Flying Kiwis – March 13
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
They said he would miss 7-8 weeks. Instead Chris Wood was back playing for Nottingham Forest within six, returning just in time to also sneak into the latest All Whites squad. And we’re not talking about a gentle ten minutes off the bench here either – Woodsy started and played the full ninety for Forest against Brighton & Hove Albion. It was only in the pre-game press conference the day before that his manager Nuno Espirito Santo had revealed that Wood was back in training and even then he appeared to be keeping his cards close to his chest regarding availability.
NES: “Let’s see. It is the same, he is still getting involved with the team so let’s wait and see.”
But yeah nah there he was leaping for a header as Nottm Forest hoofed the ball long from opening kickoff. Lovely stuff. Only issue is that he didn’t quite pick up where he left off, having scored six times in eight games prior to the injury. Nope, Wood had a relatively uneventful return against Brighton (one of his many ex-clubs) as his current club’s plight was made worse with a 1-0 defeat.
Brighton had lost 4-0 to Roma in the Europa League knockouts about three days earlier but Forest weren’t so lucky as to catch them short, instead finding themselves doing a whole lot of defending against their possession-heavy opponents... leading up to a 29th minute own goal from Andrew Omobamidele. Granted, that goal was more the fault of the goalkeeper who failed to get a punch on the free kick delivery.
Forest were better after that and might have immediately equalised had Divock Origi squared to Wood instead of shooting on the counter attack. Origi had another great chance early second half, blasting over from a similar spot. Wood flipped a clever touch to Morgan Gibbs-White as part of that move, however he only had one shot himself and that didn’t come until the 71st minute, when he unleashed an opportunistic effort off his left foot running away from goal. Did well enough to force a save and win a corner.
Overall, Brighton did a pretty tidy job of blunting Nottm Forest, who only mustered limited chances. Having said that, they were left fuming midway through the second half when Jakub Moder was only given a yellow despite a lengthy VAR check after he went sprigs up on Neco Williams’ ankle. Wood voiced his frustrations to the BBC afterwards...
Chris Wood: “I haven’t seen it back so I can’t comment too much but from my position on the pitch it looked like he connected very healthily, let’s put it that way. If the referee gave red then it wouldn’t have been overturned. We have to control what we can control, we can’t control referees. We have not had much luck with referees this season.”
Forest are so convinced that they’re being stitched up by officiating that they recently hired ex-EPL ref Mark Clattenburg as the club’s “referee analyst”... seemingly a way of giving them some perceived legitimacy whenever they choose to complain about things. Mostly is only seems to be annoying other clubs.
Anyway, while Wood was injured, Forest played seven times and their only two wins were against West Ham and an FA Cup penalty shootout victory against Bristol City. They’ve since been knockout out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and are only three points and one place above the relegation zone in the Prem, with their next game being away to Luton Town who are that team three points and a place below them. ‘Tis a good thing that The Woodsman is back in time for that one.
Up Next: Luton Town vs Nottm Forest on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Alex Greive - Dundee United (Scottish Championship)
AG isn’t necessarily known as a prolific goal-scorer. He’s an unselfish player whose workrate is immense and that’s what coaches love about him... but even still, to drop down a division on loan for a winning team and still not have scored that first goal after eight matches might well have been bugging him. Yet if it did, it didn’t stop him from making the percentage play with his assist to Tony Watt after being subbed on at half-time of Dundee United’s game against Arbroath.
Running through with only the keeper to beat, he knew that Watt had nobody to beat if he squared it so he did. And then, because good deeds deserve to be rewarded, a mere three minutes later he had another chance and this time there was no option but to shoot from a tricky angle... so he put it through the keeper’s legs to get himself off the mark. Gotta love it when things all work out.
DU were already 2-0 up at the break so this put the polish on a 4-0 victory. The team did have a slight wobble recently when they lost to promotion rivals Raith Rovers, dropping further points in the weeks afterwards. But they’ve since steadied the ship with a couple of clean sheet wins on the trot. Also, Raith Rovers lost to this very same Arbroath team a week ago which means that Dundee Utd are four points clear in first, albeit having played one game more than RR. They’re in pole position with eight more matches left.
