Tag: Samual Rogers

Week 24: The Quiet Season

Week 24: The Quiet Season

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Recap

Rosenborg BK 4 – 0 Arna-Bjornar (F)

It seems that Rosenborg’s ladies have found their full stride, four goals in the first half put them far ahead, and coach Steinar Lein chose to solidify the lead after half time. Familiar attackers Anna Joesendal and Emilie Nautnes each got a goal, and back-up goalie Lene Christensen returned for the first time this season with a clean sheet.

Montreal 4 – 0 Minnesota (M)

With your mom having a girls night, we celebrated boys night with thirty minutes of soccer watching. Well, I watched and Alex asked questions and Owen bounced around slamming Anna and Elsa into everyone and everything. Sadly, Anna and Elsa had more fun than the Loons who were over run by Montreal including former Loon/Sassy Librarian Mason Toye. Michael Boxall and Miguel Tapias couldn’t do everything and Montreal’s great passes made them too dangerous to stop. But the Loons attack looked better with Emanuel Reynoso involved (though, it may lead to the return of “hero-ball-starring El Rey”…)

Legon Cities 3 – 2 Samartex

The Royals raced out to a quick lead with Ahmed Rahman and Ebenezer Armegah hitting the net before 10 minutes had passed, the Royals repeatedly taking full advantage of some shaky Samartex defending. With the advantage, Legon was able to absorb a lot of Samartex’s attacks, and when Michael Otou got the third with nine minutes to play, the Royals were safe. (It should be noted that Michael received the most Man of the Match honors in the Bet Pawa league this season: cue the slow clap).

Stabek 2 – 2 Rosenborg (M)

Rosenborg fell behind early (an inverse of Legon’s game) but kept driving forward until Jayden Nelson got the first. The second half showed Rosenborg storming the Stabek goal, but coming up empty handed until Erlend Reitan set up Carlo Holse for a last minute equalizer.

Chicago City SC 1 – 3 Minnesota Aurora (F)

The Aurora gave up another goal, but it didn’t make much difference with Kenzie Langdok, Hannah Adler and Mariah Nguyen finding the net and Tianna Harris continuing to lock down the defense en route to being one of the players of the month in the whole USL-W

Emelec 0 – 0 Gualaceo SC (M)

Yup, I got nothing to say here. I do expect that Emelec won’t be overly disappointed to have the first half of the season end on Sunday. (They’ll have one more group match in the Copa Sudamericana, and a win should get them through to the knock-out stage, but a break would not be a bad thing.)

Minnesota Aurora 5 – 0 Green Bay Glory (F)

Rolling smoke from Canadian wildfires made it unsafe to play outside on Wednesday night, but even under a dome and without the normally raucous fans the Aurora continued to run roughshod over opponents, this time with Cat Rapp notching a brace and the steady defensive line once again pitching a shutout.

News & Notes

Overbearing Parent/Coach Update

Alex Steps up

Alex had another great week at soccer. He ran up and down the field a lot, and continued to love getting in the way of shots, which was convenient because his four man team was dwarfed by a pair of 5 year olds who looked 7 so there was a lot of running to do. And again he got his team’s only goal….but that’s not as much fun as defending. The best thing though: he found several chances to cheer on his team as they ran including little Jack (from Owen’s Pre-school class)

Let’s get Messi

You may remember that I wrote about the delights of watching a World Cup final with you both and seeing one of the greatest players of this generation reach the greatest pinnacle of this sport. Well, that same legendary player has decided to write the last chapter of his story here in the United States, including in Minnesota (eventually).

Messi turned down hundreds of millions from Saudi Arabia (literally the Saudi Arabian government owns four teams…) just for playing, to instead accept hundreds of millions from American companies who will pay him for existing and thereby selling more streaming services, shoes and tickets.

The Loons won’t see him until 2024 at the earliest…assuming he’s willing to play on an icy/sweltering Minnesota pitch in the first place. I’ll continue my internal debate: go watch him, or sell the tickets for much more than they are worth.

