Flying Kiwis – September 9
Finn Surman - Portland Timbers / Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
From centre-back partners at the World Cup to opposing captains in Major League Soccer... and not for the first time. Finn Surman and Michael Boxall captained against each other as Portland Timbers hosted Minnesota United and with two centre-back interests we probably would have settled for a mutually (if marginally) beneficial 0-0 draw with clean sheets for both lads. Bunch of blocks for Surman, bunch of clearances from Boxy. Instead what we got was a bonkers 5-4 result in which defending was apparently optional for both sides.
Completely ridiculous game of football. Minnesota hit the crossbar after four minutes only to end up 3-0 down after 26 minutes. One was a silly penalty, two was a long range belter that dropped in off the keeper's back via the crossbar, three was close range finish where nobody thought to close down the open block six yards out. No blame for Boxy in any of those aside from his general responsibility as captain. The Timbers crunched one off the bar again soon after, an incredible volley from Kristoffer Velde that could have made it four. Straight after that, Minnesota got on the board and pretty soon they’d done it again for 3-2. Surman was close to getting a block on the first Loons goal rushing across from the other side but nope. Velde then rocked the crossbar for the second time.
In a game full of very average defending, the worst moment for either of the All Whites defenders came five mins into the second half when Finn Surman tried to shield a ball over the top for his goalkeeper. But Surman was asking a lot and the goalkeeper hesitated and the other CB in the area randomly chose not to block the runner and next thing it was a wide open goal for 3-3. Culpability for all involved. However Portland were soon ahead again when new signing (and former Tottenham striker) Vincent Janssen scored his third – the first Timbers player to ever scored a hat-trick in MLS. They were the only team in MLS who’d never had a hat-trick scorer... it only took them 522 matches. This was Janssen’s starting debut for Portland having recently joined from Royal Antwerp. Velde then scored a fifth before Minnesota grabbed their fourth in stoppage time in case it all wasn’t silly enough already.
Boxall always captains the Loons when he plays. Surman only captains when Diego Chara doesn’t start – hence why he handed the armband over to Chara when that guy was subbed on for the last twenty mins. This was Surman’s eighth time captaining the side this season out of his 22 appearances. He did so three times in 2025 including in a 1-1 draw against Minnesota United in August ‘25... that was the first instance of this happening. The double kiwi captain thing also happened in NWSL when Abby Erceg and Ali Riley led their teams out against each other a couple years ago.
Both NZers also got bookings to go with their armbands. That’s nothing unusual for Boxy who has had four cautions in his last seven games. Surman, on the other hand, has only had four yellows in 54 career MLS appearances and if you can figure out what he got carded for here then you’re more switched-on than most...
That brings us to the pizza. Last week there was a video on the Timbers accounts having a laugh about Finn Surman’s preferred pizza toppings (tomato sauce base, cheese, spinach, ham, prosciutto, salami, banana, and more cheese). This week they took it further by cooking up the Surman Special at the stadium on matchday... where it seems it was a great culinary hit. Even for a hefty creature like that, NZ$16 per slice is some insane pricing but according to the taste testers it oughta be served with a plate of humble pie...
See they clowned the idea at first but then everybody liked it when they gave it a go. Including the punters – apparently they sold out of 25 pizzas worth of this fine delicacy (not sure if that includes all the free samples or not). We’ve got Joe Bell’s kiwifruit addiction. We’ve got Finn Surman’s bananas-on-pizza. We’re slowly putting together an All Whites restaurant menu. In other taste-related news, Finn Surman went on the radio during the week (partly to defend his pizza toppings before being vindicated by the people later on) where he started off by announcing that this is his current pre-game musical jam.
Up Next: More fixture congestion as Portland and Minnesota swap dance partners over the coming week... it’s Portland vs St Louis on Thurs at 2.30pm then Dallas vs Portland on Sunday at 12.30pm; also Minnesota vs Dallas on Thurs at 12.30pm and St Louis vs Minnesota on Sunday at 12.30pm (NZT)
Katie Kitching - Sunderland (English Super League 2)
The new era of Sunderland women’s football – their first full season since the Bay FC ownership takeover – began almost perfectly with a 4-1 win against Bristol City. They did fall behind early... but from there it was a glorious opening day with Katie Kitching setting up an equaliser before scoring the goal to put the Black Cats ahead and by the end of it they’d banked a smooth victory to begin their WSL2 campaign. It’s the club’s biggest league win since beating Sheffield United 4-0 in the opening fixture of last season. Kitch scored in that game too. Oh yeah and you know what else? It was her birthday.
How good. Kitching has been excellent at this level for a couple of seasons now. 2023-24 saw her score three goals with three assists. 2024-25 she upped that with five goals and five assists. 2025-26 came with a haul of six goals and one assist. And that’s just her WSL2 efforts, not to mention the various cup contributions along the way. She was often used as a striker last season but for this game she was back in her ideal position as an attacking midfielder playing behind a lead forward and able to ghost into positions like the one she scored from.
