Week 9: Super Showing

March 3, 2021March 4, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Legon Cities 2 – 0 Elmina Sharks

While Asamoah Gyan remains a non-factor (just as Alex predicted last fall, the Royals new star striker, Hans Kwofie wasted no time in making his mark. A stellar brace provided all the offense the Royals needed, though to be fair, Jonah Attaquye’s dead ball skills set up at least one of those goals (highlights from the massive Accra Sports Stadium always leave me a little squinty).

Alebrijes 2 – 2 Correcaminos

Oaxaca might well feel hard done by here. They had the better looking attack over all, they spent long stretches of the game looking quite strong, but a cracker free kick from Correcaminos left them with just a point. That Ricardo Monreal’s ripping shot and Fernando Vasquez’s buckeroo header/goal celebration will end up as footnotes is small consolation.

St. Mirren 1 – 0 Ross County

If either of you gets a theatre degree this will be a great joke (from Exunt NYC)

As surely as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. As surely as there will always be a Scotland. When Ross County bags a boffo win one week, they’ll deliver a clunker the next. (John Hughes’ clump of midfielders sure slowed the game down, but it also made getting a winner nigh on impossible. Seriously, it’s been a month since Hary Paton and Jermaine Hylton led the charge…I’m just saying…)

Zlatibor 0 – 0 Vozdovac

It’s now 351 minutes without a goal for the Red Dragons and the mid-table is looking less like a comfortable perch to build for a future and more like an interminable space of surreal torture. Like Waiting for Godot, but less funny.

Grenoble 1 – 1 Niort [M]

Honestly, you have to feel for Adrien Monfry. After giving every ounce of his speed to try to track back and prevent a shot by Niort striker Pape Ba, he was pushed back, fell to his back and allowed his front toe to ever so gently graze Ba’s shin. The result was utter agony for Ba, a penalty for the visitors and a goal lead. [I honestly had to rewatch it three times in slow mode to catch the “foul”]. Monfry’s disbelief as the penalty and then yellow card come his way is something else. But Monfry didn’t have to bear the brunt of frustration as Moussa Kaillou Djitte once again was the right man, in the right place, at the right time to equalize late.

Aucas 2 – 3 Emelec [M]

In a match that was about as pretty as the south end of a north bound horse, Los Bombillos stayed perfect. Keeper Pedro Ortiz was terribly unlucky in giving back Aucus’ second goal, but their opponents’ defense obliged the Guyaquil crew’s attack. Facundo Barcelo again created havoc gaining an equalizer for himself and a late own goal to win it. [Watch the “highlights” if you must]

Leverkusen 1 – 2 Freiburg [M]

In a massive win, Freiburg took three huge points on the road from a rival for European qualification. Wearing a kit so yellow that even Big Bird would call it “a bit much”, Lucas Holer had an outstanding game with a gorgeous assist to Ermedin Demirovic and one of the world’s easiest tap in goals to seal it. If the mustard tops are the price to pay for breaking through in Germany, I’ll pay it.

Neroca FC 0 – 1 Punjab FC

Again, Baba Diawara did the business in front of goal to get the points. While his towering headers would make great Elephant graves, we really need to take a beat to respect the Punjab defense. Bikash Yumnam’s superb recovery to stop an easy counter. Souvik Das’ hustle back to save the day (as a winger no less). It wasn’t always easy, and there were times Kiran Limbu and others looked exasperated, but Curtis Fleming’s side has built a solid corps that can even withstand the forced absence of (suspended) Chenchyo Gyeltshen.

https://youtu.be/rBIc3uipY48

Le Havre 0 – 2 Grenoble Foot 38 [M]

Manager Phillipe Hinschberger opted for an unusual line up for les Grenobloises. A five man midfield included some new opportunities for little used role players cum goal scorers Wily Semedo and Anthony Belmonte (the latter of whom ripped an absolute banger). It also included Jerome Mombris playing way up the field…on purpose. But when Esteban Salles can maintain the form he’s had lately, it’s almost academic.

News & Notes

Here Come the Ladies

At last it’s time to bring a little parity back to these pages as women’s games are gearing up to start again in earnest

First, the French league announced (a little bit ago) that they’ll be back in March. After months in shut down, we’ll see if Grenoble’s lady’s side can break through alongside the men. (Or maybe we will, the official website lists Grenoble’s first match as June…so….).

Meanwhile lousy weather and lousier viruses conspired to keep Freiburg’s ladies away from the pitch for the better part of two months. Now they’re back and they get to face old friend Karla Buhl and Bayern Munich on the weekend. (Such Drama, much wow)

And finally, and arguably most wonderfully, the Big Sky Conference kicks off this week. It will be over a year since the Griz last played, so naturally they’re kicking off with Montana rivals Montana State (Billings).

Baby Blues are Back

Minnesota United will bring back their baby-blue uniforms. It was very cool to see them back in the day and now…they cost a lot more and have a “pattern” that you can barely make out. Still though, nothing wrong with baby blues.

Shaped…
By…

Clearest Blue pic.twitter.com/NBfngfbPge
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) February 27, 2021

Player of the Week

Another week, another very hard choice to make. Lucas Holer did everything but pass out the popcorn in a critical Freiburg win, Bikash Yumnam, at just 17 years old, may already be past due for recognition. But we can’t ignore the fact that more assists, more goals, and more points have made Jonah Attuquaye instrumental in saving Legon Cities’ Bacon this year. In gratitude for both the great bacon and the good football, he’s our player of the week.