International Update

We’ve reached the time in the year where (most) soccer players finally, mercifully, have a break.

Unless you’re really good, in which case you need to play more…but this time for your country!

We don’t have exact names of which players will be going where so here’s a brief overview of possible places to look.

North American players will be gearing up for the Gold Cup, but we’re surprisingly light on those. Dayne St. Clair will likely be hanging around Team Canada’s bench, while Samuel Rogers of Rosenborg could line up again for the US. Kervin Arriaga and Joseph Rosales will look to team up in Honduras’ midfield.

In Europe, we have more players based, but just as many hanging around. Mark Flekken the (now former) Freiburg keeper will be hoping to play in the Nations League semif-finals after start Justin Biljow was smoked by Croatia’s attack). Phillip Leinheart and Michael Gregositch will be ready to go for Austria, and Rolland Sallai will be on hand for Hungary in their Euro Tournament qualifiers, and Mathias Ginter will be the lone Freiburg representing Germany.

Finally, Asian/African teams will simply be getting their work outs in preparing for games ahead with Woo-Yeong Jeong joining South Korea, and Ritsu Doan suiting up for Japan, and Bongokhule Hlongwane aims to help South Africa.

Bet Pawa’s Final Update

And that, as they say, is that.

Medema SC held on to claim the title they were driving for. Their win over Tamale City also doomed the northerners to relegation, when Great Olympics got a big win over Nsoatreman to save their bacon…or fried plantain if you prefer. And unless I’m much mistaken Legon Cities’ 9th place finish equaled their best ever showing.

Player of the Week

As we enter the stage of the season where we only have a few teams playing each week, we’ll be able to reward some players who do extremely well and a few who had good years but weren’t able to be the best player on a given week. This week, it’s time to give an overdue shout out to Tiana Harris. As Alex continues to admire defenders, Ms. Harris is a heckuva role model.

Standing

The quiet season means we’re not real likely to see much movement in the standings, but with Minnesota and Rosenborg the only two sides still clicking along after this week (sorry for my pessimism Emelec), we should still have the race to pressure Punjab in full swing.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Punjab–b12232.242.290.94
Minnesota14571.812.081.15
Rosenborg14691.661.690.90
Legon Cities–b9781.421.251.29
Grenoble–b156171.341.161.13
Emelec5861.211.161.11
Freiburg–b127191.131.241.66
Alebrijes–b5581.111.331.39
Ross County–b64121.001.231.50
Vozdovac–b43110.830.671.65
Montana–b000———
Table Updated 6/14/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, June 15th

Friday, June 16th

Saturday, June 17th

Minnesota Aurora v. Bavarian United (F)

Sunday, June 18th

Lyn Football v. Rosenborg (F)

Deportiva Cuenca v. Emelec

Monday, June 19th

Tuesday, June 20th

Wednesday, June 21st

Arna Bjornar v. Rosenborg (F)

RKC Soccer Club v. Minnesota (F)

Week 20: Staggies Strike

Week 20: Staggies Strike

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Recaps

Union Berlin 4 – 2 Freiburg (M)

Freiburg’s had a fabulous season, but it’s worth noting one key difference between them and the four teams that are ahead of them in the Bundesliga. As good as Freiburg has been they have only gotten 3 points of a possible 18 against the teams that are ahead of them (that’s one win, zero draws and seven losses). I’m not sure what will get Freiburg up to the top tier, but it will for sure need it.

Dundee United 1 – 3 Ross County

Jordan White hasn’t been the most dominant striker this season, but he did everything he needed to do to boost county off the foot of the table. His hattrick was a huge pendulum shift to knock Dundee down below them. It is by no means over, but that’s a big help to County’s cause.

Bodo/Glimt 3 – 2 Rosenborg (M)

Rosenborg was left continuously chasing this match as their defense. After giving up two goals in the first four matches, Samuel Rogers and his partners in the backline three have given up eight in the last three. Midfielder Edvard Tagseth still put together his best match of the season with both of the assists, but Rosenborg’s going to need to sort out the defense to get back on track this year.

