Tag: Esteban Salles

Weeks 47 – 52: Sweet Moses

Weeks 47 – 52: Sweet Moses

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I truly believe that routine is a valuable asset in learning how to build your skill. Running a marathon is easier after running twenty miles a week for several months. Teaching is better when you show up and study hard for your craft. My writing felt stronger when I wrote a little bit for these posts each week.

However, Thanksgiving…Covering for a Co-teacher with COVID…Holiday run-up…end of semester…the holidays themselves…and even the best routines are shot.

Here’s a brief recap of how our favorite eleven fared during the last 5 (good lord) weeks of not writing.

Results–From Nov. 17 on

Vozdovac (Won 2, Drew 1, Lost 3; 8 goals scored, 8 conceded)

As is their habit, the Dragons had both an offensive outburst and a complete defensive collapse. Nikola Vujnovic continues to lead the attack when it works, but until the defense gets back in shape, they’re going to be stuck in the middle of the table.

Grifo’s Grief (from Sportskeeda.com)

Freiburg (Won 4, Drew 2, Lost 4; 16 goals scored, 12 conceded)

Freiburg came careening back towards earth after their stay atop the Bundesliga after some Icarus-ish performances. A newish right side has been torn up with Lukas Kübler and Kevin Schade getting chewed up and spat out. Fortunately, Svenja Fölmli found some great form for the ladies, to even out the men’s lackluster showing.

Legon Cities (Won 1, Drew 3, Lost 3; 5 goals scored, 6 conceded)

The Royals have been predictably underwhelming in their efforts this season, pinging around the bottom half of the league table, including a week long stint in the cellar. Another predictable outcome, none of this comes back on ever reliable Jonah Attaquye, but instead on the boggling inconsistencies that manage to help them squander whatever part of the team is running well at the moment. (This time they went 400 minutes without a goal, squandering stout defensive performances by Isaaka Mohammed, Joseph Adjei and company).

Grenoble (Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 5; 9 goals scored, 10 conceded)

Merci a dieu pour Adama Tamba! (From Correa Tumblr)

On the surface, this record doesn’t look to shabby, but the numbers don’t really tell how rocky it’s been for Grenoble of late. Most of the goals came from the ladies in their 7-0 Cup drubbing of Heillecourt, and most of those from Adama Tamba (the Gambian whose hat trick was marvelous). However the men have been completely lost, and while some of the familiar faces (Yoric Ravet, Loic Nestor) have done well, the offense has been neutered and keeper Brice Mableu may be feeling the heat on his keeper seat.

Our side lost, but the best team won. (From ActionPush)

Emelec (Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 2; 8 goals scored, 7 conceded)

Los Bombillos finished with three lackluster showings against the fall, and year long champions of Ecuador: Independiente del Valle. (They took 1 point from three matches against them during this stretch, losing by a total of 7-4). In all, a deeply disappointing end to a fine year for Emelec, but hey, disappointments happen.

Rosenborg (Won 1, Drew 2, Lost 1; 6 goals scored, 7 conceded)

It was a rough finish in Trondheim as well. Rosenborg had been close if not confident in a shot at Europe all year. But Viking’s strong finished coupled with the Troll’s struggles was enough to keep them in Norway full time next year. The defense struggled to keep up and the offense seemed discombobulated (maybe playing Carlo Holse every where from Right back to Left Wing will do that).

Peace out (from Oregon Live)

Minnesota United (Lost 1; 1 Goal scored, 3 Conceded)

The Loons only had one match, a playoff tilt in Portland. They took an early lead on a textbook Metanire to Frangapane goal, but lost their way at the end (it was unfortunate that Dayne St. Clair only found out he would be starting shortly before hand when Tyler Miller was scratched due to COVID exposure). The Timbers went on to the Cup Final, so it wasn’t a bad loss, but it was a step back for a team with loftier ambitions.

We love the Rosses, but Aussie Ashley is doing work. (From Ross-Shire Journal)

Ross County (Won 3, Drew 4, Lost 1; 9 scored, 7 conceded)

The Staggies found a fabulous run of form to wrap up the year. They tripled their win total after winning one of their first twelve with 3 of their next 8). They have officially climbed off the bottom, and are hopefully headed in the right direction come the new year. Winger Joseph Hungbo has been outstanding, with strong showings from old favorites Regan Charles-Cook, Harry Paton, and new keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer

Punjab FC (Won 1; 2 scored, 0 conceded)

See, wait long enough and you even get a comeback. Roundglass Punjab is back in action as of Boxing Day, with a 2-0 win over Rajasthan. The goals came from new man Kurtis Guthrie and youngster (17) Ashangbam Aphaoba Singh. The also capped the end of the year with that most 2021 of results: a postponement due to a COVID outbreak.

