Stefan Marinovic – Vancouver Whitecaps vs Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)

The odd thing about the Whitecaps’ season is that it may have felt like an endlessly frustrating one, a season in which they sacked their long-time coach a month ago, but they actually ended up only a couple wins out of the playoffs. It’ll be a different looking team in 2019. New coach, no doubt several new players. Big Stef oughta remain around, he was one of the better performers even if he still had his ups and downs, an extended injury break early on hardly helping. But yeah, change is probably coming.

Nobody paid much attention to Marinovic in game 34 though. It was all about Alphonso Davies, the 17 year old local phenom who was playing his final game before leaving for Bayern Munich. Davies scored a double in the first half as Vancouver beat Portland 2-1.

The Province: “He opened the scoring in the 28th minute in quintessential Davies style — he collected the ball in his own zone and turned on the afterburners. He blew past Portland’s Lawrence Olum like an afterthought, raced toward the box, cut in front of Bill Poni Tuiloma and hit a banger from the top of the circle past Jeff Attinella. Three minutes later, Timbers fullback Marco Farfan tried to control the ball in his own box, only to have Davies pick his pocket and score his second goal of the game.”

Righto, yeah, Bill Tuiloma was playing too, forgot to mention that. With the Timbers already assured of a place in the playoffs they chose to rest their entire starting team knowing that regardless of what happened, they were most likely going to end up in fifth place thanks to other results. Which is exactly what happened. So coach Gio Savarese made eleven changes to the starting team from last week which included Billy T at centreback with Julio Cascante – Tuiloma’s seventh start of the season, and just his second since the start of June – the other coming earlier this month. He’s also come off the bench six times.

That’s an example of a good ending to an imperfect streak, meanwhile Marinovic had the opposite as far as his clean sheet drought goes. Vancouver dominated possession here, which is rare. Portland’s reserves didn’t really click outside a few odd attempts but right at the end they blew the zero away with a consolation goal

The Province: “Defensively, the Whitecaps limited Portland to just a few scoring chances off of free kicks and a blind bicycle kick from the baseline by Dairon Asprilla, with goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic making four saves. But the Kiwi keeper had his bid for his third shutout of the season spoiled in the 90th minute by Andres Flores, who scored his first goal of the season with just his second shot on net. The Caps have an MLS-low two clean sheets this year, with the last coming in a 2-0 home win over Real Salt Lake on April 27.”

Bugger. (Also, what the hell is a “shot on net”?). Marinovic ends his season with 24 matches played, earning three yellow cards and keeping those two clean sheets. He conceded 45 times in those 24 starts, making 65 saves.

You know what else this means? Bill Tuiloma (and the injured Jake Gleeson, but he doesn’t count because he’s done for the year) is the only New Zealander left in the MLS as the playoffs begin. All the rest of them didn’t make it. Portland are away to FC Dallas in a couple days with the winner advancing to the two-legged conference semis.

Up Next: Thursday at 2.30pm, FC Dallas vs Portland Timbers (NZT)

Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)

Poor Woodsman, he hasn’t started a Premier League game since the start of September – the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United – and all these subs apps are making it tough to score goals. He’s still yet to hit the net in ten league games, six of them off the bench, adding up to a 437 minute goal drought. Not that he would’ve probably scored this week.

Burnley hosted Chelsea and lost 4-0… this eight days after losing 5-0 to Manchester City. A few good results in between their Europa-induced early struggles and this current brutal schedule twist have steadied them in the mid-table murk… but not by much and their goal difference has just taken a hammering. Sam Vokes was again preferred up top against Chelsea, though he was replaced by Wood with 59 minutes gone – the first sub that Sean Dyche made. Jeff Hendrick played off Vokes and Barnes replaced him in the 65th.