Backa Topola 2 – 0 Vozdovac

Vozdovac looked strong until the final 15 minutes when Topola notched both their goals, and the Dragons could only sigh and accept their continued slide to the bottom of end of the championship division.

Metz 1 – 0 Grenoble (M)

Metz has excelled this year and is trying doggedly to keep themselves in contention for a promotion, this was the kind of win they needed to confirm their position, it’s a shame that it came at the expense of Grenoble, but so it goes.

Sporting KC 3 – 0 Minnesota (M)

The friendliest rivalry in soccer may not be quite as friendly in future after the lowest ranked side in the Western Conference smacked the Loons around in Kansas City, but that’s where we are. Looking around, hoping that something gets better before it gets worse.

MSV Duisburg 1 – 1 SC Freiburg (F)

Riola Xhemaili made an instant impact after she came on as a second half substitute, notching her 3rd goal of the campaign. But a poorly timed foul gave Duisburg a penalty and Freiburg had to share the spoils.

Brann 1 – 4 Rosenborg (F)

Emilie Nautnes scored within four minutes and Anna Josenesdal notched two goals (including one posted below) as The Trolljenta got back to their winning ways in Bergen. They are still only six points off the top of the table despite a lackluster few weeks.

Emelec 1 – 1 LDU Quito (M)

Miller Bolanos returned and almost immediately scored! That’s the good news. The bad news is that Samuel Sosa’s foolish red card at the end of the first half opened the door for Quito to equalize making it seven straight league games without a win for los bombillos.

Rosenborg 1 – 0 FK Haugesund (M)

The menfolk of Trondheim also got back to winning with this result. Markus Henriksen was the most dangerous defender setting up almost every attack RBK had and providing sterling defense, which they needed. Despite being up a man for the last sixty minutes of the match, the Rosenborg attack continues to struggle, but did get an assist from 16 year old Sverre Halseth Nypan..who, and I can’t stress this enough: is 16 years OLD!

Minnesota 1 – 0 Houston Dynamo

The Loons got their first home win of the year just last night. It was a long time coming, but it came with both common sights (Miguel Tapias, Michael Boxall, and Kemar Lawrence playing strong defense) and strong trends (great work in space by Bongokhule Hlongwane, and all around presence by Dayne St. Clair).

News & Notes

All aboard the youth sports train

Alex now has three athletic activities a week booked up and ready to roll. There’s swimming lesson Saturday’s, Soccer Sundays, and T-Ball Mondays (Go Purple Caribou). So far your favorite position seems to be: “doing things” as evidenced by the rugby scrum for every t-ball grounder (which is to say, every t-ball hit). Owen was too young to get signed up this year, but does ask constantly if it’s his turn yet. So…it begins, and I likely won’t have a free moment for a good while to come.

Women’s Endings and Beginnings

Freiburg plays for the German Cup in a few hours, facing off against European giant side, Wolfsburg. They are underdogs, but they seem to thrive in that role, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Grenoble will play their final home match of the season this weekend, having escaped danger of relegation. And Minnesota Aurora will kick off their season this weekend including dual Aurora and Griz Keeper Bayliss Flynn, while the Griz will get their first peek at the fall schedule, while celebrating the players who recently got their degrees!

Player of the Week

I try not to only pick goal scorers, but when you get a hat trick in the most important game of the season so far, you have to be player of the week. Kudos to you Jordan White!

Standings

A rough week for Freiburg sees them slide down the table (even though our table doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot…I mean, if you finish 8th here on a random blog competition, but still qualify for the biggest leagues in Europe, you’re probably doing all right). But County’s big win boosts them farther away from Vozdovac…though again, beating Vozdovac doesn’t keep them in the top flight of Scotland…though I might petition otherwise.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Punjab–b12232.242.290.94
Rosenborg8551.611.280.78
Minnesota6351.501.211.29
Legon Cities7761.401.251.20
Grenoble144151.391.181.12
Emelec4451.231.081.15
Freiburg117151.211.211.67
Alebrijes–b5581.111.331.39
Ross County5391.061.181.35
Vozdovac42100.880.631.69
Montana–b000———
Table Updated 5/18/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, May 18th