Kitch did miss a big chance right at the end when she took advantage of a bad touch from a defender and ran through on goal, only to push her finish slightly past the post as the keeper rushed out and a couple cover defenders closed in. Not to worry. Wonderful performance Kitching, wonderful performance from Sunderland. That ought to drop a few hints that this team is capable of a promotion challenge.
Elsewhere around WSL2... there was nothing much going on. Durham lost 3-1 to Southampton but Mickey Foster did her ACL a few weeks back so she won’t have much, if anything, to do with Durham’s on-field activities this season. Curious to see that after Mariana Speckmaier spent last season with Durham (she’s since joined Hearts in Scotland), they’ve replaced her with another ex-Wellington Phoenix import forward as Olivia Fergusson debuted off the bench in this match.
For Southampton, Irish international Grace Moloney got the nod in goal (and also the #1 jersey) while Alina Santos was nowhere to be see. Youngster Jessica Philps was on the bench as the sub goalkeeper. Santos wasn’t listed as injured prior to the game but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t. She started their last preseason game two weeks ago. Great win for the Saints having to travel most of the length of England for that match. Then we’ve got Ipswich Town where... Grace Neville did not play for reasons to be explored in a jiffy.
Up Next: Burnley vs Sunderland at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Grace Neville - Watford (English Super League 2)
Yeah fair enough. Neville spent some time out injured last season with Ipswich but also didn’t really seem to be comfortable there. Ipswich struggled badly while she was playing lots in the first half of the season and then made a few loan signings that limited her importance to the team (when fit) in the second half, granted those signings ultimately helped keep them in the division. She did set up a goal whilst playing ninety in the last game of last season but seeing how Ipswich captain Maria Boswell played right-back in their 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest to open the new season you can understand why Neville needed to leave.
And so she’s linked up with promoted club Watford, who drew 0-0 with Burnley in game one. Neville was on the bench unused having only signed with the club four days earlier. Interesting to see Watford lining up with wing-backs, could mean a bit more of an attacking surge from the Neviller this season. It’s only a loan deal but it’s doubtful that Neville has more than one year left on her Ipswich contract so don’t worry about that aspect. Good late-window movement to keep GN getting good minutes and putting her best foot forward for Football Ferns selection ahead of the World Cup.
Up Next: Nottm Forest vs Watford at 1am on Monday (NZT)
Max Crocombe – Millwall (English Championship)
Max Crocombe needed a big game. He’d come into this season after starting at the World Cup but lost out to Lukas Jensen as Millwall coach Alex Neil decided upon his new number one. Jensen kept two Championship clean sheets and then hurt his quad muscle and is expected to miss a decent chunk of time. That’s put Crocombe back in the spotlight but unfortunately he then conceded eight goals in two games, losing 5-1 to Southampton and 3-0 to Wrexham. Eight goals compared to only three saves. That kinda capitulation goes far beyond a change in goalkeeper but there were definitely some soft ones that he should have done better with. The combined xGOT from those two games was 5.03 so he was way behind on those numbers. Add in the signing of Filip Marschall in the wake of Jensen’s injury and Crocombe was very exposed. He needed a big game.
And that’s exactly what he dished up. Four saves with a clean sheet in a 4-0 win against Bolton Wanderers, just what the doctor ordered. Despite the final scoreline, it was a closer game than it sounds since Millwall were only 1-0 up with ten minutes to go before scoring three quickies all thanks to the pressing and hustling of their forwards. There was also a double red card incident with five mins left, one for each team, following some kerfuffling. This thing only got decided late hence there were a couple of massive saves from Crocombe while the game still in the balance.
Since then, Millwall have also been knocked out of the EFL Cup with a commendable 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United. Filip Marschall made his club debut in that game – meaning Millwall used a different goalie in all three League Cup games: Jensen, Crocombe, Marschall. Pretty good from the new fella there and there are some in the fanbase who expect him to very soon become the number one ahead of Crocs. There’s also the question of when Jensen returns. It’s a very fluctuating situation. Bottom line for Max Crocombe is that it all comes down to the level of his performances. More games like the Bolton one will give him a chance to keep playing. Another like Southampton or Wrexham and he’ll be in trouble.
That Millwall vs Wrexham game could have been another Flying Kiwis Derby. We’ve got a bunch of them this week but not that one because Libby Cacace’s calf fatigue has now kept him out for the first six games of the Championship campaign (during which Wrexham have won just once... against Millwall). After his rotten season of injuries last season, he was able to stay fit through the World Cup (though did look shy of match fitness and his usual athletic burst) and was available during preseason right up until the last week or two but now here we are and he’s stuck on the sidelines again.
