Rosenborg combined for two goals in the first half as the center of the attack was able to connect more effectively. The team held on for the rest of the match.
Real Salt Lake 2 – 2 Minnesota United (M)
The Loons combined for two goals in the first half with Emanuel Reynoso having an immediate impact in his return to the starting line up (and strong showings by both Hasani Dotson and Jeong Sang-Bin). But team was not able to hold on for the rest of the match, giving up two goals in the last 11 minutes (plus stoppage time) to turn an excellent road win into an acceptable road draw.
Bavarian United 0 – 2 Minnesota Aurora (F)
Aurora completed their biggest road trip of the year with another win, another pair of goals for Maya Hansen and another Heartland Division title (their second in as many years)
Rosenborg 0 – 3 Sarpsborg 08 (M)
The other team from Trondheim did not seem to have much of anything in this match as they defended as best they could, and saw Sarpsborg stride forward with purpose and intensity and Rosenborg was…there.
Emelec 2 – 1 Danubio (M-Copa Sudamericana)
Los Bombillos continue to save their best showings for the continental competition (though if they keep doing so, they may not qualify for next year’s competitions). They applied tremendous pressure throughout the match and it was a particularly great game for fullbacks as Bryan Carabali got a goal and Romario Caicedo notched an assist. They will move on to the knockout stages.
News & Notes
Weekly Kids Highlights
We were on a family staycation at your grandparents this week, so Alex was out of action for his regular Sunday practice. However both boys have taken to wrestling and punching…so…
Gold Cup-Date
Several Loons players are still on international duty (heh-heh, duty sounds like doody) at the Gold Cup, North America’s big international tournament. Dayne St. Clair didn’t start for Canada, but after Milan Borjan gave up two more goals to Guadaloupe, maybe it’s time for a change between the posts.
Joseph Rosales was on the struggling side of a 4-0 drubbing by Mexico. Kemar Lawrence came on for the second half for Jamaica against the United States, but the Reggae Boyz gave up a late equalizer to fall short of an epic upset.
Transfer Time
Every team is looking to upgrade in the summer season and ours have been impressively active.
Start with the Loons, whose offense I have bemoaned a fair few times. They responded by getting Robin Lod’s teammate and Norwich’s favorite Fin Teemu Puuki. So hopefully he and Bebelo are able to get together quickly to pull the Loons back into contention.
Freiburg has continued their routine of selling high and buying low, as long as the premier league continues to offer big sums, the Griffins will keep taking them and reinvesting in the next generation. As in addition to the Austrian Adamu they grabbed a replacement goalie in old pal Florian Muller.
Vozdovac and Ross County have trended to younger academy players, but the Dragons did bring in former Red Star defender Aleksandar Lukic, and the Stags grabbed recent thistle in their sides, Kyle Turner (because he played for Partick Thistle in the playoffs just a few weeks ago…get it?) and left back Josh Reid who just missed a trip to the Premier League with Coventry City. Unfortunately the Stags also said goodbye to stalwart defender Alex Iacovitti, so there will be some shoes to fill.
RBK’s Finances
I don’t much like writing about the business side of soccer, because (1) I don’t understand it and (2) I have no idea how to work it into life lessons for you boys. But it seems relevant at this point because, apparently Rosenborg’s women’s side has suffered financially in the last year, and the Norwegian Federation is worried about their ability to stay afloat. (I’m not quite sure why they’re struggling, they’ve been consistently one of the best teams in the country, the stands at Koateng arena are usually full, but like I said…I don’t understand a lot of the business stuff.) As a result they have been docked a point in the league dropping them further behind Valerenga…but I don’t have to do that, and I won’t.
Player of the Week
Her hat trick could have been rewarded last week, but there was a bigger point to make by standing with her fellow defender. But after another clean sheet boosting the best defense in our table, Sara Horte you are our player of the week.
Standing
Emelec will get a much needed break after their Copa Sudamericana tie this week and then it’ll be a summer of Minnesota and Rosenborg! (And a summer where Punjab keeps looking over their shoulders)
Team
W
D
L
PPG
GFA
GAA
Punjab–b
12
2
3
2.24
2.29
0.94
Minnesota
16
5
7
1.89
2.39
1.14
Rosenborg
15
6
10
1.65
1.74
0.90
Legon Cities–b
9
7
8
1.42
1.25
1.29
Grenoble–b
15
6
17
1.34
1.16
1.13
Emelec
5
8
7
1.15
1.20
1.20
Freiburg–b
12
7
19
1.13
1.24
1.66
Alebrijes–b
5
5
8
1.11
1.33
1.39
Ross County–b
6
4
12
1.00
1.23
1.50
Vozdovac–b
4
3
11
0.83
0.67
1.65
Montana–b
0
0
0
—
—
—
Table Updated 6/22/23 b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Thursday, June 29th
Green Bay Glory v. Minnesota Aurora (F)
Friday, June 30th
Saturday, July 1st
Roa v. Rosenborg BK (F)
Minnesota United v. Portland Timbers (M)
Minnesota Aurora v. Chicago City SC (F)
Sunday, July 2nd
Aalesund v. Rosenborg (M)
Monday, July 3rd
Tuesday, July 4th
Wednesday, July 5th
Plus tracking results for Gold Cup matches and the impending Women’s World Cup.
The last glimmers of Rosenborg’s quest for Europe vanished with their loss at home to the French side. Both the men and women faltered in the past two weeks, but both came closer than any other European side.