Vfl Wolfsburg v. SC Freiburg (F–Cup FINAL)

Friday, May 19th

Grenoble v. Rodez (M)

Freiburg v. Wolfsburg (M)

Saturday, May 20th

Motherwell v. Ross County

Universidad Catolica v. Emelec

Portland Timbers v. Minnesota (M)

Sunday, May 21st

SC Freiburg v. FC Koln (F)

Rosenborg v. Avaldsnes (F)

Bechem United v. Legon Cities

Vozdovac v. Cukaricki

Grenoble Foot v. Yzeure Allier (F)

Monday, May 22nd

Tuesday, May 23rd

Houston Dynamo v. Minnesota United (M-Cup)

Wednesday, May 24th

Trygg Lade v. Rosenborg (M–Cup)

Ross County v. St. Johnstone

Minnesota Aurora v. Rochester FC (F)

Week 4: The Big 4 – 0

Week 4: The Big 4 – 0

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Recaps

Punjab FC 2 – 0 Real Kashmir

We don’t take enough time to appreciate Brandon Vanlalremdika the little magician who manages to make a whole heap of Punjab’s surging attack possible. He got a goal and continued to thread expert passes throughout Punjab’s latest win, all the more impressive when you see how physically manhandled he was by their north-western rivals.

Legon Cities 1 – 3 Bechem United

Things started out well for the Royals with Alex Aso’s first goal for the club, but the normally formidable back line became too leaky and Bechem capitalized

Freiburg 3 – 1 Augsburg (M)

Freiburg got back on track with a stirring showing at home, and they were led by a strong showing from their Austrian contingent. Michael Gregoritsch scored the opener, and Phillip Leinhart offerd both lock down defense and a strong head to convert the finishing goal in the 85th minute.

Ross County 3 – 0 Kilmarnock

The Staggies found their scoring shoes before this game and suddenly looked like a team transformed. They developed a clearer game plan built on break aways and crosses (boosted by a slightly staggered Killie defense). It also helped that Nohan Kenneh, newly arrived from Hibernian managed to connect the dots for two different goals as Jordan White and Yan Dhanda started to synch up in their attack.

Grenoble 0 – 1 SC Bastia (M)

Grenoble will rue their missed opportunities on the day, as their nine shots produced nothing of note, and a late winner from SC Bastia cost them very winnable points.

Grenoble 1 – 0 Quevilly (M)

Which is why it is so gratifying to see them come back and get all the credit against Quevilly. While the shorthanded squad fielded a lot of reserves, they did send out returning favorite Jessy Benet and (quelle surprise) he scored the winner. As the rest of the attacking force comes out there will be high hopes to keep climbing the table.

Ross County 1 – 1 Hibernian

The Staggies got another positive result against the surging Hibs in Dingwall. Hibs controlled much of the game and at times the County midfield and defense looked over run (particularly when the back line made a particularly poor decision that gifted Hibs their goal). But all it takes is one sterling moment, and that’s exactly what they got when Yan Dhanda lashed a gorgeous corner kick that befuddled everyone and levelled the score.

Kenkre FC 3 – 3 Punjab FC

It wasn’t looking brilliant for the Punjabi Warriors against lowly Kenkre. They gave up two early goals and were suddenly chasing the game. But then, they absolutely ran their opponents down into the dirt with Chenchyo Geltshen and Luka Macjen in fine flow together at the top. An own goal gave them the lead…but then they promptly gave it back and played out the rest of the match in a stale mate.

Hearts of Oak 0 – 0 Legon Cities

The Royals can count this as a moral victory after playing much of the second half down to 10 men. But moral victories aren’t quite as valuable in the table as actual ones (Legon only has 1 in their last 8 matches)

Tlaxcala 3 – 1Alebrijes

Julio Cesar Cruz got the lone goal after Tlaxcala got out to a fast start. It’s shaping up to be another arduous campaign for Oaxaca.

