Recaps

Legon Cities 1 – 1 Asante Kotko

Kotoko might be one of Ghana’s true giants, but Legon always seems up to the challenge. Alex Aso got the equalizer to keep Legon looking tough

Arna-Bjornar 0 – 1 Rosenborg (F)

The Trolljenta got another win but it took a late winner from Emilie Nautnes to snatch the points.

Freiburg 1 – 1 Hertha BSC (M)

The boys of Breisgau haven’t lost domestically in almost two months, but that’s come with a lot of disappointing draws, including this one to relegation battlers Hertha after Vincenzo Grifo got the lead

Vozdovac 0 – 1 Javor

The dragons dropped another home match. I’m not sure what would help make home cooking work for them but they have a long way to go to catch up with the top four sides in Serbia.

Grenoble 2 – 1 Armiens (M)

Jessy Bennet slotted home a first half penalty and nearly scored a very cheeky chip shot. Abdoulie Sanyang got the second half winner, but attention should also be paid to 22 year old Mathys Tourraine who has quickly become a vital cog in both defense and attack for Les Alpiners.

Delfin 3 – 2 Emelec (M)

It was a testy match in Ecuador with three spot kicks given (and all of them converted). Miller Bolaños left room for someone else (Alejandro Cabeza) to score, but he also left the match early due to an injury, which isn’t what you’d hope to see for the clear talisman of the team. Defender Fernando Leon drew a second yellow card to leave the team a man short and ultimately leaven enough room room for Delfín to keep threatening and finally snatch a late winner.

St. Louis City 0 – 1 Minnesota (M)

Both teams came into the match undefeated, but only the visitors left that way. St. Louis had control for most of the match, but when the Loons threatened, they made the most of it. Luis Amarilla smashed in the winning penalty after bottling some strong opportunities. The reinvigorated back line, especially the eternally present Michael Boxall stood tall to stop St Louis from equalizing.

Ross County 0 – 2 Celtic

Within regular time County earned a draw. But soccer also includes extra time, and that’s where Celtic scored.

Freiburg 0 – 1 Turbine Potsdam (F)

Potsdam handed the Frauen their fifth straight loss…this one turning on Meret Witje’s own goal. Ugh.

Grenoble Foot 1 – 0 Thonon Evian (F)

Good news for Freiburg the ladies of the Alps broke their own five game skid with a vital win, and one against one of the best teams in France’s second division. Goalkeeper Bolkach had an excellent game defending against Thonon’s potent attack and in a last minute counter attack Claudia Fabre picked out newcomer Florsie Joseph and Grenoble got a tremendous winner. So hey, Freiburg, there’s hope!

Bibiana Gold Stars 3 – 2 Legon Cities FC

A wild first half saw the Gold Stars take the lead, after Ebenezer Armegah and Eric Bonsu briefly gave Legon the edge. and despite their best efforts (and a reversed goal), the Royals lost and dropped firmly into the relegation zone

Bayern Munich 1 – 2 Freiburg (M-Cup)

Few teams are as dominant as Bayern Munich are in Germany, but for the third straight year Freiburg has either matched or outperformed them in the Cup.

Nicholas Hofler connected with as beautiful a goal as you will ever see to balance the books. The defensive line (especially Ginter, Gunter, and Gulde) stymied an insistent Bayern attack until they forced Bayern into more mistakes, this time with a series of fouls that allowed Lucas Holer to win it on a hand ball Penalty Kick in extra time.

To celebrate, Freiburg got to face Munich again on the weekend and will face Liepzig, the team that beat them in last year’s final, in the semi’s

Partizan Belgrade 1 – 0 Vozdovac

Partisan can be a brutal opponent. So much so that in the last 7 matches they won by an average of 3-0. So the red dragons only losing by 1 is a high water mark not seen since March of 2020.

