CJ Bott - Leicester City (English Super League)

A couple of weeks ago, CJ Bott and Liberato Cacace were each nominated for the FIFA Best Awards as part of the longlist of players for the Best Elevens. Cacace followed that honour up by scoring his first goal for Empoli, as covered in last week’s article. Then, a few days later, CJ Bott did the same thing for Leicester City. Wellingtonian fullback solidarity. You do love to see it...

Beauty. Get it at the back post. Fullback pushing forward. Can’t miss from there and she didn’t. It took 61 games across all competitions but there ya go: CJ Bott’s first goal for the Foxes and her first since she moved to England (though she did get a couple for Vålerenga during her previous time in Norway).

The context here was a midweek League Cup group game, with Leicester City facing second-tier club Birmingham City and needing to win to have any chance of progressing to the knockouts (with only the group winners advancing). That possibility wasn’t looking so great for them when Ava Baker, an ex-LCFC player, converted a wonderful finish for Birmingham after a loose pass across the backline after 13 minutes. Baker had a good chance to make it 2-0 soon afterwards too.

But everything changed in a hurry late in the first half when the Foxes scored four times in the space of eight minutes. There was an own goal on 34’ and a Yuka Momiki penalty on 37’. CJB popped up on the end of that Missy Goodwin cross on 39’. Then Simone Sherwood scored on 42’ to really break it open. It was enough of a burst that Bott was able to be subbed off after 54 minutes without any worry about the result... although some worry about her fitness as she kicked the ball out and called for the physio. Off she went. Both teams scored again as it ended 5-2.

Unfortunately, Brighton & Hove won 6-2 against Bristol City, an expected result, which means that they snuck through at Leicester’s expense by the difference of a lone point. Even still, this was a much-needed burst of production for LCFC. Prior to this week, they’d lost four straight games to nil in the WSL having only scored twice in nine matches overall... so with only one goal from their other two Conti Cup games the five they scored here more than doubled their entire season’s tally.

CJ Bott: “It was definitely a performance we needed. We've been so desperate to score goals and that was the confidence boost we needed going into the last game of the year. It's incredible to start scoring more goals which is what we've been aiming for and great to get one for myself. I'm really happy and proud to get my first goal for Leicester. I think we've shown that we've capable of putting out a team to get a good performance. We can put out a team that can defend well and now are capable of scoring so if we can take that into this weekend's game, we'll be okay.”

That weekend’s game was against... Chelsea. There’s some other Conti Cup action to get to as well but we’ll save that for later (by the way, it’s now going to be known as the Subway Cup thanks to an outbidding sponsorship change... might just stick with ‘League Cup’ in that case). Would you believe it, the Foxes somehow pulled off a remarkable result to draw 1-1 with a Chelsea side that had won every single game up until this point – and not just in the WSL either, they’ve won all of their Champions League games too. 14 wins from 14 with 47 goals scored and 10 conceded. In contrast, LCFC’s goal scoring woes were mentioned two paragraphs ago... yet Missy Goodwin’s 20th minute goal had them fighting for something more than a draw for much of the match until Wieke Kaptein did eventually tie things up on 77’. But a 1-1 draw was still a huge result.

Only problem was that CJ Bott missed the match due to an unspecified injury, presumably whatever it was that ailed her in the midweek. It wasn’t clear what happened, only that she did seem to be hobbling for a bit before finally biting the bullet and calling for medical attention after a few instances where she didn’t press as hard as she normally would. CJB seemed to be unlacing her right boot as the physio jogged over which suggests foot or ankle. She walked off unaided and was with the team (in street-clothes) for the Chelsea game...

No crutches or anything. Probably just a matter of not wanting to risk anything on a short turnaround with a month’s break immediately following. The Foxes don’t play again until an FA Cup tie in mid-January. Winter break time... a break that Leicester City will spend outside of the relegation spot thanks to this unlikely point against Chelsea.