Phil Parkinson, Wrexham coach: “He's a great lad; he's honest. He's just been really, really unlucky and sometimes pushed himself too quickly after an injury. He's getting there but we've just got to be patient. Sometimes you can overanalyse injuries, but of course we have looked into the reasons for it. Libby came with no injury record at all; that's the frustrating thing. The intensity level is greater than Serie A in a lot of the games. The bottom line is he has had a few muscle injuries so we need to now give him plenty of time. Make sure he's got the right amount of time training to give him the best chance of being a part of it.”
That idea about rushing back after his injuries makes it hard not to think about his All Whites stuff. Nobody would have done things any differently in his position but playing the World Cup in the middle of his offseason probably hasn’t helped this situation. Another complicating factor is that Wrexham’s new Gabonese left wing-back signing Jacques Ekomié has already scored twice in four appearances. Whatever claims Cacace may still have had on the starting LWB position are gone now.
In a different part of Wales, Swansea City drew 0-0 with Wrexham on the weekend in a result that sent them top of the table after five games. But they were knocked back down to earth with a 3-1 midweek defeat away to Southampton who were able to play through their press and runs space with runners out wide. There were quite a few changes between those two games with coach Vitor Matos opting for a rotation policy after stocking up the depth in his squad during the transfer window. That ought to keep everyone fresh over a long season... but it also messes with the rhythm of the team from game to game, as we saw with these two fixtures. Neither Elijah Just nor Marko Stamenić started against Wrexham, albeit that did give us the funky vision of the pair being subbed on together...
It was only really in that last quarter of an hour, with those two kiwis on the pitch, that Swansea City began to find their groove. The lads both started against Southampton where Swansea City never found a comfortable groove in a difficult stylistic match-up for them. Having said that, a great forward run by Stamenić very nearly set up a goal that would have made it 1-1... Jan Vipotnik was unable to get a foot on the low squared cross and Southampton scored their second about a minute later. Sliding doors. Elijah Just played 63 minutes and still doesn’t look fully at home for his new club with combinations and patterns still a work in progress. Motherwell loved to play through him but at Swansea he’s not always getting passed the ball when he gets into those same half-space pockets that he loves. Hasn’t quite got to terms with the pace of the division either. It’ll come with time – the Championship is a famously intense league that takes some adjustment.
Tough day at the office for Tyler Bindon as Charlton lost 4-0 away to Stoke City... conceding all four goals in the first half and then having Danny McNamara sent off early in the second. Self-inflicted wounds for all of those goals with Bindon losing his man for the third of those to bear some of that blame. And Luke Brooke-Smith wasn’t in the Portsmouth squad for a 2-0 win over Cardiff City. First time that’s happened, having so far earned 74 minutes across four Championship appearances. Comes with the territory of being a youngster at this level – all indications are they’re pretty happy with how he’s gone so far.
Also, skip to around 45 seconds into this vid to see NZ U20s international defender Noah Dupont score for West Brom U21s in a 3-0 win vs Coventry. 18-year-old Dupont’s been a regular for the WBA U21s over the last year or two. Captained them a couple weeks ago against Leeds. Fellow NZers Joe Wallis also played goalkeeper in that Leeds game (they lost 4-3) – both that pair have been included on West Brom’s U21s list for their Championship squad registration list.
Up Next: Blackburn Rovers vs Millwall at 2am on Sunday (NZT)
Alex Paulsen – Motherwell / Jesse Randall – Dundee United (Scottish Premiership)
Another Flying Kiwis Derby, what do we reckon?
Yeah, well, sort of... except Dundee United chose not to make any changes after the 4-0 win against Kilmarnock last round, meaning that Jesse Randall remained on the bench despite scoring as a sub in that previous outing. Alex Paulsen was between the sticks but we’d have to wait until half-time to get the both of them out there at once. By which time Motherwell were leading 1-0 thanks to Sebastian Palmer-Houden’s 19th minute goal after Dundee United midfielder Emmanuel Agyei had earlier been shown a straight red for a springs-up tackle (14’). Randall was chucked on for Dundee Utd for his counter-attacking pace and at the same time, Motherwell also made a HT change with Jake Girdwood-Reich brought on at right-back. Two former Auckland FC teammates subbed on for opposing Scottish Premiership teams concurrently.
Randall initially played right wing though they moved him onto the left midway through the half after Neil Farrugia was introduced off the bench. That meant a direct battle between Randall vs JGR... or it would have if the ball was ever down that end of the pitch. Instead Motherwell used the man advantage to keep heavy spells of possession and eventually scored two more quick goals via Alex Lowry (65’) and Dylan Levitt (67’) to claim a 3-0 win. Paulsen didn’t have a save to make until the 88th minute. Randall had one blocked shot and five unsuccessful crosses as he struggled to create anything against the run of play. Motherwell swamped them.
Not a great screenshot but you can see the three AFC oldboys having a yarn after the match at the top there...