Standings Update

For the first time in forever everything stays where it was before. Emelec keeps the pole after starting out perfectly, Punjab, Freiburg, Grenoble and Legon continue to vie for further credit.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Emelec	2	0	0	3	3.5	1.5
Punjab FC	5	3	2	1.8	1.2	0.6
Freiburg	5	2	3	1.7	1.7	1.2
Grenoble Foot 38	6	3	4	1.62	1.2	1.0
Legon Cities FC	4	4	2	1.60	1.3	0.8
Ross County	4	1	5	1.3	1.2	1.6
Alebrijes	2	2	3	1.1	1.9	2.1
FK Vozdovac	0	3	2	0.6	0.4	1.0
Rosenborg BK	0	0	0	–	–	–
Minnesota United	0	0	0	–	–	–
University of Montana	0	0	0	–	–	–

Table Updated 3/2/2021

What’s Next

Wednesday, March 3rd

7:00 SC Frieburg v. SC Sand [F]

7:00 Vozdovac v. Backa Backa Palanka

9:00 Cimarrones v. Alebrijes

Thursday, March 4th

Friday, March 5th

Saturday, March 6th

8:30 Freiburg v. RB Leipzig [M]

9:00 Eleven Wonders v. Legon Cities

9:00 Ross County v. Kilmarnock

7:00 Emelec v. Delfin [M]

Sunday, March 7th

7:00 SC Freiburg v. Bayern Munich

8:00 FK Metalac v. Vozdovac

1:00 Grizzlies v. Montana State Billings Yellow Jackets

Monday, March 8th

Tuesday, March 9th

Le Havre v. Grenoble Foot 38 [M]

Week 8: Thrillers and Thuds

February 24, 2021March 2, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Vojvodina 2 – 0 FK Vozdovac

The Red Dragons have settled into the middle of the Serbian league table. While some see that as a place where nothing dramatic happens, it’s really nice to have a consistent practice to improve, challenging yourself against the top teams and building confidence against the lower sides. This was one of those games against a top team…it didn’t go great. but that’s okay.

Real Kashmir 1 – 1 Punjab FC

The Northwestern derby was contentious even if it was played in the far east of the country. After some testy defending by Mohammed Irshad, Chencho Gyeltshen was knocked to the ground in the 63rd minute for and sent off for instigating a shoving match. After the fraca ended, Punjab went down the other end, drew a penalty and saw Joseba Beitia bury it. But former Punjab player Asier Dipanda struck an equalizer 5 minutes later. The draw broke a three match winning streak, and marked the first time Kiran Limbu gave back a lead in six matches.

https://youtu.be/pBUnfDON7Ok

Freiburg 0 – 1 Union Berlin [M]

Not much seemed to work for the Griffins. Despite having more of the ball and being more effective sharing it, the offense simply couldn’t set up dangerous chances. When Berlin capitalized on their opportunities, that turned out to be all they needed.

Nancy 1 – 2 Grenoble [M]

On one hand it’s a bit disappointing that trailing relegation battlers Nancy required Grenoble to send out second half reinforcements when Jessy Bennet could clearly use a break (Sorry Esteban Salles, it was unlucky). On the other hand it’s a testament to Bennet that he laced a gorgeous pass to draw a penalty, scored the equalizing penalty itself, and THEN delivered a great free kick Moussa Kailou Djitte’s outstretched foot for a 90th minute winner. Vive Jessy!!

Atletico Morelia 6 – 3 Alebrijes

Rascon (in Red) won’t believe this…any of this…

Whatever else is said, we should own that this was a highly entertaining match. Featuring more goals than the first four matches of the week combined. But while Julio Cesar Cruz continued his hot streak, the defense couldn’t keep the game in hand, or really anything in hand. Truthfully at a certain point everyone had to feel like keeper Angel Rascon, disbelieving, hands to the sky, why god why responses to the inexperienced (and boy did it show) trio of Gerson Huerta, Emmanuel Quezeda, and Fernando Plasencia.

Bechum United 1 – 1 Legon Cities

It might have gone better if not for an unfortunate hand ball to gift the Eagles a penalty. Still, with the draw Bashir Hackford’s side ran their record to unbeaten in six. But with only two wins in that time, they remain mired in the bottom half of the league.

Ross County 1 – 0 Celtic

They did it again! They did it again! Great Day in Dingwall, they did it again!!

It wasn’t nearly as complete or impressive a win as the cup victory in Glasgow. The offense was more lucky than good. Jordan White’s late winner from a beautiful bit of movement on a free kick was the decider. Ross Laidlaw continued to show up in all the ways that counted most with a last second finger tip save. It all got County got a critical win as they prepare for the league split. (Though sadly, they won’t be able to beat up on Celtic the same way they have been…darn.)

Emelec 4 – 1 Deportiva Cuenca

Ecuador’s season restarted with a great jolt from Los Bombillos offense. Target man Facundo Barcelo got his first goal of the campaign early in the second half on a beautiful back heel. But the team spread the wealth around with four players finding the net including Anibal Leguizamon with a smart header.

FK Vozdovac 0 – 1 Rad Beograd

In the Belgrade pecking order, Vozdovac doesn’t have many sides they can look down on, but Rad is one of them. The Red Dragons hadn’t lost to the Builders in almost six years, going a combined 10-2-0 against them. Of course, the reason I bring this up is because they lost, clearly and decisively. Worse, the offense is now 261 minutes without a goal (they last got lucky the day before Valentine’s day).

News & Notes

Bowling > Soccer

In this household you seem to have both decided that the best use of a ball is bowling. No matter what substance the ball is made from or what it’s previous purpose was, now, all balls are bowling balls. Hopefully I can get you back on the bandwagon eventually, otherwise this may need to be concerned with the PBA. (The MacKenzie Boys Ball Bag?)

Your Hero/Reading Icon

Player of the Week

It’s another hard choice, almost impossibly I’m going to pass by Jordan White’s masterful heroics against the Hoops and give credit to a midfield player for the first time this season: Jessy Benet only had half a match to make a difference and he made all the difference in the world. We said it before, we’ll say it again, “VIVE JESSY”

Thanks “World Today News” for taking a picture of your tv.

Standings Update

Emelec’s debut sees them top the table, but Punjab leads the table veterans, and while Vozdovac is mid-table in Serbia, within just 2021…it’s not going great on our table.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Emelec	1	0	0	3	4.0	1.0
Punjab FC	4	3	2	1.67	1.2	0.6
Freiburg	4	2	3	1.56	1.7	1.2
Grenoble Foot 38	5	2	4	1.55	1.1	1.2
Legon Cities FC	3	4	2	1.4	1.2	0.9
Ross County	4	1	4	1.4	1.3	1.7
Alebrijes	2	1	3	1.2	1.9	2.1
FK Vozdovac	0	2	0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Rosenborg BK	0	0	0	–	–	–
Minnesota United	0	0	0	–	–	–
University of Montana	0	0	0	–	–	–

Table Updated 2/24/2021

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 24th

Legon Cities v. Elmina Sharks

Alebrijes v. Correcaminos

Thursday, February 25th

Friday, February 26th

Saturday, February 27th

St. Mirren v. Ross County

Zlatibor v. Vozdovac

Grenoble v. Niort [M]

Aucas v. Emelec [M]

Sunday, February 28th

Leverkusen v. Freiburg

Monday, March 1st

Neroca FC v. Punjab FC

Tuesday, March 2nd

Le Havre v. Grenoble Foot 38 [M]

Week 7: Down the Vortex

February 16, 2021February 18, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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.

https://youtu.be/bs7uXQO37hM

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.