Wood’s introduction came just after Ross Barkley had made it 2-0, adding to Alvaro Morata’s first half goal. Then William scored in between Wood and Barnes’ introduction and Ruben Loftus-Cheek polished it off in stoppage time. But this was a one-sided game. None of the strikers were ever gonna have much luck, Chelsea had 70% of possession and more than three times as many shots – Burnley only had one shot on target and it was Chris Wood’s only attempt of the match. It was a relatively tame header from about ten yards out throwing himself at a hopeful lobbed cross. Straight at the keeper. Wood did score four goals as a sub last season so if Burnley get churning, him sitting on the bench is hardly a write-off. Still, it’ll be interesting to see if he gets the start against West Ham or Leicester next up, given those oppositions won’t necessitate an extra midfielder like Hendricks.

Lancashire Telegraph: “Sam Vokes has rocketed back up the pecking order for Burnley this season and his form was rewarded with a new three-year deal on Friday. But the sense remains that Dyche is still looking to find the right formula in attack this season. At the start of the campaign few would have expected Vokes to be the line leader at this stage of the season.

Ashley Barnes finished last season well but hasn’t yet fired this term, while Matej Vydra, an £11million addition in August, hasn’t yet been given a consistent chance to shine. Chris Wood has also struggled to find the form that propelled him to 10 goals in 20 Premier League starts last season. Vokes is the man in possession at the moment, but he struggled to make an impact against Chelsea. Dyche has options in attack, but right now it’s difficult to now what the right formula is.”

Up Next: West Ham vs Burnley, 4am on Sunday (NZT)

Tyler Boyd – Vitória de Guimarães (Portuguese Primeira Liga)

Back in the starting lineup after his goal in the Portuguese cup last week, Tyler Boyd got 77 minutes on the right wing looking for a winner against Braga. Andre Guedes had given Vitória the lead in the 14th min, his powerful header sneaking in under the keeper from Davidson’s cross. But Braga levelled four minutes later from a corner routine. Claudemir with the finish at the back post. Braga looked deadly from set pieces all day however their final shots were pretty rank, in fact shots on target were a rare commodity for both teams despite plenty of efforts. Boyd was replaced by Rincon with thirteen minutes left and it ended 1-1.

Not a terrible point away from home, really. After losing their first two games, VSC have only lost once in six Primeira Liga matches since. Boyd had two shots, both off target, though the run of play didn’t really go down his side much. It was his fourth liga start for VSC and first since late August.

And if you’re wondering about his goal last week, here it is…

Up Next: Sunday at 9.30am away to Boavista (NZT)

Emma Rolston & Meikayla Moore – MSV Duisburg (German Frauen-Bundesliga)

Three wins in a row was a little more than you might have expected from Duisburg so no massive shocker that they fell back to earth a bit this week. Two games and two defeats. First was Bayer Leverkusen putting a couple early ones past them to lead 2-0 at the break, a problem which the coach wisely chose to remedy by throwing Emma Rolston out there at half-time. Wisely not only for our national bias reasons but also because it bloody worked! Four minutes after being introduced, Emma scored her first goal in the Bundesliga.

Ah but Helen Sahlmann restored the two goal lead eight minutes later and Bayer Leverkusen went on to win 4-1. Full game for Meikayla Moore but a blow for her blossoming partnership at the back with Ireland’s Claire O’Riordan. Also, this wasn’t Emma Rolston’s first goal for the club as of course she bagged a double in a cup game a little while back.

Not quite as much excitement on the weekend. SC Sand won 1-0 thanks to a Jana Vojteková strike in the 13th minute. Rolston was again subbed on after 45 mins but this time didn’t bag a goal to show for it. Meikayle Moore got in another full contest. It’ll be curious to see if both kiwis are given the opportunity to start next time with a difficult test against league leaders Wolfsburg coming up.

Up Next: Duisburg vs Wolfsburg, 2am on Monday (NZT)

Ryan de Vries – FC Gifu (Japanese J2-League)

Throw ‘em up for Ryan De Vries. Goals haven’t come easy for him at FC Gifu, with just one in 22 games prior to this week. But then he came up against JEF United and scored both in a 2-0 victory, drink it down. RDV never had any problem banging them away in Aotearoa so hopefully this is the start of a big run for the one-cap All White… or as much as there’s time for since there’s only three games left in the season. The second goal was just trademark RDV, getting in behind the defence and sliding in a sharp finish past the keeper.