That was all in a day’s work for Alex Paulsen the way things have been going for him since joining Motherwell on loan. Ah but he had a far more complicated game in the 1-0 defeat to Rangers that followed. On the one hand, the Steelmen lost because of a shocker from AP where he came out of his box to collect a backpass then made the ill-fated decision to try turn back past the pressing striker and was tackled by Ryan Naderi for what proved to be the only goal in the contest. On the other hand, he made four excellent saves to ensure that he was the main reason the game remained 1-0 (Rangers did also miss the target with a first half penalty and they hit the woodwork at least once too). So he both cost the team and also saved the team in the same game. But mostly saved them. His manager wasn’t hearing any criticism of him afterwards when facing up to the media...
Alfred Johansson, Motherwell coach: “I think Alex Paulsen is an absolutely brilliant keeper. He’s shown that again and again and again. He did that again today. So that’s not even a point for me today.”
Fact is, the way that Motherwell play out from the back, something that AP is obviously instrumental with as the goalkeeper, does carry some risk. Blunders like that are going to happen every now and then – doubt that’ll be the last one this season. But the positives outweigh the negatives. The key thing is that a goalkeeper can’t dwell on such mistakes and AP’s efforts the rest of the way prove that he’s exactly the type who can handle it. This was Motherwell’s first defeat of the Premiership campaign, having won two and drawn two while doubling up with Europa Conference League qualifiers at the same time – this was their 11th game in 37 days.
Dundee United also had a second game this week. They faced Falkirk at home where they conceded in the fourth minute and equalised in the 90+3rd minute for a 1-1 draw. Trailing for almost ninety minutes yet somehow they didn’t lose the game. Jesse Randall was on the bench for the third match in a row... although an injury to Mehdi Merghem meant that he was summoned onto the right wing after only 19 minutes. Eventful game for Randall, especially in the last half hour as Dundee Utd pressed for that leveller. He put a back-post header on target and the got his foot stomped on leading to some unsuccessful appeals for a penalty. His corner kicks were constantly threatening. Eventually Michael Forbes flipped in a stoppage time header for a share of the points. Probably a game they’d have intended to win but at least they didn’t lose.
DUFC assistant coach Lee Sharp: “We watched it back quite a few times and I don’t know how they came to the decision so quickly, in terms of the review. There’s a definite stamp that catches Jesse Randall. He stamps on Jesse’s right foot and catches him. As soon as it happened, we thought that – we had a quick look at the footage on the bench. I couldn’t believe how quickly they checked it. I thought it was a definite penalty. Hopefully we’ll get a look at it later, on the TV. But he’s come in and almost stamped down on him and caught him with his left foot on Jesse’s right foot. Jesse is not the type of person that will go down and stay down.”
Kilmarnock are finally on the board after a 0-0 draw with Aberdeen. They played the last ten mins with ten men after Aaron Tshibola got a second yellow yet still held tight to snap their run of defeats. The 4-0 loss to Dundee United felt like something close to rock bottom last week but there were much better signs when they only lost 1-0 to St Mirren in the subsequent match and now a clean sheet against Aberdeen gives them something tangible for their input. George Stanger was a crucial aspect of the improvements, playing full games in both. He’s forming a good CB partnership with Hull City loanee Cathal McCarthy with those two holding their positions when coach Neil McCann listened to the pleas of the fanbase and switched to a flat back four for the Aberdeen game. Safe to say it was Stanger’s best display of the season to date...
Up Next: Motherwell vs Aberdeen on Weds at 6.45am (NZT)
Hannah Blake – Rangers (Scottish Premiership)
Check who else is up and running for the new season...
It took Hannah Blake a little bit longer than Katie Kitching – this was the team’s sixth match of the term. After starting both Champions League qualifiers as well as the SWPL opener, she was rested for the game vs Spartans and then played off the bench against Hearts. But she returned to the starting eleven to face Motherwell and scored to mark the occasion, the second goal in a 3-0 win that keeps Rangers perfect after four rounds. Celtic are the only other team with four wins from four. Based on the last couple seasons it should be those two plus Hearts, Glasgow City, and Hibernian who form the top half of the SWPL standings.
Rangers now get a week off before things get very busy again with games against Aberdeen, Celtic, and Partick Thistle wedged around their two-legged Europa Cup qualifying tie against Hammarby of Sweden. More on that in Helena Errington’s segment to save doubling up on the same topic. Five games in 14 days is some hectic stuff this early in the campaign and a good example of why Rangers have been rotating their squad thus far.
Hannah Blake: “Yeah, probably relief, to be honest, is the main thing. It's always nice to get the first goal and obviously contribute to the win as well, which is always important. Now I've got one, hopefully the rest will flow a little bit easier. I think there's always a bit of an adjustment period learning everyone's style of play and that adjustment happens on and off the field. Credit to the staff and the players, that transition's been really seamless and it's been pretty easy for myself and I probably speak for a lot of the new girls as well. Those relationships are starting to come together and we'll grow as the season progresses for sure.”