News & Notes

Your Dad is getting Old

I turned 40 last week. And I felt great. Then, while arranging a fight between Captain America (Alex), Moana (Owen), and a dragon (me) I slipped on the stairs and crashed down a whole flight of them. So, I feel lots of pain, and suddenly 40 isn’t quite so great.

USA-USA-USA Update

Samuel Rogers got 18 minutes worth of time with the US Men’s National Team, which is 18 more than almost everyone else in the country. He connected all ten of his passes, but wasn’t able to take the ball away from Colombian opponents. It wasn’t quite announcing his presence with authority, but he can keep working himself into the conversation as time goes on.

Transfer Tips

The transfer window closed for the winter on Tuesday, with only a few more minor moves of note: County added another pair of strikers in Eamon Brophy and Simon Murray (both of whom are quite familiar with the Scottish league) and brought on two less familiar faces in loan deals with Wigan Athletic with attacker Josh Stones and defender Gwion Edwards respectively.

Damjan is in the Details

The Loons also brought in a new player in Sweden’s Mikael Marques, a young defender. I’m not sure how much he’ll actually play having made the jump from the second tier of Sweden into the top US League, but we’ll be happy to see him all the same.

Dragons Take Wing Again

This weekend sees the kick off of the Serbian Primere League’s season. There will be three more months of matches and then, hopefully, Vozdovac will be in the championship play off looking towards the next stage of qualification for a European tournament. But to get there they’ll need to grow more as a team and learn to live without iron man defenders Stefan Hajdin, and Milos Milovic. In their wake has come former local starlet Damjan Danicic, back to his roots, and younger attacker Haris Kadric

Player of the Week

We might have been open to some debate before, but the corner kick sealed it beyond any doubt: Yan Dhanda, take a bow!

Standings

Much as we admire Freiburg, this was not the ideal week to kick off their 2023, as they slide in below even the equally unsteady Ross County and Oaxaca. Meanwhile, despite their defeat, Punjab continues to show serious strength at the top of the table (even if they are no loner perfect)

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Punjab4112.172.501.33
Grenoble4121.861.290.86
Freiburg1111.331.332.67
Ross County1321.000.830.83
Legon Cities0310.750.750.75
Alebrijes1040.501.001.60
Rosenborg–b000———
Minnesota–b000———
Vozdovac–b000———
Montana–b000———
Emelec–b000———
Table Updated 1/12/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, February 2nd

Friday, February 3rd

Nimes v. Grenoble (M)

Saturday, February 4th

FK Radnicki 1923 v. FK Vozdovac

SC Freiburg v. VfL Wolfsburg (F)

Dortmund v. Freiburg (M)

Rangers v. Ross County

Sunday, February 5th

Sudeva FC v. Punjab FC

Legon Cities FC v. King Faisal

Grenoble Foot v. Montauban (F)

Monday, February 6th

Tuesday, February 7th

Sandhausen v. Freiburg (M-Cup)

Wednesday, February 8th

Vierzon FC v. Grenoble (M-Cup)

Alebrijes v. CD Tepatitlan de Morelos

Weeks 2-3: Guess Who’s Back!

Weeks 2-3: Guess Who’s Back!

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Recaps

Guingamp 2 – 4Grenoble (M)

It was a barn burner for the Alpiners, who fell behind on an ugly give away, came back, took the lead, lost it, and then scored twice in the last ten minutes to win the game. Jordan Tell had two goals but substitute Pape Meissa Ba assisted on the last two goals to ensure the victory.

Punjab FC 3 – 0 Kenkre FC

Juan Mera scored twice and Luka Macjen had the last one to break Kenkre pressure as Punjab cruised to the top of the table before their big match with Sreenidi Deccan.

Motherwell 1 – 1 Ross County

It’s good that a team comes alive when they have to, but unfortunate they wait that long. Once County fell behind they pushed hard for an equalizer. Jordy Hiluwa got it for them, but the Stags need more wins more quickly.

Nsoatreman 0 – 0 Legon Cities

The Royals have nothing but draws so far this year…and have no goals in the last 197 minutes. (Oof)

Sreenidi Deccan 4 – 0 Punjab FC

We’ll that didn’t go as planned.