Science Lesson, courtesy of the Daily Mail

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	–	–	–

Table Updated 2/16/2020

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

Tuesday, February 23rd

Week 6: God Bless the Goalies

February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Hamilton Academical 1 – 2 Ross County

An early own goal presaged gloom for the Staggies. But newcomer Jordan White’s goal and assist within the last 10 minutes saw the Stags to a big relegation zone 6 point win. (Worth noting that assist was a particularly blistering cross to the exact right spot in the box)

TRAU 0 – 2 Punjab FC

Apparently all it took to get Chencho Gyeltshen to score was a passive aggressive blog mention. His brace reflected how well he can capitalize on opportunities that appear. More impressively Punjab’s young defense has allowed one goal in the last four games and boosted the team to third on the table. (At times they seemed unsettled by TRAU but Kiran Limbu couldn’t be shaken, and sometimes that’s all it takes to keep a goalless streak in tact).

https://youtu.be/87e3vwHLaD4

Legon Cities 0 – 0 Karela United

The offense might have vanished on the Royals again, but a draw against the league’s top team is never a bad result.

Valenciennes 0 – 1 Grenoble Foot [M]

Don’t look now, but Brice Mableu’s spot between the sticks for Grenoble may be in jeopardy. Esteban Salles turned in another man of the match performance. That plus a late own goal (on an unstoppable half volley) kept Grenoble close to promotion.

Vendados 2 – 2 Alebrijes

Oaxaca kept plugging away after they fell behind on a corner kick inside of 9 minutes. While that normally presages a long night for the team, this time they kept calm and notched two much needed goals in the second half: starting with a long chip to capitalize on an adventurous keeper, and a final goal on a blistering header.

FK Radnik Surdulica 1 – 1 FK Vozdovac

Serbia swung back into action and showed exactly they’re tied with Surdulica in the table, by tying them on the field. An uncharacteristic lapse from keeper Miloje Prekovic put the dragons behind . But the teams remained as contentious and aggressive as you’d expect from Serbia (a few particular forearms to the face stood out). The late equalizer came from Luka Cveticanin on a staggering top shelf volley, marking his first strike for the Red Dragons.

Freiburg 2 – 1 Dortumund [M]

Even in a down year, a match against the bright young stars of Dortmund is intimidating (all the more so because they hadn’t been Dortmund in 10 years). But Freiburg was capable of keeping pace throughout, and Vincenzo Grifo again showcased his skills to further his case for joining the Italian national team in World and European Cups in the coming months. Add to that Woo-Yeong Jeong continuing to come into his own and you have a very promising start to the end of the season.

Ross County 0 – 2 Dundee United

After Billy McKay and a Jordan White won the match on Wednesday, they got a chance to start against Dundee. Unfortunately, neither found the same rhythm and the day ended with disappointment.

Hearts of Oak 1 – 1 Legon Cities

An early goal for Jonah Attaquye, capitalizing on a flustered defense, gave the Capital City upstarts a promising start. One they held on to for most of the match despite Hearts of Oak’s near relentless pressure. Again and again Winfried Honu stood up to the onslaught, with several outstretched saves. A late equalizer (also against a flustered defense) stymied a solid effort.

Werder Bremen v. Freiburg [F]

A blustery day in Bremen ended with a postponed match.

Indian Arrows 1 – 2 Punjab FC

Punjab’s second straight win comes from the feet of Baba Diawara. The Senagalese striker provided the attacking muster to give Chencho Gyeltshen a day off. Though the defense finally ceded their second goal in 5 games. Kiran Limbu continued to look quite formidable throughout.

https://youtu.be/6FeUVk5Oobs

Alebrijes de Oaxaca 3 – 1 Pumas Tabasco

Alebrijes continues a strong turn around during the spring campaign. Most of the switch has revolved around a greater effectiveness in the box and nobody was more effective in this match than Julio Cesar Cruz who was opportunistic, effective on set pieces and just great one-on-one.

News & Notes

Griz get a go in the big house

The University of Montana has had to make do with some lousy circumstances this year. But training as a team in the U’s biggest stadium isn’t one of them. Here’s hoping for a Big Sky battle in Washington-Grizzly some time soon.

Friday was a good one! #GrizSoccer pic.twitter.com/akFs5LTP24
— Montana Griz Soccer 🐻⚽️ (@MontanaGrizSOC) February 7, 2021

Vozdovac is Bac

The red Dragons kick off felt much less nerve racking than last year as the team nosedived towards relegation. A mid table finish is quite likely this year so hopes for further improvement rest on newcomers seeking to establish themselves.

Over the winter the team let go two strong first half performers in defensive midfielder Marko Putincanin (off to Navbahor) and winger Milos Pantovic (back to Red Star’s youth team). The two accounted for 25% of the teams fall season goals, so replacing them is key.

Their boots will be filled by two returning loanees midfielder Stefan Purtic (22) and forward Lazar Popovic (19 and my new favorite Serbian name). The team also brought in A pair of left backs (Red Star sub Stefan Hajdin, and Macva talent Nikola Ducic) and a returning hero Aleksandar Stanisavljevic (who trotted out for the Kazakh league Europa contenders).

Minnesota Black, and Blue, and Open for Business

There will be soccer in the US this summer. There are fancy shmancy business reasons, I don’t really understand them. My big take away is: hopefully we can go back to games this summer.

Player of the Week

There’s a lot of great performances to choose from and both Esteban Salles and Winifried Honsu have stepped up massively, but the decisive factor has to be that Kiran Limbu helped lead Punjab to two wins and a massive boost up the table. For that, he gets the nod as this week’s player of the week.