News & Notes

A Few Goodbyes

With the end of the year at hand, several teams have wrapped for a while, and along with that come quite a few personnel changes. Some of our favorite Loons have headed for warmer pastures: with Ethan Finlay bound for Austin and Ozzie Alonso headed for Atlanta. Meanwhile, after falling out of the starting lineup in Freiburg, Dominique Heintz will look for new opportunities in Union Berlin. And the usually reliable Even Hoveland has left Rosenborg for Swedish side Hacken.

We wish them all the best (even if we hope that Atlanta continues to struggle despite Ozzie being awesome).

Ozzie Libre!

Lots of Namskars

While many teams are saying goodbye, this week Roundglass Punjab took the pitch looking quite different from the team we last saw in March. New manager Ashley Westwood has made a habit of circling around subcontinent sides and has brought in a team full of players who are familiar with the upper tiers of Indian football. 13 players from last year’s side have moved on and 20 new faces have come to wear the orange and gold. Most notably, a revamped veteran back line filled with players who had been in India’s top division: Lalchuwanmawia, John Johnson, and Gurtej Singh. Turnover is the norm in Indian soccer, here’s hoping the newest round of recruits does well.

Players of the Weeks

Joseph Hungbo led the charge (sorry we were so far behind in following)

With five weeks to cover, we’ll toss these out regardless of actual week, but with consideration for those whose great form helped their teams. So here’s some player of the week honors to bestow on Kurtis Guthrie of Punjab, Joseph Hungbo of Ross County, Ashley Maynard Brewer of Ross County, Isaaka Mohammed of Legon Cities, Adama Tamba of Grenoble, and Nikola Vujnovic of Vozdovac,

Standings Update

And now…the final standings for 2021

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana–b22182.161.50.7
Rosenborg BK–b419152.032.31.2
Emelec–b2711141.771.61.2
Punjab FC8461.561.20.9
Freiburg2611231.481.71.5
Grenoble2210221.411.21.2
Minnesota United–b1310121.401.21.3
Legon Cities1310151.291.11.0
FK Vozdovac1311161.251.11.4
Ross County149201.191.31.5
Alebrijes–b714121.061.21.6
Table Updated 12/31/21
b–Team is between seasons

Congratulations to The Montana Griz on adding a fourth trophy to the case this season (well, first sippy cup to go along with three conference titles). And best wishes to Alebrijes de Oaxaca, next year is your year: I can feel lit.

What’s Next

Most teams have a break for the New Year, which really is the way it ought to be. Hoping everyone rests up to start 2022 strong.

Saturday, January 1st

Sunday, January 2nd

Monday, January 3rd

Legon Cities FC v. Accra Lions

Tuesday, January 4th

Weeks 46: Our Top Two Take a Bow

Weeks 46: Our Top Two Take a Bow

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Results & Recaps

Rosenborg BK 3 – 2 Lyn Football [F]

The Troll ladies wrapped up their season with another strong victory, the team only dropped three games all year, but that was enough to send them home without any trophies. But if you measure success by growth, development and enjoyment, Rosenborg has been excelling for years. Unsurprisingly, Rosenborg’s final match starred the same person who has been driving them all year long: Julie Blasktad who knocked in two more goals.

Washington State Cougars 3 – 0 Montana Grizzlies

The Griz couldn’t take a step further on this campaign. Just as they did in the spring season, they had to bow out in the first playoff round. The scoreline doesn’t do the team justice. Last time out they lost by one, and here again they were tantalizingly close (before some late goals gave the Cougars a little more breathing room). Coach Citowicki’s game plan of sturdy defending and surprise attacks, served them well again with their best showing against a Pac-12 team. It wasn’t to be this year, but progress still feels terribly close.

FC St. Cyr 1 – 2 Grenoble Foot [M–Cup]

The Alpiners coasted through their first match in the Coupe de France against the local 11 of St. Cyr. A strong side including Esteban Salles, Jordy Gaspar, and Achille Anani got out to a fast start with Anani knocking it in in the sixth minute. The next round will come against another lower division side…though possibly a team that doesn’t look quite so much like middle schoolers trying to keep up with college kids.