Punjab was in prime position to expand their lead over their closest rivals, only to get punched in the kisser. worse, the potentially formidable front line duo of Macjen and Gyeltsen got nothing going…still with a game in hand they may be able to take the top of the table yet.

Venados 2 – 1 Alebrijes

Alebrijes got their first goal of the campaign, but it was small consolation in a losing effort.

Wolfsburg 6 – 0 Freiburg (M)

Let us never speak of this again

Hamilton Academical 1 – 0 Ross County

The Scottish FA Cup match ended in a shootout, and it was unfortunate that Jordan White, the Staggies most consistent striker was the first to falter (in the opening kick of the shootout no less).

Mohammedan SC 0 – 4 Punjab FC

Punjab came roaring back into action on the weekend with Juan Mera and Luka Macjen each scoring twice. Better still, seeing a fully integrated Chenchyo Geltsen getting in on the action is mouthwatering to say the least. (Well, it is in Punjab; other teams would be excused if things are more pants-wetting)

Stade Plabennec 0 – 1 Grenoble (Cup)

Granted, Stade Plabennec is not exactly a mighty rival for Grenoble (they are currently eighth in the Bretagne section of the fourth division), but still Grenoble should be proud to get the win they need when they need it, with Amine Sbai getting the winner early and the defense and midfield standing strong the rest of the match.

Freiburg 1 – 1 Frankfurt (M)

Freiburg continues to scuffle in 2023. The draw dropped them from 2nd to 5th, and while there’s still plenty of season to show off and reclaim their dream campaign momentum is not on their side. Things don’t get much easier with Borussia Dortmund and a DFB Pokal Octa-final to come.

Alebrijes 3 – 0 Dorados

Alebrijes’ 3 goal explosion, tripled their goal total for the season so far and finally got them some points. Julio Cesar Cruz struck twice with a pair of absolutely mind-boggling goals and the team blitzed Dorados for all their goals within a scant 15 minutes. Now they challenge will be to do it again.

Splashing Contest…

News & Notes

50th to the MacKs Fun in the Sun

We had a wonderful time at your Grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary, though it was a little short on soccer time (it didn’t seem right to skip a dinner to see if I could figure out how to watch Alebrijes on tv). But there was still a lot of great competition.

Alex learned the ropes of Mario Kart and boosted himself from consistent 12th place finishes on easy mode, to consistent 3rd place finishes on easy mode! He also became a dunk machine in water basketball (though it might have helped to be standing outside the pool rather than swimming in it). And Owen learned that twirling constantly isn’t exactly the best strategy in hot potato.

Setting aside all the competition things. Just being yourselves was a beautiful thing to behold.

Transfer Tips

JESSY BENNET IS BACK!! Our favorite Grenoblois midfielder has rejoined the Alpiners for the last stretch of the season, and I’m utterly delighted. He chipped in the assist to put them over Plabennec and we can only hope that he brings additional strength to a midfield that could use it. And what’s more…

CHENCHO GYELTSEN IS BACK!! The Bhutanese master striker has returned to Roundglass Punjab for the stretch run of the I-League campaign. Promotion is in the offing and Chencho is out to get it done! Double dragon fire power ahead for Punjab!! (I mean if you ignore the 4-0 drubbing against Sreenidi Deccan)

In less fun news Bikash Yumnam, the highly touted 19 year old defense prospect has left Punjab for the greener fields of the Indian Super League. We’re still excited to follow his journey on major news site the Athletic, and will never forget his roots.

USA-USA-USA

While we certainly invested in the American’s performance during December’s World Cup, it wasn’t exactly memorable or thrilling to see. But we have new found reasons to watch with the National Team Call Up of Rosenborg’s Samuel Rogers! Rogers will be the first American player we follow to have a run out for the national team (assuming he doesn’t get stuck on the bench during matches of little consequence…which, frankly, sounds kind of rude).