Up Next: Back at it against lower-league Stoke City at 2am on January 13 (NZT)

Maggie Jenkins - Gaziantep ALG Spor (Turkish Süper Ligi)

And another one. A third goal of the season to go with three assists for Maggie Jenkins and so many of those goal contributions have been crucial. A late assist in a draw against Amed. A late assist in a draw against Besiktas. The 80th minute equaliser on the way to a 3-2 win against Trabzonspor. Now a second-half winner against defending champs Galatasaray that embeds ALG Spor in second place after 12 rounds, knowing that their last match of 2024 will be against leaders Fenerbahce.

Jenkins played off the bench here. Same as she’s done in four of the last five matches - which hasn’t stopped her from tallying up these crucial moments. Jenkins has six starts and five matches off the bench with those goal contributions evenly split between them. This is a team on a five game winning streak and MJ has had a big say in that form regardless of her minutes. On this occasion, it was Jelena Karlicic with the first goal after 38 mins. Galatasaray levelled up through Ebru Topcu after 50 mins but then Jenkins came on to supply a 68th minute winner. Brave header at the back post from a Patricia Seteco cross. Lovely stuff.

The one bummer is that UEFA have revealed a little more information about the Women’s Europa Cup competition that’s going to come into effect next season and alas Turkey still only gets one continental spot. Most of the EC clubs will be Champions League sides that don’t qualify for the main event. There will be kiwis who benefit from that with more clubs involved in Europe deeper into the season... but for ALG Spor to get amongst them they’re going to have to win the league in Turkiye. Having said that, they can take a huge step towards that target if they beat Fenerbahce next week.

Up Next: Fenerbahce vs ALG Spor at 0:00 on Monday (NZT)

Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)

It’s not always about Chris Wood. He may be the Wood in the Nottingham Forest but other guys can have turns too. Against Aston Villa this weekend, old mate Woodsy was lurking back post as Forest stormed forward trying to complete a comeback victory. Elliot Anderson stomped into a tackle to claim possession outside the attacking penalty box and then ran towards the byline and sliced a ball back into the middle. Wood saw the likely trajectory of the cut-back and peeled deeper so that the ball would find its way to him if Anthony Elanga misfired. But Elanga didn’t misfire. Elanga whipped in the goal that gave Nottingham Forest a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa and launched them up into the top four – where they remain at this moment thanks to Manchester City losing the Manchester Derby.

To say it was a quiet Chris Wood game would be redundant because they’re all quiet until he scores. He doesn’t get a lot of touches. He does his defensive work in a subtly efficient manner. Then he pops up with one or two key chances per game and he usually scores them. The only thing that was different against Aston Villa was that his key moment this week, which he converted, was disallowed.

This was a fun and competitive game in which set pieces looked the best outlet for both sides. Nothing much happened in the first half but it all heated up in the second. The first major occurrence came about an hour into the match when Emiliano Martinez made a spectacular clawing save on the Villa goalline to deny Nico Dominguez’s header. As good as it gets to scrape that thing away. Within a few minutes of that pivotal instance came another one when Jhon Duran headed Aston Villa into a 63rd minute lead.

That changed the complexion and Forest were left chasing goals in response... leading to Chris Wood’s non-goal. The Woodsman did nothing wrong as he hunted between the width of the posts, drifting beyond the defensive line in anticipation of the low cross from Anthony Elanga after Morgan Gibbs-White had deliciously threaded a pass into the area. Wood was very clever about it, remaining in an offside position after the initial cross didn’t come his way from Callum Hudson-Odoi on the other side. That way nobody from the Villans bothered to pick him up... hence he was unmarked as Elanga ran beyond him, putting Wood back onside, and Wood dutifully poked home the square ball for 1-1. Or so he thought. A very long and pesky VAR review determined that Elanga had strayed offside by the mere point of his shoulder. Sorta seems irrelevant when he’s running onto a pass along the ground but rules are rules, s’pose.

Anyway it didn’t matter because Nikola Milenkovic headed in from close range in the 87th minute and then Elanga scored that 90+3rd minute decider. 2-1 to Nottingham Forest. Woodsy let his teammate hog the spotlight this time (though only thanks to that VAR intervention).