SC Freiburg 1 – 0 Werder Bremen [F]

Freiburg got only their second win of the season, surprisingly it came with Hasret Kayicki on the bench after a second half red card. Instead the winner belonged to Kim Fellhauer who delivered just enough on her header to convert a vital free kick just a few minutes in.

Legon Cities FC 0 – 1 Great Olympics

Well, there went the top of the table. Great Olympics beat their training ground rivals with a first half goal.

News & Notes

Wishing them the best

The end of the Griz season comes with one consequence no other team faces: players having to leave. Student athletes only stay athletes as long as they are students, and graduating is even more important than winning. So, Sami Siems, McKenzie Kilpatrick, Taylor Stoeger, Taylor Hanson, and Zoe Transtrum congratulations on four NCAA tournaments (the most ever for Griz players).

At the same time, the Griz celebrated the official signings of six new recruits joining the back to back best of the Big Sky. They come from all over including a pair from Billings, two from Washington State, one from California and one from the Vancouver Whitecaps professional program.

Photo from St. Olaf News

Um Ya Ya

Another college with a little more success than the Griz are the St. Olaf Oles (aka the college that your mom, and I, and your grandparents, and your great grandparents all attended) DID win their first TWO tournament games in Division III soccer championships. They are four games from the title, which would be a big shocker for your mom and I since we mostly spent our days reading in the library rather than playing the sportsball.

Whip Around the World

I am admittedly a sucker for the World Cup, it’s how I got to be a soccer fan in the first place, and I’m ridiculously excited to watch it with you boys next winter. This weekend marked some big matches for several of the countries that we follow closely and more of the players that we keep tabs on. Here’s a quick glimpse at how things went.

Ghana pulled a shocking turn about to snatch advancement out from underneath South Africa courtesy of an Andre Ayew penalty kick. Legon Cities Fatua Duda, the former top keeper, probably looked on with a smile. Serbia is dominated by players from around Europe’s top leagues (rather than among the mid-table Vozdovac’s of the local league), still your motherland is officially into the biggest stage of it all. Scotland still has some work to do to keep themselves alive for the next round, fingers crossed for former Staggie Ross Stewart who has an outside shot of making the team (and all the guys of Ross County, cheering from their homes). Minnesota United’s Finland connection (Robin Lod and Jukka Raitalta) got themselves agonizingly close to the next round thanks in large part to Lod’s thundering shot, before the champions from France eliminated them. Norway was similarly out of luck running up against Holland in their final match (Andre Hansen of Rosenborg could only watch). Emelec’s contingent in Ecuador‘s line up started on the bench but still provided some critical supports to stay in good position for qualification out of South America (even with four more matches to go). And the United States and Canada both stayed in good shape in North American qualifying much to the delight of possible call ups Hasani Dotson, Dayne St. Clair and Harry Paton.

Player of the Week

Sometimes it’s nice to spread the love around and sometimes you have to acknowledge that some players are simply better more often than others you follow. So I’ll continue repping Julie Blakstad until the cows come home. She deserves it.

A-Always B-Be C-Celebrating B-Blakstad: Always be celebrating Blakstad

Standings Update

We have a correction to make: back in August the ladies of Rosenborg played in the Norwegian women’s cup. We didn’t find the scores or include them in any tabulations, so we’ve been unintentionally shorting the Trolls a number of points. It ultimately won’t change the outcome as, even if the men win the rest of their games. The Griz have a big enough advantage to keep the title in hand.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana–b22182.161.50.7
Rosenborg BK407142.082.41.2
Emelec2610121.831.61.2
Grenoble2110171.521.21.2
Freiburg229191.501.71.5
Punjab FC–b7461.4711.20.9
Minnesota United1310111.441.21.3
Legon Cities127121.391.21.0
FK Vozdovac1110131.261.11.4
Ross County115191.091.31.6
Alebrijes–b714121.061.21.6
Table Updated 11/17/21
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, November 17th

Thursday, November 18th

Friday, November 19th

Saturday, November 20th

Proleter v. Vozdovac

SC Sand v. Freiburg [F]

WAFA v. Legon Cities

Valenciennes v. Grenoble [M]

Independiente del Valle v. Emelec [M]

Sunday, November 21st

Freiburg v Frankfurt [M]

Molde v. Rosenborg [M]

Vendenheim v Grenoble Foot [F–Cup]

Portland Timbers v. Minnesota United [Playoffs]

Monday, November 22nd

Tuesday, November 23rd

Week 16: Best in the Big Sky!

Week 16: Best in the Big Sky!