The Courier UK: “The Kiwi’s best 45 minutes in a United shirt by a country mile and, if nothing else, illustrates how much more comfortable he is as a striker compared to his largely underwhelming cameos on the wing. In this role, he can play on the shoulder of centre-backs and seek to use his pace to scamper on to through-balls. If there is space behind the opposition back-line – not always a given when teams line up against United – then Greive is more suited to exploit that than either Watt or Louis Moult. The waspish front-man was sent clear on goal twice in the second period, teeing up Watt to make it 3-0 before completing the scoring himself. Greive’s presence gave the United attack an entirely different dimension – the looming threat of raw speed. In the words of boss Jim Goodwin, Greive is “in the hat” when it comes to who will start against Dunfermline next Friday night, and he has earned that consideration.”
Up Next: Dunfermline vs Dundee United, 8.45am on Saturday (NZT)
Anna Leat – Aston Villa (English Super League)
When Anna Leat dashed off to add a couple caps to her Football Ferns tally, it cost her a knockout game in the League Cup. This competition has been where most of her appearances have come this term – including her most recent game: that 7-0 win over Sunderland in which they used an illegal sub and almost got booted out of the comp. But the authorities were merciful, merely overturning that lone result, thus Aston Villa still qualified for the knockouts where they defeated Brighton 2-0 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. That was while Leat was away to Daphne von Domselaar played instead. Their regular number one. DVD saved three penalties in the shootout to set up this semi-final against Arsenal.
DVD did actually travel with the side, so there’s a chance that she might have played instead of Leat had she not been ruled out with a hip injury. But she was injured so Anna Leat got to play a cup semi-final after all, while youngster Sophia Poor served as the backup keeper on the bench.
It took roughly three seconds before it was obvious that Villa had caught Arsenal on a good day, moving the ball around with pace and intent, leaving the Villans scrambling at the back to keep from being breached. Not an easy task for Leat regardless, even less so with some raucous Arsenal fans yapping away the whole time. The chants weren’t gonna phase Anna Leat... but there wasn’t much she could do in the ninth minute when Stina Blackstenius got through and lashed one into the roof of the net for 1-0. Then ninety seconds later Blackstenius scored again, nudging home on the rebound after Leat had saved Alessia Russo’s back-post attempt. Good initial save but there was nobody to stop Blackstenius on the follow.
Didn’t get much better from there. In the 18th minute Frida Maanum curled a first-time effort inside the far post from the edge of the area, beating an outstretched and diving Leat. Like most of their chances, it came from Beth Mead’s work on the right wing. 3-0 down inside twenty minutes. Not ideal. Could’ve been worse when Katie McCabe hit the crossbar from a free kick shortly after, and then it really was worse as Blackstenius completed her hat-trick by flicking home a header from close range. Leat ended up in the side-netting scrambling in vain. 4-0 after 38 minutes.
Okay then obviously Aston Villa weren’t going to make the final... but the relief is that it got no worse. It almost did when Maanum put the ball in the net early second half only to be flagged offside, tapping in after a low Steph Catley cross. Clearly offside. Villa were then able to summon a few decent attacks, while keeping Arsenal further at bay. It ended 4-0. The thing is, Leat played fine. No mistakes. Distribution was very good. Her team just got smoked by a superior opponent. Arsenal will face Chelsea in the final, meaning that in the 13th year of this trophy’s existence it will once again be won by one of those two clubs or Manchester City (whom Chelsea defeated 1-0 in the other semi).
Ah well... but if it’s any consolation (and it is), it is now being widely reported that Arsenal are keen to sign Daphne van Domselaar in the summer after failing to lure Mary Earps away from Manchester United. Apparently Arsenal tried to get DVD in each of the last two windows, but she’s been keen to join/stay at Aston Villa where she’s the number one. DVD was signed to replace Hannah Hampton after the latter moved to Chelsea and it was a bit of a bummer that they overlooked Leat for the starting role at the time, however she might instead get that chance just one year onwards. Let us hope.
Up Next: Everton vs Aston Villa on Sunday at 2am (NZT)
CJ Bott - Leicester City (English Super League)
The Foxes are already out of the League Cup, failing to progress through the group stage, but they are still in the FA Cup – the latest round of which took place over the weekend. Better yet, they’re into the semi-finals of the FA Cup after beating Liverpool 2-0 courtesy of a double from Jutta Tantala (16’ & 64’). Decent case to say that Liverpool were easily the better team in the first half yet LCFC managed to take one of their few chances while Liverpool wasted all of theirs. The Foxes then stepped it up in the second stanza on their way to victory. Full game for CJ Bott at right back, who as good as she always is.
