Flying Kiwis – September 17
Matthew Garbett - Peterborough United (English League One)
There so many kiwi transfers over the past few months that it’s going to take some time for everything to fall into place. It usually does when players move clubs. Gotta settle into those new surroundings, gotta build up connections with your new teammates, gotta learn a new system with a new coach. Many of those transfers remain in the TBD category, while a couple others already look quite concerning, but there are heaps more which can be confidently placed in the Very Satisfactory basket: Sarpreet Singh to TSC, Grace Wisnewski to Nordsjælland, George Stanger to Kilmarnock, Nik Tzanev to Newport County, Maya Hahn to Viktoria Berlin, et cetera.
Then there’s a level above where certain moves have been so immediately successful that they feel like pure providence. Elijah Just has been a revelation at Motherwell. Marko Stamenic has done the same for Swansea City even in limited minutes. Libby Cacace at Wrexham too, injuries aside. And after scoring a beauty of a goal on the weekend to help Peterborough United to their first win of the season, it only seems right to place Matt Garbett into that realm as well.
This is magical stuff considering what a stressful and stunted season Garbs spent at NAC Breda last term. This Peterborough late to eventuate too. He’d been a free agent since the start of July but it was only in mid-August, after the English season had already begun, that he finally turned up at the Posh (with an assist in negotiations coming via from former Peterborough striker David Ball). Back then there was reason to panic about where his career was going. Now we’ve forgotten how to even spell the word pnaic because Garbett has had such a brilliant start for Peterborough that they’re already talking about him like an angel descended to earth...
Peterborough Today: “Midfielder Matthew Garbett was so far ahead of anyone else on the field even the Posh matchday sponsors picked him [for Man of the Match]. There was no other possible candidate. If there had been a more widespread vote he’d have gained a Vladimir Putin level of victory, without any rigging. The New Zealand international has only started 3 games for Posh and yet he’s already been compared to recent club star Jack Taylor and suggestions have been made that he’s one of the best in his position to ever play for the club. A terrific goal aided his cause. It’s a bit early for that of course, but there’s every chance he will become the first man to play in a World Cup Finals while on the books of Posh, providing he doesn’t get sold before then. There will be bids. It will be fascinating to see how high they are and whether or not they are accepted.”
This after only three starts. Bloody hell. The ironic thing is that the elements of his game that were so undesired by his NAC Breda coach – specifically his positional roaming, rushing all around to find overlaps and link ups rather than sticking to his scripted role – are what’s making him such a premature legend at Posh. Goes to show it’s not always the talent that’s the issue, it’s often the fit. Garbett’s first three league starts for Peterborough have all been ninety-minute efforts... the first time in his senior club career that he’s managed three full games in a row.
And, yes, Peterborough even won a game this time! Garbett’s goal opened the scoring on the way to a 2-1 victory against Wycombe Wanderers. It took them eight league games but they finally did it. The coach and chairman had both been saying that this squad was always going to be a slow starter after all the transfers and that once these guys hit their stride they’ll be competing with anyone in the division. We’ll see how that goes but they’ve got the monkey off their back with that first win, at least.
They’re still last though. Gonna need plenty more where this came from. Nevertheless, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... and apparently Matt Garbett’s become the reincarnated Diego Maradona since he pulled on a Peterborough jersey so that’s bound to help.
Matt Garbett: “A few people told me I would love English football. They said it would suit me and I’ve loved it so far. It’s just what I needed and I love playing for a manager who keeps standards high and who has placed a lot of trust in me. I thrive when a manager is on top of you all the time. As players we shouldn’t need it as we should look after our own standards, but there’s a lot of respect for him. I also love his style of football as I’m a player who loves getting on the ball and playing between the lines. I was stoked to get my first goal and for the team to get that first win. It was a great pass from Archie Collins to find me, but I saw someone coming up behind me so I took the ball in the opposite direction and it bounced up perfectly so I just hit it. It was great to get the fans involved in the celebrations. It’s been a difficult start to the season, but they have stayed with us.”
In far less enjoyable activities, Port Vale also won their first game in League One this season, beating Exeter City 2-0... but Ben Waine wasn’t in the matchday squad for the second game in a row. It was mentioned last week how he’s basically at the back of the queue for the seven Vale forwards competing for minutes in this team and the fan reaction to his stints so far have had polar opposite vibes what Matt Garbett’s inspiring. But with luck they’ll let him play either against his old club loan Mansfield Town on Sunday or against heavyweights Arsenal in the EFL Cup next Thursday morning. And in neutral news, Nik Tzanev’s Newport County scored a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw away against Tranmere Rovers. That snapped a six-game losing streak across all comps. Good for them.
