this game. TSC had the better of the play but they’d struggled to turn that into legitimate chances prior to that goal and if Spartak Subotica had been a little more effective on the break then they could easily have flipped this result. It wasn’t until the sixth minute of second half stoppage time, after Singh had been replaced, that Bogdan Petrovic headed in from a corner kick to make it 2-0. That’s an indication how close this was.
Bačka Topola have now taken seven points from three games to be one of five remaining undefeated teams at this early stage. Singh has played at least 80 minutes in all three games – something he hasn’t done at club level since he was with Jahn Regensburg in the 2022-23 campaign.
Up Next: The toughest fixture of the entire season away to Crvena zvezda at 6am on Sunday (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
Whoopsadaisy with the Michael Boxall own goal there.
Fortunately, it’s only Leagues Cup action hence it doesn’t really matter. Boxy was given a rest as Minnesota United won 4-1 against Queretaro in their first game, although they did still sub him on after 71 minutes. The score was only 2-1 at that stage... but a couple more late goals (and a red for Queretaro) made it comfortable. Boxall then started against Club America where once again their opponents got a second half red card only this time it didn’t stop Club America from scoring a last-minute equaliser to snatch a 3-3 draw. Boxy’s own goal happened earlier on. He then stepped up and scored in the shootout... only for the Loons to lose 8-7 and concede the bonus point. Nevertheless, they’re still a good chance to progress if they can beat San Luis in their third game of the week.
Portland Timbers are in an even better position having won 4-0 against San Luis and 1-0 against Queretaro (they face the same three Mexican teams as Minnesota United). Finn Surman played the first 45 mins of the San Luis game and then sat out the Queretaro match entirely. No Portland player has gotten more MLS minutes than Finn Surman this year so there’s no reason to keep flogging him during a mid-season tournament excursion. While that’s been going on, the Timbers have also agreed a large transfer fee for Norwegian forward Kristoffer Velde (who was a teammate of Marko Stamenic at Olympiacos last year) and are working on a loan move for midfielder Felipe Carballo from Gremio (he played for New York Red Bulls in 2024). That’s what we call retooling for a playoff push, folks.
Charlotte FC has done something similar by signing former Nottingham Forest fullback Harry Toffolo. That might not be very portentous for Bill Tuiloma so soon after as he finally found a spot in the CFC team as a fullback... granted, Tui’s been playing on the right whereas Toffolo is a lefty. We’ll see how it goes. Charlotte lost 4-1 to Juarez in Leagues Cup game one. Tuiloma started on the bench following on from his “full body cramps” of last week but still got half an hour in place of Nathan Byrne at RB. That duo then swapped over as Tuiloma started and did 72 mins of the 2-2 draw against Guadalajara with Byrne replacing him for the end. CFC lost the penalty shootout for the bonus point meaning they’re already out of contention ahead of the third fixture.
This week also marked the return of the NWSL... however neither Ali Riley nor Macey Fraser were involved. Riley only just got elevated back from the injury list after more than a year on the sidelines so it’s no shocker that she missed Angel City’s 2-0 loss away to Seattle Reign. She’s back in training but it may take some time before she’s game-ready. As for Macey Fraser, we were hoping she was already at that stage following a few months out with a knee injury. She wasn’t on the injury list for Utah Royals this week... but she also wasn’t in the squad list for their 1-1 draw with Orlando Pride.
The Royals have always been rubbish with their Fraser updates. It’s all guesswork and speculation with these jokers... who last week caused a stir when they traded away USA international Ally Sentnor in a record move. Sentnor was their best and most entertaining player but playing for a team that keeps losing can get on your nerves so she requested a transfer. Utah banked a massive US$600k fee as well as a sell-on percentage and performance add-ons with no players coming back in return. And it just so happens that Sentnor is an attacking midfielder who’d been starting in Macey Fraser’s preferred position.
That could prove to be a great thing for Fraser... but she’s gotta get fit first. She’s been pictured in training recently and they played a friendly game last week where she was out there warming up with the team beforehand... but then didn’t get any minutes. That suggests she’s still not 100% after the knee thing. Fingers crossed it ain’t much longer because she’s only played 400 minutes of NWSL footy across nine appearances since the start of last season.
Up Next: Minnesota vs San Luis at 12.30pm Thursday; America vs Portland at 1.30pm Thursday; Monterrey vs Charlotte at 11.30am Friday (NZT)
Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premier Soccer League)
Check out this guy modelling the new jersey. Stellies got their season up and running with a MTN8 quarter-final against AmaZulu which they won 3-2 after extra time. ADJ played 82 minutes and was replaced with the score at two-apiece and heading for the bonus thirty minutes required to split them. De Jong played a smooth ball through the line to assist the assist for Stellies first goal. Quality performance. Very nice win. All signs point towards Andre De Jong being every bit as important a player as he was last season.