Nottingham Forest are up to fourth after 16 games played... is it too soon to start dreaming about Chris Wood playing in the Champions League? Yeah probably. But the way they’re going they’re absolutely in the running for continental qualification and it’s been six years since Chris Wood last had a taste of that. Burnley had some Europa League qualifiers back in 2018-19. They didn’t make it to the competition proper though... gotta go back to Wood’s time on loan with Birmingham in 2011-12 for his only dose of proper UEFA competition. Perhaps when that new contract gets sorted he can start to ponder such things.

For now, we’ve just had a week without a Chris Wood goal but there were two key instances where he could have scored and both of them happened to emphasise something that The Athletic also highlighted in a recent piece where they spoke to a few different folks about the enigma of The Woodsman. One of those was his coach who had this to say...

Nuno Espirito Santo: “So many things [make him effective]. His movement. Chris predicts five seconds before what the next two or three things to happen will be. It is something you only acquire through time. Realising the tempo of the game, knowing what your team-mate is going to do. He anticipates where the space will be. It is not something you can coach. It is in him already. Thank God.”

And then that was echoed by former Forest forward Robbie Earnshaw..

Earnshaw: “Do you know what scores you goals? Movement. There are the little moments, the two or three seconds before, where you have to put yourself in the right place at the right time. Then it is down to your finishing. But the movement is what gets you the chances. He creates space. He is not an old-school target man. He is much more. He has decent speed, he gets in behind and gets himself one-on-ones. Then there was the goal against Leicester when he turned brilliantly and found the bottom corner. He scores from all sorts of situations.”

Think of how he made those anticipatory movements prior to the disallowed goal and the winner that never made it to him. He’s reacting to things that haven’t even happened yet. That’s one of his crucial secrets. Small and subtle but super effective positioning.

Up Next: Brentford vs Nottingham Forest on Sunday at 4am (NZT)

Grace Wisnewski – Lexington SC (American USL Super League)

What’s Grace Wisnewski been up to since we last heard from her? Not much. Her signing with Lexington SC was met with excitement as she became the first ever contracted player for the new team... but that ongoing ACL recovery has limited her to only four appearances off the bench during the first half of the season.

The USL Super League is split up into a Fall Season and a Spring Season with a winter break in between. We’ve now reached that winter break so there’ll be no more footy until February in the Super League. Wisnewski’s been in and out of matchday squads to date, making a pair of appearances in September and then two more in December. The latest was her longest as she got subbed on at half-time of a 3-0 win against DC Power and ah yes look what she did...

No doubt it’s been frustrating only being able to play 94 combined minutes across the last 14 games but this was a pretty useful way to let them all know. She’s taken her time with the recovery process. She’s gotten a taste for being back out on the pitch during the first half of the season. Now she’s got two months off before ripping in for the remaining 14 games, having already scored once as proof. Nicely taken goal too.

This was also a very handy result for LSC ahead of the break because it was only their third win of the season (and the first at home), raising them equal on points with Spokane Zephyr to ensure they aren’t outright last any more. It’s been rough work for the new franchise. This is an entirely new league so most teams have probably been experiencing some of that uncertainty. The winter break should give everyone a chance to take stock.

By the way, Brooklyn FC are six points clear in first place having won their last six games on the trot. A couple of former Wellington Phoenix teammates of Wisnewski’s, Isabel Cox and Hope Breslin, have been right in amongst that. Cox has three goals from her 14 games (half starts, half as sub). Breslin hasn’t scored but she has made 12 appearances. No sign of Hailey Davidson for Dallas Trinity though – she’s only made the matchday squad once and has yet to play a game.

Up Next: Nothing until 16 February 2025 when Lexington SC are away to Carolina Ascent (NZT)

Maya Hahn & Suya Haering - Turbine Potsdam (German Bundesliga)

Hey, check this out...