Up Next: Quick rest before things get very busy again
Helena Errington – FH Hafnarfjörður (Icelandic Besta Deild)
FH lost their second leg Europa Cup qualifier. They’d won 2-0 in Cyprus against Apollon with Helena Errington scoring the opening goal but the home leg proved much friskier – especially after a goalkeeping fumble in the tenth minute allowed Apollon to score. At any stage from then onwards, a second concession would have erased their lead and put the teams on course for extra time... but that didn’t happen. This incredibly high-scoring FHingar, who regularly win league games with scorelines like 6-4 or 7-3, held firm for a 1-0 defeat that may have kept them scoreless but it also put them into the final round of Europa Cup qualification with a 2-1 aggregate victory. Errington played as a lone striker in a more conservative team selection than usual. She was fouled four times and lasted the full game so mission accomplished there.
The draw for the second qualifying round of Europa Cup footy was made in the subsequent days and that draw had triple kiwi relevance. It’s one last qualifying round and then the competition proper begins with the round of sixteen (straight two-legged knockout ties the whole way). Those 2QR games will be played in the last two midweeks of September. These are the ties that matter from the Flying Kiwis angle...
FC Minsk (Belarus) vs Fenerbahçe (Turkey) – Katie Bowen for Fenerbahçe
Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) vs FH (Iceland) – Helena Errington for FH
Hammarby (Sweden) vs Rangers (Scotland) – Hannah Blake for Rangers
Decent draw for Fenerbahçe there, they’ll back themselves to have a good crack at qualifying for their first major European competition. Helps that the second leg will be in Istanbul. Nightmare draws for the other two though. Hammarby were runners-up in this competition last season while Eintracht Frankfurt were beaten in the semis by eventual champs BK Häcken. It was Eintracht Frankfurt that won 7-2 on aggregate against FC Nordsjælland with Grace Wisnewski in two in the 2025-26 quarters. Experienced teams from the top leagues are exactly the type you want to avoid in qualifiers, especially for sides like Rangers and FH who don’t have very much European pedigree (hence the tough draws, with the coefficients contributing heavily towards that).
But wait there was also a league game for FHingar to play a few days later where again Helena Errington played ninety minutes, though this time in her more common midfield role. They were home against Þór/KA in the last round of the initial phase of the season and don’t forget FH had been slipping up recently. They hadn’t won any of their previous three league games and were 1-0 down nearing half-time of this one too (after a shocking lack of defensive marking in their penalty area allowed a wide open header from six yards). But luck was on their side when Hafrún Birna Helgadóttir scored via a healthy deflection (41’) and then an excellent Ingibjörg Magnúsdóttir goal (58’) eventually earned them a 2-1 victory. Just what they needed.
That sent FH top of the standings again for about 24 hours until Breiðablik’s game... although Breiðablik (who are also involved in Europa Cup qualifiers) only drew 1-1 with Throttur which means the two title contenders are once again level on points with FH trailing by one on the goal difference tie-breaker as the Besta Deild splits into Championship (top six) and Relegation (bottom four) rounds from here on out. Five more games to decide whose name gets engraved on the trophy.
Up Next: TBD
Callum McCowatt – AGF (Danish Superliga)
A debut for Callum McCowatt at AGF... and it came against Silkeborg, his old club. Given everything that transpired over his last few weeks at SIF, this was a pretty hilarious circumstance. Not that there was any bad blood between McCowatt and his previous employers but there had to have been some points to prove from both sides of the equation. Silkeborg wanted to show they can win without him. McCowatt wanted to show that he was worthy of the fuss. AGF wanted to show that they’re the big dogs in this rivalry.
Silkeborg were going a long way towards proving their point with a 2-0 lead at half-time. That was still the case when McCowatt was subbed on after 63 minutes wearing the #18 jersey. What’s more, it was still the case with only a couple minutes remaining in the match. Then Janni Serra scored twice (88’, 90+3’) as AGF somehow pulled a 2-2 draw out of the bag. Not the win that they were seeking but perhaps that comeback draw will be what sparks their Superliga title defence season into motion. McCowatt was used as an attacking midfielder, skewed towards the left. Had a couple shots and looked bright and energetic. With the defending champs looking very short of goals these days, it hopefully won’t be long before he’s starting games.
No surprises that the Silkeborg fans booed him relentlessly when he was substituted on and then every time he touched the ball from then onwards. He was prepared for that though – and it’s gotta be said that the home crowd did their best to drown that out with their own cheers. Didn’t get the goal which would have really riled up the Silkeborg fans (perhaps that’s for the sentimental best), but his team were 2-0 down without him and scored twice unanswered in thirty minutes while he was on the pitch.
Callum McCowatt: “It was expected. It's football and they're passionate. They really go up to the club and they have this rivalry with AGF. As I have said before, I just hope they remember me for the good things I have helped the club with. I've helped them stay in the Super League, otherwise they might have played in the first division this year. These are the little things I hope they remember. But it was to be expected this soon after the change”.
