Flying Kiwis – September 3
Grace Wisnewski – FC Nordsjælland (Danish A-Liga)
The UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers reached their second round last week which is when everything gets interesting and we had two kiwi representatives vying for progression to the playoff stage. Three if you count the injured Malia Steinmetz who is back with FC Nordsjælland this year but obviously won’t be involved for a wee while yet as she works her way back from an ACL tear. Fortunately, FCN signed Grace Wisnewski to ensure they’ve still got a kiwi enforcer in their midfield.
Wiz had already made a couple of appearances for FCN before they jetted to Czechia to face Sparta Praha in their semi-final. They opted for a more established midfield three to begin that game though, leaving Wisnewski on the bench, and that’s how they got into trouble. FCN were 3-0 down after 33 minutes and even after Anna Walter got them going with a goal immediately after the second half began, they still conceded again to be 4-1 down with half an hour remaining. This was a disaster.
It was at that perilous moment that Wisnewski entered the action. Within five minutes of stepping onto the pitch, she’d scored. Six minutes later, Astrid Engsig-Karup scored as well. Then an own goal with a minute remaining in regulation time completed an incredible three-goal comeback as Nordsjælland made it 4-4 to force extra time.
The home side rallied and nothing much happened in the extra thirty minutes. That sent the two teams hurtling towards a penalty shootout where they both scored their first attempts, both missed their second attempts, both scored their next couple... until Wisnewski’s effort was saved for FCN’s fifth and that allowed Spatra Praha to win it with their last kick. 4-4 after extra time. 4-3 on penalties. FCN will not be playing Champions League proper this year, falling at the first hurdle of qualifying.
But they did bounce back with a 4-2 win against FK Aktobe (Kazakhstan) in the consolation game. Wisnewski started this match and played eighty minutes, getting subbed after all the scoring was done. No goals or assists for the Wiz but there was a yellow card – she committed four fouls in this game. Most importantly, her team had a good victory with her out there. Meanwhile, Sparta Praha were smashed 5-1 by Roma (Italy) in the final of this mini-tournament hence only Roma will progress to the playoff round. Nordsjælland might have expected to beat Sparta but Roma were always favourites to take the golden ticket. So it goes.
However, their European journey isn’t over because, by virtue of winning the third-placed game, they now drop into the first round of qualifying for the brand new Europa Cup second tier competition. Nordsjælland will face KuPS (Finland) over two legs to see who continues into the second qualifying round, where a bunch more teams who didn’t quite crack it in the UWCL will drop into the mix. The actual competition begins in November at the round of sixteen and it’ll be two-legged ties all the way including the final. Exciting.
Up Next: FCN vs AGF at 11pm on Saturday (NZT)
Katie Bowen - Inter Milan (Italian Serie A)
Any worries about Katie Bowen playing off the bench last week in a League Cup game were predictably shrugged off when she played all 180 minutes of Internazionale’s Champions League qualifiers. Inter also had a frisky draw – there are no easy ones in a competition designed for the best teams going around – but they were hosts of their section and should have felt confident. Heck, it could hardly have started better for them after they took a 1-0 lead against Brann (Norway) with only six minutes on the clock thanks to Karolina Vilhjamsdottir.
Except that was as good as it got for Inter. They conceded an equaliser within ten minutes of scoring when their back three caught by a through ball into the channel and Bowen wasn’t able to cut out the pass across the six yard box leading to a tap in at the back post. They were otherwise very sturdy in defence, let down instead by the lack of creativity going forward with too many obvious passes in behind preventing them from doing much... aside from one other lapse. This time a bouncing ball in the area and a spinning strike through traffic put them 2-1 down after 53 mins. Inter didn’t come close to a second goal until the late stages when things got desperate. But nope, they lost 2-1 and that’s their Champions League quest over after one game.
Like FCN though, there was still the possibility of Europa Cup supposing that they could win their consolation game against Valur (Iceland), who’d been beaten 3-1 by Braga (Portugal) in the other game in the group. Brann then beat Braga 1-0 to progress to the third qualifying round. Inter made four changes to the starting team between these two matches and Katie Bowen was not one of them (already said she played 180 mins so you probably figured that out). And this time they smashed it.
