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.
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 | – | – | – |
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
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