Cal Poly Mustangs 2 – 1 Montana Grizzlies
The Griz got their first lead of the season on Sydney Haustein’s first goal (a banger too). But a late defensive miscue led to their third loss of the season (more defeats than the entirety of the spring campaign)
Hasret Kayicki got Freiburg off the mark quickly and on top of the league for 11 glorious minutes. Then the second half started with a Hoffenheim equalizer and hope faded fast.
Stuttgart 2 – 3 Freiburg [M]
Woo-Yong Jeong racked up a brace within 10 minutes to send Freiburg flying past former goalie Florian Muller. Fellow striker Carlo Holse made it three before the trouble started. Stuttgart made a good comeback before the first half ended but Freiburg shut the door in the second half to grab the win.
Sochaux 1 – 0 Grenoble [M]
Grenoble got a win last week but slid right back to losing ways this week. Loic Nestor and Adrien Monfry did well to frustrate Sochaux’s attack…but couldn’t beat back the tide.
Houston 1 – 2 Minnesota United
Adrien Honou found his scoring boots and not a moment to soon as an injury ravaged Loons team got a valuable win to end their dry spell. He didn’t knock in any beauties, but he did what needed to be done with the strong service from Ethan Finlay that made it all possible.
[Rosenborg 0 – 3 Barcelona–F Friendly]
This won’t count in our standings as a victory would have been meaningless, but it’s worth noting that this was the first time one of our teams faced one of the game’s 12 behemoths…it didn’t go well, but now RBK can reset and build up to this level.
Emelec 4 – 0 Olmedo [M]
Beating up on the bottom side put Emelec in first place for the moment, closer to claiming the league title outright. Though with 9 games to go, it’s too early to pop champagne corks in Guayaquil. Joao Rojas remains on fire, as the offense shows no sign of slowing down [they’ve scored two in 5 of the 6 games since the start of phase 2]. Emelec’s performance was about as superlative as it’s possible to be…just enjoy the highlights.
Aberdeen 1 – 1 Ross County
Regan Charles Cook hasn’t gotten his name on here nearly often enough (spotty playing time and teammates’ inconsistent finishing on his key passes hasn’t helped). A solid goal following up on a gilded opportunity gave County hope, but he was unable to haul the staggies over the line. But, frankly, we’re ok with that. (Former Minnesota United player Christian Ramirez struck the equalizer in his enthusiastic door busting style. So this is a time when everybody wins even when no one does)
Viking 2 – 1 Rosenborg [M]
Young midfielder Olaus Jaír Skansen gave a strong showing in the new transfer’s first real runout with Rosenborg. Being tasked with providing the replacement creativity for man crush Cristopher Zachariassen isn’t easy, but he showed good promise… fellow midfield newcomer Pavle Vagic…not so much.
UDG 1 – 1 Alebrijes
So…flipping…close!!!
Oaxaca had a man advantage. They got the lead from Lizandro Echeverria’s solid header with just six minutes to play….and yet…
An 88th minute hand ball from (I think) Adrian Vasquez gave the black lions a valuable penalty that turned into the equalizer and left Alebrijes on 3 points in five matches. [Insert heavy sigh]
Montana Grizzlies 4 – 0 Montana State University-Billings Yellow Jackets
The Griz got their first win of the fall. Yes, it came against a lower Division side. No, it doesn’t outweigh the frustrating narrow losses to tougher opponents. But a Jaden Griggs hat trick, and the defense’s first clean sheet, did the job. So let’s root for positive momentum heading in to next week.
The Red Dragons got a few extra days off and delivered a win over the newly promoted Kolubara to push them into a three game winning streak. The newly promoted Green-Blacks never looked terribly dangerous in attack and often appeared wrong footed in defense. Milos Pantovic carved them up with Nikola Vujnovic and Justas Lasickas providing the goals. Before you could blink Vozdovac is in 5th place
News & Notes
Taking a[n International] break
This week most men’s leagues are taking a break to squeeze in a rapid round of World Cup Qualifiers. Simultaneously, we’ll be trekking to and from Montana for farewells to some extended family. So expect few details and more family time.
The Devil’s Candy
Ronaldo’s mirror likeness
When I was a kid, the first European kit I had that most people recognized was Manchester United. An English team with a chunk of championships, a masterful manager, and ubiquitously famous players. They were easy to dislike.
The last decade has been less kind as managers burn out, famous stars flame out, and champs become chumps (especially as their cross town rivals became a dominant side) . But in the span of a few hours this week they relearned all the disgust and loathing from around the world.
How? By re-signing former star, frequent candidate for worlds best, and maddeningly perfect Physical specimen: Cristiano Ronaldo. Thanks for doing what you always do and making it easy to dislike you Man U.
Player of the Week
There were lots of scoring stars we don’t talk about much this week: Woo-Yong Jeong, Adrien Honou, Jaden Griggs. But we can’t deny that we’ve probably owed a nod to Nikola Vujnovic whose excellent form has hoisted the Red Dragons from the depths of Serbia’s league to the outskirts of the European chase.
Standings Update
Rosenborg’s grasp on the top spot slipped after a rough week and the Griz were there to claw their way back to a tie (only goal differential separates them). The same is true for Punjab and Freiburg where Chencho Gyeltshen’s offense helps keep the goal advantage
First, the big thing that happened: your grandparents went on vacation. That meant we got to play, and run, and wrestle, and tell stories, and bowl, and swim, and just about everything else. It also meant, that I did not have time to review such things as soccer highlights, or write about matches. So, here’s a recap of the last three weeks with notes about each team and how they fared starting with the two big stories from the end of July
Did Emelec win it all or get knocked out?