Chances came far more freely against their Icelandic opponents, although Inter did have to be patient before they finally put something over the line. Lina Magull even missed a penalty while it was nil-all. But a great finish from Haley Bugeja after 31 mins broke the shackles and soon Magull (36’) and Elisa Polli (42’) had also scored to make it 3-0 at the break. Valur got one back early 2H but a Marie Detruyer goal with five mins remaining ensured a 4-1 victory for Inter Milan, who’ll now face Scottish champs Hibernian in the first round of Europa Cup qualifying. Another year with no UWCL for kiwi footballers but it’s an easy pivot to the Europa Cup dream instead.
Up Next: Back to Serie A Cup activities with Inter vs Fiorentina at 4am on Sunday (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United / Finn Surman - Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Beautiful things do happen in the world of football and this was one of them. Fresh off his best performance in weeks having been given the captain’s armband, Finn Surman retained the captaincy for Portland Timbers in their following match. That match happened to be against the Michael Boxall-captained Minnesota United. Two All Whites teammates, who were centre-back partners in their previous international fixture and could be once more against Australia in a few days, captaining against each other in a foreign league. Would you look at that...
Michael Boxall is 37 years old and has played over 250 times in MLS. Finn Surman is 21 years old and this is his first season in the league. Both are having magnificent years. Surman is from Christchurch and came through the Wellington Phoenix Academy whereas Boxall is an Aucklander who did play for the Phoenix but also went to university in the USA and spent time playing in Canada and South Africa before settling in Minnesota. There are contrasts and there are similarities. But there are very few predecessors. The only instance in recent memory of two kiwis captaining against each other was in the NWSL when Abby Erceg (Racing Louisville) and Ali Riley (Angel City) did so on a couple of occasions.
By the way, the VIP bloke helping with the coin toss there? That’s Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor who is about to enter his fourth NFL season. He made 28 catches for 414 yards last season so not exactly one of their stars to mark this auspicious occasions... though he did catch six touchdown passes. Good luck to him. Wonder if he realised he was part of Aotearoa sporting history?
It would have only been right for the game itself to end in a 0-0 draw. Clean sheets for both of the bros. That did feel likely for much of the contest as Portland controlled lots of the ball and Minnesota sat deep and repelled them. Then all of a sudden the Timbers took a late lead via a Nicolas Romero own goal on 79’, leading coach Phil Neville to quickly made a couple of defensive substitutions to protect that state of affairs. Turns out that was a misfire because Robin Lod dashed onto a ball over the top and equalised in the 85th minute. 1-1 final score with strong outings from both kiwi CBs, neither of whom cop any blame for the concessions. Spoils shared.
That point was enough to confirm Minnesota United as a playoff team with several games still remaining in the regular season - they’ve now made playoffs in four of the past five seasons. The Loons are currently second in the West but could drop below Vancouver who have two games in hand. Portland Timbers are sixth and, despite a wee wobble coming out of the Leagues Cup, consecutive away draws against some of the MLS’s best have given them a huge confidence boost heading into the FIFA window. Seems like everybody got something valuable out of this game. Happy days.
Up Next: All Whites vs Australia on Friday at 9.45pm and then Tuesday at 7pm (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - TSC Bačka Topola (Serbian SuperLiga)
For the first time since signing with TSC, Sarpreet Singh was named on the bench for his team’s meeting with last-placed Javor, their seventh match of the campaign. TSC had lost three games in a row so Darije Kalezic must have felt he needed to make changes and with Sarpreet Singh yet to provide a goal or assist he was one of the obvious candidates to step aside. At least to begin with.
Despite being 1-0 up at half-time thanks to an Andrej Todoroski goal (40’), things weren’t really clicking for TSC who were having issues breaking down a deep defence, also getting caught on the break and from set pieces. Therefore Coach Kalezic went early to his bench and Singh was chucked out there for the second half. The alteration didn’t prevent them from conceding an equaliser after 51 minutes but it did work wonders when Singh ghosted into the area to set up fellow substitute Saša Jovanović for the goal to make it 2-1 with twenty mins remaining. First goal contribution for Singh. Silky and timely work from the bro. That’s what we’re here for.
Alas, there’s something brittle about this TSC team because they weren’t able to hang on. They conceded a sloppy equaliser in the fifth minute of additional time to be forced into a 2-2 draw. Breaks the losing streak but doesn’t give them the third win of the campaign that they were fifteen seconds away from achieving. Albeit on the basis of the chances created by each team, they were lucky not to lose. Not ideal. At least Singh’s up and running with his goal contributions.
