Scores

Colorado 2 – 0 Minnesota United

While the Loons attack had been in great form coming in, the absence of an increasingly reliable backline made things shaky and the reshaped midfield struggled too. And, of course, because it was a game in Colorado, one Loon got a red card (this time Ramon Abila did the job, maybe if we get two more we’ll get a free bucket of Rocky Mountain Oysters…)

Forfar Athletic 3 – 0 Ross County [Cup]

County had to forfeit their competitive opener this year after a number of players contracted COVID-19. [See News below]

Lyn Fotball 1 – 2 Rosenborg BK [F]

Despite a late Lyn consolation goal, Rosenborg continues to roll through their opposition. The Emilies (Bragstad and Lein did the job this week), and Rosenborg will head into another top of the table clash (this time with unbeaten Sandiviken) looking to keep the streak alive. (Don’t tell anyone but this might hinge more on Rugile Rulyte continuing her great form in goal)

Rosenborg BK 1 – 0 Kristiansund [M]

Dino Islamovic returned to form with the game winner early on, and for only the third time this campaign, Andre Hansen kept a clean sheet. (Alexander Tetty helped out after moving to center back…and my befuddlement at the lack of Tetty/Zachariassen pairings continues to fuel my Rosenborg FanFic.) It was also great to see Emil Konradssen Ceide run over a number of fools en route to a flurry of chances (even if they didn’t find the net)

CS Emelec 2 – 0 Tecnico Universtario [F]

Don’t look now but las Electricas are on a streak! (Is two a streak…let’s say it is) again Kerlly Corozo found the net and the goalie stood firm (psst, Emelec, necesita cambiar la pagina de la pantilla. No se el nombre de su arquera primera)

Elmina Sharks 2 – 0 Legon Cities FC

This was…not good. The Royals rolled over for a team at the bottom of the table in Ghana and now they face a difficult end of the campaign with relegation lurking around the corner.

News & Notes

Decision Day South of the Equator

This weekend two leagues wrap up their campaigns with our favorite clubs at different ends of the spectrum.

First the good news: Emelec remains in the driver’s seat of the Liga Pro in Ecuador. With a three point lead and one game to play, Emelec needs only a point against 11th placed Manta to seal their first half championship (and with it a guaranteed shot at the title and a trip into the big daddy of South American sports, the Copa Libertadores). There is a nightmare scenario where a loss and rival Barcelona winning would knock them to second, so it ain’t over yet.

Meanwhile, in Ghana, Legon Cities remains desperate to provoke a heart attack before the end of the campaign. Having dropped a winnable game away against Elmina, they now face accusations from the victorious Sharks of fielding an ineligible player Defender Mohammed Issaka multiple times. If approved by the premier league board, Legon would forfeit a bunch of matches retroactively and plunge into relegation. How did Elmina figure this out? Simple, Issaka earned two yellows as a member of the Sharks in the fall, and then one with Legon. Of course, rather than point this out immediately, Elmina waited until now…because…ya know…reasons…

Meanwhile, someone NOT waiting to make an inappropriate move is the Legon Cities board who has brought on a special assistant coach (Maxwell Konadu) who definitely isn’t about to take over for their existing head coach (Bashir Hackford). I mean, that would be silly…besides lots of teams bring on extra assistants with two matches before the end of the season. And it’s only natural for assistant coaches to not coach with the head coach because it would be “tense”. [Narrator voice: It’s not].

Add to all that fun background that anything less than a win against Eleven Wonders this Sunday would provide an opening for Liberty Professionals (cross town rivals), Ebusua Dwarves (forced to forfeit to Legon), and Elmina Sharks (remember them from two paragraphs ago?) to leap past the Royals and send them packing for the lower leagues. Woof.

[Disgruntled growl]

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Franco Frangapane was accused of using a racial slur against a dark skinned player from the Portland Timbers, the following investigation concluded that only two people (Frangapane and the aggrieved Timber) know if he did or not, and they disagree…so [Shrug Emoji] what ya gonna do? [Hint: Bench Frangapane yourself Loons, at least for a game or two]

Staggies Saggy with Sickness

You might think that with countries opening and stadiums welcoming all the fans back at once, we’ve turned the corner on the germs. But as Ross County showed this week…NOPE. An undisclosed number of player and coaches turned up positive, and while the club claims they’ll be back in action soon, we’ve not heard an update in a week. So…whee…

Dragons Fly Again

The season is due to start up in Serbia again this week, with Vozdovac taking on Cukariki. It will be a little different look for the team who said goodbye to two long term members this offseason: Marko Gajic, a reliable defender since 2017, and attacking midfielder and frequent team captain Jovan Nisic. Meanwhile they added…well…a bunch of defenders. Nemanja Cvetkovic seems to have some clear talent from his last year in the 2nd division, but it’s yet to be seen if Stefan Jarakovic or Vasilije Mijalovic can stack up to what Gajic provided. Last year’s loanee Pavle Radulovic also returns but he has big shoes to fill if he’s expected to make up what Nisic was to the team.

A Couple of Trophies

A few other news organizations covered this, but Italy won the European Cup, and Argentina won the South American Cup. Congratulations to Giorgio Chialini, Vincenzo Grifo, and Lionel Messi. I can’t think of anything else I could add of service.

Player of the Week

No one really shone this week, but that just allows us to finally tip the cap to Alexander Tetty of Rosenborg who has been a massive boon to the black and white since his arrival.

Standings Update

It is a log jam in the middle of the table with Legon, Freiburg, Ross County, and Minnesota separated by 2 hundreths of a point per game (and in some cases, only by goal difference). The Staggies will kick off again soon while the Royals are about to draw the curtain on this campaign, while we’re officially half way through the year there’s still a lot to play for.

What’s Next

Wednesday, July 14th

Thursday, July 15th

Friday, July 16th

Cukaricki v. FK Vozdovac

Saturday, July 17th

Rosenborg BK v. Sandviken [F]

Sunday, July 18th

Ross County v. Dundee FC [Cup]

Legon Cities FC v. Eleven Wonders

Tromso v. Rosenborg [M]

Minnesota United v. Seattle Sounders

Manta v. Emelec [M]

Liga de Marcas v. Emelec [F]

Monday, July 19th

Tuesday, July 20th