Manta 0 – 4 Emelec [M]
Liga de Marcas 1 – 1 Emelec [F]
Emelec 1 – 4 Deportiva Cuenca [F]
Deportiva Cuenca 0 – 1 Emelec [M]
Barcelona 3 – 0 Emelec [F]
Emelec 2 – 2 Aucus
BOTH! Let me explain
The men’s victory of Manta clinched the first stage title! Facundo Barcelo and Dixon Arroyo led the way as los bombillos celebrated their first taste of glory since 2018.
The women’s team did not fare as well, following a draw with the lowly Liga de Marcas with a pair of defeats to regional rivals that stopped them from progressing to the playoff portion of the season. [The commments on their see you next year tweet seem to be encouraging whole sale change]
— Club Sport Emelec Femenino (@ElectricasCSE) August 1, 2021
But, as the men start the second half of the season there’s still a good amount of hope that they can hoist the big trophy at year’s end, even if the draw at home to Aucus doesn’t exactly inspire dreams of a dominant campaign.
Were the Royals Relegated?
Legon Cities FC 3 – 2 Eleven Wonders
Miraculously, NO! Despite looking every bit the chaotic and relegation doomed side in the first half (when the Royals very much were looking at a season with a bloated payroll in a lower league), the Royals came back with goals from Hans Kwofie and Matthew Anim Cudjoe to save the win and jump from 16th to 11th place (it’s a little crazy in Ghana). [Though that’s only my read of the events]
Vozdavac’s Victory…and other outcomes…
Cukaricki 2 – 1 FK Vozdovac
Vozdovac 2 – 1 Proleter
Paritzan Beograd 4 – 0 Vozdovac
Serbia’s league kicked off with Vozdovac in much the same place that we lost saw them…struggling in the middle of the table. But now that the league only has 16 teams (as opposed to last year’s 20) the cushion at the bottom might not be as soft for the Red Dragons. In the duopoly of Serbia, your best hope is a tough defense…but the leaky new Vozdovac defense makes that uncertain. The highlight was surely Ivan Milosavljevic’s brace from beautiful runs to beat Proleter.
Troublesome Trolls
Rosenborg BK 0 – 2 Sandviken [F]
Tromso 1 – 3 Rosenborg [M]
FH Hafnarfjodur 0 – 2 Rosenborg [M–Europe]
Melhus 0 – 7 Rosenborg [M-Cup]
Rosenborg 4 – 1 FH Hafnarfjodur [M-Europe]
Orkla 1 -11 Rosenborg [M-Cup]
Yes, against all odds the only flaw in the ointment of Rosenborg’s recent run was the Women’s team who lost for the first time while repping the black and white in the league. Sandviken’s win gave the women something to think about for the last few weeks during the mid-season break, and hopefully they’ll be back to full strength this coming weekend.
Meanwhile the men ran roughshod over some (admittedly) lower wattage opponents, during the Eliteserien’s approximate mid-way point. Against lower level local clubs they ran up a stunning 18-1 goal difference with Dino Islamovic notching 5 between the two matches. Emil Konradsen Ceide also notched a hat trick and they head to the round of 32 without breaking a sweat.
The outlook is similarly bright in the hunt for a berth in Europe’s lowest league. Having decked their Icelandic opponents, Rosenborg is now set for a match with Slovenia’s Domzale and the winner of that is left with a pair of matches against French foes (and former home of the Loons’ Adrien Honou) Rennes. Factor in all these matches (plus the win at Tromso) and Dino Islamovic is up to 8 goals in his last 5 matches. Or enough for a blow out win against all their opponents combined. (Kudos also to Andre Hansen, Even Hovland and Adam Andersson for anchoring the overpowering defense).
Stellar Staggies Survive Sickness
Ross County 0 – 3 Dundee FC [Cup]
Bora Rangers 0 – 1 Ross County [Cup]
Ross County 4 – 1 Montrose [Cup]
Ross County 0 – 0 St. Johnstone
Yup, Ross County was not miraculously unscathed by the global pandemic and had to forfeit their second match of the cup thereby eliminating them from the competition before they ever kicked a ball. But, once they were able to run out (against lower level sides) they looked the part of a solid squad. Credit to the players for coming back from illness and getting prepped for kicking off the league with your standard issue goalless Scottish draw. (Thanks Ross Laidlaw and Alex Iacovitti for being the new powers behind County’s class, Blair Spittal for the world class goal, and YouTube User RossCounty 1929 for the highlights and pump up music..)
Loons Land Safely
Minnesota United 1 – 0 Seattle Sounders
Minnesota United 2 – 1 Portland Timbers
Los Angeles FC 2 – 2 Minnesota United
Vancouver Whitecaps 2 – 2 Minnesota United
With the European Cup competitors back in the fold the Loons hoped to sail into a trick series of games with some renewed energy. They succeeded.
Robin Lod has shone since I gave him up as a lousy waste of space last year and notched three goals to help the team along, but the stars are still unquestionably Emmanuel Reynoso who makes miracles happen with the ball at his feet (even while he has struggled to connect with other players on the field) and Hasani Dotson who has grown into the kind of player you just want to see on the pitch wherever possible because he’s always got something going for him. After a dismal start to the year, the Loons have gotten back into the playoff hunt (even if the Delta Variant’s resurgence has made taking either of you to a game an impossibility at present).
Good God, Grenoble!
Grenoble 0 – 4 Paris FC
Auxerre 3 – Grenoble 0
Well…that was a rough way to start off a new campaign.
Grenoble looks utterly wiped out, and the once powerful defense has been absolutely ripped from pillar to post. Brice Mableu, Loic Nestor, Jerome Mombris, and Adrien Monfry have given up 7 goals, supported none, and though it is very VERY early in the campaign, last year’s 4th place team is bottom of the barrel.