Up Next: Plymouth Argyle vs Peterborough at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
Watch out people, Callum McCowatt’s been up to his antics again...
That goal was a very timely leveller a few minutes before half-time. Silkeborg had conceded after a mere thirty seconds against Odense BK but McCowatt got them back on even terms and then with half an hour left, while the score was still 1-1, he was also to thank for OB having a man sent off when he got in front of his man hunting a ball over the top and was blatantly dragged back.
Tonni Adamsen would later score the winner after 79 minutes as Silkeborg got their third win of the Superliga season (from eight games). 2-1 to SIF. They had a terrible start with their European commitments probably getting in the way of their domestic form but they’re looking better these days. McCowatt has two goals and an assist in their past four fixtures.
And you know what that means: another bottle of the sponsor’s finest to add to his collection...
Up Next: Kolding vs Silkeborg in the third round of the Danish Cup at 4.30am on Thursday... could be McCowatt vs Wilkins if they’re both selected (NZT)
Rebecca Lake – Vancouver Rise (Canadian Northern Super League)
How about another kiwi in the NSL, why not? We’ve already got Meikayla Moore and Ally Green at Calgary Wild. We’ve already got Milly Clegg on loan at Halifax Tides, who also have Katie Barrott as assistant coach. Now, sneaking in right at the end of the mid-season transfer window, Rebecca Lake has joined Vancouver Rise following her release from the Wellington Phoenix. Lake played 19 times for the Nix, with injury limiting her to only a handful of those appearances last season. She’s since made a comeback at Cashmere Technical (helping them to the Kate Sheppard Cup semis, where she scored in a 2-1 defeat, ironically, against the Wellington Phoenix Reserves). Now the Canterbury Pride legend is heading overseas.
Rise FC Head Coach Anja Heiner-Møller: “We are very happy to have Rebecca at Vancouver Rise FC. Rebecca comes in with great experience and leadership skills as a centre-back. She has only been with us for a few days but her willingness to impact the ball and positive mindset has been noticed already.”
The other two clubs with kiwis are looking very likely to be the two that miss the playoffs in this six-team competition. Vancouver Rise, on the other hand, are second in the standings with a seven-game unbeaten streak prior to the weekend’s game. In the fixture immediately before Lake signed, they beat Moore and Green’s Calgary team 6-0. Lake joined in time for the final six matches of the regular season with two-legged semis and potentially a grand final to follow if all goes to plan.
The good news about that is she’s already made her debut, subbed on after 56 minutes of a match away against AFC Toronto. The bad news is that they were already 4-0 down with a red card when she was chucked on.
They ended up losing 7-0. Lake got booked near the end for hauling down an opponent after losing possession due to a heavy touch. Her team missed a penalty in added time to make the day even worse. There goes that unbeaten streak... granted there was some controversy about it. They were only 1-0 down as they reached stoppage time in the first half (thanks to a brilliant direct free kick) before they conceded twice prior to HT and once straight after it. The third goal looked like maybe it should have been a handball and it was for sarcastically clapping that decision that Jessica De Filippo was sent off. Second yellow after earlier getting one for kicking the ball away after the whistle. One of the more avoidable red cards you’ll see.
It wasn’t any better for the other NSL kiwis. Calgary Wild responded to the 6-0 loss last week with a bunch of changes and lost 5-0 against Montreal so nothing got any better. Meikayla Moore was an unused sub. Ally Green played about an hour. They’ve got a midweek game to make some amends. Halifax Tides drew 1-1 with Ottawa Rapid but Milly Clegg only got the last ten minutes off the bench.
Up Next: Vancouver vs Ottawa at 8am on Sunday (NZT)
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
The seismic shift between Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou might well be one of the wildest managerial switches in Premier League history. Nuno’s Nottingham Forest and Ange’s Tottenham Hotspur were about as tactically far away from each other as it’s possible to be last season. Forest sat deep and countered. Spurs pushed high and kept lots of possession. Forest were compact and organised. Spurs were intense and full of running. Now Chris Wood is caught in the middle of that changeover hoping that Big Ange is pragmatic enough to compromise on what he usually wants in a striker so that A) he doesn’t get dropped, and B) his hamstrings don’t explode right before a World Cup.