Up Next: After the international break, it’s TSC vs Mladost Lučani on Sunday 14 Sep (NZT)
Liberato Cacace - Wrexham (English Championship)
He has returned and he has picked up exactly where he left off. No messing about, Libby Cacace resumed his starting role at left wing-back for Wrexham away against Millwall following three games out with a hamstring issue. And you know what? Same as his debut he looked completely at home in the English Championship.
Cacace’s combination with fellow new signing Callum Doyle at left centre-back looked instantaneous. He got up and down the left edge, nearly creating a goal with a cross right before the half which Kieffer Moore flicked wide at the near post. Nobody gave him anything he couldn’t handle defensively. The only stutter was his match fitness coming back from injury after a limited preseason, leading to him being substituted after 77 minutes having run out of gas.
By that stage, Wrexham were leading 1-0 after Moore took advantage of a shocker from Millwall keeper Steven Benda who came out to catch a chipped cross and missed it completely (although he did manage to jab Moore in the face). That’s excellent news for the Flying Kiwis beat because of course Benda is the bloke keeping Max Crocombe out of the team. He was Man of the Match in their previous game but had been very sketchy in the two before that so we’re now at one great game and three poor ones from that fella. About time Crocs got a go, surely?
Wrexham’s goalie, Danny Ward, suffered a nasty injury in stoppage time which stretched the game out. Eventually the Red Dragons scored a second through Lewis O’Brien (set up by a clever dink from Cacace’s replacement James McClean) to make it a 2-0 victory – the club’s first in the English second tier for 43 years. Very nice, very nice.
Libby got asked in that post-game interview about heading off for the international window with New Zealand which is ironic because there was an Athletic article the following day which claimed the following...
The Athletic: “Moore will be away with Wales during the international break. But Ward, after suffering a concussion and an injured elbow, will remain behind with Nathan Broadhead, while Cacace is also expected to stay in the UK despite being called up by New Zealand for the double-header against Australia.”
Those folks know their stuff. Cacace did say he got through the game injury free but the cautious decision was still made to leave him in Wales to recuperate, withdrawing him from the Soccer Ashes series. Fair enough. If anything was going to re-aggravate the pesky hammy then it was two long haul flights with a pair of internationals in between. Cacace is the least-rotated All Whites player of the current era having only missed one game since Darren Bazeley took over and that was because of suspension. Gives a rare opportunity for Francis De Vries and James McGarry to show what they can do in his absence.
Here’s a statistic:
0 goals conceded in 162 mins with Cacace
7 goals conceded in 198 mins without Cacace in the Championship
12 goals conceded in 378 mins w/o Cacace including the EFL Cup games
Up Next: After the break it’s Wrexham vs QPR at 2am on Sunday 14 September (NZT)
Marko Stamenic - Swansea City (English Championship)
Also in the winners’ circle were Swansea City who beat struggling Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 on the road. Goals from Zan Vipotnik (50’) and Ronald (81’) got the job done. That moves the Swans up to seven points from four games. Considering that there’s room to grow as their new signings find their strides, it’s looking at the moment like Swansea City might be the best of the four Championship clubs that signed kiwi players during the recently-closed transfer window.
Cacace’s made a rapid impression on the Wrexham fans but even he can’t compare to how beloved Marko Stamenic has already become to the Swansea City faithful. Stamenic was the deepest midfielder in a trio with Gonçalo Franco and Ethan Galbraith so you won’t see heaps of him in those highlights. He just quietly and efficiently completed 63/69 passes, won a couple of tackles and an interception, and continually got Swansea moving forward with rhythm in a very assured performance. He also played ninety minutes. He’d gotten 35 on debut in the previous Champo game, then did an hour from the start in the EFL Cup. Now he’s gone the distance at the third time of asking.
Meanwhile, the Championship signing in the most precarious position is probably the one who has played the most so far. Tyler Bindon has started all four games for Sheffield United but the Blades have lost each and every one of them to sit last at the international break. The latest was a 1-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough who have won 4/4, therefore that one isn’t so bad in isolation. But viewed with the rest of their form it’s absolutely shambolic for a team that made the playoff final last season.