Up Next: 6pm on Sunday, Gifu vs Montedio Yamagata (NZT)

Ali Riley – Chelsea FC (English Super League)

What Chelsea really needed was a win. All those 0-0 draws were hampering their chances of challenging for the league title again and they couldn’t really afford to keep sliding like that. And, guess what, they got one. A nice old statement victory, 1-0 over Liverpool thanks to a goal from Magdalena Ericsson in the first half. But Ali Riley didn’t play so no need to dwell.

However following her first start for the club in the Champions League recently she did have a good yarn with the media team for the latest matchday programme…

Ali Riley: “The last time I played Champions League at Kingsmeadow was against Chelsea – and it was a night to forget! So to start, play under the lights and see the fans come out and support us was great. It was my first 90 minutes in three months and I had a run at the end of the game when I chased the right-back into the corner and I couldn’t wait to see the GPS numbers after! That’s something I’ll always give the team and it’s something we can all work on. No matter if you make a mistake, if you concede a goal, to give 100 per cent effort and show heart all the time is what makes a great team. That’s the minimum you can do as a footballer. Against Fiorentina, everyone gave everything and any mistakes were met with encouragement. That can be the difference between winning and losing.”

The whole thing is worth a read, naturally. She could get her next chance in the second leg against Fiorentina this week. That one is on Thursday and after a 1-0 win in the home leg, a draw away from home would put Chelsea into the Champions League quarters. Four days later they play Ria Percival’s West Ham in the league – the last game before the international window and the Oceania qualifiers for the Football Ferns, which both those two have been selected for.

Up Next: Fiorentina vs Chelsea, Thursday at 7.30am (NZT)

CJ Bott & Hannah Wilkinson – Vittsjö GIK (Swedish Damallsvenskan)

Was it ever in doubt? A thrilling 4-0 win a week against Eskilstuna gave Vittsjö the upper hand in the relegation scrap and they hammered that home by hammering Hammarby in the final game of the season. Technically ‘hammering’ is a bit of an exaggeration. They were up 1-0 in the fourth minute thanks to Michelle De Jongh from the penalty spot but it wasn’t until the last six minutes that they got the last two in a 3-0 win – De Jongh with a second before last week’s hat-trick hero Clara Markstedt got the third.

Kinda nervous stuff actually because with Limhamn Bunkeflo winning at the same time it meant that Vittsjö needed to win this game to stay ahead of their opponents. But they did, so for the second year in a row they escape the drop on the last day of the season – this time without the Hannah Wilkinson winner unfortunately. Another quality outing from CJ Bott though, she finishes the campaign with eleven games played after joining midseason while Wilkie played 17 times, with eleven starts, scoring once for the team she’s been a part of since the start of 2017.

Up Next: Rehab for Wilkie’s knee and Footy Ferns for CJ

James McGarry – Willem II (Dutch Eredivisie)

Just quietly, young Jimmy McG snuck on off the bench this week. It was an incredible story when he went from the Wellington Phoenix reserves to starting on opening weekend of the Eredivise but an injury set him back for a few weeks and he’s been sitting on the bench since. However with Willem II chasing an equaliser that they’d never get against FC Utrecht, on he came with 12 minutes remaining. Michael Woud was also in the bench but has yet to make an appearance yet for the club.

Up Next: Thursday at 7.45am against Spakenburg in the KNVB Cup second round (NZT)

Michael den Heijer - NEC Nijmegen (Dutch Eerste Divisie)

G’day Mike. Last we heard from this lad he was going head to head in the ressies against Leon van den Hoven about a month ago. So always cool to see him given a chance to explain his rather incredible footy journey – basically rocking up to NEC Nijmegen on his bike one day, asking for a trial, and a couple years later he’s still there. Voetbal Zone even makes the comparison with Hyun-Jun Suk, a South Korean bloke who did the same thing a decade ago with Ajax…

Voetbal Zone: “’Mister Martin!’ In 2007, Hyun-Jun Suk stood rattling at the fence of Ajax's training field. The South Korean wanted only one thing: getting permission from Martin Jol to prove himself as a player. He got his way, earned a contract and participated in the first team six times. Michael den Heijer did something similar, but with NEC. He smiles when the reporter makes the comparison between Suk and Den Heijer.”

