Results
Dundee United 2 – 1 Ross County
The Staggies got out to a good start thanks to (who else) Regan Charles-Cook. But Regan was also the impetus for the wheels falling off the wagon late in the second half. A foul in the box by Cook gave Dundee an equalizer from the penalty spot and the defense came undone in stoppage time to drop all the points on the road.
Raya2 Expansion 2 – 0 Alebrijes
Alebrijes’ unbeaten streak almost made it to February, but even though they put up 80 minutes of a shut out, it all came undone before the final whistle with Josue Gomez’s red card the low point of the Oaxacan’s first loss this year.
Ross County 3 – 3 Rangers
Regan Charles Cook and Jordan White scored twice to take the lead. despite giving the lead back in the second half, the Stags sprung one last counter attack to grab a late equalizer from Michael Wright.
Each year Ross County seems to get a solid result against the Glasgow duopoly of Rangers or Celtic. Unlike prior years, this result comes after a strong run of form rather than as a surprising one off result, so fingers crossed that this is less an aberration than the newly competitive normal.
Alebrijes 1 – 1 Atletico Morelia
The lotto machines of Albrijes were back at it on Saturday. (Because they’re great at DRAWS…get it…no? You’re still kids…sigh…dad jokes disarmed). The team has been well served by Defensive Midfielder and iron man Jorge Sanchez. The hard news is versatile defender Ernesto Reyes got a red card near the end of the match which will force Oaxaca to play without one of their most reliable defenders.
Legon Cities FC 3 – 0 Eleven Wonders
Croster Obour has come into his own as an attacking target for Jonah Attaquye. While the Royals are still firmly stuck in the bottom half of the league, they do have enough at both ends of the pitch (see the excellent stop on a free kick at the edge of the box) to feel confident about staying up (knock on all the wood).
Le Puy 2 – 2 Grenoble Foot [F]
After a few weeks laid low by COVID and bad pitches, the ladies of Grenoble were back in action this weekend and came away with a draw.
If I’m reading the summary from Grenoble Foot Info correctly (a slightly dicey proposition), it sounds like Le Puy had the advantage early on, but after half time, with the addition of Adama Tamba to the field Les Iseroises found their flow again, netting goals from defender Fanny Arpin and striker Claudia Fabre.
Ross County 1 – 1 Aberdeen
It was another weekend of quick counter attacking football for the Staggies. But the strategy that earned them a surprising lead against Rangers only gave them a glimmer of a chance against Aberdeen. Ross Laidlaw was excellent in his return to the Staggies goal and that combined with a second half goal from Ross Callachan was enough.
CD Tepatitlan de Morelos 1 – 2 Alebrijes
Julio Cesar Cruz had a heckuva game in an end to end affair that provided ample shots at goal. He bedeviled some lax defending and dominated on set pieces. (Oxaca’s speed and strength on set pieces has paid huge dividends for the side this season.) As a result, Oaxaca got their 9th point 6 weeks ahead of their pace from the fall campaign.
News & Notes
Fuck Racism
I’ve said it before, and I’ll (sadly) probably say it again, racism has no place in our society.
This week Stags striker Regan Charles Cook on the receiving end of social media abuse. Further details were unclear, but it seems likely that Rangers fans were unable to accept that they could draw with a team in good form and took it out on County’s best scorer in a way that showed just how sad and pathetic their lives are.
More than a move…
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From our start we’ve found players to root for and care about. But we’ve only found one Julie Blakstad. The fact that she’s more your age than mine, that she works hard, has fun, and plays so flipping well, is just a delight. This week she signed with English giants Manchester City. Hard as it is to see her step away from Rosenborg, It genuinely could not happen to a more deserving person. Tusen Takk Julie!
Comings and Goings
Beyond Julie’s big move (*sniff, sniff*) there were some other things that happened before the transfer window closed on Monday.
Jordan Tell helped lead Clermont Foot to Ligue 1 last year (at the expense of Grenoble). During the first half of the year in the top flight his minutes have declined so he’ll look to lead another team back up as the newest wing partner with Yoric Ravet. The Alpiners weren’t done there bringing aboard Gambian forward Abdoulie Sanyang, and young defender Allan Tchaptchet (who spent a chunk of time at Southampton). Meanwhile Rosenborg has brought on Argentine Renzo Giampaoli, a 21 year old Right Back, from Boca Juniors. (Fingers crossed he joins Emmanuel Reynoso on our list of beloved Boca transfers to our teams).
Meanwhile, Minnesota United said adios to Tomas Chacon, the talented young Uruguayan who ended up in training purgatory and never found his way out. And Grenoble said adieu to David Henen who left for Belgium.
Long Live Aurora!
This is awesome–I regret not buying shares, but to be fair, they went pretty fast. Our new United view of Minnesota will cover both the Loons and Aurora.
Player of the Week
After the week we just had, it’s clear that we’ll need to recognize either a Stag or an Alebrije, given the better record over all, and his role marshaling the attack and delivering on set pieces, it makes sense to give the nod to Jorge Sanchez.
Standings Update
After missing a shot to top the table, Legon Cities got themselves up into second place this week with their dominant showing against Eleven Wonders. The busy week also helped Ross County and Alebrijes enforce their position off the bottom of the standings.
| Team | W | D | L | PPG | GFA | GAA |
| Freiburg | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Legon Cities | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| Alebrijes de Oaxaca | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| Ross County | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Grenoble | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| University of Montana–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rosenborg BK–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Minnesota United–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FK Vozdovac | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Emelec–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Punjab FC–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Wednesday, February 2nd
Thursday, February 3rd
Friday, February 4th
Saturday, February 5th
Koln v. Freiburg [M]
Dundee FC v. Ross County
Quevilly v. Grenoble [M]
Sunday, February 6th
Eintracht Frankfurt v. Freiburg [W]
Karela United v. Legon Cities FC
Olympique Marseille v. Grenoble Foot [F]
MacKenzie's Boot Room 