Danubio 2 – 0 Emelec (M-South American Cup)

Danubia hasn’t been great shakes in their local Uruguayan league this year. But they had no trouble containing or attacking Emelec. The best news, Uruguayan native midfielder — had one of his best games yet for Los Bombillos.

Alebrijes 1 – 0 Cancun FC

Armando Gonzalez got an early goal off a rebound from Ernesto Reyes’ blast of a free kick. Even though Oaxaca earned 4 yellow cards in 12 minutes, and were unable to make good on several one-on-one opportunities, they withstood the pressure of Cancun.

Freiburg 0 – 1 Bayern Munich (M)

Munich got their win back in the domestic league, capitalizing on the early departure of Manuel Gulde to bedevil the back line and batter the Freiburg net to the tune of 3.5 expected goals. In that light, even losing by one is a bit of an accomplishment for Freiburg. (Not one they’re going to put in their hall of fame, but something at least)

St. Johnstone 0 – 2 Ross County

The Staggies returned to action and got a win for the first time since February! Jordan White made a major nusiance of himself and set up Simon Murray (who came on for the injured Eamonn Brophy) for the first goal on an absolute banger. Then rarely used midfielder David Cancola made the most of his moment getting one of his own on a scrambled ball into the box.

Kerala Blasters 3 – 1 Punjab FC (Cup)

Punjab’s first effort against a Super League side left a little something to be desired. Kerala was able to control the match despite Punjab rolling out a broader midfield than usual, which did slow down Kerala for the first half, until a penalty gave the Blasters the lead. A half time swap of midfielder Maheson Singh for attacker Krishnananda Khundongbam paid off with Punjab’s goal, but the more expanded midfield was easier for Kerala to get past (leading to two more goals and the win)

Laval 0 – 1 Grenoble (M)

Mathais Phaeton got the early goal thanks to a scintillating through ball from (who else) Jessy Bennet and Brice Mableu was able to shut down Laval for the rest of the match to seal a win.

Chicago Fire 2 – 1 Minnesota United

Kei Kamara took two early goals for Chicago, and by the time your mom and I tuned in after you were tucked in at last, we were at the desperate crosses situation for the Loons. Kervin Arriaga got one, but despite many fine chances and amazing efforts, Bongokhule Hlongwane couldn’t score the vital equalizer.

Aucus 2 – 1 Emelec (M)

Emelec’s struggles continued with another loss, bouyed only by Jose Cevallos’ injury time consolation goal. The team that lives by Miller Bolanos, also dies by Miller Bolanos (at least when Miller Bolanos is out of the match with an injury, but even then we will still write Miller Bolanos’ name so many times that we summon him to Minnesota).

Rosenborg 1 – 0 Viking (M)

Rosenborg started their campaign with a revenge win against the team that knocked them out of the cup (kind of like the reverse Freiburg experience). Ulrik Jennssen was a pest in defense, and Adrian Pereira celebrated his first start since August of last year with the winning goal off of a half volley in the middle of nothing.

https://youtu.be/0OS4hH9ALdw

Vozdovac 1 – 3 TSC Backa Topola

Danilo Teodorovic scored first, but Topola came back with a vengeance. We would be upset, but any team that breaks up the Partizan/Red Star duopoly is okay in our books.

Punjab FC 0 – 2 Bengaluru FC (Cup)

Again Punjab set up in a defensive posture which…again worked for the first half, and then, when they got a little more aggressive in the second half, Bengaluru capitalized and took the lead. Huidrom Singh’s second yellow card didn’t help matters and let Bengaluru seal the win.

News & Notes

Jonah Attuquaye off to Latvia

We’ve made no mistake about it, Jonah Attuquaye is one of our all time favorite players during this project. He almost single handedly lifted up the Royals from their lowest ebbs and kept them consistently fresh when they desperately needed to be. But, all things must come to an end, and a player of Jonah’s caliber deserves a fresh challenge and opportunity. Last month (far below the radar of all the news I was following) he got that opportunity with a move to FK Auda in Latvia (which my former students say is lovely).