That all worked out smoothly for the Foxes... as did the semi-final draw. Last year’s finalists Chelsea and Manchester United have been drawn against each other, meaning that Leicester City face Tottenham Hotspur in the other match for a chance to progress to Wembley Stadium. Neither of those clubs has ever made an FA Cup semi before now one of them will be in the final.
Sadly there was some bad news with this team, as manager Willie Kirk was abruptly suspended in the days preceding that Liverpool match as the club launched an internal investigation into allegations of Kirk having had a relationship with one of his players. Not sure what the timeframe is there, as Kirk has been at the club since 2022. Kirk’s overseen a massive improvement in this team’s results and performances... but there lines that shouldn’t be crossed and it’s always such a bummer when another story like this emerges.
Up Next: Spurs vs Leicester in the WSL on Monday at 3am (NZT)
Marko Stamenic - FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbian SuperLiga)
Happy to report that, for the biggest game of their domestic season to date, Marko Stamenic returned to the Crvena zvezda starting line-up. He’d missed their first couple of games out of the winter break, then sat on the bench for the third. But he got a long spell off the bench against TSC last week and then got picked in a midfield three for the top of the table clash with Partizan, lasting 56 minutes before he was subbed. Would have preferred ninety but it seems they’re building him back up.
The game ended in a 2-2 draw. Red Star scored first through Uros Spajic late in the first half but then managed to concede just on either side of that HT break to find themselves trailing when Stamenic was subbed (part of a tactical double change). Luckily, Cherif Ndiaye was able to head home a 67th minute equaliser. Despite a red card for Partizan with quarter of an hour to go, that was all that Red Star could manage despite some overwhelming pressure in the latter stages. This was a game that they absolutely dominated on the stat sheet with 72% of possession and 29 shots compared to just 4... but a game in which they had to settle for a share of the points.
Stamenic had gone super close to scoring early on, stabbing a cut-back shot narrowly wide of the post. Would have been a perfect return to the eleven. Didn’t see heaps of him outside of that moment, but with luck they’ll stick with this formation which ought to suit him nicely moving forward. Bit more room to roam with a defensive mid in behind him. More like how he operates for the All Whites. What this result means is that Partizan remain one point ahead of Red Star on the ladder with each having played 24 times.
Up Next: Away to Radnicki at 7am on Thursday (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Empoli (Italian Serie A)
LC: “[AC Milan] are one of the best teams in Italy and are in very good down, but we certainly won't start defeated. We will try to put them under pressure with what we can do.”
The best thing about these games against the big clubs is that they’re way more available to fans back in Aotearoa. Not always through legal means but we do what we need to do to get by, right? Finding Empoli replays against teams like Cagliari and Sassuolo is a fool’s errand. Against Juventus or AC Milan though? Those ones that are abundantly watchable. Problem is that when Empoli lined up against AC Milan this week they did so with Giuseppe Pezzella at left wing-back and Libby Cacace on the bench. Dammit.
That was the dynamic prior to Pezzella’s long injury earlier in the season, though it also does seem to be the case that Davide Nicola likes to rotate his wing-backs – only naming the same pair in back to back games on one occasion out of eight. They’re tough positions that require lots of running so that makes sense. This will happen from time to time, just got to make sure you’re always putting your best foot forward... which is definitely what Cacace did here. Subbed on after 55 minutes and was excellent the rest of the way, albeit in a 1-0 loss due to a 40th minute deflected Christian Pulisic goal.
Cacace was on corner kick duty again, swinging in a few of those from the left edge. One of those corners flew into the path of a wide open Mattia Destro whose header was frustratingly straight at the goalie. Cacace also might have set up an own goal with a low open play cross that was sliced by a defender in the middle. Plus he delivered a crucial block against a shot from Samuel Chukwueze. Cacace made an impact... but his team still couldn’t find that goal they were after. They remain one point above the relegation zone. Lots more work to be done.
Up Next: Saturday at 8.45am, Empoli vs Bologna (NZT)
Vic Esson - Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League)
It was a cup weekend in Scotland and that’s increasingly becoming the beacon for Vic Esson’s appearances. She’s only made four league appearances this season, with just one of those since September, but she’s usually been playing when the cup games swing around and that’s a particularly good thing when you play for Rangers who are doing their darndest to win both cups (having won the League Cup and made the final of the Scottish Cup last time).