He’s not the only one either. The whole squad was perfectly designed for Nuno-ball and now they’re going to be asked to do the same. That all began late on Saturday night NZT when Nottingham Forest played away against Arsenal... and were well beaten by a 3-0 scoreline. Very comfortably beaten by a clear better side with the goals scored by Martin Zubimendi (32’ & 79’) and Vikrot Gyokeres (46’). Chris Wood was a peripheral figure although he did hit the crossbar of the goal with an improvised effort off his chest in the very early stages of the second half. That would have made it 1-1... instead Arsenal went up the other end and scored their second. Wood stayed out there for an hour before Arnaud Kalimuendo took his place, no need to push it off the back of internationals when NFFC were already headed towards defeat.
We can read much into that game. Postecoglou only had one full day of training with the squad before his first game hence the only change he made to Nuno’s final line-up was Ola Aina dropping out at right-back due to an injury picked up on international duty. Chris Wood came through international duty just fine, in fact he even left the second NZ vs Australia game slightly early so that he could get the last flight back to England that night. But his selection here doesn’t tell us anything about the future. It doesn’t tell us if he has a place in Big Ange’s plans because we didn’t see any of Big Ange’s plans in this game. The jury has yet to be presented the evidence.
Up Next: There’s a League Cup tie against Swansea City on Thursday at 7am but Wood probably won’t play that one; then it’s Burnley vs Nottm Forest at 2am on Sunday (the Chris Wood Derby) (NZT)
Tyler Bindon – Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
If Chris Wood losing his main man Nuno Espirito Santo as Nottingham Forest is a wobbly one for him, spare a thought for his All Whites teammate and club affiliate Tyler Bindon. Unlike Marko Stamenic, who was later sold permanently to Swansea City, Bindon didn’t do any preseason with Nottm Forest. Obviously the jump from League One to Premier League is a bit much without a step in between so he was promptly loaned to Sheffield United where he reunited with the coach who gave him his shot at Reading: Ruben Selles. But now they’ve been unreunited.
Late transfer work meant that Selles partnered Bindon with a regular left-back (who has since left the club on loan) for game one where they got smoked by Bristol City. Bindon then had a rest as the Blades were knocked out of the EFL Cup losing 2-1 to Birmingham, before resuming at CB alongside Jack Robinson for consecutive 1-0 defeats against Swansea and Millwall. Robinson was sold and replaced by Japhet Tanganga who was brilliant on debut alongside Bindon in a 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough. And that was the state of affairs as TB travelled to play for New Zealand over the international window. He started both games of the Soccer Ashes (one alongside Michael Boxall, one alongside Finn Surman) but perhaps some of that Sheffield Shadow followed him because he made a few uncharacteristic errors along the way.
This lad has only been a pro for two years and up until recently everything had been ascendant for him. Now he’s going through his first serious dip. It’s character-building stuff... but it’s also very precarious. His youth and physicality is being tested at Sheffield Utd far more than he’d ever experienced in the division below. Safe to say that he has not won over the fans yet... although playing four games with three different CB partners as a 20yo trying to establish yourself in a higher division isn’t exactly prime territory for footballing excellence.
Bindon wasn’t involved when Sheffield United faced Ipswich Town away on Friday night local time. He’d played less than four days earlier on the other side of the world therefore it made sense to leave him out of the squad. Tanganga was partnered by Mark McGuiness for a fourth CB pairing in five games and if Blades fans thought it was bad with Bindon out there, it got much worse without him as Sheffield United were absolutely shambolic in a 5-0 defeat. Five losses from five with only one goal scored. Last in the Championship despite making the playoff final a year ago. Disastrous. Hence this statement on Monday morning NZT:
“Sheffield United Football Club's board of directors have opted to make a change at managerial level. After a disappointing start to the EFL Championship campaign, Rubén Sellés has been relieved of his duties as manager. Following a review of recent performances, and taking into account the feelings of supporters, the timing of the change has been made to give the club the best possible opportunity to improve the current league position. The board of directors wish to thank Mr Sellés for his hard work. A new manager will be named in due course.”
So to recap...
Tyler Bindon’s had an unconvincing start for a team that’s been going terribly.
He’s only on loan.
There’s lots of player instability around him due to all the late transfers.
And now the manager who brought him to the club has been given the flick after only five league games.