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Universidad Catholica 2 – 3 Emelec [M]

Doff your caps to Alejandro Cabeza. The young striker raced out to a brace in 10 minutes and got his hat trick in the second half. Just what every Ecuadorian side wanted to see, another in form striker for Los Bombillos.

Leones Negros 1 – 1 Alebrijes

It took just about everything that Alebrijes had to keep up the pressure throughout the match. Johan Alonso took charge of the right flank and peppered a wide array of opportunities that went awry. In the end, the greatest contribution came from Center Back Oscar Torres, who played a critical role at both ends of the field: disrupting a barrage of Leones’ attacks and being in the right place at the right time to net the equalizer.

University of Montana Grizzlies 2 – 1 University of Northern Colorado [Big Sky Semifinal]

After a steady and solid season Taylor Stoeger got a great moment to shine in the conference Semifinal. She was instrumental in the midfield and delivered the golden goal in overtime to get the Grizzlies to the much awaited and much deserved conference final.

Seattle Sounders 4 – 0 Minnesota United

That wasn’t great, but the video we sent to trash talk our Sounders friend Aly was.

Freiburg 4 – 0 Schalke

Boy did Freiburg need this one. Christian Gunter blasted some beautiful goals and Roland Sallai made his presence felt. (Oh also, Schalke is terrible, but every win gets 3 points.)

Dunkerke 1 – 1 Grenoble

Speaking of beating bad teams, it’s something les Grenobloises have failed to do lately. It probably owes something to Jekyll/Hyde games like Maumodou Diallou whose first half assist was mitigated by his second half red card, forcing a team fighting for promotion to simply play not to lose against a team battling to avoid relegation. Their next four all come against teams jockeying for playoff position too so, this time next month things will be great or absolutely not.

University of Montana Grizzlies v. Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks [Big Sky Final]

CANCELLED DUE TO NAU VIOLATIONS OF COVID PROTOCOL–Griz named champions by default

As Homer [Simpson] once said, “the two sweetest words in the English language: De-Fault!!”

TBA Guayaquil City v Emelec [F]

Que soprisa!! Another delay to the women’s league. We’ll see if May 1 proves more lucky than March or April.

Wolfsburg 3 – 2 SC Freiburg [F]

Hasret Kayikci continued her strong showings but Wolfsburg blasted back to confirm their place among Europe’s elite.

Medema 2 – 1 Legon Cities

The Royals made a comeback even without top Center Back Joseph Adjei who got red carded in the first half. Adjei’s absence was felt on Medema’s second and game winning goal 8 minutes from time.

TSC Backa Topola 4 – 1 FK Vozdovac

This thumping put the Red Dragons firmly in the relegation scrap. Napredak’s great form has capitalized on Vozdovac’s lousy showings. One reason for hope: 3 of the last 6 will be against fellow fighters separated by goals and two points. Here’s hoping the turn around is straight ahead.

Emelec 2 – 0 Técnico Universarito [M]

I hope you boys learn to love beauty in life. Hugs from little kids when they are sleepy, your mom’s smile, monsoon mists in Mussoorie. Caciedo and Barcelo dominating Ecuador isn’t quite at that level, but it’s getting close.

Grenoble 2 – 0 Sochaux [M]

It was quite a crunchy match in the offing with Sochaux on the outer edges of the playoff scrap. A win would have made their last months extra tense. But while Sochaux’s energies seemed to unsettle Esteban Salles, they also led to foolish errors that earned two penalties for Grenoble (both of which were duly buried by Jessy Benet). The win gave a little more breathing room for Grenoble (now 7 points clear in the playoff spots) but likely knocked Sochaux out of the running for progression.

Mineros 6 – 0 Alebrijes de Oaxaca

That was…what’s the word? Bad. That was bad.

News & Notes

Big Sky Superlatives

With the Griz getting both the Northern Division trophy AND the Big Sky trophy we have the first hardware won by any team on our Favorite XI. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

Four Griz were named to the All-Big Sky team: Holding Midfielder Avery Adams, Wingback Taylor Hansen, Striker Alexa Coyle and (quelle surprise) goalie Claire Howard were named best in the conference at what they do. Howard also won the Goalkeeper of the Year honors (not a shock with her record breaking form). Centerback Alli Lang was named to the second team and attackers Rita Lang and Taylor Stoeger took home honorable mentions.