Seems like the Chief Executive from Silkeborg’s been answering press questions about McCowatt constantly and even after selling him that’s still the case. Kent Madsen did say he’d have preferred if McCowatt didn’t play against them – while admitting that it is what it is and his team had no say in the matter. Here’s the bloke discussing the circumstances around why they accepted the bid from Aarhus...
Kent Madsen, Silkeborg CEO: “The picture became clear on Monday that the best conditions for us were the ones AGF could offer. It was very concrete and we had a very clear idea that it was something Callum would like. There were two other concrete offers that were not on par with AGF. We chose the reliable option. Point one, it was the best offer. Point two, we know the people of AGF. It was Carsten V. Jensen who led the discussions on behalf of AGF and know him from previous transfer dealings and we know he adheres to his word. The logistics also made it easy, there is half an hour drive from Aarhus to Silkeborg. Carsten was able to get in the car and drive out here. We could sit across from each other and finish the deal, it's a good way to do it. Of course, it would have been nicer to send him to the United States or Asia, but there is also a responsibility to do the best business.”
There’s something else brewing in the Superliga. Dalton Wilkins played the whole second half for Sønderjyske in the 2-0 Danish Cup win away to Thisted last midweek. Bit confusing because some sources claim he didn’t play at all but the Sonders twitter account said he was subbed on at the break and you can clearly see him in the #13 jersey at left-back in the highlights package. Both goals were scored while he was out there. Then he got a good thirty minutes off the bench against AC Horsens in the league, meaning he’s played at least 25 mins in each of the past four fixtures for Sonders.
It’s not looking good for Sønderjyske who’ve only taken one point from seven games and they lost 5-2 to ACH. They were 1-0 up after 12 minutes but by the time Wilkins was chucked on at right-back they were down 3-1 and reduced to ten men. They were an unexpected top half club last season but it looks like they’ll have a relegation battle on their hands this time. Nevertheless, Wilkins seems to increasingly be earning a bigger and bigger role having so far stayed fit and available (knock on wood).
Up Next: Nordsjælland vs AGF at 4am on Monday (NZT)
Chris Wood – Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
At least he got a run this time. Only around quarter of an hour off the bench in place of Liam Delap, with Igor Jesus having already been subbed on in a deeper position, but it beats being an unused substitute like last week. Forest spent a lot of money on Delap so we can’t be surprised that he’s gone straight into the team, even if his performance against Tottenham was no better than an average Chris Wood outing. Forest drew 0-0 with Spurs in a relatively dull game where the main talking point was a disallowed goal for NFFC in the first half, when Neco Williams was ruled to have handled the ball over the line. He did... although his hands were there to protect himself from being kicked in the face by a Spurs defender. Very unfortunate.
Wood didn’t have time to do much in his cameo, unable to find a winning goal. He played one clever first-touch switch of play towards his right wing-back in space but otherwise it was all just jumping for aerials and hoping for better set piece deliveries. Oliver Glasner’s teams have had a history of poor results in the initial months as he embeds his ideas before finding great success later on... NFFC aren’t doing anything to change that pattern after two draws and a defeat to begin their season. They’ve got two more games before the October international window: away to Aston Villa, home to Coventry.
Up Next: Aston Villa vs NFFC at 2am Sunday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Ryan Thomas: “It was just a stupid mistake. At first, I still keep that ball with me between those two players. Simon [Graves] doesn't expect that ball either. I'm experienced enough to know that these kinds of small mistakes can't happen. It's just shit. As a team we've competed and if I don't make that mistake, we'd be walking away with three points. So I'm really disappointed about that. But I think it's really great of the boys how we fought back after that 2-1. So I'm happy with that but I feel we missed out on three points here.”
Doesn’t happen often but a silly mistake from Ryan Thomas cost PEC Zwolle the second goal in what turned out to be a 2-2 draw against Sparta Rotterdam. To be fair to him, it wasn’t even that bad of a pass back to his centre-back, who wasn’t alert and should probably have still gotten a challenge on the ball. But it was admittedly a lazy one from Thommo who stuck the outside of his boot on the ball and pushed it the wrong side of his teammate to open the door for an interception. But they fought back and scored with ten minutes to go to draw the game. Still a decent result, all things considered. RT’s just being hard on himself as a captain with high standards.
Up Next: PEC Zwolle vs Feyenoord at 2.45am on Monday (NZT)
Emma Pijnenburg – Hera United (Dutch Eerste Divisie)
After two and a half years honing her craft and working her way through the Feyenoord system, Emma Pijnenburg last year took an early release from the Dutch Eredivisie club to join the Wellington Phoenix where she quickly became a first eleven player in the midfield as that side took it all the way to the A-League grand final. But rather than stick around for a championship quest, she opted to return to Holland to join relegated side Hera United.