Chris Wilder has been hired to replace Selles as manager which will at least redress the absolute madness of sacking Wilder four months earlier after he came within quarter of an hour of earning promotion to the Premier League. In Bindon’s favour is that the other three CBs contending for starts (Tanganga, McGuinness, and Ben Mee) are also all new signings with Wilder’s preferred duo from last season, Robinson and Anel Ahmedhodzic, both having left the club. There could be a scenario where he fights through and earns his stripes. There could also be a scenario where he doesn’t even get a chance and he’s back at Nottingham Forest in January looking for a new loan.
Okay so what about the rest of our Championship cohort? Well, they didn’t play either. Max Crocombe watched from the bench for the fifth league game in a row as Steven Benda remained between the sticks while Millwall drew 1-1 away with Charlton. It took an 88th minute equaliser against ten men to earn that point. The goal they conceded came after Benda punched a corner kick to a Charlton player on the edge of the area, though to be fair his defence wasn’t much help to him in that situation. This at least meant Crocombe was picked to start the EFL Cup match away against Premier League club Crystal Palace this morning... but a toe injury in warm-ups caused him to be a late scratch. Benda played on short notice, Millwall drew 1-1 thanks to another late equaliser but then lost the penalty shootout as Palace scored all four of their required kicks.
Marko Stamenic left All Whites camp after aggravating a groin strain that he’d initially suffered in his previous game against Sheffield Wednesday. That kept him out of a 2-2 draw against Hull City and will also sadly prevent him from playing against former club Nottingham Forest in the League Cup on Thursday morning NZT. He is a chance for the weekend’s match away to Birmingham though. They won’t want to rush him, however there was definitely a feeling that they missed his presence in the Hull City match.
SCFC head coach Alan Sheehan: “Marko felt something in his groin at Sheffield Wednesday. He's an honest guy so he travelled halfway round the world to pull out of training with New Zealand. We have had that scanned and he will definitely miss the weekend, which is disappointing as he has shown how important he is over the last couple of games.”
And even though Liberato Cacace (or Libarto Cacace as one local newspaper called him) by his own admission got through Wrexham’s previous game before without any setbacks before an international break which he skipped entirely... he either picked up another knock or he reaggravated the hamstring that had been bothering him and missed Wrexham’s 3-1 defeat against QPR. In other words, he was rested from the All Whites to avoid the risk of injury and then got injured again anyway. Nothing serious, with luck he’ll also be back this weekend.
Phil Parkinson, Wrexham manager: “Libby, unfortunately, got a slight injury when he came back in the building this week. Very frustrating for him and for us but we’ve got a great replacement in Jimmy [McClean].”
Cacace has only played in 2/5 league games since signing for the club, putting him in a weird place where Wrexham fans are now starting to believe he’s this injury-prone struggler when actually he never missed a game with injury during his three and a half years in Italy and has made more starts for the All Whites during the Darren Bazeley era than anyone else. Going back to his debut for the Wellington Phoenix as a 17-year-old in February 2018, all the way up until his final game for Empoli in May 2025, there were only 10 league games in which Cacace was not in the matchday squad for his club. Five of those were due to suspension and two of them were because he was busy sitting his school exams. Another was non-selection very early in his Nix career. The other two were during his Sint-Truiden tenure while he was away at the Olympic Games. He was often an unused sub in his early days at Empoli but he was always available and in the squad. Missing games through injury is a brand new experience for him.
Oh yeah and because they shipped three more goals without him, we get to update this doozy of a statistic...
0 goals conceded in 162 mins with Cacace
10 goals conceded in 288 mins without Cacace
15 goals conceded in 468 mins w/o Cacace including the EFL Cup games
North of the border, Eli Just played 33 mins off the bench for Motherwell as they drew 1-1 with Dundee. Another one of those ‘partially rested after the FIFA window’ cases. The manager said their second half performance was as bad as they’ve been, however Just himself was really good and could have easily had a couple of assists if his teammates had finished their chances. With that result, Motherwell have now drawn five games in a row to begin the Scottish Premiership season. George Stanger’s Kilmarnock almost did the same when they hosted Celtic and scored an 83rd minute equaliser... before they conceded a very late penalty which Kelechi Iheanacho scored for a 2-1 Celtic win. Four draws and a loss for Killie. Stanger started but was subbed off five minutes before the equaliser so that they could get an extra attacking player on the pitch.