I truly hope he excels in Europe and maybe, in a season or so, there’s room for him in Rosenborg or Ross County.

Indian Super Cup Starts…and Ends

It was a pretty brief break for Round Glass Punjab as they spent a month celebrating their championship in the I-League, but the Super Cup provides them with a chance to prove themselves before the Super League starts next fall. They did draw a dangerous group, featuring two ISL playoff teams (Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC) and a fierce I-League rival (Sreenidi Deccan…you know…the team they were fighting for the trophy for months). We love a new competition, and we love Punjab, but the results from the first week of action made the next steps moot as the two losses show they are already eliminated…(Chenchyo Geltsyen’s absence was palpable.)

Spring Break! woo.

I love you boys. I love your mom and her family. I love travel.

This was hard.

We spent 6 days in Los Angeles, where the weather was lovely and I felt completely exhausted regardless. You guys had great fun seeing all the science and sunshine that LA could offer and playing happily with your Auntie, random kids at a scenic playground and a variety of newly adopted stuffies and Dino toys. You also did not understand time differences and insisted on waking me up at 4:30, and only going to bed at 8:30 PM…though the easy access to massive cakes and jelly beans may not have helped things.

Travelling with you is a privilege…it’s also a big responsibility. But you’re so darned cute.

BootRoom Book Review

To save room in my backpack (and also because I’m forgetful), we didn’t bring bed time books along with us on this trip. So we turned to the thing that all humans turn to for answers these days: a smart phone. Soon enough, the St Paul library gave us access to several nice books including one appropriate for this blog Madani’s Best Game

The story of a star player in an anonymous neighborhood was a fine bit of soccer lore. It had clear pictures of the action, a great sense of the role of a team, and an appropriate level of drama building up to the final match.

But really the story was less about soccer, and more about a kid’s love for his mother. Much as you guys like a soccer story, you love to love your mom.

Players of the Weeks

Jessy Bennet must be acknowledged. The midfielder has managed to pilot les bleus to certainty and security in the second league, which has been in short supply since his departure after 2021.

Also worth noting is Ernesto Reyes, whose leadership and defense has continued to help Oaxaca out of their traditional funks.

Standings

The Super Cup did a real number on Punjab’s position atop the table. It can happen when you get twice as many defeats in one span as you had in the past three months. As a result, Rosenborg, returned to the top spot this year as both the men and women are undefeated in the league so far this young season. (The one loss was in the cup.) Meanwhile, the difficulty in getting decisive results has taken its toll on Freiburg and Vozdovac.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Rosenborg	3	0	1	2.25	1.25	0.25
Punjab	11	2	3	2.19	2.38	1.00
Minnesota	3	2	1	1.83	1.17	0.83
Emelec	3	0	3	1.50	1.33	1.33
Grenoble	10	4	11	1.36	0.96	1.16
Alebrijes	4	5	6	1.13	1.47	1.07
Freiburg	7	5	11	1.13	1.17	1.65
Legon Cities	3	7	5	1.07	1.00	1.13
Ross County	3	3	7	0.92	1.08	1.15
Vozdovac	2	2	7	0.73	0.64	1.82
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

What’s Next

Thursday, April 13th

Atletico Morelia v. Alebrijes

Friday, April 14th

Ross County v. Aberdeen

Saturday, April 15th

Rosenborg BK v. Roa (F)

Minnesota v. Orlando (M)

Sunday, April 16th

Punjab FC v. Sreenidi Deccan (Cup)

Werder Bremen v. Freiburg (M)

Legon Cities v. Kotoku Royals

Molde v. Rosenborg (M)

Emelec v. El Nacional (M)

Olympique Marseille v. Grenoble Foot (F)

Monday, April 17th

Grenoble v. Saint-Etienne (M)

Tuesday, April 18th

Alebrijes v. Pumas Tabasco

Wednesday, April 19th

Asane v. Rosenborg (F)