Standings Update

Freiburg takes their lead right back with the streak snapping victory while Punjab’s great week and Grenoble’s consistency shrink the top four. Ross County stays off the bottom thanks to Vozdovac’s debut.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
SC Freiburg	4	1	2	1.9	2.1	1.4
Grenoble Foot 38	4	1	3	1.6	1.3	1.4
Legon Cities FC	3	2	2	1.57	1.3	0.9
Punjab FC	3	2	2	1.57	1.1	0.7
Alebrijes	2	1	2	1.4	1.6	1.4
Ross County	3	1	4	1.3	1.4	1.9
FK Vozdovac	0	1	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	–	–	–

Table Updated 2/10/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 10th

7:45 Grenoble V. AS Monaco [Cup]

Thursday, February 11th

Friday, February 12th

Saturday, February 13th

4:35 Punjab FC v. Chennai City

6:30 FK Vozdovac v. Indjija

8:30 Werder Bremen v. Freiburg [M]

9:00 Legon Cities v. King Faisal

9:00 Ross County v. Hibernian

12:00 Grenoble v. Amiens [M]

Sunday, February 14th

7:00 Freiburg v. SC Sand [F]

Monday, February 15th

Tuesday, February 16th

Week 5: Ups and Downs

February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Ross County 1 – 2 Motherwell

Ollie Shaw opened the scoring to give Staggies hope for another win, and a big boost to their battle against a fellow relegation side. But a rough second half for Ross Laidlaw gave their rivals a leg up.

Alebrijes de Oaxaca 2 – 1 Tapito

Despite falling behind early, Alebrijes kept to their game plan and got a well earned reward. Julio Cesar Cruz made good on his new role as target man for all the crosses with a header and an earned/well struck penalty. Given how long it took them to get a win during the fall, we’re quite grateful.

Punjab FC 0 – 0 Sudeva

Back to back goalless draws and we’ve got to wonder what it’ll take to get Punjab back on the board.

AC Ajaccio 2 – 1 Grenoble Foot [M]

After a great last week, Grenoble fell back into inconsistency here. Mid table foes like AC Ajaccio can be major stumbling blocks in the quest for promotion. Even more so, goal keeper Brice Mableu’s departure due to injury throws more questions into a backline (though Cup hero Esteban Salles makes us feel a little better)

Inter Allies FC 0 – 1 Legon Cities FC

Don’t look now but the Royals have a winning streak! Matthew Cudjoe got his first goal of the season on a slick little nutmeg off of Francis Addo’s back heel [it’s hard to tell, and no coverage names the assist]. Throughout the second half Fatau Dauda showed up in style. The win lifts Legon to just 9 points behind league leaders Karela United who, coincidently, host Legon Wednesday.

Wolfsburg 3 – 0 Freiburg [M]

A flying Wolfsburg showed no signs of stopping against Freiburg. Florian Muller’s run of good form helped lift Freiburg to the middle of the league. His struggles (as today) sink the ship rather quickly.

Grenoble Foot 2 – 1 Guingamp

Yoric Ravet’s superb half volley tied the match, but Willy Semedo saved the day for the Alpiners. His late winner helped to boost Grenoble past Guingamp and set off a well earned celebration on the sideline.

Tlaxcala FC 2 – 1 Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Alebrijes had a great start to the game with Juan Portales giving them the lead before the half. But a chippy second half let Diego Gama score a penalty and then saw Fernando Plascencia sent off to put both teams at 10 men and let the hosts get a late winner.

News & Notes

Deadline Day

We’re rooting for you Ross (From Sunderland AFC)

Monday saw a final flurry of player moves as teams looked to adjust for the next six months.

The biggest bit of business saw Ross County say so long to Ross Stewart. The teams top scorer has long looked (let’s be frank) a little too good to stay in Dingwall long term. So a move south to join historic winners (as in the won a lot a long time ago) Sunderland seems well warranted.

Meanwhile the Staggies brought in former ace Inverness striker Jordan White who, alongside loanee keeper Joe Hilton should bolster the highlanders in the end of their campaign (a half a million for young academy grad Josh Reid is pretty helpful too)

A different kind of looming deadline

If it stays empty after the germs are gone….sigh…

While Minnesota United has done a fine job bringing in another tough to knock down defensive midfielder in US National Team member Will Trapp, the questions about how he and Ozzie Alonso will work together have been muted in the wake of a lot more furor over the possibility that they won’t see the field any time soon.

As I said a lot last year, it’s hard to have a league without fans who pay the money to pay players and owners and everybody else with the club. So team owners would like to keep costs low, but players would like to make sure they still get paid. Owners across America have made a big push to cut costs with the players. The players agreed to many requests, but asked for some benefits in return once life gets back to normal (and fans can come back). The owners would rather just cut costs and not do anything else even a few years later. If they can’t come to an agreement, owners will lock up the stadiums and players won’t be playing. (And Owen’s first match will be delayed…yet again…)

Player of the Week

The best games for Legon Cities are also the games when Fatau Dauda shows why he’s been a top choice of the Ghanaian national team for the last few years and was in the squad just last November.

Standings Update

We have our first lead change of the year as the Royals ride high into the top spot while Freiburg slips after their loss to Wolfsburg. Hopefully the returning Freiburg Frauen will boost their chances while Vozdovac kicks off this weekend too.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Legon Cities FC	3	0	2	1.8	1.6	1.0
SC Freiburg	3	1	2	1.7	2.2	1.5
Grenoble Foot 38	3	1	3	1.4	1.3	1.6
Ross County	2	1	3	1.4	1.6	2.0
Punjab FC	1	2	2	1.0	0.8	0.8
Alebrijes de Oaxaca	1	0	2	1.0	1.0	1.3
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	–	–	–

Table Updated 2/3/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 3rd

12:00 Hamilton Academical v. Ross County

Thursday, February 4th

7:30 AM TRAU v. Punjab FC

9:00 AM Legon Cities v. Karela United

Friday, February 5th

1:00 Valenciennes v. Grenoble Foot [M]

7:00 Vendados v. Alebrijes

Saturday, February 6th

8:00 FK Radnik Surdulica v. FK Vozdovac

8:30: Freiburg v. Dortumund [M]

9:00 Hearts of Oak v. Legon Cities

9:00 Ross County v. Dundee United

Sunday, February 7th

7:00 Werder Bremen v. Freiburg [F]

Monday, February 8th

Tuesday, February 9th

4:30 AM Indian Arrows v. Punjab FC

5:00 PM Alebrijes de Oaxaca v. Pumas Tabasco

Week 4: Big Time for Breakouts

January 27, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Clermont Foot 1 – 2 Grenoble Foot [M-Cup]

An absolute thriller between the two Ligue 2 sides ended with penalties and the alpiners coming out victorious. Particular credit goes to goalie Esteban Salles who stopped three penalties in the nerve racking final minutes to pull out the match.