Up Next: Sheffield United vs Charlton Athletic at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Indiah-Paige Riley - Crystal Palace (English Super League 2)
Gotta be honest, week two of WSL 2 wasn’t as much fun as week one. Mickey Foster and Hannah Blake held their starting spots from last week but Durham were beaten 2-1 at home against Charlton Athletic. Blake made a defensive clearance off the line in the opening minutes and it was her cross that led to Durham taking the lead via Beth Hepple after half an hour (it bounced off a defender before Hepple’s shot so no assist for HB this time around). They held that lead for most of the game only to let it slip in the last fifteen minutes with two concessions. Blake played 80 minutes. Foster played the full thing.
Ipswich Town were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest – the two promoted sides – with Grace Neville getting ninety at right-back. Ipswich haven’t scored in either game and, in all honesty, were lucky not to lose by more against Forest... although they did build a bit of unfulfilled pressure in the latter stages. Sunderland were better than that in a 1-1 draw against Birmingham. Not a lot of Katie Kitching in there, it was a quiet performance from KK whose biggest moment in the highlights was when she pressed up the wing and helped force a bad pass, then started celebrating early when Keira Barry tried to curl her shot around the out-of-position goalie from way outside the box... only for the ball to bounce wide and Kitching to fall to her knees as an anguished observer.
What does that leave us with? It leaves us with this game...
Indi Riley never got off the bench in the week one defeat against Charlton. They weren’t going to make that mistake twice: this time IPR started at right fullback and played 75 minutes of a bonkers game of footy that ended Crystal Palace 4-4 Southampton. All the goals were scored while she was out there.
This wasn’t wing-back duty, it was right-back duty with coach Jo Potter changing the shape after last week’s loss and that meant more defensive responsibility for Riley. Not her best usage but she’s gotta do what she’s gotta do to stay in the team. Riley might bear some blame for the second Southampton goal after she rushed infield and allowed a wide open winger to get deep and cross, however she made up for that with a dash forward and a cross that led to Palace’s fourth. Crazy back and forth match. Riley did pretty well. Onwards.
Up Next: Nottm Forest vs Crystal Palace at 1am on Monday... but also Sunderland vs Durham at 6am on Saturday (NZT)
Alex Paulsen - Lechia Gdansk (Polish Ekstraklasa)
Alex Paulsen kept 23 clean sheets in 55 games over the previous two A-League seasons, split between two clubs with two different styles of defence. He’s now found himself at the bottom-placed team in the Polish Ekstraklasa and what do you know... AP kept a cleanie in his second appearance for Lechia Gdansk.
Following an international break spent acclimatising in Gdansk rather than battling away against the Aussies in the Soccer Ashes, Paulsen already looks comfortable in the gloves for Lechia. He didn’t have a whole lot to do against GKS Katowice, only making three saves (with two of those from long range shots), but what he did he did very smoothly. Couple of high claims. Nice control of his area. There was one late instance when he rushed out to punch a corner and didn’t get there, only to recover and grab the ball from the next phase. His passing was mostly inaccurate long balls so that’s one thing to work on – at a club battling relegation, he’s not going to have the same licence to play short. Otherwise he’s entirely at home at this higher level.
The value of a dependable goalkeeper was made clear in this very game because that’s how Lechia Gdansk scored their first goal. Long ball over the top. GKS keeper steps out of his box only to be surprised by the high bounce. He jumps to try header the ball away and it skims backwards off his head. Dawid Kurminowski nods it into an empty net after 18 minutes. Bingo. GKS had more possession and a similar amount of shots but neither team is in very good form so it was that one blinding error that defined the contest, even though Gdansk did grab a second right at the very end thanks to the incisive Camilo Mena. By “right at the end”, we’re talking about the seventeenth minute of stoppage time. Paulsen was booked for time wasting in amongst.
This was only Lechia’s second win in eight matches. Thanks to those three points, they now have... three points (they would be on eight except for a five-point deduction for financial stuff). That means they remain last in the standings... for now. The win against GSK was the most valuable thing but second on that list is a clean sheet for a team that had conceded 19 goals in seven matches prior (they actually kept a clean sheet in the game before Paulsen’s debut too, a 1-0 win vs Arka Gdynia, so the numbers were even worse before that: 17 goals conceded in their first five fixtures).
Up Next: Pogon vs Lechia at 12.45am on Monday (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
This guy does not miss much action for Viking. He was subbed off with two mins remaining in the season opener and it then took five months before VFK next kicked a ball in an Eliteserien game without Joe Bell on the pitch – and that was only because he was suspended. He was able to find a little bit of rest in the early games of Europa Conference League qualifier and the Norwegian Cup. But that’s all.