For more on that tale, check out TNC’s own interview with MDH from last year which is a ripping yarn if we do say so ourselves. Den Heijer didn’t play for the senior team last year after earning a two-year pro contract and he addresses that here. NEC had been relegated the year before and manager Pep Lijnders didn’t much fancy playing anyone too young or inexperienced as they tried to earn immediate promotion… but after finishing third they kinda choked down the stretch and are back in the Eerste Division again. MDH had a chance for a fresh start after Lijnders returned to Liverpool to work as a first team coach in Jurgen Klopp’s staff… but a back injury in preseason cost him six weeks and new players were signed in his position while he was out. Still got this season on his contract though so there’s time to impress.

MDH: “Yes, it is a crucial time for me. If I do not show it this season, it will harder for the club to give me more chances. I have to show this season that I can have a positive impact on the team and if that does not work, I will probably not be invited to stay. I have to prove myself in training sessions. I have to show it there. I love NEC, the Netherlands and Nijmegen. It is a beautiful city to live and the club is great, I cannot say otherwise. Everyone is very friendly and so are the supporters. I want to show them what I can do. I want to become a basic player and promote with NEC to the Eredivisie, where the club also belongs. I want to make goals, to be a major player. No, they have not seen the real Michael den Heijer yet.”

Meanwhile NEC got pumped 5-1 at home this week by FC Oss and are sitting seventh on the ladder after eleven games so maybe that chance comes sooner rather than later.

Up Next: Friday at 6.30am against Fortuna Sittard in the KNVB Cup second round (NZT)

Tommy Smith & Deklan Wynne – Colorado Rapids (American Major League Soccer)

Congrats to Smithy on a deserved bit of recognition there… not that he had too much competition on this roster. But they did finish things on a happy note with a 2-1 win over FC Dallas (who admittedly weren’t fully focussed with a spot in the playoffs already assured). And who should bag the 84th minute winner but the Rapids’ defensive player of the year, of course. The man can do it all.

FC Dallas had scored first in the 18th minute through Max Urruti – with an assist from ex-Rapid Dominique Badji – and that was the way if seemed to be going on into perpetuity as usual. Dallas even had a penalty kick awarded but VAR took it right back. For once though, Anthony Hudson’s strategy of hanging in there and striking actually worked. Academy player of the year Cole Bassett scored his first goal as a pro with a little under eleven minutes remaining on the clock and then old mate Tommy Smith popped up with the winner in the 84th. Quite a brilliant header too.

Beauty of a way to close out a mostly horrible season and a positive note for Uncle Tony to dwell on in the presser afterwards and going into the next campaign. Deklan Wynne got another good ninety minutes in at left back as well plus the forgotten man Kip Colvey even made it onto the bench, although he didn’t end up playing.

This was Tommy’s fourth goal of the season which actually leaves him second on the top scorer’s list for Colorado after Dominique Badji, the guy who set up Dallas’ goal. That, folks, is a succinct way of summing up at least one of the problems with this team in 2018. Smithy also had three assists, six yellow cards and a red card, the latter costing him the only minutes he missed all season as he was ever-present in all 33 games he wasn’t suspended for. Nobody played more for Anthony Hudson.

Deklan Wynne sneaks in at fifth on the MLS minutes list with his 22 starts and three subs appearances, he was ever-present too until a couple months in when he disappeared back in the pecking order – though he returned for a fair few games down the stretch. Dekkers had no goals or assists but did get three yellows and a very harsh red. And of course there’s Kip Colvey, who played three times for 208 minutes and that was it. His last MLS appearance came in May. He did start a cup game since them but he left with concussion in the first half and missed over a month after that in the protocols.

Up Next: A nice rest without having to lose nineteen games

Erin Nayler – Girondins Bordeaux (French Division 1 Féminine)

All the tough games are coming at once for FCGB. Their brilliant start to the new season came to a halt with a 3-0 loss away to Lyon last week, this week Paris did them even worse with a 5-0 thrashing. And they’ve got PSG in a week’s time and no chance to rest up before then as their catch-up game away to Metz is in the midweek (Metz lost 5-0 to Lyon the other day). They’re still fourth on the ladder but have sunk back into the peloton.