Alright Alebrijes!
Pumas Tobasco 0 – Alebrijes 0
Alebrijes 0 – 1 Cimarrones
Meanwhile, frequent strugglers Alebrijes of Oaxaca got a point…against a strong team in Pumas…on the road!! And while that came without a single goal scored, we’ll take what we can get with Alebrijes. (Especially given that they then dropped a match at home…but only by 1 goal!!)
News & Notes
Gosh Dang it Ghana!
I love Ghana. I really do. I love soccer, that should be obvious. But man, Ghanaian soccer makes it hard to love the two together.
Hashmin Musa being the hero…or not…
Here’s the latest drama: the Ghanaian police and Football Association are investigating match fixing…again. Yup, the same thing that destroyed the previous Ghanaian Premier League, threatens to destroy the new version within just two years! [A new record pace perhaps?] The dead rubber between top tier Ashanti Gold and relegated Inter Allies was always likely to end lopsidedly, but the dimwitted defense and goalkeeping that made it 5-0 were dubious. Then…came Hashmin Musa…who absolutely, no doubt, by his own admission scored own goals on purpose and pissed off his goalie to no end.
Musa claims that he was ruining the prearranged 5-0 score line…but the possibility that someone paid him even more to make it 7-0 is still out there and…because it just wouldn’t be as messed up as possible unless Legon Cities were also involved…the sudden barrage of goals to save the wealthy and high profile Royals from relegation is also coming under question. Suffice to say, there were plenty of ugly defense to help the Royals find the net, but there were also a few moments where it would have been easy to throw the game but players and referees didn’t oblige..so…[shrug emoji] So despite extended questioning and possible further destruction of the domestic game, Legon Cities is safe, for now.
Goodbye sweet prince
Best of luck Kristoffer!
The Transfer Market hulaballoo has tempered down as Ross County set their line ups through surgical masks and Vozdovac vets the team their sending out, but there’s still action, including a painful farewell.
Kristoffer Zacharaissen is too good for this humble corner of the internet where we gawk at his chiseled jaw bone and make allusions to Schitt’s Creek because we can’t really break down his game effectively. Whatever the case, he has left Rosenborg for greener pastures and greener kits joining Hungary’s Ferencvaros, a side with a shot at the top league in Europe (and a chance to be brutally repressed by Viktor Orban…so, keep your nose clean Kristoffer)
Roster Updates
A few other notes as we missed kickoffs for Grenoble, and Oaxaca and got back just in time for Freiburg.
Oaxaca
As a lower division team in the middle of a global pandemic/recession, Alebrijes did not have a lot of extra cash to throw around, so the lean mostly on loans (both in and out). While forward Ricardo Monreal is probably the biggest name to depart, there are several defenders who also left the fold (Daniel Cisneros, Oscar Torres, Yohan Zetuna, Jair Cortes, Fernando Plascencia).
The only defenders who have come in are Ernesto Reyes of Cimarrones, and youngster Adrian Vazquez on loan. Instead, Oaxaca focused on bringing in some more veteran attacking presences. Most notable: Cristian Panesso a Colombian coming in from Portugal, and Leandro Torres an Argentinian coming down from Liga MX. Local and familiar faces from the league around them, Armando Gonzalez, Lizandro Echeverria, Miguel Vallejo, and Alexis Conrado.
Grenoble
Sign this man!
After Phillipe Hirchenberger led the side quite well for 3 years, he left for Amiens and new man Maurizio Jacobacci made a big swap. Yes, Grenoble did something I never expected,and am frankly broken up about: they said farewell to leader and mastermind Jessy Bennet (more shockingly Jessy still hasn’t signed anywhere…and he’s only 26…seriously…Ross County…Legon Cities…Punjab… ANYBODY!! GET JESSY BACK!)
Willy Semedo, Kevin Tapoko, and Haroun Demba also left, but the club did net 1.5 million euros for Moussa Djitte’s move state side. (Sad but less shocking that Jessy (SERIOUSLY! I WILL PAY PART OF IT MYSELF!!). The side got a lot younger in response (without spending much of anything), bringing in Georgian Winger Giorgi Kokhreidze and two 20 something Swiss midfielders from FC Basel: Yannick Marchand and Orges Bunjaku.
Freiburg
Welcome aboard Nishan (center)
Our German reps opted against a spending spree this year…so much so that they haven’t spent a thing.
Gone are Chang-hoon Kwon (back to South Korea), greatly improved goalkeeper Florian Muller and attacker Guus Til, and up to the senior squad come six young players, none older than 21. The most intriguing players coming in are attacker Nishan Burkart (who learned the game at Man United), Noah Weishaupt (who has surged up the depth charts on the left side), and keeper/local boy made good Noah Atubolu
Freiburg and Grenoble’s women’s teams will get another month of prep kicking off August 28th (in Germany) and September 5th (in France)
Player(s) of the Week(s)
We’ll put three players on the pedestal for the past three weeks. Let’s tip the hat to Rosenborg’s attack and defense by admitting that Dino Islamovic’s attack has been ridiculously good, and that Even Hovland has done it all on both sides of the pitch. Our third award winner has to be from the new trophy winners in Ecuador: Emelec, and to keep it all balanced, midfielder and team leader Dixon Arroyo gets our nod.
Islamovic and Horvland celebrating their awards (and probably wins)
Standings Update
We had to break down to three decimal points for the first time ever! Freiburg, Ross County, and Grenoble are splitting hairs, it’s hardest for Grenoble who plummet from 4th to 9th. Meanwhile the Loons leap up to fifth and are getting closer to the top tier of teams.