However, after going 180 full minutes against Australia in the Soccer Ashes and then flying all the way back to Norway they had to at least be gentle with him... hence a very rare scenario where Bellinho began on the bench away against KFUM Oslo. Given their usual reliance on him (and also captain Zlatko Tripic who was serving the first of a two game ban after his part in a scuffle against Rosenborg), this was a risky move even with the loading concerns. That risk wasn’t looking great when they conceded after 57 seconds. Viking managed to equalise three mins later thanks to an own goal... only for a very well taken second goal to make it 2-1 in favour of KFUM after 19 mins. That’s the way it remained until the break.
It was then that the inevitable solution arrived and Joe Bell was sent on to fix things. They didn’t concede again while he was out there. They also didn’t win... but Bellinho did whip a free kick into a beautiful area for Martin Ove Roseth to (bravely) head home an equaliser after 72 mins. VFK briefly thought they’d scored another shortly afterwards from a free kick on the other side (taken by someone else this time) only for a correctly-raised offside flag to deny them. 2-2 draw, final score. One they’ll have to settle for but also one that was about what they deserved.
Bodø/Glimt won 7-1 against Kristiansund which sends them two points clear at the top. Viking are second, six points clear of Brann (although Brann have a game in hand). The title race continues, with VFK having a difficult fixture against Molde next with Tripic still suspended. But Bell will be back to ninety minute duties by then at least... Bellinho now has 2 goals and 4 assists in the Eliteserien, plus another 3 assists in Conference League qualifiers.
Up Next: Viking vs Molde at 5.15am on Monday (NZT)
Abby Erceg - Deportivo Toluca (Mexican Liga MX)
Team of the Week honours for Abby Erceg, it’s like the NWSL days all over again. The crazy thing about this was she only played an hour of the 2-1 win against Universidad Nacional to earn that recognition. That’s all she needed. As we know, Erceg’s being patiently built up having been in and out of the team this season (only playing around 35% of overall minutes), presumably due to injury, so this was a welcome milestone. Followed by another one when she completed a full game against Raados de Monterrey in the subsequent match – only the second time she’s done that this season. Toluca lost 1-0 to Monterrey and sit fourth in the standings.
Up Next: Toluca vs América at midday on Tuesday (NZT)
Finn Surman - Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Another week in quality Finn Surman activities. This is turning into a very long yarn, even by Flying Kiwis standards, so suffice to say that Surman was awesome as Portland Timbers won 2-1 against New York Red Bulls. Three big points raising them up to sixth after Austin FC were beaten 2-0 away to FC Dallas.
That’s also good news for Michael Boxall whose Minnesota United team is playing Austin FC in the US Open Cup semi-final on Thursday NZT (12.30pm kickoff). Boxall played a full game as the Loons produced an amazing smash-and-grab win away against first-place San Diego, scoring three times in the last fifteen minutes (before conceding an even later one) to win 3-1 despite only having 33% of possession and facing 28 shots at their goal compared to only 6 shots of their own. Minnesota United is second in the Western Conference, now just two points behind San Diego. Aussie/Greek debutant Nector Triantis scored from halfway in that game.
Bill Tuiloma was an unused substitute as Charlotte won 3-0 against Inter Miami. Seems like he’s back to that status quo since his injury... though at least he got to see Lionel Messi miss a penalty. Charlotte have won nine MLS games in a row.
And here’s Tauranga’s own Tyler Boyd setting up a late equaliser for Nashville against Cincinnati... even though they conceded again to lose 2-1. Boyd only recently made his return after more than a year out with a knee injury. This was his second appearance following 14 months on the sideline. Lovely to see him back.
Up Next: Houston vs Portland at 12.30pm on Sunday (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - TSC Backa Topola (Serbian SuperLiga)
You can’t glean too much from selections straight after an international break. Sarpreet Singh was benched for the first time prior to that break but they subbed him on at half-time and he went on to set up a goal in a 2-2 draw which broke a three-match losing streak. Then he flew all the way to Australia and New Zealand where he started and got at least 75 minutes in both All Whites matches, before jetting back to Serbia where he was again only on the bench again for the visit of Mladost.