Paris scored in the first minute of the game through Linda Sällström and Mathilde Bourdieu scored a double to make it 3-0 at the break. The first goal coming from a midfield turnover, the second a poor bit of defending off a set piece and the third a belter from distance. They then held out until the 57th min when Gaetane Thiney curled in an even better strike from outside the box and then Sällström added a fifth in injury time. To be fair, Nayler made several quality stops in the second half to limit the damage.

Up Next: Metz vs Bordeaux at 2am on Wednesday (NZT)

Andrew Blake – Hibernian (Scottish Premiership)

It’s been a tough year for Andy Blake, the kiwi midfielder/fullback. Getting a gig with Hibernian in the top flight of Scotland should’ve been a dream for him but on loan with Edinburgh City in January he busted his Achilles after only eight appearances and that was the end of that. He recovered in time for preseason but then got injured again with the development squad and is only now on the comeback trail.

Andrew Blake: “The first competitive game for the Development Squad was in the Irn Bru Cup, I had only played pre-season games before then, so it was actually my first competitive game coming back from my Achilles injury and I only played 25 minutes before getting injured again. When I came on against Hearts that was about a year since I had done my Achilles. Playing 25 minutes of competitive football in a year was not great, so all I need to do now is pin my ears back and work hard to stay fit for the upcoming games. Every game is vital for me. I need to be getting minutes. We’re playing Kilmarnock on Monday and they’re a decent side, so it will be another competitive match for me. I’ve noticed that Kilmarnock have a good side in the Reserve League so that will be a good test for us as a group. If I can play in the match then that would be great.”

Here’s hoping he gets that long run of games – we could kind of use a right back in the national team.

Up Next: See how it goes

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

Honestly, as soon as the Loons missed out on the playoffs it got ugly. They lost each of their last four games, scoring four goals in the process but conceding 13. That’s not the team that they were for most of this season. Clearly not the way that Boxall or any of them would’ve wanted to finish. Against Columbus Crew they were down 2-0 to a couple Gyasi Zardes goals with 50 minutes played before Francisco Calvo went all inspirational and scored a ten-minute double to tie it all up. However it wasn’t to be and Zardes completed his hatty with seven mins left and 3-2 was the final score.

Boxall wasn’t able to get in front of Zardes for the first goal, a header from a set piece move. The second was all the keeper’s fault, spilling a long range effort right at Zardes’ feet. Calvo then made his salvo effort, living off some lazy defending, until Zardes ruined it. Dumb way to end the season. Hopefully this team finds a midfield for 2019.

Coincidentally, Minnesota thus finish their second season with the same points total as their first, which isn’t a fair reflection of their development. But too many silly defeats against teams they were good enough to beat (*cough, Colorado*) really doomed them. Boxall ended up leading the team in minutes played, taking part in 32 of 34 games. He scored twice and earned seven yellow cards. He was never subbed off.

Up Next: A long refreshing offseason

Rebekah Stott – Melbourne City (Australian W-League)

Rebekah Stott played for the worst team in the NWSL this season but she doesn’t mess around when it comes to the W-League. Back with Melbourne City for a fourth time, the 25 year old has won the last three titles with this club. She’s the only NZer in the W-League this season too so really carrying the torch.

Yet in the opening round of the new term, it was the first ever South Africans to play in the competition that stole the show. Rhoda Mulaudzi and Refiloe Jane were excellent for Canberra United, especially Mulaudzi who scored one and set up another in a 2-0 win for the home team. A very early wake up call for the three-time defending champs. Stotty played at centreback alongside former Seattle teammate Lauren Barnes (and with Aussie Lydia Williams in goal, also a former Seattle Reign buddy) and that’s going to be a fine defence but their defence of the title won’t come easy at all as the league appears set to reach new heights again this year.