Freiburg 2 – 2 Frankfurt

In their first match at home of the week, Freiburg looked by far the better side, with Ermedin Demirovic continuing to grow in his performance with a perfectly weighted assist to Rolland Sallai on a pitch-perfect run. Nico Schlotterback’s late own goal robbed the Griffins of full credit.

Legon Cities FC 5 – 2 Ashanti Gold

Well, that was a heck of a thing. The Royals busted out of their funk in a big old way with a bonanza of goals. The much needed win saw them finally lift off from the foot of the table. Nasiru Moro’s opening screamer was a huge boon, with Jonah Atttuquaye leading the charge and David Cudjoe getting a brace within seven minutes. Still no sign of Asamoah Gyan…I’m feeling a little foolish that the three year old’s analysis was brilliantly prescient, and I was too credulous.

Freiburg 2 – 1 VfB Stuttgart [M]

It started out shakily for Frieburg, but much like this season, as Florian Muller grew into the game, Freiburg’s fortunes improved. There’s plenty to say, as ever, about Vincenzo Grifo and Ermedin Dimrovic’s growing partnership (and even more to say about Dimirovic’s stellar back heel assist on the second goal), but it was perhaps most heartening to see Nico Schlotterback come right back from his horror show outing on Wednesday with a sterling performance in defense.

Rangers 5 – 0 Ross County

This is more what we expected after last week’s shocker.

Grenoble 2 – 0 Chambly [M]

Yoric Ravet made it two wins on the week for Grenoble off a great free kick. Equally impressive was Jerome Mombris’ goal-line save to block Chambly’s best shot. A double win on the week sees Grenoble closer to the Cup and closer to promotion.

Punjab FC 0 – 0 Mohammedan SC

And that happened…[seriously, I don’t have anything to say about 0-0 draws]. For a better summary and much more humor, take a look at Yuvraj Gurang’s summary in which the word “shithousery” is used with aplomb. (Note to the children I’m writing this for: shithousery is a valuable word, but please, use it sparingly in polite conversation)

News & Notes

Highland Derby Delayed

There was plenty of excitement at the chance for a Ross County v. Inverness Caledonian Thistle game in round three of the Scottish Cup. But ICT still has to play their second round match against Buckie Thistle, and no games are happening in Scotland for teams below the top two tiers. So it’ll be a little time to wait and see what’s next before the battle for the heights of the highlands.

Grenoble Gears up for a big one

One final note on the Grenoble Cup victory last week. The triumph has to be tempered by the knowledge that their next opponent will be Ligue 1 Titans and tumultuous team of the south: AS Monaco. A surprise win there might be enough to see les Grenobloises on to later rounds and a sense of belonging in the top tier of French football. A defeat is much more likely.

Loons Out of the Nest

Unlike most other places in the world, where coaches and teams recruit like crazy to bring in the best young talent, or scout heavily to pick out gems from other parts of the country, the United States prefers to take our amateurs and give them a grand coming out party in a Draft. This year, despite COVID cancellations of the soccer season in college, Minnesota United and the other American sides picked up a few more talented teens. This year’s crop includes midfielder Justin McMaster of Jamaica/Wake Forest, and defenders Nabili Kibunguchy of UC Davis, and Sean O’Hearn of Georgetown University.

Three (3) new Loons selected in 2021 #SuperDraft.

● McMaster
● Kibunguchy
● O’Hearn

More » https://t.co/0e8y3I96se pic.twitter.com/LrlBmk79Bk
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) January 21, 2021

Player of the Week

When you are a team leader you step up when things are tough. When you step up with a goal and a crucial defensive save WHILE being the leader, you get Player of the Week honors from a random guy in Minnesota talking to his kids. That’s right Jerome Mombris, it’s all about you!

Standings Update

A big win leads to a big big boost for Legon Cities as the Royals vault up to 2nd place. Meanwhile Punjab’s goalless draw leads them to stall out and slip down the stats.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
SC Freiburg	3	1	1	2.0	2.6	1.2
Legon Cities FC	2	0	2	1.5	1.8	1.3
Ross County	2	1	2	1.4	1.6	2.0
Grenoble Foot 38	2	1	2	1.4	1.2	1.6
Punjab FC	1	1	2	1.0	1.0	1.0
Alebrijes de Oaxaca	0	0	1	0.0	0.0	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	–	–	–

Table Updated 1/27/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 27th

12:00 Ross County v. Motherwell

9:05 Alebrijes de Oaxaca v. Tapito

Thursday, January 28th

Friday, January 29th

2:30 AM Punjab FC v. Sudeva

Saturday, January 30th

12:00 AC Ajaccio v. Grenoble Foot [M]

Sunday, January 31st

9:00 Inter Allies FC v. Legon Cities FC

11:00 Wolfsburg v. Freiburg

Monday, February 1st

Tuesday, February 2nd

1:00 Grenoble Foot v. Guingamp

5:00 Tlaxcala FC v. Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Week 3: Staggies Surge

January 19, 2021January 25, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Golukam FC 4- 3 Punjab FC

There’s nothing quite like waking up to an alarm and seeing a swath of updates about a match half way around the world. It was a wild one in the second round of India’s Hero League. Chencho Gyeltshen roared out of the gate with a first half brace to give Punjab a confident 2-0 lead (and a front runner for coolest celebration with the see/speak/hear no evil style). Rupert Nogrum added a third off Gyeltshen’s golden run before the whistle to make it 3-1. In the span of 5 minutes it all came undone as Denny Antwi and an own goal knocked in 3 goals in quick succession to unravel Punjab’s hard work. (It was especially hard after Kiran Chjempong stymied so many so many Kerala attacks, and Ashray Bhardwaj got away with a couple late tackles)

Toulouse 2 – 0 Grenoble [M]

The season’s second half continues to be a struggle for the Alpine side. This week, without talisman Jessy Bennet or most of the stalwart defense they let two goals slipped and fell further behind 2nd place Toulouse for automatic promotion.