Again the Griffins came up short. Despite Stephanie Sanders staking Freiburg to a lead early on, they couldn’t hold on for another 85 minutes.
Atlante 1 – 1 Alebrijes
In the rare mid-week/mid-day match Oaxaca came away with a point. Ricardo Monreal was imperious in midfield picking out great passes only to be thwarted by Atlante’s strong keeper (and Alebrijes’ inefficient attacking). It took a strong run by, and silly foul on Julio Cesar Cruz to crucial penalty to equalize and walk away with the draw.
Berekum Chelsea v. Legon Cities
See update on Ghana below.
St. Johnstone 1 – 0 Ross County
Close can’t keep the Staggies clicking. They head into the split just one point out of danger. [Cue the nail biting]
Paris FC 2 – 0 Grenoble [M]
The trip to the capitol was weighted with importance, but even a full strength back line and going a man up for the final 20 minutes couldn’t keep Paris at bay.
Radnicki Nis 0 – 1 Vozdovac
It always throws me off when the RED Dragons wear blue, but maybe there’s something to it. For only the second time in ten matches, Vozdovac got a win. Miloje Prekovic was on the bench for the second straight game, but most of the defensive strength came from center back Aleksander Bogdanovic. Stefan Purtic’s booming long ball to Aleksandar Stanisavljevic caught Radnicki napping and sealed the victory.
Punjab FC 1 – 0 Real Kashmir
The last Northeast derby of the year came out in the Warriors column. Surabh Banwala refused to let his recent struggles define the campaign and made his presence felt everywhere. He pestered the attack and made a daring run up for a header. But it was Chencho Gyeltshen who notched his seventh of the campaign (albeit on his least inventive opportunity) and pushed Punjab to another valuable win.
Freiburg 2 – 0 Augsburg [M]
Despite far less consistency recently, Freiburg remains a solid, dependable side in German soccer. Even with spot starter Guus Til leading the charge, the attack was focused, and the defense was effective (thanks Florian Muller). In particular, team captain and extended contract signed Christian Gunter whose chance creation was second to none.
Emelec 0 – 1 Nueve de Octubre [M]
Emelec’s unbeaten run has ended, dropping them to second place in Ecuador. Surprisingly it came at the hands of new comers Nueve de Octubre celebrating their first season in the top flight for over 25 years.
Alebrijes 0 – 0 Cancun FC
And that happened.
News & Notes
Norway’s No-Way til May
The Powers that be in Norway’s top leagues have decided to postpone the start of their seasons. Both the Eliteseren (for Males) and Toppserien (for Females) will kick off on the first weekend in May. The Federation’s announcement touched on the risk of increasing case numbers throughout the country, hopefully, some more vaccinations and lots of time help everyone out.
Ghana’s Gone Fishin
🇬🇭 Ghana's all-time top-scorer, @ASAMOAH_GYAN3 in action against Ghana yesterday.
To more effectively prepare the national team for upcoming challenges Ghana has delayed the start of the season’s second half until April. (Given that they actually have a better handle on Covid than Norway…that’s understandable). Meanwhile, Legon has started teasing the of the Asamoah Gyan era…again…and celebrating Fatua Duda’s wedding (which, is so much better than all other “celebrity weddings” that I’m going to use it as my go to comparison from now on).
Ross County’s season continues to creep along to the end, but the end will be squeakier than the fresh lemon grass used in Pabrai’s Fresh and Naturelle Lemongrass Ice Cream (available in Kolkata)
The Stags have a point edge on long tenured Premiership side Kilmarnock, and evenly split their first three meetings (1-1-1). The two point edge on finishing last and being guaranteed relegation is better, though they and current cellar dwellars Hamilton Accies have split goals this year 3-3.
Hansen heads out of Houston (KSTP)
Loon’s Wings
Minnesota United has frequently found themselves short of an attacking winger (overloading one side, under filling another). Enter: Niko Hansen, the Danish-American attacker formerly of Houston who will join the Loon’s Finnish contingent in repping Scandanavia.
International Affairs
World Cup qualifying is in full swing this week, so there are only a few games ahead.
Player of the Week
This week saw plenty of good performances that didn’t quite reach a level of remarkable. So we’ll send this award out to someone who both had a good game and set a great example of how to lead their team. Christian Gunter stepped up when Freiburg needed him, just as he has done and will continue to do.
Gunter-fan art from Facebook
Standings Update
Punjab, Freiburg and Grenoble continue to shuffle around the top tier. Let’s also take a moment to respect that Freiburg has managed to and up with 1.53 points per game, 1.53 Goals For per game, and 1.53 Goals against per game….symmetry people…symmetry
Team
W
D
L
PPG
GFA
GAA
University of Montana
3
0
0
3
1.7
0
Emelec
3
1
1
2.0
1.8
1.0
Punjab FC
7
4
5
1.56
1.1
0.8
Freiburg
7
2
6
1.53
1.5
1.5
Grenoble Foot
6
4
5
1.47
1.1
1.1
Legon Cities FC
4
4
3
1.45
1.2
0.8
Ross County
5
1
7
1.2
1.2
1.5
Alebrijes
3
4
4
1.1
1.6
1.9
FK Vozdovac
2
3
5
0.9
0.7
1.6
Rosenborg BK
0
0
0
–
–
–
Minnesota United
0
0
0
–
–
–
Table Updated 3/24/2021
What’s Next
Wednesday, March 24th
Thursday, March 25th
Friday, March 26th
7:00 University of Montana Grizzlies v. Portland State Vikings
8:00 Celaya v. Alebrijes
Saturday, March 27th
6:30 Churchill Brothers v. Punjab FC
Sunday, March 28th
7:00 SC Freiburg v. Turbine Potsdam [F]
12:00 University of Montana Grizzlies v. Portland State Vikings
While Chencho Gyeltshen set up Punjab for a victory (including a good gracious slam to start the second half), ten terrible minutes in the second half allowed Mohammedan to take the lead. (Part of that was Kiran Limpu’s bad luck, part of it was Souvik Das and Hormipum Ruviah’s poor positioning.) Ashish Jah’s late equalizer preserved the draw. Luckily Churchill Brother’s dropped points to keep the Warriors alive in the title hunt.