Players of the Week

We get to give out two awards this week and there’s no doubt that one has to go to Luka Macjen, who has been threatening to break through for a while but with three goals and multiple assists he left no doubt this round.

For the other recognition, we’re going to turn to someone we haven’t talked a lot about, but who comes highly recommmended: Yves-Franck Bambock from Grenoble’s Midfield. Bambock was a pivotal cog in both of les Alpiners wins providing strong defense and consistent support in the attack and we’ll gladly take the opportunity to shout his praises (especially alongside Jessy Bennet)

Standings

Much as we admire Freiburg, this was not the ideal week to kick off their 2023, as they slide in below even the equally unsteady Ross County and Oaxaca. Meanwhile, despite their defeat, Punjab continues to show serious strength at the top of the table (even if they are no loner perfect)

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Punjab3012.252.501.25
Grenoble3111.601.000.60
Legon Cities0201.000.000.00
Alebrijes1030.751.001.75
Ross County0220.500.251.00
Freiburg0110.500.503.50
Rosenborg–b000———
Minnesota–b000———
Vozdovac–b000———
Montana–b000———
Emelec–b000———
Table Updated 1/12/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, January 26th

Friday, January 27th

Punjab FC v Real Kashmir

Legon Cities v Bechum United

Saturday, January 28th

Freiburg v Augsburg (M)

Ross County v Kilmarnock

Grenoble v SC Bastia

Sunday, January 29th

Monday, January 30th

Tuesday, January 31st

Grenoble v Quevilly (M)

Ross County v Hibernian

Wednesday, February 1st

Kenkre FC v Punjab FC

Hearts of Oak v Legon Cities

Tlaxcala v. Alebrijes

Week 7: More than One Goal is Showing Off

Week 7: More than One Goal is Showing Off

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Results

Ross County 1 – 1 Livingston

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Ross County was saved by a late equalizer. Okay, that may be a new trope for the Staggies but the hero of the hour was different: Loanee Kayne Ramsay hammered home a header on a cross from Blair Spital to keep Dundee at arms length in the relegation battle. (It was particularly valuable as for the first time in memory Regan Charles-Cook and Joseph Hungbo we’re bottled up on the rainy pitch.)

Alebrijes 1 – 0 Venados

Carlos Gurrero’s second half lightning strike was the difference maker in Oaxaca. Oaxaca’s As they near the half way point in the spring season, Alebrijes’ strong offense and steady defense, sits comfortably in the playoff spots, a far cry from the distant after thought they’ve been of late.

Freiburg 0 – 3 Bayern Munich [F]

Last week’s strong showing couldn’t carry over to Freiburg’s match with German titans Bayern Munich. But it was one less conceded than the four shipped in Munich last fall.

Freiburg 1 – 1 Mainz [M]

Nils Petersen made a superb contribution as a substitute to salvage a point for Freiburg after a discouragingly flat performance from the German’s attack.

Grenoble 1 – 3 Sochaux[M]

Newcomer Jordan Tell got off to a flying start with a goal in the first minute of the match. But with 89 minutes to go, Grenoble peaked a little early. Disappointingly, they couldn’t capitalize on a man advantage during the second half. Even worse after removing Jordy Gaspar and Yoric Ravet they completely lost the thread…and the match

Kolubara 1 – 0 Vozdovac [M]

The Red Dragons of Vozdovac weren’t able to start 2022 as well as they had ended 2021. After ceding an early goal, they never seemed to find a way back into the match and left with the sinking realization that with 8 matches left in the season, they may be 4 points behind 4th place, but they’re also 5 points above relegation. So it’s not remotely over yet.