Ross County 4 – 1 Aberdeen

The Staggies came out in a new formation with Jermaine Hylton up top and a more aggressive midfield. Sure enough it paid off with two early goals courtesy of Ollie Shaw and Charlie Lakin and two more late goals from Shaw and Hylton. The defensive line did some stout work and the offense capitalized on every opportunity they saw. A pretty great result against the #3 team in the league.

Bayern Munich 2 – 1 Freiburg [M]

Any trip to the Teutonic titans is likely to end in tears, but Nils Petersen almost got an unlikely result. A second half goal equalized once, and a late crossbar rattler nearly did again. sure it was still a defeat, but against Bayern a near tie is something to build on.

Aduana Stars 2 – 1 Legon Cities

After 767 minutes this season, Legon got a goal from open play. Francis Addo got on the end of a long ball when the keeper was MILES out of position and finished it. It wasn’t exactly a mark of talent, more just capitalizing on a MAJOR OPPONENT ERROR. But at this stage, we’ll take it. Oh, the Royals still lost.

Punjab FC 0 – 1 Churchill Brothers

Punjab reverted to a much more defensive style for this match up (shoring up the defense after seeping four goals will do that for you). While the team did vastly improve their defense, and held the opponents goalless for 85 minutes. Once again, a late winner broke their hearts.

Alebrijes 0 – 1 CD Tepatitlan de Morelos

Alebrijes is back in action at home in Oaxaca, but the results remain depressingly consistent. Once again, Oaxaca saw the home side drop a match and slide down the table

News & Notes

New Impeachment High Score

Until this week the most times any President had been impeached was 1, and the most votes any President received for his removal from his own party was 5. Wednesday Donald Trump doubled those scores! He’s been impeached twice and got 10 people to vote against him!

INCOMING!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rosenborg Ballklub (@rosenborgballklub)

While most teams are fine tuning in the middle of the season, others are gearing up for bigger transformations before the next season begins. Most clearly, Rosenborg who has picked up more Swedish style than a newly married couple at Ikea. First they bolstered the defense with Adam Andersson and Jonathan Augustinsson to battle for the left back spot vacated by Pa Konate. They also brought on 12 goal man Stefano Holmquist Vecchia from Sweden and brought up Ole Christian Saeter who recently racked up a hat-trick to win promotion for Ranheim.

Player of the Week

Jermaine Hylton gave us a like for his last player of the week performance. For that alone, it’s tempting to award him this again. Most of the Staggies could get a nod given their strong showing, but when it’s that much of a team effort it doesn’t feel right to single out one person. So, despite doing it in a losing effort, the sterling individual performance of Chenchyo Gyeltshen gets the nod this week.

Standings Update

Only Alebrijes dour opener lifts Grenoble off the foot of the table (see what I did there?) while Ross County rockets up to second place.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
SC Freiburg	2	0	1	2.0	3.0	1.0
Ross County	2	1	1	1.75	2.0	1.3
Punjab FC	1	0	2	1.0	1.3	1.3
Legon Cities FC	1	0	2	1.0	0.7	1.0
Grenoble Foot 38	0	1	2	0.3	0.7	2.3
Alebrijes de Oaxaca	0	0	1	0.0	0.0	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	–	–	–

Table Updated 1/20/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 20th

Clermont Foot v. Grenoble Foot [M-Cup]

1:30 Freiburg v. Frankfurt

Thursday, January 21st

Friday, January 22nd

Saturday, January 23rd

8:30 Freiburg v. VfB Stuttgart [M]

9:00 Legon Cities FC v. Ashanti Gold

9:00 Rangers v. Ross County

12:00 Grenoble v. Chambly [M]

Sunday, January 24th

7:30 Punjab FC v. Mohammedan SC

Monday, January 25th

Tuesday, January 26th

Week 2: Shot in the Arm

January 12, 2021January 11, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Legon Cities FC 1 – 0 WAFA

Hallelujah! The Royals won a game!! And yes, again, the goal came from the penalty spot. And yes, again, there was a silly red card right before the end of the match, but as head coach Bashir Hayford said, “”If today, we won that means, Legon Cities can win matches.” Yer darn tootin’ Bashir! (And I’d wager that if they work on off ball runs and settling scoring chances in the box it’ll be a lot more matches)

Punjab FC 1 – 0 Aizawl

The Northwesterners didn’t waste much time kicking off their campaign. Their young defense was tested repeatedly by Aizawal’s attack and came up resolute. Meanwhile Chenchyo Gyeltshen came up empty on his numerous attempts. In the end the difference was Ningthoujam Pritam creating a goal out of a seemingly nothing clearance. Either way, Punjab starts out rolling.

Grenoble 2 – 2 Auxerre [M]

Les grenobloises flagging form forced Phillip Hinschberger to make some drastic moves. After ceding a penalty at two-nil down, the coach sent in 4 subs including two up top to try and rescue the side from dropping a second straight match to promotion rivals. It worked as substitute Marcelin Anani found the net after a terrifying Jerome Mombris run and assist. Then Loic Nestor nabbed the late equalizer (it helped Auxerre sun Aly Ndom was red carded two minutes after joining the fray).

Freiburg 5 – 0 Koln [M]

The offensive outpouring continues from Freiburg with Ermiden Demirovic leading the line. His two assists and a goal delivered on the promise he showed when Freiburg brought him in over the summer. The complete team play gave the Griffins their 5th straight Bundesliga Win heading into a battle with the behemoths of Bayern Munich.

Livingston 3 – 1 Ross County

Despite a strong defensive showing for much of the match, it all come undone for County in the end. Harry Paton’s blast to set up Charlie Lakin’s finish knotted the score early, but late breaks for Livvi against a bedraggled Staggies line broke highland hearts.