Up Next: Monday at 3.30am, Stellies vs Kaizer Chiefs to start the PSL (NZT)
Jacqui Hand, Olivia Chance & Liz Anton – Kolbotn (Norwegian Toppserien)
Yeah so the Jacqui Hand inspired drought-breaking win last week did not get repeated. Kolbotn had the chance to go back to back coming out of the summer break but instead they lost 2-0 against Hønefoss which leaves them stuck in last-place.
By no means were they the weaker team... but they leaked a goal from a corner kick after fifteen minutes and that clearly knocked their confidence around. KIL picked it up again late in the first half and had most of the best chances of the second spell but the cutting edge was lacking. Then they conceded a runaway goal in the 87th minute for the final nail in the coffin.
Frustrating points dropped against one of their relegation rivals. Hand and Anton played ninety minutes. Chance was subbed after 67 mins. Kolbotn’s next two games are also again lower-half teams so they’re going to need to make those count. Next up is Bodø/Glimt who are three points above them and are the lowest-scoring team in the division. Win and they’ll move above them on the standings.
Up Next: Kolbotn vs Bodø/Glimt at 0:00 on Sunday (NZT)
Meikayla Moore & Ally Green – Calgary Wild (Canadian Northern Super League)
Third goal of the season for Meikayla Moore right there – that’s got her tied with Aussie winger Kahli Johnson as the team’s top scorer. Only drama was that they conceded twice within ten minutes of this Moore goal and went on to lose 2-1 against AFC Toronto. Moore and Ally Green both had full games – you can see Green standing over the dead ball for Moore’s goal, although she wasn’t the one who took the free kick.
Meantimes Milly Clegg might need to work on her set pieces because Moore’s got three goals more than she does this season. Clegg played 72 minutes as Halifax Tides drew 1-1 with Montreal, getting subbed immediately before her replacement Amanda Allen scored their equaliser with an absolute gift as the keeper rushed out on a through ball and completely missed it, leaving an open goal for Allen. Exactly the kind of chance that doesn’t seem to be falling for Clegg at the moment. She’s now made 11 appearances (10 starts) for this team, adding up to 831 minutes without scoring.
The Tides are the lowest-scoring side in the competition which clearly doesn’t help. Plus it’s gotta be said that she’s mostly playing on the wing at the moment. Clegg had a great chance quarter of an hour into this Montreal game where she ran in behind and shot just wide from the edge of the area and you could see the frustration as she spurned that effort. She’s playing well and staying involved but not getting much luck at the moment. Surely next week will be the one.
Up Next: Ottawa vs Calgary at 8am on Sunday (NZT)
Riley Bidois - Loudoun United (American USL Championship)
Another one for Riley Bidois. He scored the opener in what turned out to be a 3-2 loss against FC Tulsa in the USL Championship. That’s now eight goals in all competitions this year with four of those coming in league play. Two of those four have come within the last three matches as Bidois finally seems to have earned his way into the starting line-up for Loudoun United. His three starts in a row matches the number of starts he made in the previous 15 games combined. He’s now improved his goals per minute rate to one every 132 mins across all competitions in 2025. Keep them coming, bruv.
Up Next: Rhode Island vs Loudoun Utd at 11am Sunday (NZT)
Moses Dyer - Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodian Premier League)
Count it as a Moses Dyer debut for Phnom Penh Crown. He was out there for the kickoff as PPC faced Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng in the annual Cambodian Super Cup, their equivalent of England’s Community Shield where the reigning league and cup winners face off to herald in the new season. Dyer wore the #10 jersey and it was his hustle that set up the equalising goal after 67 minutes. A goalkeeping mistake put PKR back in front after 87 mins but Crown snatched another levelling goal in stoppage time to take it to penalties. No extra time. Dyer was still out there at the end but he didn’t take a kick as PP Crown lost 5-4 in the tiebreaker... it’s possible he was waiting for the fifth one and then never got the chance after the bloke before him missed. Svay Rieng therefore take the Super Cup although celebrations were limited and all proceeds were donated to those displaced by the recent conflict at the border with Thailand.
Up Next: The CPL starts in two weeks, before that there’s an AFC Challenge League preliminary game against Kasuka of Brunei on Wednesday at 12.15am (NZT)
Alex Paulsen - AFC Bournemouth (English Premier League)
These are curious times for AP. Having played a little bit (only a little bit) in their initial few friendlies, whatever loan plans they may have got for him were deferred to allow Paulsen to travel to the USA for some Summer Series exhibitions against a trio of fellow Premier League clubs. Where... he was on the bench for all three matches but never got to play.
