Scores

SC Barcelona 4 -1 CS Emelec [W]

The local derby went no better for las electricas than they did for los bombillos. A consolation goal really wasn’t at the end, but this is only part one of several stages in the campaign.

Columbus Crew 2 – 1 Minnesota United

An uneven schedule means that the Loons got landed with the best team in the East while some rivals face far less intimidating opponents. The team brought their best effort but couldn’t keep up with Columbus, losing vital ground despite the resurgence of Robin Lod.

Rosenborg 1 – 0 Alanyaspor (M-E)

Having changed my classroom background for the occasion, I was quite glad to see RBK justify my love and maybe even earn a new fan from among my students. (Sure, none of them could pin Rosenborg, Alanyaspor or half the Europa league on a map but hey! They know the name now). Anders Konradsen made the difference and set up a next round battle with…uh-oh…PSV Eindhoven…who rocked Rosenborg (4-1) last year in the same contest.

Alebrijes 0 – 1 Atlético Morelia

It was tantalizingly close to a vital point (or more) for the Oaxacans, but Gustavo Ramirez Rojas 88th minute winner kept the silver linings far from view.

Emelec 2 – 0 Deportivo Cuenca (M)

It was a much needed win for Emelec, even if it came against the bottom team on the table. Joao Joshimar Rojas certainly had the most eventful week, with an early goal to save an almost botched opportunity. Then a late red card to give everybody something to talk about [Cuenca’s two red cards made it a little less dire].

Kolbotn 2 – 2 Rosenborg [W]

A rare slip from the Troll girls. Up 2-0 [with a Marit Clausen goal, naturally], two late goals conceded left them to split the spoils and miss a golden chance to grab the title race by the horns.

Ross County 0 – 3 Aberdeen

Manager Stuart Kettlewell called it the team’s worst game of the season. Unfortunately, they’re about to follow it up with a trip to play league leading Rangers, so buckle up Staggies.

Bayern Munich 1 – 0 Freiburg [W]

The biggest organization in German soccer is a little behind the curve in the Women’s game, but with former Freiburg starlet Klara Buhl on their side, they’re taking steps to address it. Buhl helped work up Bayern’s winning goal, but we’ll always have her early years to remember.

Guingamp 1 – 0 Grenoble [M]

Grenoble Foot’s winning run came to an end, but the side still seems vastly improved from last year. An early injury to Florian Michel might have enabled Guingamp’s winning goal, but however it happened, Grenoble will look to get back to winning soon.

FK Vozdovac 5 – 0 Radnicki Nis

It is a rare thing for me to get distracted during teacher training. (Not sarcastic, seriously, I like learning about things…you boys have a nerd for a dad.) But 5 goals for the Red Dragons definitely caught me off guard. In three weeks they’ve had results of 4-0; 0-6; 5-0. Somewhere Novak Djokovic is thinking of his tennis results. This week’s shout outs go to Nikola Vujnovic, Marko Putincanin, Ivan Milosavljevic, Milos Pantovic and Milos Stojcev.

Emelec 3 – 0 Club 7 de Febrero [W]

A quick start with goals from Adriana Valenzuela and Ginger Garcia gave Emelec all they needed to knock out the 7/2s. Substitute Emily Tomala’s final notch was icing on the cake.

Grenoble 3 – 3 Montaubaun [W]

Les grenobloises stormed back from down 2-0 in the first half to the lead but gave it back with only five minutes to go. Sarah Magnier of Grenoble blasted a header against the bar before a final whistle ended things in a draw.

Aalesund 1 – 2 Rosenborg BK [M]

A brace from the best looking man in Trondheim, Kristoffer Zachariassen put Rosenborg firmly amid the chase for second place in the Elite Serien. With Bodo/Glimt dropping only 4 points all year, there’s four teams within 3 points of each other for the silver medal. Rosenborg doesn’t need to celebrate silver…but after the dire start (1 point out of 9), it would be appreciated.

Freiburg 1 – 1 Wolfsburg

For 30 glorious minutes, Nils Petersen’s header put Frieburg into second place in all of Germany. But the offense couldn’t find any other routes through the Wolfsburg defense and solid goal for the opponents left them only in 5th (still ahead of giants Munich and Dortmund though).

Minnesota United 0 – 0 Real Salt Lake

Again I got to watch some of the match when you boys went to bed. And again I saw a Minnesota team struggle and ultimately fail to get anything to go there way. On paper every thing is there: sterling attackers, creative play, strong chance creation. On the pitch, they can’t seem to seal the deal. It’s a trite phrase but this was “not 1 point earned, but 2 points lost”.

News & Notes

Oaxaca Wipe Out

One year ago Alebrijes was en route to their first hardware. Promotion to the top flight was a real possibility.

Now they’re at the bottom of a newly restructured pyramid. None of our other teams have sunk this low, not Ross County or Grenoble on their goalless runs, not Vozdovac in the midst of their months without a win.

More thoughts on this later this week.

Player of the Week

I like to spread the wealth as much as possible, but lets face facts: Kristoffer Zachariassen played a vital part in a Europa league win and netted a brace over the weekend.

Best looking man in Norwegian soccer (check). TWO time Mackenzie Boy’s Boot Room Player of the Week (Double check).

What’s Next

Wednesday, September 30th

Thursday, October 1st

12:00 Rosenborg BK v PSV Eindhoven [M-E]

9:00 Jaibos v Alebrijes

Friday, October 2nd

2:00 Universidad Catholica v Emelec [M]

Saturday, October 3rd

8:30 Dortmund v Freiburg [M]

9:00 Macva Sabac v FK Vozdovac

12:00 Grenoble v Valenciennes

7:00 Minnesota United v Cincinnati

Sunday, October 4th

7:00 Freiburg v MSV Duisburg [W]

8:00 OGC Nice Côte d’Azur v Grenoble Foot [W]

9:00 Rangers v Ross County

9:00 Rosenborg BK v Lyn [W]

1:30 Rosenborg BK v Odd

Monday, October 5th

Tuesday, October 6th

7:30 Nashville v Minnesota United