Partizan Belgrade 4 – 0 FK Vozdovac
Over the past year Vozdovac has greatly improved, but they’re still not in the same league as Serbia’s top two. Their record against Partizan is now 4-1-14.
CSD Macara 1 – 1 Emelec
It took a while for Emelec to break through (thanks again Facundo Barcelo). Unfortunately it didn’t take long at all for Macará to equalize (through a diving header/hander that went uncalled) and end Los Bombillos winning streak.
Idaho Vandals 0 – 1 Montana Grizzlies
Alexa Coyle struck early and goalie Claire Howard notched her 28th clean sheet in a text book coach Citowicki win. Best of all the midfield was again dominant, bossing the park throughout.
Mainz 1 – 0 Freiburg [M]
The Griffins continued to struggle in the season’s later stages. They couldn’t seem to find an edge against lowly Mainz and only Florian Muller saved it from being worse than it was.
Ross County 1 – 2 Hibernian
An early Billy McKay goal set Staggies hearts a singing. However as the midfield was run ragged by Hibs, the good fortune faded and a chance to keep growing the gap against fellow relegation battlers slipped away.
Grenoble 1 – 1 Pau [M]
The first choice defensive line was almost back to full force with Jerome Mombris, Jordy Gaspar and Loic Nestor shutting down Pau for most of the match (Gaspar’s booming cross to net the opening goal was also good to see). Note, I said “most”. An injury time equalizer threaded through all those otherwise stellar defenders denied les bleus a vital 3 points.
MSV Duisburg 1 – 2 SC Freiburg [F]
After the beat down from Bayern Munich, Freiburg needed a strong showing like this to get back on track. Mia Buchele and Cora Zicai led the scoring as Freiburg continued Duisburgs winless streak.
Idaho Vandals 0-1 Montana Grizzlies
It took 9 minutes of overtime before the Griz found a way through on Rita Lang’s free kick. Though the referee initially thought the onrushing attackers had interfered with the goalie, video review showed Lang’s kick was in before hand.
TRAU 1 – 0 Punjab FC
With the attack struggling to break through, Punjab needed the defense to guard against foolish mistakes. Mohammed Irshad’s ill timed tackle was foolish. The ensuing red card and advantage goal sunk the fading title hopes of the Northwesterners.
FK Vozdovac 1 – 4 Red Star Belgrade
Red Star is the other team in Serbia’s duopoly. Against them, the Red Dragons are 2-1-15 and haven’t gotten a point since May 2017. Having the lead for 26 whole minutes in the first half was pretty sweet though.
News & Notes
Grenoble’s Gearing Up
As les Grenoblois near the business end of their season I thought it would be wise to talk about what comes next.
In two months League 2 will end, and the top two teams in the league will move up to face the top teams in France. The next three will battle each other for the chance to face a struggling League 1 side.
Grenoble sits 5 points back from automatic promotion and 7 points safe in the playoff crew. But a lot can still happen. The last 27 points of the campaign depend on les bleus showing against opponents, 5 of whom will have the same promotion goal in mind. 3 others will be battling to stay in League 2.
That means Grenoble needs to persevere through a tough final 9 games to stay in the hunt. If they do, we’ll watch some of the world’s best visit le stade des Alpes.
Adebayor (center in white)
Royals Rumbling
Meanwhile Legon Cities spent the week preparing for their season’s second half, and welcoming in a new striker: Victorien Adebayor. The Niger international had starred in Ghana before a transfer to Europe. Family needs led him to request a move closer to home and the Royals obliged. With Hans Kwofie and Asamoah Gyan, he adds to the attacking stockpile Legon is hording.
Player of the Week
While it was a less than stellar week for most teams, it should be noted that Claire Howard racked up another pair of clean sheets. Withstanding the Vandals barrage in game 2 kept the Griz alive and helped her tie a Big Sky record for most clean sheets in a career.
Standings Update
A perfect week pushed the Griz to the top of the table, while Punjab’s struggles dropped them from 3rd to 5th. The worst news for Vozdovac…Rosenborg and Minnesota United are going to start up soon…and then there will be no one left to cushion them from the bottom.
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.
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.
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.
In what has become the friendliest rivalry in all American soccer, the Loons could well have been outmatched away from home by the top team in the west. Instead, they cruised again. Emanuel Reynoso ran riot with three assists, Kevin Molino again scored a brace, Robin Lod and Ethan Finlay again created havoc and Osvaldo Alonso and Bakaye Dibassy shut things down in the back. It’s pretty great when your local team does this well.
Napredak 3 – 1 FK Vozdovac
Milos Pantovic put the Red Dragons ahead early on. But that was about as good as it got. Miloje Prekovic’s first seven games of glory were amazing, but he’s averaged over 2 goals a game in his last four and is about to face Partizan Belgrade so….c’mon Miloje, we’re rooting for you.