The Griz came into the year as favorites to win, and they delivered. Now all that’s left is…

The Big Dance

The NCAA tournament is one of our family’s favorite events. You boys got a taste of that this year when we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s, ate tasty snacks, talked with family, and played and played and played. While we usually watch the basketball tournaments, Soccer has one too. This year’s tournament will be in North Carolina (one of the biggest hotbeds for college competition in the country).

Thanks to their regular season dominance (and the Lumberjacks’ illness) the Griz are Charlotte bound to be part of the Fabulous 48, and the chance to play into the thrilling thirty-two.

Up first a game with the South Carolina Gamecocks. If you extrapolate out the regular seedings the Griz would be 12th seeded in the region of 12 (45th of all 48 teams). The Gamecocks were a potent force in a powerful league, which means the Griz will be an underdog for the first time this year…but that’s a fine place to be. Win and the Griz tie a best ever season showing, lose and they still have a couple pretty Big Sky trophies in tow.

Superliga Feminina Forever

As in forever waiting to start.

This delay’s irrational cause for optimism that this time it’ll really happen. A detailed and stylish schedule tweet from the official league account! Surely a graphic designer’s work is always respected and honored.

Super League Salvos

The biggest news in soccer this week is the promised beginning of a new European Super League. This will be the 15 biggest clubs in Europe (plus five of their friends) raking in oodles of money, while their former opponents just make gobs of money.

Depending on who you ask, this is either a bad idea or a sign that the world is nearing an implosion of epic proportions. League officials are threatening to banish the big sides. Global leaders in the game claim that they’ll impose harsh fines and punish the players. Fans are mulling boycotts. It’s a fraught subject that brings to mind questions of “nationality”, “tradition”, “fairness,” and “global society.”

None of which matters to you two in the slightest. After all, you are under 4, by the time you bring full attention to any sport this league will either be an established institution or a bygone bit of trivia. Still this is my sporting journal of our times, so…there’s the big news.

Player of the Week

Jessy Benet had a huge impact on Grenoble’s standing for the end of the season, but Alejandro Cabeza had far and away the best performance, the least we can do is acknowledge it again here.

Bienvenido a nuestro casa Alejandro

Standings Update

The Loons debut provides a much appreciated cushion to FK Vozdovac in at least one table as Freiburg and Legon Cities continue to jockey for the advantage in the middle of the table.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana9012.72.10.6
Emelec7212.32.01.0
Grenoble Foot8651.61.31.1
Punjab FC–b7461.471.20.9
Freiburg9291.451.61.5
Legon Cities FC5451.361.30.8
Alebrijes4751.21.51.9
Ross County5281.11.31.6
FK Vozdovac2570.80.61.7
Minnesota United0010.00.04.0
Rosenborg BK-b000–––
Table Updated 4/20/2021
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, April 21st

1:45 Ross County v St Mirren

Thursday, April 22nd

2:00 Talleres v Emelec [Copa Sudamerica]

Friday, April 23rd

Saturday, April 24th

8:00 Troyes v Grenoble [M]

8:30 Freiburg v Hoffenheim

10:00 Legon Cities v Dreams FC

1:00 Vozdovac v Cukariki

7:00 Minnesota United v Real Salt Lake

Sunday, April 25th

7:00 SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt [F]

3:00 Órense v Emelec [M]

Monday, April 26th

Tuesday, April 27th

Week 14 & 15: Spring Break in Play

Week 14 & 15: Spring Break in Play

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A note: I might have gotten behind, but if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have been Owen’s pillow or Alex’s marble run co-designer. I’ll take a delay for that trade

Scores

Olmedo 2 – 3 Emelec [M]

It was a tight affair on Thursday night. Pedro Ortiz was unsettled early on and gave up the lead to the hosts. But los bombillos capitalized on their set pieces. All three goals came off of follow ups to first touches. Anibal Leguizamon, Facundo Barcelo, and Lucas Sosa all capitalized when Olmedo were caught napping.

FK Vozdovac 0 – 0 Macva Sabac

Again…I got nothing.

Sacramento State Hornets 0 – 1 University of Montana Grizzlies

Make it six in the row for the Griz and another crucial clean sheet from Claire Howard. This time it took an overtime header to pull the squad over the line, but, as usual, the Griz got the job done.

Ross County 1 – 3 Inverness CT [Cup]

Buried in the bottom half of the Scottish table, Ross County’s last chance for silverware ended with their defeat to arch rivals Inverness. While Billy McKay fired them in front early on, the collapsing defense sent the Staggies out of the Cup in the third round. The one plus, it will allow them to focus fully on saving their top flight status.