Two reasons for that. One is that it’s an ambitious club with a modern image and an exciting vision. Two is that she gets to be a star player for Hera. Pijnenburg captained them in each of their opening two fixtures: a 1-0 win vs Jong PSV and a 3-2 loss vs Jong Ajax and that’s not all... she also scored in both games. Annoyingly there doesn’t seem to be any footage of the goals which doesn’t give us a lot to work with here. But two goals in two games already matches her scoring tally for the Phoenix last season.
Similar story for another former Western Springs player in Lara Colpi. She’s also playing second tier, in her case over in Switzerland, having stuck it out with FC Thun after they were relegated last term. Colpi scored the opener in a 3-0 win against AS Gambarogno this week as they made it four wins from four. No video for that one either.
Up Next: Jong FC Utrecht vs Hera United at 3.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Kate Taylor - Madrid CFF (Spanish Liga F)
Kate Taylor wasn’t able to make it two goals in two games for Madrid CFF... but she did make it two wins from two. Madrid won 3-1 away to Valencia and just like their first game, the goal they conceded was only a late consolation caused by a slight goalkeeping error (this time accidentally kicked into her own net by defender Romane Lejeune). It ended up being a relatively safe victory although it could have unfolded differently had Taylor not made a crucial goal-line clearance while the scoreline still read 1-0. Another quality game from her with two clearances, six recoveries, one shot blocked, and 91% passing accuracy. She’s yet to put a foot wrong in two Liga F appearances.
Two wins from two puts Madrid CFF in a rare group alongside Barcelona and Athletic Club as the only three clubs with perfect records after the initial two rounds. They’ve had a better start than Real Madrid, who were held 0-0 by Eibar this week, and Atletico Madrid, who lost to Real Madrid in week one. That makes them the in-form club in the city right now. Madrid CFF’s first derby game is against Atletico on 19 October.
Up Next: Madrid CFF vs Sevilla at 2.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Ben Old - AS Saint-Étienne (French Ligue 2)
Ben Old: “It’s honestly amazing. It's great to be back, back at home and with the crowd. First game for me of the season and I was lucky enough to have a full crowd here. It was a very difficult game tonight against a very strong opposition. But I think we fought well. We showed courage and determination and hopefully we made the crowd proud tonight. I'm super excited to be back. It was a difficult time while being injured, but great to be able to come back and super excited to play in this system and with this team again.”
That’s Ben Old speaking after getting thirty minutes off the bench for ASSE in a 3-1 win against Montpellier. He returned way ahead of schedule from his ankle ligament injury last week with 24 mins against Dijon and now he’s backed that up with a bigger cameo against Montpellier. Brilliant start to the season for ASSE. They’ve won 5/5 games and have scored at least three goals in each of those matches. Early days but they’re already five points clear at the top – with their new Scottish coach Ian Cathro getting plenty of deserved plaudits for their courage and consistency.
Both these games have seen Ben Old chucked on at left-back and we’re long past where that should be anything notable. The interesting bit is that in these five games, the guys who’ve started at LB in Oldie’s absence have been Kevin Pedro (x2) and Maxime Bernauer (x3). Neither of them are left-backs. Pedro is a right-back by preference and has moved back to that side since Bernauer took over at LB. Bernauer, who scored a ripper of a goal against Montpellier, started as a defensive midfielder in the first two matches and has most commonly been deployed as a centre-back for Les Verts. In other words, there’s a spot there in the starting eleven waiting for Ben Old once he gets fit enough.
Up Next: Dunkerque vs ASSE on Sunday at 6am (NZT)
Malia Steinmetz – FC Nordsjælland (Danish A-Liga)
Nordsjælland were 2-0 down after five minutes away against defending champs HB Køge. Not a great reflection given that their backline now includes Malia Steinmetz who has become a regular at centre-back over the past month. Still would rather see her in the midfield for national team purposes but at least this way she’s getting solid minutes. It has taken some adjustment playing in a new position – the own goal she scored in her first match at CB being case in point – though it was the other central defender, captain Karen Knudsen, who lost the ball in the penalty area for the opening goal while the second was a long shot that took a nasty deflection. Nothing to do with Steinmetz.
FCN battled back to have it 2-2 by half-time thanks to a pair of fantastic finishes from Nsira Ouedraogo. But by ten minutes into the second half they were trailing 4-2 after more sloppiness at the back (again not directly involving Malia Steinmetz, although potentially she could have been more active in those moments). No stress there because, incredibly, they scored four times in the last half hour to win it 6-4 with Ouedraogo getting a hat-trick as well as an assist. Unreal performance from the Ivory Coast striker. Steinmetz also got a yellow card. Can’t hype her up too much after conceding four goals but she was part of a winning team and seems to have this RCB spot on lock nowadays. The defensive instincts are one thing but her distribution from the back has been top class.
Also part of a winning team was Ally Green who played an hour at left-back for FC København as they won 1-0 against AGF, with Frederikke Benfeldt Sørensen’s first half goal proving the difference. It was a horrible start to life in the top flight for FCK as they lost their first four matches in a row, conceding 18 goals in the process (including a 9-1 loss to Steinmetz’s FCN), but they pulled off a shock 3-1 win vs Brøndby last game and have now backed that up with a second win in a row.