Freiburg 2 – 2 Borussia Munchen Gladbach [M]
Again the good news in Freiburg came from a draw. Albeit another one that grew from a faltering first half lead. Florian Muller continues our trend of struggling goalies, but Vincent Grifo remains as impressively creative as ever, and Phillip Leinhart’s bicycle goal is going to be a highlight of the year.
Dreams FC 0 – 0 Legon Cities FC
If this seems familiar, it’s because it is exactly how Legon’s last match went. Despite putting Asamoah Gyan into the permanent rotation, the goals remain hard to come by for the Royals and new coach Basiru Hayford.
Caen 1 – 1 Grenoble Foot [M]
Yoric Ravet’s early goal was great to see on a brilliant long ball. But him grabbing his hamstring in pain immediately afterward was the opposite of that. Add to that foul trouble for the defensive line ending in Loic Nestor ceding a game tying penalty and again it feels like a bit lost.
Klepp 1 – 2 Rosenborg BK [W]
In a frustrating anti-climax, Rosenborg completed their undefeated season in second place. The win over Klepp was never much in doubt, and when Valerenga took an early lead against Arna-Bjorner, the slim hope of a goal difference comeback was gone. Still, it was a great first season for the Trolljente who officially qualified for the Women’s Champion’s League next year.
Ross County 0 – 4 Rangers
Rangers may also play in Glasgow, but they are clearly not Celtic, because, and you may remember this from last week: Ross County beat Celtic!!! (That has nothing to do with this, but I’d rather focus on that win because it’s so much cooler than this loss!)
CS Emelec 1 – 1 Barcelona SC [M]
Finally, a Guayaquil Derby that didn’t end in bitter disappointment for los Bombillos. To be fair, it also didn’t end in victory and they remain deadlocked with Barcelona and fellow local rivals Guayquil City for the top spot, but it wasn’t the worst. (And yes, Facundo Barcelo scored….AGAIN).
Don’t ask…
Valerenga 1 – 0 Rosenborg BK [M]
Apparently it wasn’t enough for the women of Valerenga to dash the hopes of Rosenborg, the men got in the act too. The loss made it four straight for the Troll Boys and it’s starting to feel a little like Troll 2 in Trondheim. (Illogical, unnerving, and kinda sickening)
Seattle 3 – 2 Minnesota United
Welcome to Minnesota Sports Fandom Boys: The Loons took the lead. The Loons built the lead. The Loons were fifteen minutes away from glory and trophies and recognition. And they lost it all. Dayne St. Clair’s luck in goal ran out at exactly the wrong moment (hey, that’s three struggling keepers!). The defense looked completely gassed. Emanuel Reynoso’s offensive magic couldn’t muster enough spark to save the day. It was a gut punch which is perfectly in keeping with how it always seems to go around these parts.
Yup…that seems about right
News & Notes
Hayford takes the helm in Legon
Bashiru Hayford has officially taken over at Legon Cities FC in another swoop for status among our Ghanaian favorites. In addition to helming Asante Kotoko to a title, the Ghanaian ladies to the Africa Cup of Nations, he helped lead Somalia to their first international win in World Cup Qualification ever. Now: integrating Asamoah Gyan into a side that hasn’t gotten much together in their existence.
Technically Minnesota United finished runner’s up in the Western Conference, and with Rosenborg’s women’s team clearly finishing second in their league there’s a little more shine around our teams this winter. It’s all nice, but quite clearly everyone’s already thinking ahead to taking a step forward in 2021.
Player of the Week
It may not have ended with all the glory we wanted but it must be said: Emanuel Reynoso has had everything to do with Minnesota’s amazing surge this season and every play he makes feels dangerous in a way that’s absolutely thrilling.
Not much more to say about that. Even with Goran Barjaktarevic out of a job the results did not seem to shift much for the Royals.
Mushuc Runa 2 – 3 CS Emelec [M]
Los Bombillos started out strong with a couple of early goals (including another one for Facundo Barcelo). But it was a second half goal on a Romario Caicedo. That gave them the cushion they needed when Mushuc Runa made a late comeback.
Grenoble 0 – 0 Paris FC [M]
A top of the table battle ended up in a stalemate. Neither side could seem to find an advantage in an ongoing midfield tussle.
Augsburg 1 – 1 Freiburg [M]
While they’ve struggled over the last few weeks to find a consistent form. But the moments where they work a beautiful opening goal through Vincenzo Grifo showed just what they can do. Of course, the flub by Florian Muller a few minutes later is a sign of what they have been doing.
Seriously, there’s just not enough reaction for this. County won. They won against Celtic. They won against Celtic in Glasgow. Little old County, little old Staggies, THEY ended Celtic’s 3 year run of winning every trophy in Scotland.
Ross Stewart hit a vital penalty. Ross Laidlaw and the defense stood up to the Hoops for the rest of the match. Alex Iacovitti hit a huge header to put it beyond reach and the look on his face when he did it was beyond joy. This…this is why we’re fans.
FK Vozdovac 3 – 2 Mladost Lucani
At home, the Red Dragons are nigh on indomitable. Even though Mladost Lucani came back to equalize, Nikola Vujnovic was able to blast home an excellent goal and walk out a winner.
Bodo/Glimt 5 – 1 Rosenborg BK [M]
It hasn’t been a great run for Rosenborg, and losing their third on the spin was hard. Losing it this big was even harder. But with four matches left in the season, it’s starting to get tetchy whether they can hold on to their top four spot or not.
Chateauroux 0 – 1 Grenoble [M]
While Grenoble seemed stuck in another goalless draw. Chateroux’s Ibrahim Cisse’s red card gave them just the edge they needed to break the deadlock.
