Recaps
Gokulam FC 1 – 2 Punjab FC
It took a little help from Gokulam’s defender Pawan Kumar (who likely thought Luka Macjen was offsides), but help isn’t the worst thing in the world. Macjen’s late rebound was all they needed for Punjab to get a win. And more importantly, keep pace with Sreenidi Deccan.
FK Vozdovac 0 – 6 Red Star Belgrade
Early red card to Mateja Djordjevic didn’t make it easy for Vozdovac. It did make it easy for Red Star.
Freiburg 2 – 1 Vfb Stuttgart (M)
We got a chance to watch this game on tape delay on Sunday. Owen was supremely uninterested, and Alex was so invested that he begged to know the result so that he could feel better after Stuttgart got the lead. Two penalties against Dan-Axel Zangadou (who deserves first place in the name game) gave them a valuable lifeline, but Vincenzo Grifo was the one who grabbed it with both hands and carried them to a valuable derby win.
Grenoble 1 – 1 Pau (M)
Abdoulie Sanyang had to leave early and Pau capitalized before Grenoble could reorganize. But Jessy Bennet continued to thread the vital passes to challenge and also connected on the equalizer to salvage a draw
Albi Marsacc 1 – 0 Grenoble Foot (F)
Social media gave us more insight than usual before the match kicked off but it was still terribly short of highlights (as the score shows).
SC Frieburg 3 – 1 Meppen (F)
Janina Minge got die Frauen off to a fast start inside of two minutes. After a sloppy corner kick defense let Meppen tie the game up again, Meppen got a questionable call against Samantha Steuerwald, but Lena Nuding turned it aside to prove that the ball don’t lie. Freiburg finished it off with some great connections through the air including a lashed cross from striker Giovanna Hoffman, and a well spotted corner from Janina Minge.
Samartex 2 – 1 Legon Cities FC
The Royals weren’t able to get anything going offensively against a team that I 100% will call Smart-X well past the point of it being an honest mistake. Kofi Kordzi netted a late consolation goal, but the defeat dropped Legon to just one point above relegation. After building some consistency in recent years, trouble is brewing again on the Gold Coast.
Aizawal 0 – 1 Punjab FC
It took a while and Aizawal finally coming out of their shell but Chencho Gyeltsen made the difference, just as we had always hoped he would. The win on a typical Chencho impossible angle helped the Warriors keep pace with the Delhi side, but the title increasingly looks like it will depend on goal difference. (But after Kiran Limbu’s performance, there may still be a chance)
Alacranes 1 – 1 Alebrijes
After back to back losses, Alebrijes got a result, their first road point of the season. Armando Gonzalez got the vital goal to equalize and salvage the points
News & Notes
Looking ahead
Punjab and Sreenidi Deccan both have 3 matches left. In theory, both teams have winnable games against lower level teams and one final match against a top five opponent (Churchill Brothers for Punjab and Aizawal for Deccan).
At present Sreenidi Deccan has the lead on goal difference. That difference is four goals…which is the same number the Delhi-wallahs won by when they hosted Punjab earlier on in 2023. There’s plenty of pressure on Punjab who will need a big result to catch up and earn promotion to the top of India’s league system.
Losing a Loon
Emanuel Reynoso has been instrumental in the Loons trips to the playoffs…he has led the team on the field and occasionally been the only functioning part of the midfield. He has a nice new contract, but he still hasn’t shown up to train for the next season despite the fact that Minnesota has been in both Florida and California to prepare (not exactly dealing with the sleet). Some are suggesting that this has to do with some nasty business a few years ago when Reynoso was accused of assaulting a teenager. Whatever the case, the team and the league aren’t having it and Reynoso (and that nice new salary) have been suspended.
On the plus side, Minnesota did add a veteran attacker from Liga MX in Miguel Tapias!
Player of the Week
It was a very good week for Freiburg, with the Cup win right before we published last week, the comeback win for the men and the dominant showing for the women. It makes sense to reward a Freiburg player, and we feel like Janina Minge is the most worthy. Wunderbar Janina!
Standings
Both Grenoble and Vozdovac settled down a bit this week allowing the consistently strong Punjab to build their lead at the top of this table.
| Team | W | D | L | PPG | GFA | GAA |
| Punjab | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2.22 | 2.11 | 1.11 |
| Grenoble | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1.75 | 1.33 | 0.92 |
| Vozdovac | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.50 | 0.50 | 3.00 |
| Freiburg | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1.43 | 1.17 | 2.83 |
| Legon Cities | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.83 | 1.00 |
| Ross County | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0.86 | 0.86 | 1.00 |
| Alebrijes | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0.57 | 0.86 | 1.71 |
| Rosenborg–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Minnesota–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Montana–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Emelec–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Thursday, February 16th
Friday, February 17th
Medeama SC v. Legon Cities FC
Saturday, February 18th
Vfl Bochum v. Freiburg (M)
St. Mirren v. Ross County (M)
Kolubara v. FK Vozdovac
Caen v. Grenoble (M)
Sunday, February 19th
Monday, February 20th
Neroca FC v. Punjab FC
MacKenzie's Boot Room 