Up Next: FCN vs Midtjylland at 6am on Monday (NZT)
Gabi Rennie - Eskilstuna United (Swedish Damallsvenskan)
Over in Sweden, Eskilstuna United drew 1-1 with AIK with Gabi Rennie playing the full thing at right wing-back. Usually that’s quite an attacking position for her, making forward runs and whipping in crosses. There was some of that here although Eskilstuna spent most of the afternoon on defence after scoring in the second minute. But they scrapped it out for a draw with Rennie putting in such a shift that they gave her the team’s player of the day award, largely for that defensive mahi.
Eskilstuna United are fourth in the standings, a superb run so far from the promoted side. 27 points from 17 matches... to put them once place and two points ahead of the other vested interest in the Damallsvenskan. Vittsjö won 5-0 against last-placed Uppsala this round with striker Milla Larsson getting a hat-trick of assists while Daniela Galic scored twice. The quality and quantity in that previous sentence explains why Milly Clegg only got subbed on after 82 minutes with the scoring complete. Yet to get a goal contribution from Cleggy, though she’s only played 204 mins across her 14 sub appearances.
Up Next: 1am on Sunday for Malmö vs Eskilstuna Utd (NZT)
Stipe Ukich - NK Istra 1961 (Croatian Nogometna Liga)
Alas, we’re back in the lost footage realms here because Stipe Ukich scored his first goal for NK Istra, bagging the third in a 5-0 cup win against Zagorec but they didn’t broadcast the game and nothing’s surfaced yet. Perhaps in the coming days. Brilliant from Ukich though. He’s only made one league appearance so far this term in what was his league debut for the club (though not his overall debut since he did play in one of the early cup rounds last year) but he’s been in the matchday squad on 5/6 occasions and when given a chance to start in the cup he capitalised with a goal. Good signs, good signs.
Up Next: Istra vs Rudeš at 3am on Monday (NZT)
Isabella Atkinson - Seirines Grevenon (Greek A Division)
Last week there was the news that Jana Radosavljević had signed with promoted Greek A Division club PAS Pyrgos... upon further digging it turns out she’s not alone because about a week earlier than that former Eastern Suburbs and Western Suburbs attacking midfielder Isabella Atkinson did the same with the other promoted side, Seirines Grevenon. The 21yo had been playing in Australia with Devonport Strikers where she won a league and cup double in Tasmanian state comp. Always love it when a move like this appears out of the blue.
Up Next: Greek season kicks off in two weeks
Tim Payne – Club Olimpia (Paraguayan Primera División)
From one fullback to another. The 2-1 win for Olimpia away to Trinidense was not one of Tim Payne’s better showings since moving to Paraguay. He was very quiet on attack, wasn’t able to prevent his marker bringing the ball down in the box for the equaliser, and they scored the winner after he’d been substituted (and after Trinidense had gotten a red card). Payne’s crossing ability is his finest attribute when compared to the other right-back at the club and yet it was Raúl Cáceres whose high looping ball into the mixer led to the winner – thanks to the oppo goalkeeper rushing out and not even getting close to claiming it.
All the same, it means that the stat continues that Olimpia have won every game that Payne has appeared in (5-0-0) and are winless in the games he hasn’t (0-1-3). That’s only for the league so it doesn’t include the Copa Sudamericana aggregate defeat against Vasco da Gama, nor the underwhelming 5-3 cup win against lower league Cristobal Colon. Up until now they’ve been alternating the two right-backs but after a period of fixture congestion they’ve now got a stretch with only one game per week coming up which could force the coach to have to pick sides. Dunno how that’ll go for T-Payne but we’ll soon find out.
Up Next: Olimpia vs Sportivo Luqueño at 10am on Thursday 17 Sep (NZT)
Moses Dyer - Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodian Premier League)
Back for a second season in Cambodia seeking to build upon the 25 goals and 6 assists he served up in year one with Phnom Penh Crown. Even more pertinent will be the club’s situation after what could have been a fantastic season spluttered out in disappointment as they fell off badly towards the end and ended up with no silverware. However, they did qualify for the Asian Champions League 2 group phase – where they’ve been drawn against Gangwon (South Korea), Kuching City (Malaysia), and Kitchee (Hong Kong). That’s a step up from the third tier Challenge League that they played last season. Dyer’s already up and running with a goal in game one of the Premier League... albeit in a 2-2 draw against Nagaworld. Elsewhere, Boeung Ket drew 3-3 away to Dangkor Senchey with Myer Bevan playing 45 minutes. Hamilton-born Aarun Lim (who has played age grade stuff for Cambodia) was an unused sub for Boeung Ket.
Up Next: Cambodian Tiger vs PPC at 11pm on Saturday (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Bury Town (English Southern Premier League)
Up Next: Must be due another hat-trick some time soon
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