This is a frisky situation for Bindon for two reasons. The first is that he was signed by manager Ruben Selles specifically because they’d previously worked together at Reading. If Selles gets sacked then Bindon’s biggest ally at the club would be gone. The other element is that Sheffield United left their transfer business so late that it’s only now that their squad is finally coming together. Remember how Bindon started at CB alongside Rhys Norrington-Davies in the first game, a bloke who is usually a left-back? That was because they’d sold their main central defender, Anel Ahmedhodzic, and dropped the other one, Jack Robinson, in expectation of another transfer. Robinson was then recalled for the next two games. Since then, Norrington-Davies has been loaned to QPR and Robinson has has joined Birmingham City while in their places have come Ben Mee (Brentford), Japhet Tanganga (Millwall), and Nils Zätterström (Malmö) who are all centre-back specialists. Bindon’s got a completely new crew to compete with.
Tanganga was available for the Middlesbrough game hence it was he and Bindon who lined up – Bindon’s third CB partner in four Championship games. Zätterström was on the bench while Mee hadn’t yet been registered at that point. Bindon’s been okay thus far but has admittedly looked like what he is: a 20yo trying to make the step up to the Championship. Tanganga is six years older and has played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur hence he had no such issues, serving up a brilliant debut performance. We’ll have to observe how the dust settles because that could be a threat to Bindon’s playing time or it could be that Tanganga is exactly the type of commanding and reliable presence that he needs next to him in order to take the pressure off. Tanganga’s arrival also meant that Bindon moved from the right-sided CB across to the left where he’s played more regularly for NZ and Reading. To be fair, it’s not the defence that’s been the problem for Sheffield United: they’ve lost their last three games 1-0.
Matt Garbett played ninety minutes in the midfield (with a yellow card) for Peterborough United and got himself some rave reviews for his talents. He’s sneakily angling towards the type of impact that Cacace and Stamenic have had – which is a huge relief to see after the year he’s had. Alas, the Posh lost 3-0 away to Exeter City which means they still have not won a game in six attempts. They’re last in League One... one point below Port Vale who were beaten 1-0 by Reading with Ben Waine playing twenty minutes off the bench. Waine got more of a run in the EFL Trophy group game against Leeds United U21s this morning. He was picked in a front three and played the full game in a 4-1 win, however he wasn’t involved directly in any of the goals and missed a few good chances along the way. Didn’t help that he was stuck out on the right wing because he seems to be feeling the lack of goals at the moment.
Down in League Two, Newport County lost their fourth game in a row. Nik Tzanev’s been great for them but the results need to improve. Also, Matt Dibley-Dias got another start for Chesterfield in a 2-2 draw against Crawley Town. They rallied back from two goals down to earn that point in what was the first game since owner Phil Kirk passed away. Dibs played well but hobbled off with twenty to go after receiving some physio treatment. Looked like they were testing his knee rather than the ankles he’s had trouble with recently. Hopefully just precautionary – they seemed to have been prepping a double change anyway.
Finally, shout out to Josh Redfearn who scored his first goal for Maidstone United to give them a 3-2 lead deep into stoppage time away against Worthing FC. Unfortunately they conceded even later to draw 3-3. Redfearn has come off the bench in all six games thus far – this is National League South (sixth tier).
Up Next: All Whites for some, chilling for others
Alex Paulsen - Lechia Gdansk (Polish Ekstraklasa)
Welcome to the Ekstraklasa, AP. For his debut he got to stand between the sticks away against a team competing in Europe, Jagiellonia Białystok (who knocked Callum McCowatt’s Silkeborg out of Conference League qualifying a few wees ago), with nearly 20,000 fans in attendance and almost all of them supporting the other guys. Very hectic environment... made more hectic by the fact that his own team is last in the standings (although they did win last week).
As expected, Jagiellonia won the game. They scored after 26 minutes with a header into the top of the net that Paulsen just barely got fingertips to, then again after 42 minutes with a thumper off the underside of the crossbar. Not much chance of saving either of those. Paulsen did make a couple of simple stops later on and there were no frisky moments in possession (there never are with this guy). Decent enough debut without really getting to show what he’s capable of. That’ll come soon enough but in the meantime it’s all about settling into this new environment, hence why he’s been withdrawn from the All Whites squad to face Australia. His loan transfer hadn’t happened when that squad was announced.