Fast-forward to the 72nd minute of the match. TSC were bossing it, they were creating all the chances. They’d had a goal disallowed for a close-call offside. But it was still a scoreless match and heavy rain was making things even trickier. On came Sarpreet Singh. The first thing he needed to do was sprint back to defend a counter-attack after a silly giveaway from one of his teammates but pretty soon he was getting busy up the other end. He arguably should have had an assist when a floated cross was headed over by a wide-open Andrej Todoroski at the back post. And then... well, he didn’t actually have much to do with Bogdan Petrovic’s winning goal in the 85th minute but that’s fine, it gave them a 1-0 win, their first win in more than a month, and the goal was still scored while Singh was out there.
Equally as important is that this dude who has dealt with so many pesky injuries across his career now has the longest active run of consecutive starts for his national team (seven in a row) and was top five in minutes played for his club team heading into the FIFA window (his 20-min cameo here drops him to seventh). By the way, Milos Degenek also started both Soccer Ashes games for Australia and he was only used as a stoppage time substitute while TSC were trying to shut the door. Very obviously a case of not pushing those guys too hard after all the travel and workload (Degenek had played every minute of the first seven matches).
Up Next: Away to FK Čukarički at 4am on Monday (NZT)
Jacqui Hand, Olivia Chance & Liz Anton – Kolbotn (Norwegian Toppserien)
Oh this is bad. Kolbotn lost again, this time going down 2-1 (the video above says 2-0 but it’s wrong) against Røa in a game they really needed to win. Røa were the team that KIL beat 2-0 coming out of the mid-season break but they failed to capitalise on that boost and have now lost six games on the trot. They’re stuck in last place with a seven point buffer to make up over the remaining seven games and this was supposedly the ‘easiest’ game they had left.
They took the lead in this match and still lost. It was a pretty even first half but around 25 minutes into it, Jacqui Hand decided it was time to turn the screws. She stung the palms of the Røa keeper with a shot sliding in from the left wing and then, after a shallow clearance, got the ball back and this time squared it across the edge of the 18-yard box soon leading to an open shot for Kanna Matsuhisa... whose gentle effort just squeezed between two defenders. Hand showed immense generosity in letting it roll over the line instead of making 100% sure by kicking it across herself. Hand later got a yellow card for dragging back her marker to prevent a counter attack so don’t doubt her mentality. Matsuhisa also got one of those and it wasn’t even half-time at that stage. Kolbotn were desperate to win this game.
But they weren’t clinical enough. An under-hit clearance from Liz Anton was volleyed into the net to make it 1-1 in first half stoppages. Then they lost it right at the end when their keeper rushed out and fouled an attacker, conceding a penalty which was cashed in for an 87th minute winning goal. All three kiwis played ninety minutes. It ain’t looking good for Kolbotn avoiding relegation but the clock hasn’t run down yet, you never know.
Up Next: Vålerenga vs Kolbotn at 3am on Monday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Once upon a time, this bloke was as brittle as they came. The next injury was only ever a breath away. These days he’s had his kneecaps fixed and just made a successful return to international football where not only did he start both games against Australia but he then flew back to Holland and did ninety minutes in the midfield against Ajax. Joe Bell was rested after the break. Chris Wood was restricted to an hour’s work. But Ryan Thomas continues to vindicate his own claims that he’s as fit as he’s ever been.
PEC Zwolle conceded twice in a poor first half... then picked up the mahi in the second spell and pulled a goal back before letting another one in towards the end for a 3-1 loss. The two wins in a row to start the campaign have been tracked by two defeats in a row, granted all four of those games probably reflected expectations. Wins against FC Twente (currently 13th) and Telstar (14th), losses against FC Utrecht (6th) and Ajax (3rd). Ryan Thomas has played every minute of those four games as captain of PEC Zwolle. He’s ten matches away (in all comps) from reaching 200 appearances for the club. This is him getting booked…
Ryan Thomas: “That first half, I don't know what we did. It was far too lax. In the second half, we did what we should have done before halftime and just as we played in training this week. Then we created chances, and suddenly things started to work out.”
Up Next: Home against similarly-placed Go Ahead Eagles at 10.15pm on Sunday 9(NZT)
Ben Old - AS Saint-Étienne (French Ligue 2)
Despite not even being in the squad for ASSE’s last game before the FIFA break, and despite playing in both games for New Zealand during that break, Ben Old was a very surprising inclusion in the starting eleven when Saint-Étienne faced Clermont Foot away in the fifth round of Ligue 2. He played on the left wing and looked decent. He was strong on the ball, keen to get involved on attack (including taking a few corner kicks), and tracked back when required. Improvements were there to be seen. However, ASSE also conceded right before the break and responded with a half-time double sub that included Lucas Stassin replacing Oldie. Stassin proceeded to score one and set up another as Saint-Étienne fought back to win 2-1.