Venados v. Alebrijes

Postponed due to positive COVID tests among Vendados

News & Notes

Dark Days

Apparently every body has to do this now: I STAND AGAINST VIOLENT INSURRECTION AGAINST ELECTED OFFICIALS AND DESTRUCTION OF FEDERAL PROPERTY IN THE NAME OF MORONIC CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

Hopefully you boys can use that in future Social Studies Projects.

Transfer Time

John Hughes has wasted no time taking action to add players to his Ross County squad. Anthony Andreu had been without a squad this season, and will bring an attacking midfielder to the table. Meanwhile Mohamed Maouche, Andreu’s fellow Frenchman will join him in the midfield during his first sojourn in Scotland.

Meanwhile Freiburg continued to set up their players for return, moving injured LB Gian-Luca Itter off to 2nd Division Greuther Furth.

Welcome back Alebrijes

When last we saw our favorite free wheeling south Mexican side, they had freewheeled straight to the bottom of the league. That disappointment aside, the team is now set to start fresh, and as Emelecs excellent second half form showed, all it takes is one.

Unfortunately that one good half will need to come without top scorer Franco Arizala who returned to top flight Veracruzano at the new year. Replacing him are younger and untested attackers Julio Cruz and Esteban Torres, while promising Leon midfielder Fernando Morales comes in on loan.

After their first match was delayed, Alrbrijes will look to kick off next Tuesday at home.

Get Jordy Gaspar a Haircut

Jordy #Gaspar se présente désormais face aux médias : « Désolé pour la casquette mais la coupe de cheveux…les coiffeurs sont rares à Grenoble » 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/l0kvpit3P2
— Grenoble Foot 38 (@GF38_Officiel) January 8, 2021

Sure losing 3-0 during the week was hard, but you try finding a barber in Grenoble during quarrantine! Let the man have his hat!!

Player of the Week

Try as we might to find someone other than the obvious man of the match in the biggest win of the weekend, sometimes it just makes sense to honor the obvious candidate. Bravo Ermedin Demirovic! Glad to see you finding your form!

Demiriovic pulling his Supreme stare (from SC Freiburg)

Standings Update

Punjab debuts with a dart at #2, while Legon Cities vaults past Ross County. Meanwhile Brice Mableu may be wondering why 2021 feels so much like 2020 all over again

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
SC Freiburg	2	0	0	3.0	4.0	0.5
Punjab FC	1	0	0	3.0	1.0	0.0
Legon Cities FC	1	0	1	1.5	0.5	0.5
Ross County	1	1	1	1.3	1.3	1.3
Grenoble Foot 38	0	1	1	0.5	1.0	2.5
Rosenborg BK	0	0	0	–	–	–
Minnesota United	0	0	0	–	–	–
Emelec	0	0	0	–	–	–
Vozdovac FK	0	0	0	–	–	–
Alebrijes de Oaxaca	0	0	0	–	–	–
University of Montana	0	0	0	–	–	–

Table Updated 1/5/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 13th

Thursday, January 14th

2:30 Golukam FC v. Punjab FC

Friday, January 15th

Saturday, January 16th

8:00 Toulouse v. Grenoble [M]

9:00- Aduana Stars v. Legon Cities

9:00 Ross County v. Aberdeen

Sunday, January 17th

8:30 Bayern Munich v. Freiburg [M]

Monday, January 18th

Tuesday, January 19th

2:30 Punjab FC v. Churchill Brothers

5:00 Alebrijes v. CD Tepatitlan de Morelos

Week 1: Ringing in the New Year

January 6, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Hibernian 0 – 2 Ross County

Having run to Easter Road on our last trip to Edinburgh, it was very cool to see a stadium that I knew in action. Even cooler was getting to watch part of the match thanks to the magic of technology and the free time of a necessary construction of Alex’s new bed frame. Even though you should have been napping Alex, it was also great to share a match with you and hear you cheer for “the blue guys” with gusto. To cap it all off, County started the year off with a win thanks to some great wing play and counter attacking style with Ollie Shaw scoring against his old club.

Hoffenheim 1 – 3 Freiburg [M]

The German League returned from their haitus faster than most, and it came at a great time for an in form Freiburg. Baptiste Santamaria has gone largely unsung on this blog, but the newcomer has been a vital part of the Freiburg midfield during their return. His booming goal kicked off a great showing, while Vincenzo Grifo picked up his personal best 7th goal in one season.

Liberty Professionals 1 – 0 Legon Cities FC

Again, Legon Cities proved that they have a top tier defense. (They finished third in fewest goals allowed in our table last year). But when the offense again comes up empty it doesn’t take much to lose the match. It makes 630 minutes without a goal from free play…any time Baby Jet….any time…

Ross County 1 – 1 St. Johnstone

John Hughes continued whatever weird science it is that has helped him in the turn around project in Dingwall. Given recent form, every point is deeply appreciated. Ross Draper and Stephen Kelly did a fine job slowing down the game in the middle and keeping things organized.

Clermont Foot 2 – 0 Grenoble Foot 38

2020 was not as great a kick off for Grenoble. They dropped their first competitive match since mid-October and none of our recently rewarded players (Jordy Gaspar, Jerome Mombris, or Jessy Bennet) looked particularly effective. The loss drops them down to third place in Ligue 2 with one more match before the midseason marker.

News & Notes

Transfer Time

The Winter Transfer window opened up and gave fans a lot to dream on. Though fewer players switch sides in the winter, it does happen.

Rosenborg has had a few players take off with Pa Momodou Konate and Vegar Eggen Hedenstad saying Ta-Ta to Trondheim. Meanwhile young Marvin Pieringer from Freiburg’s youth side left top of the table Freiburg II for more seasoning in the second tier of German soccer (with the well named: Wurzburger Kickers).

Punjab Takes to the Pitch

It’s been 10 months since Punjab played a competitive match, a lot has happened in that time. Beyond, you know, the world and what not, the team has changed owners, names, kits, and a big chunk of players. The season will take place in the Mumbai Bubble (not as cool sounding as the Bombay Bubble…but more respective of the people who, ya know, live there). Fingers are crossed that the new look Warriors shine again.

The new color scheme is for sure in line with the colors most associated with Punjab.

Best as I can tell, only two players return from the 2020 edition of Punjab FC: Defender Anwar Ali, and Midfielder Sanju Pradhan. But the squad will bring on Bhutanese striker Chenchyo Gyeltshen, which will give me a reason to talk about the Land of the Thunder Dragon, and I’m always okay with that.