CS Emelec v SC Barcelona [M]
Postponed to the coming weekend
News & Notes
Seriously, Celtic LOST!
HO-LY-HELL!!!!!!!!
Okay, let’s be extra clear about this. Celtic is one of the greatest teams in Scottish history. They have won a tonnage of titles, a pile of individual accolades and…just to put an underline on this…they had won 9 straight trophies. They won 35 straight tournament games. They have a wage bill ten times greater than Ross County. Ross County should absolutely not have won that game, especially not AT Celtic’s home turf.
Player of the Week
Ross Laidlaw lost his starting spot a couple months ago and ended up as a back up keeper for a struggling defensive team. That he was between the posts against Celtic wasn’t a vote of confidence. That he helped blank them was….well….[chef’s kiss]
What’s Next
Wednesday, December 2nd
Thursday, December 3rd
Sporting KC v. Minnesota United
Friday, December 4th
Napredak v FK Vozdovac
Saturday, December 5th
Freiburg v. Borussia Munchen Gladbach [M]
Dreams FC v. Legon Cities FC
Caen v. Grenoble Foot [M]
Sunday, December 6th
Klepp v. Rosenborg BK [W]
Ross County V. Rangers
CS Emelec v. Barcelona SC [M]
Monday, December 7th
Valerenga – Rosenborg BK [M]
–Western Conference final @ Seattle if Minnesota wins–
A man and a goal down at half time, you’d be excused if you thought Emelec was doomed.
After LDUQ lost one of their players, Los Bombillos stormed back, with Sebastian Rodriguez equalizing on an absolute howler and Jose Cevallos winning it in the 90th minute with a shot that left Universidad completely stunned on the field.
Not far from the fields in MT (Photo: University of Ghana)
Accra Great Olympics 3 – 0 Legon Cities
Fun Fact: Accra Great Olympics used to train across the street from a middle school I taught at in Legon.
Less fun fact: they totally dominated the professional team from Legon as if they were only middle schoolers
Kilmarnock 3 – 1 Ross County
It takes a special team to go down a man inside of 8 minutes and still dominate a match. It also takes a special team to be up a man for 92 minutes and never look competitive. Ross County is special (you can tell from the score line why they are).
Pau 0 – 2 Grenoble
In the long slog of a spring Grenoble’s lone solace seemed to be midfielder Jessy Benet. The lone creator and goal scorer of February has now become just another cog in a well run machine but after netting a penalty (made possible by his own creativity) and enabling an assist (for defensive standout Loic Nestor) it’s nice to remember what a gem Jessy is.
FK Vozdovac 1 – 1 Novi Pazar
Ivan Milosavljevic’s tremendous control in his eighth minute goal put the Red Dragons ahead and the stingy defense kept them there. Until an absolutely silly hand ball by Marko Gajic gifted a late penalty to the visitors, which they duly buried. Maybe it’s worth saying: in class put your hands up, on the pitch, keep them down.
SC Freiburg 1 – 5 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim [F]
It’s hard to put a shiny face on what was a complete and total domination by Hoffenheim. Instead we’ll just tip the cap to Hasret Kayicki on returning to the score sheet for the first time since her excellent equalizer versus Wolfsburg.
SC Freiburg 1 – 3 Mainz [M]
It just wasn’t a great day for the Griffins, as fans might have been grateful to be barred from entrance. Frenchman Jean Phillipe Mateta’s first half hat trick was plenty, as Keeper Florian Muller and Phillip Leinhart must have seemed about as intimidating a couple Breisgau cream puffs.
CS Emelec 3 – 2 Delfín [M]
In a match that absolutely explained the contrast between Emelec’s first campaign of this fall and their current one, Los bombillos fell behind (again). Then stormed back with a brace from (yup) Facundo Barcelo to win it at the death.
Minnesota United 3 – 0 Colorado Rapids [Playoffs]
The Loons first playoff win since 2012, was a very strong showing. Despite having little to show from an opening 20 minutes when I was trying to get you to sleep, Owen, the team was cohesive and strong throughout. Emanuel Reynoso’s two assists and Kevin Molino’s two goals gave us all some much needed relief in 2020.
Rosenborg BK 2 – 3 Brann [M]
Despite a Norway’s most handsome striker led comeback (kudos Kristoffer Zachariassen) leaving all your offense for the last ten minutes was not an effective game plan for Rosenborg.
Grenoble 1 – 0 Nancy [M]
In their first COVID make up game les Grenobloises met the moment. Particular gratitude goes to Jordy Gaspar and Adrien Monfry for holding down the right side for their second shutout in four days.
News & Notes
The Royals Need a New King
Barjakta-ball never took hold (Photo: Prime Ghana)
Another underwhelming start to the season sealed the fate of Legon Cities’ Bosnian coach Goran Barjaktarevic
With as much as LCFC is doing to set themselves apart off the pitch you can only tolerate underwhelming results on it for so long. Three wins in the first year of the club just can’t cut it. Though, to be honest, the sparse press release announcing the firing left much to be desired. I’d have loved if a hip life star had dropped the announcement in a half time show.
Player of the Week
Hot Boy on Fire (Photo from MPR News)
Kevin Molino was the first widely known player to join the MNUFC roster. His best matches often lead to our greatest triumphs, his longest absences mirror our worst runs of form. He’s no longer required to be the star, Emmanuel Reynosa has that covered but when Hot Boy is hot, so is the team. And the Loons first playoff win in 8 years is a testament to his dedication.
Also, his teammates roasting and his kids celebrating is further testament to this awesomeness
MacKenzie's Boot Room 