Another point of interest: as random as a loan to Poland may seem, Lechia’s coach (John Carver) and technical director (Kevin Blackwell) are both Englishmen. Neither has an affiliation with Bournemouth but we know what football is like where everybody knows somebody who knows somebody. Won’t have been hard to find a link... and that English-speaking element should help AP get acclimatised.
Up Next: Lechia vs GKS Katowice at 4am on Saturday 13 September 9NZT)
Elijah Just – Motherwell / George Stanger - Kilmarnock (Scottish Premiership)
The chat has all been about Elijah Just lately with the kiwi playmaker settling into Scotland with three assists in his first three Premiership games, even making the SPFL Team of the Week after the third of those games. But he’s not the only New Zealand affiliated international who signed with a Scottish Prem club in recent months. He’s not even the only member of the 2019 U20 World Cup squad or the 2021 Olympics squad who has done so. Don’t forget about George Stanger. He fell out of the mix for a couple of games after his red card in the opener but he returned to the eleven to face his old mate Eli for Motherwell vs Kilmarnock and ended up stealing the show...
There are goalkeeping errors and then there’s whatever the hell that was. Jeepers. This was a massive bummer for Motherwell who’d bounced back after conceding inside of twenty minutes to pretty thoroughly dominate this game with 74% of possession and more than twice as many shots as their opponents. No assists for Just on this occasion but he did help spark their second goal by driving forward out of midfield. He also had a couple of shots blocked along the way. Not so much room in the attacking third against a deep-set opponent, therefore he dropped in and got plenty of build-up touches instead... all part of this smooth, fluid, possession-based style that Jens Berthel Askou has implemented at Motherwell which is earning so much praise around the league.
The only drama is that they don’t seem to be able to turn that style into substance quite yet. Tawanda Maswanhise (45+1’) and Emmanuel Longelo (62’) scored the goals to put them up 2-1 only for their goalie to produce that nightmare moment for George Stanger to equalise in the 81st minute and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. In a crazy bit of happenstance, that means that both of these teams have drawn all four of their Premiership games. They’re also both into the League Cup quarters. The parallels end when you start comparing how they’re each playing... although credit’s gotta go to Killie for finding a way to avoid defeat in a game where they were heavily challenged. As for Motherwell, the buzz around their style and the fact they’re still undefeated is making up for the lack of wins at this stage and you get the feeling they’re not far from making it click.
George Stanger: “To be fair, I’d just seen Deasy [Robbie Deas] kinda go up with the goalie and it just fell to me. You know, sometimes the goalies can be quite protected so I didn’t know if he was gonna give a foul or not. But happy. They all count. We’ll take it. It’s always nice, it doesn’t come around often. There’s definitely work to do and I know I could have played better today. The goal is nice but I can put in better performances than that.”
Now for some images of George Stanger and his dad (Scottish rugby union international Tony Stanger), with George showing off one of his NZ jerseys...
Tony was a winger in rugby so he and George share the shirt number 14. Here’s the article in question (... and here’s a non-paywalled link). Stanger has yet to earn a call-up to the senior All Whites squad but in fairness he wasn’t really in a club situation that warranted that recognition until the last 12-18 months. There’s still no place for him at the moment even after his Prem move but give it a year and see where things are at. 37yo Michael Boxall and 35yo Tommy Smith currently occupy regular centre-back spots in the AWs and they won’t go on forever.
Up Next: International duty for Just, a week’s rest for Stanger
Dalton Wilkins - Kolding IF (Danish First Division)
After Wilkins made his return for Sønderjyske from five months out with injury, there was supposed to be a Callum McCowatt/Dalton Wilkins reunion when Sonders faced Silkeborg in the next fixture. But that dream got scuppered one day before the game when Wilkins was sent out on loan. Not a huge shock given that Sønderjyske have a lot of depth in the fullback positions and the long layoff meant that Wilkins was going to be returning near the bottom of the queue. He got ten minutes off the bench in his first game back so there would have been some opportunities. But probably not the starting ones he’d prefer in order to get back into rhythm... especially in a World Cup year.
Therefore a simple solution has been found in which he’s been loaned back to his former club Kolding IF, one division below. Wilkins will return to a team where he made 65 league appearances with 5 goals and 10 assists during his previous spell there. This is a full season loan with no obligation to buy. Kolding have had a bright start to this term and look like they might mount a promotion challenge, although DW didn’t get registered in time to help turn their 0-0 draw against Hillerød into a victory. Wilkins instead made his second debut for Kolding when he came off the bench this morning in a 2-0 Danish Cup win against Skive IK.