Up Next: Melbourne City vs Sydney on Friday at 7.20pm (NZT)

James Musa – Phoenix Rising (American United Soccer League)

The Moose joined Phoenix Rising to win the USL championship. So far so good on that account after a 4-2 lead over Swope Park Rangers – an old club of his. Thing is he’s still injured though, so he didn’t play. Didier Drogba did and he scored but no James Musa once again. Gonna be fighting for fitness ahead of the next round of the playoffs now.

Speaking of the USL, here’s a thing about Myer Bevan and Cory Brown from Whitecaps site EightySix Forever:

“Myer Bevan: Bevan went on two loans this year. The first to Husqvarna in the Swedish 3rd tier and the second to the ‘Caps USL affiliate Fresno F.C. Bevan managed three goals in eight appearances in Sweden for the relegation threatened Husqvarna. In Fresno, Bevan made seven appearances and did not score, but managed a couple of assists. He also put up an average of about 1.4 key passes per game in Fresno. I’m not quite sure what the Whitecaps plans are for him. He’s shown some flashes but it hasn’t really translated to a great deal of production at this stage. He’s twenty-one, which is still young, but he’s getting to the point where he is what he is. If he doesn’t play regularly at a decent level next year, and bag considerably more goals while doing it, I doubt he ever plays any part in the Whitecaps first team. I think it would probably be fine to leave Bevan in Fresno next year. Unlike the other prospects on this list they actually played him and they generally did a good job of getting service to their strikers. Fresno, despite finishing 14 points outside of a playoff spot, generated the 5th most shots in the league and had a number of players with really impressive chance creation numbers. If Bevan can’t score there then he’s not good enough for MLS.”

“Cory Brown: Vancouver’s 3rd round pick in the draft, Brown managed a respectable 1025 minutes for Fresno. The twenty two year old New Zealander is short for a centre back at 5’9 but weighs 187 pounds. This means that he is so muscular that on the BMI scale he is technically considered obese. This mildly interesting fact aside though, Brown is not a very exiting prospect. His actual stats are pretty bad and he almost certainly will never play for the Whitecaps but Fresno seem to like him so I see no reason to move him.”

But the news was not so great on this account, Monty The Python Patterson in need of a new club…

USLSoccer.com: “Elsewhere, Energy FC declined the 2019 contract options of defenders Richard Dixon, Shawn McLaws and midfielder Monty Patterson.”

Up Next: Orange County vs Phoenix Rising, Sunday at 3pm (NZT)

Ria Percival – West Ham United (English Super League)

A 2-1 win and West Ham are back on the wagon. Ria Percival is doing excellent things for the Hammers now and it’s great to see them get a result for the hard toil. Had to come from behind against Everton but made it happen all the same. Ninety minutes for Ria playing this time at right back.

Up Next: Home to Chelsea at 4am on Monday (NZT)

Jeremy Brockie – Mamelodi Sundowns (South African Premier Soccer League)

Yeah, the drought continues. But it’s hard to break it when you’re only getting eighteen minutes off the bench, as was the case this week as the Sundowns beat Chippa 1-0. Gaston Sirino scored early and it was he who made way for Brox in the 72nd minute. Brockie did get a yellow card near the end but that was it.

Based on a report in Soccer Laduma, it sounds like that lack of game time is becoming a thing. Brockie’s representation is on the record as saying that they’ll need to have a word with the gaffer if this continues into the coming months.

Soccer Laduma: “A source at Mamelodi Sundowns has revealed that the club still wants to hold onto Jeremy Brockie’s services, although this could change. As reported in this week’s edition of Soccer Laduma, Mike Makaab from Prosport International confirmed that if Jeremy Brockie’s situation at the Chloorkop-based club remains unchanged, his representative will be sitting down with management at Sundowns.

 “If he doesn’t get game-time in the next month or so, I will be sitting down with Sundowns to discuss a way forward,” Makaab confirmed to the Siya crew last week. However, a source at the club has revealed that Sundowns initially had no plans to let Brockie leave the club, despite the player’s lack of game-time.”

Up Next: Baroka vs MS, Telkom Knockout Quarterfinal, Sunday TBD (NZT)

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