That’s right, people. A starting debut in the Bundesliga for Suya Haering, only her second appearance for the senior team at Turbine Potsdam. And it was away against Bayern Munich.

Probably the toughest task imaginable for your first Bundesliga start but Haering and company did the best that they could. Already missing a few players due to injury (hence the Haering start) and well aware of their struggles throughout the campaign (having failed to register a single victory to date), it was a flat back five that they selected with the intention of frustrating and repelling the Bayern attack. Suya Haering played on the left edge (in her #25 jersey). And, fair, play they did frustrate the Bavarians for a decent spell. But then Carolin Simon scored a wicked free kick on 29’ before adding a second goal on 51’ and Bayern walked away with a pretty comfortable 2-0 victory.

Only losing by two goals is probably a boost for Potsdam, especially under the circumstances. Haering played the full ninety minutes with one tackle and three interceptions. Passing could use some work as she only completed 13/38 attempts... though in fairness there weren’t very many bodies to aim for ahead of her. This was one of those games where the messages was: defend, defend, defend. That’s what she did. Potsdam had zero shots in this game and kept just 18% of possession. Annoyingly, Maya Hahn only featured off the bench for the last half hour. She’s embedded herself as a starter in recent months but someone had to be sacrificed with the ultra-defensive shape and that proved to be her. So it goes. Hahn’s still played some part in every game this season, most of them from the start.

With this result, Turbine Potsdam reach the winter break having taken one measly point from 12 games. They’ve scored one goal and conceded 34. Pretty nasty stuff, having been outclassed since on their return to the top division. But you know what? They’re not that far off climbing out of the relegation zone. FC Köln are only four points ahead of them in tenth. We’ll see what they can wrangle up in the back half.

Up Next: Back at it against Werder Bremen... but not til February (NZT)

Callum McCowatt - Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)

Last week, Silkeborg and Aalborg played out a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Danish Cup quarter-final. This was a competition that Silkeborg won last season so they know what they’re doing. But they were going to need to get a result away from home in the second leg if the repeat was going to remain a possibility. To that aim, they did the wise thing and gave Callum McCowatt a start... but they also did a very unwise thing by conceding 32 seconds into the match.

Despite being on the back foot for large spells of this game, Silkeborg earned a lifeline when they got a penalty late in the first half. Younes Bakiz converted from the spot to have the tie level again and then the same bloke scored to give SIF the lead on 58’. Smoothly taken goal as he collected the ball on the turn just outside the area and then faded wide before slamming a smart finish off the base of the far post. Good from him. And also good from Callum McCowatt who played that pass.

McCowatt was promptly subbed for the last half hour as Silkeborg buckled up to protect the lead. A very sharp save from the SIF keeper and a free kick that clipped the post were as close as AaB came to scoring again. 2-1 final score. 3-2 on aggregate. The boys from Silkeborg welcomed in their long winter break with a fantastic result to send them into the final four of the cup once again. Courtesy of a Callum McCowatt assist.

Up Next: These fellas are on ice until mid-February

Michaela Foster – Durham FC (English Championship)

It’s only Mickey Foster this week because Hannah Blake didn’t play either game. Presumably an injury to blame for that, she’ll have time to recover now with the holiday break upcoming. As for Foster, she had work to do before she could rest.

First game on the cards was a midweek Conti/Subway Cup clash away against Sunderland – told ya there was more to come from this competition - and there’s a reason why Foster & Durham are the headliners not Katie Kitching & Sunderland. Sunderland were already basically eliminated knockout contention whereas Durham would sneak through with a victory. And Durham had the perfect start when Eleanor Ryan-Doyle scored in the first minute of action... though Sunderland were level by the time we were six minutes deep. 1-1 early doors and it was all on from there.

Foster started in the midfield but they subbed her at half-time as part of a triple change probably designed at managing minutes. Kitching was on the bench but they chucked her on after 67 mins on account of Kaila Novak having scored to give Durham the lead (58’) during the span when there were no NZers on the pitch. Kitch immediately began haunting for pockets of space on attack... firing slightly wide across the face of goal after running in behind onto one of those chances. But Durham held on for the 2-1 victory and with that they top their group.