Niklas Nuremberg, KIF Head of Football: “Dalton left us as one of the team's largest profiles, a key player in the seasons that led up to our promotion and a player who has also proven that he can compete at this level, so we look forward to getting him back in our squad. He brings a lot of energy on and off the pitch, and hopefully we can get the best out of him.”
Meanwhile, Sønderjyske won 2-0 against Silkeborg with Callum McCowatt playing the full match. Would have preferred it the other way around in light of the Wilkins loan. Staying in Scandinavia, Joe Bell was suspended for Viking on account of too many yellow cards. He missed a pretty important game against Rosenborg... so good thing that VFK were able to win 2-1 without him, keeping pace with leaders Bodø/Glimt who also won this week. Viking only trail them by goal difference at the two-thirds stage of the season. Also, PEC Zwolle lost 2-0 against Utrecht, their first defeat of the Eredivisie season. Ryan Thomas played ninety minutes but it was his old midfield partner Davy van den Berg who got the headlines after scoring against his former club.
And since this is as good a spot as anywhere (always gotta give it some Ctrl-F in Flying Kiwis to make sure you don’t miss the non-headliners), another one to be aware of is Ben Old. He wasn’t included in Saint-Etienne’s squad for the 1-1 draw against Grenoble amidst talk of them loaning him out (there’s a bit more on that situation over here)... yet the window closed a few days ago and Oldy still hadn’t gone anywhere. Worth mentioning that ASSE only want to loan him overseas so as not to strengthen a rival and the windows are still open for a few more days in Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia... if any of those destinations catch your eye. Or he could simply stay with Saint-Etienne and fight for his place.
Up Next: Kolding vs Hvidovre at 0:00 on Sunday 14 Sep (NZT)
Abby Erceg - Deportivo Toluca (Mexican Liga MX)
Abby Erceg continues to be in and out of the Toluca team. She returned to the eleven for the home game against Queretaro and played half a game before being subbed off as part of a double change. They swapped the formation from a back four to a back three with those changes so it could have been a tactical idea with Toluca having failed to capitalise on a dominant half despite an early goal putting them 1-0 up. Or it could be that she’s not fully fit having missed the last few matches and 45 minutes was all they had allotted for her. Erceg looked completely comfortable there and almost scored with a header off a free kick.
Toluca went on to win 2-0, returning to winning ways following a loss and a draw over the previous couple (which broke a five-game winning streak). They’re currently sitting fourth after nine games. Erceg has only played in three of those, all starts, adding up to 204 minutes during which they’ve only conceded one goal. She missed the first three games. Returned for the next two. Missed three more. Then came back for this game. Not sure what’s going on there, since the coverage that this team does get usually just focuses on the French internationals, but injury management would be the smoothest explanation.
Up Next: Pumas vs Toluca at 6am on Sunday (NZT)
Max Mata - Shrewsbury Town (English League Two)
Shrewsbury Town: “Shrewsbury Town would like to wish striker Max Mata the best of luck for the future, after he left the club by mutual consent. Max joined Salop in the summer of 2023 and made 26 appearances before going on loan to Sligo Rovers and Auckland FC in 2024. All the best for the future, Max.”
55 words of farewell. Short and sharp. Shrewsbury Town brought Max Mata back into the fold this preseason promising him a clean slate after a previous manager had given up on him. He looked good in patches, scored a goal in one of the friendlies, and seemed to be on course to hang around as a contributing squad member. Then he re-aggravated his pesky hamstring injury – the same issue that sidelined him for much of his Auckland FC season – and that’s required a 6-8 week layoff that he’s still not done with.
Shrewsbury Town have failed to win any of their first six games in League Two following relegation last season. Clearly they need players who can help them right away so they went and signed a new striker on loan on deadline day. That pushed Mata further back in the queue, hence a mutual release was agreed upon. The fact that he was released prior to the transfer window closing means that he should hopefully be free to sign elsewhere without limitations, though that might be a moot point since he’s currently injured. He’s always welcome in Ireland albeit that season finishes in two months. The A-League is another viable outlet. Let’s give him time to get his hamstring right first, though.
