Scores
Grenoble 0 – 1 AS Monaco [Cup]
Esteban Salles served up another strong showing, but it’s a little hard for a second string, second division goalie and his crew to keep up with a crew of International calibre players. Still it took a great strike from Stevan Jovetic and a lot of luck against the Grenoblois to stop the cup run.
Punjab FC 2 – 0 Chennai City
Baba Diawara opened the scoring, using his strong frame to create space for himself and easily knocking in a goal. It is becoming abundantly clear that Punjab is crafting one of the strongest attacks in the I-League with one of the leagues top goalies. They should stay in the title race all year.
FK Vozdovac 1 – 1 Indjija
Marko Gajic was the man behind the Red Dragons’ goal slamming home captain Jovan Nisic’s excellent free kick. The captain played a critical part in two other moments of the match, making a critical in box clearance to deny a scoring chance (despite Indjija’s demand for a penalty) and failing to make another clearance that led to the equalizer.
Werder Bremen 0 – 0 Freiburg [M]
There was nothing much going on in Bremen, but it keeps Freiburg in fine position before their next match with the team right behind them in the table Union Berlin
Ross County v. Hibernian
Grenoble 0 – 0 Amiens [M]
While the offense couldn’t get going against Amiens, Adrien Monfry and Jerome Mombris contained the opponent’s attack
Freiburg v. SC Sand [F]
Legon Cities 1 – 1 King Faisal
At a certain point the Royals’ defensive strategy of “let’s just have our goalie be superb” leaves something to be desired. When the woodwork finally failed to accommodate them, Legon fell behind near bottom of the table King Faisal. Fortunately the offensive strategy of “hey, everybody blast long shots and hope for a goalazo did pay off when Cephas Doku crushed a stellar shot from outside the area.
News & Notes
Polar Vortex
Freezing cold conditions have kept us cooped up in the house for two weeks now. Worse still it’s delayed games in Norway and Scotland. Plus the ladies from Freiburg must be getting extra eager to get their season restarted.
Streich 10!
Freiburg chose this week to reup the contract of head man and local philosopher king: Christan Streich. The fixture on the local sideline will hit a decade in the job come December 2021 and his new contract should see him safely employed until May of the next year. The consistent top half-finishes for a team of limited resources will make that well earned.
Unsavory Socializing in Punjab
Reports broke this week that Punjab FC had to step up their directions to their fan base after some racially tinged abuse directed at a Warriors’ player after this last weekend. (It sure would seem like Baba Diawara would be the target, but why you’d jeer one of your team’s top scorers I have no earthly idea). Regardless, let’s go back to our favorite phrase: Screw you systemic racism.
Player of the Week
There wasn’t a lot to choose from this week. I’m tempted to tip the hat to Jonah Attaquye whose midfield play has been a real boon to the Royals attack, but this week he was relatively invisible. Jovan Nisic’s assist and goal made him the center of Vozdovac’s draw (but also to blame for it not being a win). While they both deserve some consideration for good play as a tiebreaker going forward, it seems best to recognize the other half of of Punjab’s attacking duo: Babacar Diawara who both played well and dealt with jerks. This isn’t much but hopefully it’s something nice.
Standings Update
In an unfair consequence for going goalless this week, Grenoble dropped from second to fifth while Punjab moves into a tie for first (only trailing on average goals for)
| Team | W | D | L | PPG | GFA | GAA |
| SC Freiburg | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1.75 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
| Punjab FC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1.75 | 1.3 | 0.6 |
| Legon Cities FC | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| Alebrijes | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 |
| Grenoble Foot 38 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
| Ross County | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
| FK Vozdovac | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Rosenborg BK | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Minnesota United | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Emelec | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Vozdovac FK | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
| University of Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
What’s Next
Wednesday, February 17th
9:00 Vojvodina v FK Vozdovac
Thursday, February 18th
4:30 Real Kashmir v Punjab FC
Friday, February 19th
Saturday, February 20th
8:30 Freiburg v Union Berlin [M]
9:00 Bechum United v Legon Cities
12:00 Nancy v Grenoble [M]
Sunday, February 21st
1:30 Ross County v. Celtic
5:00 Atletico Morelia v Alebrijes
5:00 Emelec v Deportiva Cuenca
Monday, February 22nd
6:30 FK Vozdovac v. Rad Beograd
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