Grenoble Foot 1 – 0 Thonon Evian [F]

A mere 2 hours by car, Thonon might well be the closest thing Grenoble gets to a derby (at least until they regularly face French female giants: Lyon). It showed in a very back and forth first half as each time pushed for an advantage early on. Grenoble got the first goal, and all the glory that followed thanks to Adama Tamba (you can’t see the strike very well, but you can see the gorgeous mountains…and really…that’s always a win). A defensive second half sealed the win for all three points (and drew Grenoble one point closer to Thonon–with a game in hand)

Legon Cities FC 1 – 0 King Faisal

The internet is a marvelous thing. While preparing lessons and reviewing student work, I was able to keep one eye flickering toward the live updates coming from Accra. So I got to “watch” sort of as Croster Obour and Hans Kwofie terrorized Faisal’s defense. I was in a meeting when Jonah Attaquye scored the winner (again on a great Kwofie cross and Obour feint), but the fact that he did was all I needed.

Grenoble 1 – 0 Niort [M]

The alpiners got their first win of the Vincent Hognon era thanks to strong control from the right wing. Yoric Ravet crossed in the ball from the corner and got it to Loic Nestor who headed home the winner. All this plus a strong showing from Loris Nery (including a goalline clearance to keep the lead) and Souleymane Cissee kept the wings strong and gave Grenoble all they needed.

News & Notes

Catching up with Rosenborg

We saw a few favorites leave Rosenborg last month (pouring out the Akavit for Julie and Emmanuel) but in the rush we missed the even bigger news of a new manager.

Kjetil Rekdal will step into the dugout for the men’s team after several stints around Norway (and one in Germany). Among his early moves is bringing in Seattle raised defender Samual Rogers who he worked with at his last club.

Vitals on Vozdovac

While I’m usually able to keep up on news for most teams (barring the little confusion over RBK’s management situation), Serbian transfer news is not often on my radar. But with the Red Dragons soaring back into action, it seemed only right to cover some of the comings and goings from the Rooftop Stadium.

Quite a few strong veterans have left the club. Uzbekistan gobbled up both winger Aleksandar Stanisjavic, and goalie Miloje Prekovic (Prekovic almost single handedly saved the squad from relegation back in 2020). Meanwhile rising defender Aleksandar Bogdanavic moved up to the more reliably competitive Radniki, and striker Nikolai Vujnovic got a loan to Sporting Kansas City (so we may actually see him in person sooner than we thought)

Cirkovic becomes a Dragon

In their stead comes a raft of young talents. Midfield duo Matin Novakovic and Andrej Blagovic were let loose from the higher profile clubs of Red Star and Partizan, but at only 21 and 20 they may become the fulcrum for a great attack. They also brought in a Spanish trained winger in Aleksandar Cirkovic. (But given how rarely they sell any players ever, I’m not sure this move will translate to long term success.)

Player of the Week

After another week with no real stand out showings, it’s a good time to tip the hat to someone who has been in great form throughout the recent weeks, even if they haven’t had a particularly outstanding match this week. For us this week, that’s Croster Obour of Legon Cities who has been a much valued spark plug for the Royals and even served as a great dummy this week.

Sorry Croster, we don’t have a trophy (or an electric razor), but we still love ya!

Standings Update

I said that Vozdovac could stun the world in their comeback. Instead they lost. But so did Freiburg! And as a result we have not only a new leader, but a new top two! Legon Cities and Alebrijes de Oaxaca are only separated by 4 hundredths of a point. At the same time, with their first two wins of the calendar year, Grenoble can reasonably hope that the worst is behind them.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Legon Cities4221.751.50.5
Alebrijes de Oaxaca3311.711.10.9
Freiburg3231.41.51.8
Ross County2321.31.61.4
Grenoble2341.01.01.3
FK Vozdovac0010.00.01.0
University of Montana–b——————
Rosenborg BK–b——————
Minnesota United–b——————
Emelec–b——————
Punjab FC–b——————
Table Updated 2/16/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 16th (AKA Mom’s Birthday)

Cimarrones v. Alebrijes

Thursday, February 17th

Friday, February 18th

Emelec v. CSD Macara [M]

Saturday, February 19th

Hibernian v. Ross County

Augsburg v. Freiburg [M]

Nimes v. Grenoble [M]

Sunday, February 20th

Vozdovac v. Radniki Nis

Grenoble Foot v. Yzeure Allier [F]

Monday, February 21st

Tuesday, February 22nd

Mineros v. Alebrijes