Up Next: Rest and recuperation
Owen Parker-Price - Örgryte IS (Swedish Superettan)
That, technically speaking, is an Owen Parker-Price assist. It was a little sideways shovel pass, having run out of other options, but Amel Mujanic smashed it into the bottom corner and with that gave ÖIS the winning goal away against Utsiktens. 2-1 final score. Parker-Price had been subbed on after 65 mins for his second Superettan appearance since signing with the club a few weeks back. Already having a bright impact. Even better is that Kalmar only drew 0-0 away to Östersund so this win sends Örgryte back to the top of the table on goal difference. 21 games played and nine more remaining.
Up Next: Tuesday 16 September is ÖIS vs Umeå at 5am (NZT)
Oscar Faulds - IF Karlstad (Swedish Ettan Norra)
This guy was up to some antics too...
Sweet bit of movement in the area and a well-taken finish despite the presence of the defender. Big celebrations because that goal capped a comeback from 3-1 down with ten minutes to play against AFC Eskilstuna. Faulds whipped in the equaliser for 3-3... only for his team to then concede straight away up the other end and lose 4-3 instead. Karlstad have now lost two in a row to drift further away from the top four – they currently sit fifth, five points behind fourth and five points ahead of sixth. They’re also only five behind second thanks to the three teams ranked 2-4 all being level on points. Gonna need a few more of these Faulds goals to lift them back up the standings.
Up Next: Assyriska vs Karlstad at 2am on Monday (NZT)
Joe Wallis & Noah Dupont - West Bromwich Albion (English Championship)
See a familiar name there? A few days after Marley Leuluai made it onto the bench for the first time with Burnley’s senior team, for a League Cup tie, Joe Wallis has done the same with West Brom... only his was in a league match. There’s no particular story to it: regular keeper Josh Griffiths started and regular backup Joe Wildsmith was on the bench alongside Wallis. They simply opted to include a third keeper in the squad for the match away against Stoke City (which WBA won 1-0) and Wallis was that dude.
Wallis played quite a bit for the West Brom U21s last season but so far has only featured once in four games and that was their National League Cup group game against Forest Green Rovers. Turns out that’s because he’s currently positioned as the third-choice keeper with the first team. Brilliant stuff for the former Auckland City man. Meanwhile, Noah Dupont made his first start for the WBA U21s on the weekend as they drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace’s equivalent development team. The NZ U17s international signed a new contract during the summer back in April and doesn’t turn 18yo for another month so he’s working ahead of schedule to be getting game time for that lot. Remember that West Bromwich Albion is the club that gave Chris Wood his Premier League debut once upon a time.
Up Next: Expecting an U20 World Cup selection for Wallis (maybe Dupont too) sometime soon...
Jacob Borgnis & Toby Borgnis - Reading (English League One)
And another one... another two, in fact. Jacob Borgnis is a tall central defender who has been around the Reading U21s team for a couple of years and signed a one-year extension with the PL2 squad back in July. The 20yo featured regularly last season and began captaining them towards the end of that campaign. As for Toby Borgnis, he’s a few years younger (still around the U18s team) and is a goalkeeper. If you really want to get specific, their full names are actually Jacob and Tobias Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis. Fortunately, they seem to just go by Borgnis.
The brothers are both eligible for New Zealand thanks to a kiwi mother. Jacob’s even listed as a New Zealander on his Reading FC club profile (Toby doesn’t have one of those yet). Neither has represented Aotearoa to date – it’s a pity that Jacob is a couple months too old for the upcoming U20 World Cup. As to them sharing the same matchday squad... that’s a bit of a stretch because Tobias was only a training player for Reading’s 3-2 EFL Trophy loss away against Swindon Town. He warmed up with the travelling squad but wasn’t included on the bench, merely brought along as the third keeper in a rotated midweek squad that didn’t feature their usual gloveman Joel Pereira. Jacob was included though. What’s more, they even subbed him on for the last ten minutes to mark a senior debut for the lad, who had also featured a bit in preseason for the first team. Hopefully picking up where Tyler Bindon left off at the Royals.
That means that in the last eight days, on top of all the established All Whites who’ve joined English clubs and seem to be settling in magnificently, we’ve had emerging youngsters Marley Leuluai (Burnley) and Joe Wallis (West Brom) making first team benches and Jacob Borgnis getting a senior debut. As well as Henry Gray (Ipswich) being called up for the All Whites. How good!?
Up Next: Back to captaining the U21s, probably
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