Player of the Week

Granted, I may be biased because I watched him play, and because I may be wrong in my assessment of John Hughes’ revised game plan, but for me, Jermaine Hylton’s wing play was instrumental to Ross County’s strong showing to start the year.

Standings Update

I’m going to try to keep this up to date more effectively this year than last year, so I’ll use it each week to see if that helps.

Freiburg takes the top spot for now with 3 points in their one game, while Ross County sits second and Grenoble sits in an uncomfortable bottom spot.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
SC Freiburg	1	0	0	3	3	1
Ross County	1	1	0	2	1.5	0.5
Legon Cities FC	0	0	1	0	0	1
Grenoble Foot 38	0	0	1	0	0	3
Rosenborg BK	0	0	0	–	–	–
Minnesota United	0	0	0	–	–	–
Emelec	0	0	0	–	–	–
Vozdovac FK	0	0	0	–	–	–
Punjab FC	0	0	0	–	–	–
Alebrijes de Oaxaca	0	0	0	–	–	–
University of Montana	0	0	0	–	–	–

Table Updated 12/31/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 6th

Thursday, January 7th

Friday, January 8th

12:00 Legon Cities FC v. WAFA

Saturday, January 9th

4:30 AM Punjab FC v. Aizawl

8:00- Grenoble v. Auxerre [M]

8:30 Freiburg v. Koln [M]

9:00 Livingston v. Ross County

Sunday, January 10th

Monday, January 11th

Tuesday, January 12th

9:00 Venados v. Alebrijes

Year 1

January 2, 2021 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I started this blog a year ago thinking it would be a fun thing to do during the season with a little light reflection during the summer. Instead the entire world turned upside down and I found myself trying to make meaning from press releases in March and bubble tournaments in August.

Here’s how things shook out in 2020 among our favorite 11 sides on the planet.

Final Standings

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Rosenborg BK	27	13	10	1.88	1.74	0.96
Minnesota United	13	6	6	1.80	2.08	1.12
Emelec	17	9	12	1.58	1.71	1.03
Grenoble Foot 38	10	6	7	1.57	1.39	1.35
FK Vozdovac	11	2	12	1.40	1.60	1.64
SC Freiburg	18	11	18	1.38	1.36	1.53
Punjab FC	2	5	2	1.22	1.44	1.33
Ross County FC	11	5	18	1.12	0.97	1.62
Alebrijes de Oaxaca	5	4	12	0.90	1.00	1.52
Legon Cities FC	3	8	8	0.89	0.63	1.16
University of Montana	0	0	0	–	–	–

Table Updated 12/31/2020

As was becoming apparent by the middle of the summer, the longer Rosenborg’s women went undefeated, the more likely they were to win our trophy. In the end, Rosenborg’s Men struggled to finish off the season gave Minnesota United a closer chance than you might have expected in November.

Emelec wins my money this year for the best showing of a team whose jersey I didn’t own going in (but I’m seriously mulling doing something for Grenoble to shore up my fandom bonafide as they fight for *knock on wood* Ligue 1 promotion)

SC Frieburg’s struggles saw them slip to the middle of the table just above Punjab FC which has been idle for months now, and the Lady Griz must be licking their chops to finish above Asamoah Gyan and company in 2021.

Players of the Year

Rather than choose 1 best of best, given that my entire theme this year was coming together and relying on others, it only made sense to award a full team.

Up top, it should be no surprise that we chose the two most imperious scorers in our year especially given Marit Clausen’s sizzling summer and Farcundo Barcelo’s amazing autumn.

The midfield was trickier. There was no shortage of good candidates, but in the end we couldn’t ignore the excellent run of young Julie Blakstad, the superb creativity of Emanuel Reynoso, or the consistency of Vincenzo Grifo. Kristoffer Zachariassen claimed the last spot due to his goal scoring prowess and excellent control for a Europa League bound side.

We probably could have done more to recognize defenders during the season, but as center back was our own position of choice on the rough and tumble pitches of Great Falls, Montana we were proud to recognize the Grenoble tandem of Jerome Mombris and Jordy Gaspar. On top of that Dominique Heintz seemed to always be the answer to the question “how did Freiburg stop fill in the blank Bundesliga striker king from scoring?” And Alex Iacovitti provided the most iconic image of the most iconic win of the year with his delirious wheeling joy after sealing the win over Celtic.

There was no shortage of great candidates in goal either. We went with Vozdovac’s Miloje Prekovic whose arrival coincided with an excellent unbeaten run for the Red Dragons.

Our bench has two players we really struggled over putting in the top XI: Grenoble’s Jessy Benet and Minnesota’s Michael Boxall, but we know they’ll be ready to step up for a sixty or a six minute shift. We also got a chance to recognize all the other teams in our list: strikers Asier Dipanda, Luisa Espinoza, and Franco Arizala represent Punjab, Las Electricas de Emelec and Alebrijes de Oaxaca respectively. Klara Buhl will be the one we ask to fill in all over the field (the least she can do after leaving Freiburg for Munich). And Fatua Duda holds down the Legon Cities spot in the squad (the Royals may be bottom of our table, but Duda is the unquestioned leader and has kept scores low while the offense sputters).

We were sorry not to find a representative for the Grenoble women’s side (we’d love if the social media squads from Rosenborg and Emelec could show them how its done), and we hope to include more than a few Grizzlies when they finally get back on the pitch this spring.

What’s Next

I really like soccer. Like, a lot a lot.

I really like writing. Like, a lot a lot

Doing this project for a year reminded me how much I like both, and also how impossible it is to do both, and parent, and teach, and write what is burning a fire in my brain.

So here’s the plan Stans: I’m keeping this site alive. The annual fee is a small price to pay for keeping track of all the lectures you’re going to get in your life. I won’t post in it as often. (One weekly update, One monthly video with all three of us (barring tantrums), and one monthly commentary).

I’m going to work on writing other things I’m fired up about. But rest assured, I’ll always love sharing lessons with you boys and I’ll love sharing them over soccer matches too.

(Oh, and if this is being read by someone other than my sons, feel free to write a note below so they know other people are judging their dad too).