Hibernians proved to be a very tricky Scottish Cup quarter-final. Rangers twice took the lead during the first half but twice they were dragged back to have things tied at 2-2 when the whistle for half-time rang out. Esson’s first concession was a looping corner kick delivery that dropped beyond her attempted punch and then got headed over the line from very close range. Always tough when they crowd the six-yard box like that but VE will feel she could have done better. The second concession was a really nice team move by Hibs leading to a thumping shot that VE couldn’t get a hand to, so it goes.
This was a wild game. Rangers had a bunch of other chances but Hibs were never without their threats. That took us to the decisive moment, the instant on which this whole game swung. 65th minute of the match. Esson was lining up a long ball just outside her area but as she rolled her foot over it she realised that a Hibs player had appeared from out of her blindspot. Esson lost the ball. Hibs had an almost open goal to aim at from about 25 metres. Esson recovered to make a magical fingertip save... admittedly in amends for her own poor mistake. Then Rangers literally went straight down the other end and scored. They would then score three more times for a 6-2 triumph... although those last three goals didn’t arrive until the final five minutes plus stoppage time.
A wonky game from VE, but she did the important stuff as Rangers progressed into the semis... where they’ve been drawn against Celtic. They also play Celtic next week in the first game of the second phase of the SWPL, before one week later they meet Partick Thistle in the final of the League Cup. Hopefully that’ll be an Esson appearance too after she had to watch them win that trophy from the bench last season.
Up Next: Celtic vs Rangers at 5.10am on Monday, then that League Cup final is on Monday 25 March at 2.30pm vs Partick Thistle (NZT)
Elijah Just - AC Horsens (Danish Division 1)
There has been a situation afoot with Elijah Just at AC Horsens. Two Flying Kiwis yarns ago, it was mentioned how he’d been training away from the squad after leaving their winter break training camp slightly early. By then he’d resumed work with the squad again and would play ten minutes off the bench last weekend to mark his return. This was what his agent had to say at the time...
The Agent, Gustaf Grauers to Tipsbladet: “He's back in full training with the team now. It is true that there have been some personal reasons why he has been gone, but it is not something he wants to be dug into. But now he is back and running full, which is the most important thing.”
This was amidst a severe drop in form leading into that break which has left Horsens, freshly relegated from the top tier of Denmark, now looking like they won’t even make the top half cut-off in the second division. Just joined this team 18 months ago to move to the Superliga and now he’s stuck back in the division below again.
Keep that context in mind because it’s since been reported that Just was the subject of a transfer bid from Swedish top division club IFK Göteborg, who are currently being coached by Jens Berthel Askou who used to be in charge at AC Horsens where he signed Elijah Just in the first place. That bid was rejected, as the transfer market is currently closed in Denmark (whereas the Swedish season operates on a different calendar so they’re still in offseason mode), hence ACH would be unable to buy a replacement.
According to Fotboll Direkt the saga is not yet over and IFK could come back with an improved offer to try and pry away a bloke whose contract runs until June 2026, and who has been in pretty sharp form for Horsens this term. Breaking through as an important attacking player after being in and out in the top tier following his transfer. We don’t know if Just’s absence from Horsens was related to this transfer situation but it seems like a bit of a coincidence if it wasn’t.
Meanwhile the on-field situation only gets murkier for ACH after they lost 4-1 at home against Sønderjyske. Just was subbed on for the last half hour with his team already having conceded three times by then. Not good. There was only one sweet aspect to that match and it came on the opposite side... with Dalton Wilkins given his competitive debut for Sonders, starting at left-back and playing 73 minutes (he and Just crossed over for about quarter of an hour – not the first time they’ve played each other in Denmark, to be fair, but considering how much footy they’ve played as teammates through the years it’s always funky).
Wilkins had a really strong debut, running hard at defenders and swinging in crosses from out wide. Tough in the challenge as well. Didn’t have much defending to do because Horsens only managed three shots all afternoon. Spot him in the #13 jersey in those highlights. Horsens might be slumping but Sonders remain just two points behind Aalborg in second place with one more game each before Division 1 splits into promotion and relegation rounds. They remain on course for promotion to the top tier.
And in that top tier... Silkeborg lost their fourth consecutive game since the Superliga resumed, with Callum McCowatt playing 78 minutes of their 1-0 defeat against AGF. But they are in the semis of the cup and they should still make the top six cut-off.