Grenoble 2 – 2 Chateroux [M]

Up two goals and one man within 30 minutes, you would probably expect Grenoble to cruise over bottom of the table Chateroux. You would be disappointed . Our Alpine side struggled, ceding two goals through sloppy man marking (and a tentative/tender Esteban Salles) and watching Adrien Monfry leave the field to end up all square with a side they surely should have dispatched.

Borussia Munchengladbach 2 – 1 Freiburg [M]

Rolland Sallai gave the griffins a great start, but Gladbach got them back quickly (courtesy of Marcus Thurman whose dad Lillian is one of my favorites). Freiburg continued to press for a goal and got one from Keven Schlotterback at the death…only for video review to rule him offsides, and seal the defeat.

CS Emelec v. CD Macara [F]

Postponed…again…sigh…

Berekum Chelsea 2 – 1 Legon Cities FC

Samimento (Photo from GoGriz.com)

Hans Kwofie continued to show up for LCFC, but the second half of the season started much like the last, with the Royals struggling to balance attack and defense

Sacramento State Hornets 0 -3 University of Montana Grizzlies

Sami Seims was awesomely opportunisitic, capitalizing on two opportunities in the box to give her three goals for the weekend and making Sacramaento “Samimento”. Another Claire Howard shutout (it might get dull if it weren’t always awesome), and the Griz locked down their division title and a spot in the Big Sky Semifinals in two weeks

Emelec 2 – 0 CSD Macara [M-Cup]

A convincing 2-0 win over fellow Ecuadorians sees Los Bombillos into the next round of the Copa Sudamerica. When your attack is as linked as Facundo Barcelo and Ramario Caicedo it seems quite easy.

Alebrijes 4 – 1 Jaibos

A pair of insurance goals for Oaxaca made the score line look more flattering than it ought to. Still Alebrijes should wear the win with pride. Especially when they were fluid and effective in Johan Alonso setting up Fernando Vasquez and Carlos Fonseco scored on a sterling run.

FK Spartak Subotica 3 – 0 FK Vozdovac

The collapse of Vozdovac’s defense is only slightly more surprising than Serbia’s superb COVID Vaccine rollout.

Arminia Bielefeld 1 – 0 Freiburg [M]

In an otherwise solid first campaign in Breigsau, Baptiste Santamira would probably rather forget this one. His second half own goal cost the Griffins dearly, especially against a lower tier opponent, as Freiburg’s lost four of five.

University of Montana Grizzlies 2 – 3 Eastern Washington Eagles

The first loss of the Griz season came against their Spokane rivals. But it also came, stunningly, at home. Avery Adam’s and Taylor Hansen came through late to force an overtime. But they couldn’t grab the golden goal and a hungry Eastern Washington got the win to keep their hopes for the Conference tournament alive.

Kilmarnock 2 – 2 Ross County

The Staggies started the relegation rumble with a sprint to the goal. Within 5 minutes each side had a goal (worth it for Michael Gardyne’s textbook move). But when Kilmarnock took the edge through some sloppy positioning ten minutes later and held it through much of the match, it looked like County was destined for defeat and relegation. As the game got extra chippy, you could tell each team knew how important it was. Some ratty gamesmanship started silly shoving matches. County came through when Ian Vigurs cross met with Alex Iacovitti’s head and the draw was preserved. From there it got more brutal with Vigurs getting a busted nose (that only merited a yellow card) and Iacovitti getting a make up call with no whistle on a fairly blatant penalty. It wasn’t the knock out punch we might have hoped for, but it keeps the highlanders in good position to stay afloat.

Vozdovac 1-1 Proleter

Good news: Vozdovac scored early to put them in control and provide some positive momentum.

Bad News: Aleksandar Bogdanavic’s foolish red card gave Proleter its equalizer and turned a win into a draw. (I mean…goodness sakes, there’s no need to pretend you didn’t commit a foul when you actively drag a guy’s arm…cryin’ out loud Aleks!)

Grenoble 3 – 1 Caen

While Grenoble often pioneered the kind of collapse that Vozdovac is falling into, the Alpiners have been quite steady this year. After a dull first half, Yoric Ravet did quite well to finish a loose through pass from Jordy Gaspar and create several more opportunities.

Emelec 1-1 LDU de Quito [M]

A long-standing Quito v Guayaquil rivalry, remained hard fought, with both sides pressuring and pushing for every positive position. In the end Facundo Barcelo set up an equalizer for Alejandro Cabeza and Emelec kept pace at the top of the table.