Cool to see Ben Old back in the mix but this game also highlighted why he’s where he is in the pecking order. Other guys are simply more effective at the moment. These were steps in the right direction though – and the substitution kinda felt like a pre-planned one, with Stassin moving to centre-forward and starting striker Augustine Boakye (who also scored) sliding out into Old’s wing position, rather than a case of Old being benched for his performance. Purely tactical. It looks like Old’s dodged the loan speculation so fingers-crossed he can keep getting minutes like this for the sake of his continued development. ASSE are top of the table with 11 points from five fixtures.
Up Next: ASSE vs Reims at 6am on Sunday (NZT)
Rebekah Trewhitt - Lewes FC (English National League South)
This one slipped under the radar last week. Lewes hosted Brighton & Hove U21s in a National League Cup group stage game and smacked them 3-0 with Bex Trewhitt scoring twice to continue her excellent start to English football. She also scored in a league win against Exeter City a couple games ago.
Lewes lost 1-0 away to Hashtag United this weekend for their first defeat of the season. Trewhitt played 83 minutes. Hopefully they’re able to keep this going into a promotion challenge – it’s notoriously tricky to get out of this division but Lewes have done it once before... sort of (they were awarded a spot in the second tier in 2018 during a restructuring though that was based on their success rising up the divisions).
Up Next: Lewes vs Plymouth Argyle at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premiership)
There was a sellout crowd at Mbombela Stadium for the MTN8 Cup final as the same two teams from 2024 final returned again in 2025. Orlando Pirates won 3-1 last year. This time Andre De Jong and his mates took them much deeper, forcing extra time after a scoreless ninety minutes... but that was where they ran out of steam. Pirates scored in a flurry and left with a 3-0 victory and another trophy. ADJ played the full thing. Got a yellow card right near the end. He was up for it, probably his team’s most influential attacker, but the luck wasn’t there and nobody’s doubting that the better team won.
Nevertheless, this was another great cup run from Stellies. In 2023 they won the Carling Knockout Cup to deliver the club’s first ever top-level trophy (alongside the First Division title they won five years earlier). Since then they’ve also been runners up in the MTN8 twice, made the semis of the CAF Confederation Cup, and managed consecutive third-placed finishes in the Premiership.
Up Next: AmaZulu vs Stellies at 5.30am Thursday; then Stellies vs Richards Bay at 3.30am Sunday (NZT)
Moses Dyer - Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodian Premier League)
That... looks muddy. But it also looks like an 80th minute winning goal from Moses Dyer, flicking the ball on near halfway and then staying with the play to end up slamming that thing home after a goalkeeping error let PPC in. They’d been 3-1 down at half time against Life FC, putting them in a fair bit of trouble after beginning the season with two draws. Then Maksym Priadun scored a hatty before assisting Dyer’s goal and there you go. 4-3 to PPC. First win of the league season. These club highlights were filmed from the other side of the pitch which offers a closer look at the sludgy conditions...
This was the first goal for Moses Dyer in the Cambodian Premier League, although he had already scored a brace against Kasuka FC (Brunei) in the AFC Challenge League prelims a few weeks ago. By the way, Dyer is still second-equal on the League of Ireland Golden Boot rankings despite not having played there for nearly three months.
Up Next: MOI Kompong Deva FC vs Phnom Penh Crown at 11pm on Friday (NZT)
Josh Redfearn - Maidstone United (English National League South)
3 July – Josh Redfearn joins Maidstone United in the English sixth tier, following a season with Welling United at the same level (in which he scored seven goals in 28 games).
31 August – Josh Redfearn scores his first league goal for Maidstone United in a 3-3 draw away to Worthing.
5 September – An interview with JR is published on Kent Online in which he talks about relocating from London to live locally in Maidstone, which is presented as a show of commitment.
11 September – Josh Redfearn is released by Maidstone United by mutual consent.
Rightio then. These things do happen in football, particularly in the lower leagues where there’s less money involved. Seems like despite the commitment, Redfearn simply wasn’t going to be playing much and so ties were cut. So it goes. On to the next.
Up Next: Guess he’ll be moving out of Maidstone, then
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