Up Next: B93 vs Horsens at 1am on Sunday (NZT)
Ria Percival – Crystal Palace (English Championship)
There wasn’t a scheduled round of the Women’s Championship this week due to the FA Cup ties but several rescheduled games still took place in this free window. That involved this potboiler between Palace and Sheffield United, in which the Eagles claimed a 1-0 victory thanks to Molly Mae Sharpe’s 73rd minute goal. Nothing special about this one other than it being played at Selhurst Park, their men’s Premier League home, but it was three more important points in their promotion quest as well as another ninety minutes for Ria Percival at right back. Good one.
The only other match of note in this division was Blackburn vs Lewes. Jacqui Hand played the full match and continued to look like the spark of creativity she’s been ever since she first set foot at the club... except they conceded early-ish in both halves and, as they made attacking subs in a desperate search for goals, that led to Hand being dropped deeper into midfield where she was less effective. Lewes did get one goal back via Hollie Olding from a corner. But only one. They lost 2-1 which means they remain in the relegation zone for another week. Reading’s 1-0 win vs Charlton was very bad news for them. Good news for Katie Kitching (Sunderland) and Ria Percival (Crystal Palace) though, as their two teams now sit clear in first and second respectively thanks to Charlton’s stumble.
Up Next: Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace, again, on Monday at 3am (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
What do ya know, yet another Loons game involving a late goal. Before that, though, there was a very early goal. Minnesota conceded against Orlando Pride after a mere 14 seconds. Pretty sloppy... but all was forgotten on 3:11 when Teemu Pukki tackled the oppo goalie and slotted in an equaliser.
Pukki would score a ripper of a second goal later on to have Minnesota leading at half-time, in fact he wasn’t far off a hat-trick with a third chance turned over the bar (before Orlando missed an even better chance in the same manner). Hence 2-1 was how it remained for a long time, up until Duncan McGuire’s beautiful in-swinging leveller in the 83rd minute. His second of the day. But that’s not how this one was destined to end. Fifth minute of stoppage time and the South African speedster Bongi Hlongwane dashed through and beat the keeper with his first touch to win it 3-2 for MNUFC.
Amidst all that, Michael Boxall wore the captain’s armband once again, picking up a yellow card in a typically dependable centre-back’s performance. Made a bunch of clearances and passed the ball out nicely. The usual Boxy stuff. Minnesota now have two wins and a draw to begin their MLS campaign.
In other matches, no sign of Jay Herdman in the squad for Vancouver, Bill Tuiloma was again an unused substitute for Charlotte FC and still has not played a competitive club game since July 2023, and Tyler Boyd got twenty minutes off the bench for Nashville in a 2-2 draw against his old club LA Galaxy.
But wait there’s more because the USL Championship began this past week for most clubs. Most but not all. Kyle Adams (Louisville) and Moses Dyer (Tulsa) didn’t have games. Riley Bidois (Loudon City) did but it was too soon for him to be involved. Elliot Collier did get 24 mins as a sub for Indy Eleven in their 2-1 loss to Oakland Roots, while James Musa got a full game at CB for Colorado Springs but they lost 2-0 away to Miami FC.
Up Next: Minnesota vs LAFC, 1.30pm on Sunday (NZT)
Nando Pijnaker & Max Mata – Sligo Rovers (League of Ireland Premier Division)
Last week it was all about the goals with Max Mata scoring two with two assists and Nando Pijnaker even chipping in with an assist of is own. This week it was about the clean sheet. Sligo Rovers did have a few chances against Shamrock Rovers, like when Simon Power smacked a shot into the post after a delicious reverse ball from Mata, or when Ellis Chapman had his effort cleared off the line despite the keeper being out of the picture. The Bit’o’Red did well to continue to create stuff despite not having much of the ball. Some controversy late on when the Shamrock keeper rushed out of his area and clattered a Sligo forward, only receiving a yellow card for the indiscretion. Ultimately, Sligo Rovers didn’t do enough to break the deadlock, however they did defend very well throughout and a 0-0 draw means they’ve kept three cleanies from five matches this year. Nando and the lads have been getting it done.