It had seemed like he was a chance to feature in the third game. There was a pattern emerging where new signing Djordje Petrovic started the first two matches of this USA tour, with Raul Neto subbing in for him in game one and then third-choice Will Dennis subbing in for him in game two. Stood to reason that the third game would be fourth-choice Alex Paulsen’s turn, right? Nah, instead Neto played the first half and Petrovic played the second half and that was the end of the tour.
Then another twist in the tale emerged when news came through that 36yo Neto, who spent last season out on loan with Arsenal and only has one year left on his current deal, had flown out to Botafogo in his native Brazil ahead of a proposed transfer. With Petrovic now in town, Neto had no long term future at the club but he could have been a handy experienced backup in case the new fella struggles or gets injured. Now he’s gone and therefore Alex Paulsen moves up in the queue. In hindsight it doesn’t make much sense why Neto was playing preseason games ahead of AP... and especially Will Dennis who now shapes to be the number two heading into the Prem campaign.
The Cherries now return to England where they’ve got a double friendly against Real Sociedad and Real Sociedad reserves... so AP should now be involved there, assuming doesn’t leave on loan in the interim. That’s still likely since hanging around as number three probably won’t advance his career as much as the alternative. But who knows? All will be revealed in the fullness of time.
Up Next: Sunday at 4.15am for the Real Sociedad friendly (NZT)
Marko Stamenic – Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
Wait there’s more because have a geeze at this cheeky development...
Marko Stamenic wasn’t part of the training camp squad that were in Portugal over the previous fortnight but with Forest back in England again they hosted Fiorentina in a friendly game and suddenly there he was in the squad again. Not only that but he played twenty minutes off the bench, getting subbed on as Chris Wood was subbed off (they’re still yet to overlap in NFFC colours).
Forest made four changes in that particular window yet it was Stamenic that coach Nuno Espirito Santo spent the most time chatting to. Lots of instructions from the gaffer. Stam didn’t really do a whole lot as Forest polished off their fourth 0-0 draw of preseason, laying down a disciplined job within a midfield trio, but his mere presence means we’ve gotta reassess a few things. 20 players took the pitch in this game and the only ones who didn’t play Premier League for the club last season were new signings Jair, Igor Jesus, and Dan Ndoye; youth grad Zach Abbott; and returning Olympiacos loanees David Carmo and Marko Stamenic. There were blokes who went to Portugal who weren’t involved here. Makes you wonder if perhaps Stamenic was merely injured.
The Premier League begins in ten days and neither Marko Stamenic nor Alex Paulsen have been sent out on loan yet. Of course, the transfer window stays open until the end of the month and there’s lots of water to go under the bridge yet. But they’ve each had significant boosts in the past few days. Let us sit back and see what happens... Nottm Forest have one more friendly on the weekend against Al-Qadisiyah and then the following week they host Brentford in the Prem.
Meanwhile, Libby Cacace made his first appearance in Wrexham colours during a 3-1 friendly defeat against FC Groningen (Netherlands). Coincidentally, that’s the club that former Wellington Phoenix striker Oskar Zawada recently moved to... although he didn’t play. They actually had two matches back to back in order to get everyone ninety minutes and Cacace played the second of those at LWB, see him in here wearing the #2 jersey...
James McClean was in that position for the earlier 1-0 loss. The teams were a mix so neither was a first or second eleven, nothing to read into there. Cacace’s a bit behind in his preparations so he may not start in game one of the Championship next week but all expectations are that he’ll be the top choice left wing-back before long. However, he wasn’t the Wrexham record transfer for very long. Lewis O’Brien’s move from Nottm Forest has already trumped what they paid for Cacace as of last week and the rumours suggest there could be more to come.
On the subject of transfers, there was a doozy outta Sheffield United with Anel Ahmedhodzic being sold to Feyenoord for a very healthy fee of €18m. That offer was too lucrative to turn down, not to mention the footballing opportunity for Ahmedhodzic with Feyenoord (who also signed Aussie Jordan Bos recently) currently prepping for Champions League qualifiers. Hence he’s gone... and that leaves Tyler Bindon and Jack Robinson as the only two recognised central defenders in the squad. No doubt they’ll find some cover from somewhere but it would appear that Tyler Bindon just stepped into first eleven status.
Finally, Ipswich Town revealed their squad numbers for the coming Championship season and they included five goalkeepers, none of which were Henry Gray. It sounds like Aro Muric is probably going to leave the club (the fact that he’s switched from #1 to #49 is a further clue). Might also see a loan for one of the others but it’d take more than that to bring Henry Gray into the immediate spotlight. That could still happen, though the better bet is that he takes another progressive loan move and furthers his career that way – Gray was with the U21s rather than the first team during their preseason tour. That’s presumably the reason why Ed Sheeran got an Ipswich squad number and he didn’t. Well, half the reason.
Up Next: We sit tight and we observe
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