Legon Cities 2 – 0 Great Olympics

The Royals locked in their strongest showing yet as they pestered and penned in the Olympics offense. Nicholas Mensah’s header eked over the line and Jonah Attuquaye persisted in the face of high pressure defense to give Legon a solid win.

May be an image of 24 people, people standing and outdoors
Photo from GoGriz.com

University of Montana Grizzlies 3 – 1 Eastern Washington Eagles

The Griz got a great rebound win on Senior day and we tip our collective caps to the stellar squad that continues to run roughshod over rocky mountain lady’s soccer. At the same time it’s rather exciting to start expecting the next class to rise up given that Rita Lang and Sami Siems have another year to go, and everyone benefits when you work with stars this talented. Up next a trip to Ogden Utah and a match with old rivals Northern Colorado.

News & Notes

Súper liga Súper late

Another couple weeks another couple delays to Ecuador’s women’s league: the new goal? April 17th. Fingers crossed.

Dragons Dilemma

Since the calendar flipped Vozdovac has only taken 11 points from a possible 33. With their strong start they can afford a slip, but this is starting to look less like a slip and more like a crashing back to earth.

While Serbia expanded its top tier for this post-pandemic season, they’ll be squeezing down to 14 for next year. The Red Dragons spent most of the fall around the top 7, but they’ve slipped to 13th, (4) points from the drop. To make matters worse, only 2/3 of their last 7 come against teams below them on the table.

Abila looking like….it snowed…in April?!?

Loons Launch

In the last run up to America’s Major League Soccer, Minnesota United did two things. First, train in sunny Orlando. Two, bring north Boca Juniors striker Ramon Abila. Bébelo Reynoso’s old teammate brings with him 39 goals in 89 matches for one of Argentina’s most storied clubs. Whether he provides the Loons with a difference making attack option we will soon see. (But one things for sure, “Boca du Nord” is a fun new nickname.)

Players of the Weeks

With two players to recognize, we have plenty of options to choose from. We’ll consider both one player who was superb in an individual week and one player who has been holding things down for weeks now. Sami Seims deserves all the credit for dominating the Hornets in Sacramento and Romario Caciedo has been superb both on defense and linking up the attack for Emelec as they continue to hover around the top of the standings.

Romario in full flow

Standings Update

Despite their slip, the Griz hold strong at the top of the table, and Freiburg takes a big step back, sliding from third down to sixth in the mid table log-jam.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana8012.72.10.6
Emelec5212.11.91.0
Grenoble Foot7551.51.21.1
Punjab FC–b7461.471.20.9
Legon Cities FC5441.461.20.9
Freiburg8281.441.41.4
Alebrijes4641.31.61.6
Ross County5281.11.31.6
FK Vozdovac2350.90.71.6
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Table Updated 4/14/2021
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, April 14th

3:00 Universidad Catholics v Emelec [M]

5:00 Leones Negros v Alebrijes

Thursday, April 15th

University of Montana Grizzlies v. University of Northern Colorado [Big Sky Semifinal]

Friday, April 16th

8:30 Seattle Sounders v Minnesota United

Saturday, April 17th

8:30 Freiburg v Schalke

10:00 Medema v Legon Cities

1:00 Dunkerke v Grenoble

1:00 TSC Back Topola v FK Vozdovac

[Big Sky Final, if applicable]

TBA Guayaquil City v Emelec [F]

Sunday, April 18th

7:00 Wolfsburg v Sc Freiburg [F]

3:00 Emelec v Técnico Universarito [M]

Monday, April 19th

Tuesday, April 20th

Week 9: Super Showing

Week 9: Super Showing

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.

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.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Emelec20033.51.5
Punjab FC5321.81.20.6
Freiburg5231.71.71.2
Grenoble Foot 386341.621.21.0
Legon Cities FC4421.601.30.8
Ross County4151.31.21.6
Alebrijes2231.11.92.1
FK Vozdovac0320.60.41.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
University of Montana000–––
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

Week 8: Thrillers and Thuds

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.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Emelec10034.01.0
Punjab FC4321.671.20.6
Freiburg4231.561.71.2
Grenoble Foot 385241.551.11.2
Legon Cities FC3421.41.20.9
Ross County4141.41.31.7
Alebrijes2131.21.92.1
FK Vozdovac0201.01.01.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
University of Montana000–––
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]

54. Do Not Throw Away Your Shot

54. Do Not Throw Away Your Shot

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In Mandarin Chinese the word Weiji, means “crisis”, but hidden inside that word is the Mandarin word “ji” or “opportunity.”