Up Next: Sligo Rovers vs Drogheda at 8.45am on Sunday (NZT)
Malia Steinmetz – FC Nordsjælland (Danish Kvindeliga)
Danish women’s football resumed this weekend after the long winter break, doing so with the quarter-finals of the cup. That meant no Claudia Bunge or Daisy Cleverley quite yet because their HB Køge team was eliminated by Malia Steinmetz’s FC Nordsjælland in the previous round. But we did have tidy victories for the other couple of comrades. Steinmetz started for FCN as they cruised past third-tier side Dalum/Næsby for a 3-0 win. Nobody seems to have filmed it so cannot say more but that does take the defending champs into the semi-finals where they’ll face Næstved, a second tier club. The semis take place over two legs.
And in the other semi-final will be Ally Green’s AGF after they beat Fortuna Hjørring 1-0 in their match, carrying on the strong form they showed in November and December. This game was live-streamed, which is handy... except that Ally Green didn’t actually play. Dunno why that was but she did spend a chunk of time away with the NZ national team last month which could easily have led to a knock or perhaps just a preference to give her some more time to get reintegrated. Either way. Doesn’t look like she missed a classic match, with both teams playing like they’d just woken up after that winter’s nap. AGF got the win and that’s what matters. They’ll face Brondby in the semis. Now here are some Ally Green highlights which just dropped...
Always interesting, the timing of when footballers commission these things. Going to assume that Greeny’s contract runs out at the end of the season.
Up Next: FCN face Fortuna away on Monday at 3am as the Kvindeliga resumes, while it’s HBK vs AGF at 1am on the same day (NZT)
Indiah-Paige Riley - PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
Don’t normally like doing the games when kiwi players lose and get subbed off at half-time. There tends not to be much to say about those ones... but sometimes it has to be done. Like here, because after losing 3-1 to FC Twente any outside hope of PSV winning the Eredivisie is now surely gone. That’s alright, they were way behind both Twente (and also Ajax) anyway and clearly aren’t quite as good as them. But yeah this defeat makes that an almost concrete thing (one more point dropped with guarantee it). Unfortunately they’re also now nine points behind second-placed Ajax so they probably aren’t qualifying for Champions League either.
PSV did start really well. They created a chance from a goalmouth scramble, another from a counter-attack, another from a set piece. Good variety. Until they conceded in the 28th minute after failing to play the ball out safely from a goal kick. Ella Peddemors made a tackle in the area and swiftly buried her shot. Whoops. And their response wasn’t great either, looking shaken by the concession, which is probably why Riley had to be sacrificed at the break as they switched things up. That worked to some extend because Joelle Smits equalised after 62 minutes... but FC Twente finished much stronger and scored twice in the last ten minutes.
Up Next: PSV vs Feyenoord at 2.30am on Monday 25 March (NZT)
Abby Erceg & Milly Clegg – Racing Louisville (American National Women’s Soccer League)
Milly Clegg has touched down in Louisville. Somehow both ahead and also behind schedule, since she was initially going to have the A-League season with Western Sydney Wanderers first only to get injured and have the Louisville signing announced early... then that injury prevented her from joining them straight away. She wasn’t there for the team’s exhibition tournament in Colombia and seems to have only been able to link up with them for the very end of their seven-week preseason – with the NWSL kicking off in a few days.
Given Clegg’s age and inexperience on top of the fitness, it might be a while until we see her make that NWSL debut. Then again, it might be next week, who knows? She did sign a three-year contract with RL though so it’s not like this isn’t a longer term investment from the club. Great to see that the integration has begun... and especially great to see Abby Erceg taking a fellow kiwi under her wing...
Needless to say, Abby Erceg was a big part of those preparations. They’ve got a new coach this season with assistant Bev Yanez having taken over for Kim Björkegren. Seems like nothing has changed there and that Erceg will continue to share captaincy duties with Jaelin Howell. Under Yanez they’re trying to be a team that keeps more possession. They’re also hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in their four-year history. Many of their new signings have been on the younger side, same as Clegg, so this should be a pretty nurturing environment.
Up Next: Racing Louisville vs Orlando Pride, Sunday at 9am (NZT)
Matt Dibley-Dias - Fulham (English Premier League)
The highlights continue. Didn’t get MDD in the latest All Whites squad but that was to be expected – remember he turned down possible call-ups around this time last season too as Fulham tend to have a number of players missing during international breaks which gives Dibley-Dias greater first team opportunities if he’s around. He’s trying to crack that first team. He’s seeking that Premier League debut. And given his recent form for the reserves, he might not be far away.
Up Next: Away to Leeds U21s at 8am on Saturday (NZT)
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