Every crisis contains an opportunity. Some enterprising sorts will use that opportunity to exploit the fears of others and enrich themselves. Others will seize the opportunity to show who they really are.

I hope that when the time comes for you boys to face a critical moments that you approach the moment How you act in a crisis should show who you are, not make you what you want to be.

Dear Boys,

The title of this essay owes itself to Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Which, in addition to being an inventive and beloved retelling of American history, has a lot to say about the nature of people faced with the crises inherent in starting a new nation. Few characters summarize the ways of dealing with crisis better than the titular Alexander Hamilton and the show’s narrator Aaron Burr.

Hamilton sings one of the most recognizable songs in the show. At a moment of crisis, with the colonies on the cusp of independence or deeper subjugation in a losing fight with the British Empire, his arrival on the scene isn’t a saving grace for the nascent country. It’s just situation where a “young, scrappy, and hungry” immigrant is the right person in the right place at the right time to make the best of a situation.

The situation revealed Hamilton: bright, ambitious, talented, committed to his community.

The performers of Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Hamilton
(Lin-Manuel Miranda) (From Deseret News)

That Burr instead decided “you spit, Imma sit, we’ll see where things land,” Isn’t an indictment of him. Some aren’t ready to act at the moment of crisis. Others simply don’t see the crisis as others do. The reticent are not reprehensible, but the opportunistic…

That is the path Burr opts to take. After establishing a theme about how he’s “willing to wait for” whatever his best opportunity is, Burr finally pounces to get his seat in “the room where it happens” by changing “parties to sieze the opportunity I saw.”

The situation revealed Burr: clever, cunning, calculating, and committed to himself.

Sports matters far less than nation building, but crises are every bit as full of opportunity. Nothing showed that better this month than the injuries to top choice goalkeepers Fatua Duda of Legon and Brice Mableu of Grenoble.

Any injury can create a club wide crisis. Goalie is especially nerve racking. There can be a steep decline from first choice keepers to second choices.

Salles, buried after penalty stops

Mableu is a club legend, a top choice keeper for 6.5 years. Duda wore the gloves of Ghana’s national team just a few months ago. Their replacements were…not.

Esteban Salles stepped between the sticks in Grenoble having played about a quarter of the games Mableu had, in three stints at lower level clubs. Winfred Honu took over in Legon 13 years younger than captain and team leader Duda.

And yet, both Salles and Honu rose to the occasion. Salles has become a penalty kick magnet, and his only loss came to perennial big spenders/title contenders AS Monaco. Honu hoisted a floundering Royals side off the foot of the table without suffering a defeat yet.

https://twitter.com/legoncfcnews/status/1359115202764156930
(I will explain Ghanaian naming conventions another time)

These performances don’t mean that Salles and Honu are better than the men they replaced. Whenever the number one keepers come back, it’ll be back to a life of warm up suits and extra training reps. But it does show who they are: prepared, poised, ready to offer their all to a team in need.

Honu and Salles are what Hamilton reflects in its leads. They are men who meet the moment, showing consummate professionalism in their actions and sincere strength of character, prepared to be themselves at this opportune moment.

I hope you look to them, to all those who rise up in the crucible of crisis. Dang, you’ll amaze and astonish.

Week 7: Down the Vortex

Week 7: Down the Vortex

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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!

Streiching Out to the future

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)

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
SC Freiburg4221.751.91.3
Punjab FC4221.751.30.6
Legon Cities FC3321.51.30.9
Alebrijes2121.41.61.4
Grenoble Foot 384241.41.01.2
Ross County3141.31.41.9
FK Vozdovac0201.01.01.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
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

Week 6: God Bless the Goalies

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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.

Vozdovac is Bac

Soon to be Rocking Rooftops again

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.

Khelnow.com

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.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
SC Freiburg4121.92.11.4
Grenoble Foot 384131.61.31.4
Legon Cities FC3221.571.30.9
Punjab FC3221.571.10.7
Alebrijes2121.41.61.4
Ross County3141.31.41.9
FK Vozdovac0101.01.01.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
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

Week 5: Ups and Downs

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.

Dauda does the job

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.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Legon Cities FC3021.81.61.0
SC Freiburg3121.72.21.5
Grenoble Foot 383131.41.31.6
Ross County2131.41.62.0
Punjab FC1221.00.80.8
Alebrijes de Oaxaca1021.01.01.3
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
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