Only the winners of each of the five groups, plus the three Champions League qualifiers from England who enter after the group phase, progress to the knockouts. What that means is Durham are the only Championship club to advance to the final eight. They were in a group without any WSL clubs so that surely helped... but they still had to do what they did to ensure it was them and not Sunderland or Blackburn Rovers or Sheffield United who got that spot. For their reward, Durham have been drawn up against... Chelsea. That’ll be fun. Good luck with that.

Don’t ask about how Durham went in their other game this week. It was away to Bristol City in the Champo and they were tonked 5-0. Ran out of gas after a run of fixtures and that’s what happened. Again, Foster only played half a game in the midfield. They conceded the first goal in 1H stoppage time so her half-time withdrawal may have been an adjustment to that. Dunno... but they then leaked four more without her. Fortunately there’s a break in the season now to rest up and maybe work on the ol’ golf swing.

Elsewhere in England, Indi Riley only got fifteen minutes off the bench in the 2-0 League Cup defeat to Spurs midweek. Both goals were scored before she jumped on. Palace were unlikely to progress to the knockouts anyway. IPR was then back in the eleven for the WSL match against Manchester United but got subbed off at half-time (far too much of that this week in England) after Grace Clinton scored the only goal for the Red Devils five mins into first half stoppages. 1-0 to United was the final score. Riley was right wing-back until they switched things up and replaced her. Also, still no update about Anna Leat at Aston Villa. Per last week’s yarn, they did end up sacking Robert de Pauw but Leat still wasn’t part of the squads for the 4-1 League Cup win vs Charlton or a much needed 3-1 WSL win against West Ham. Maybe next time.

London City Lionesses finished the year with a bang by scoring eight times in two games. Grace Neville played a full game with a yellow card in a 5-2 win, even getting to wear the armband for the last half hour after Ruesha Littlejohn was subbed. LCL scored in the first minute and were 4-0 up at half-time. Very comprehensive win, though not a huge amount for Neville to do in amongst. They then backed that up with a 3-1 win over Southampton in the league except that Neville was an unused sub so we don’t care.

Sunderland were pretty disappointing in only drawing 2-2 with Portsmouth in their last Championship outing of 2024. Full game for Katie Kitching but she couldn’t add to her goal contribution tallies. She did go as close as anyone to setting up a winner, fighting for the ball out wide then getting a good cutback into the middle... but the shot from Eleanor Dale was saved.

As for Sheffield United, they were beaten 4-2 by Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup and had a bye in the Champo. Never the best when you’re 2-0 down after twenty minutes. Olivia Page did make a start in that Rovers game but guess what? Subbed off at half-time. Page made a great goalline block prior to the second goal and was the only defender who even partly reacted when the ball bounced off the crossbar later in that phase, leading to the actual second goal. Granted, she did get beaten to a header for the third goal. Her withdrawal was more about changing the defensive shape than anything specifically individual. At least Jacqui Hand played a full game, although she wasn’t involved in either goal so a quiet game from her.

Here’s how the table Championship ladder is looking roughly midway through the season...

Up Next: Couple weeks off, no sweat

Katie Bowen - Inter Milan (Italian Serie A)

There you go, another dominant display from Internazionale. Actually, come to think of it, the dominant displays haven’t been that regular since winning 5-0 vs Sampdoria and 4-1 vs Napoli in the first two games of the term. And Sassuolo certainly had a few moments during this game that could have made it look a fair bit less dominant. But nah it was Inter who took their chances, scoring through Ivana Andres (26’), Martina Tomaselli (52’) and Elisa Polli (66’) for a 3-0 victory.

Lots of good work therein from Bowen moving that ball around from the back... perhaps a little less of her in the attacking areas than usual, although it was her excellent work overlapping with a one-two which led to the third goal. That’s a seventh clean sheet of the term for Inter from 13 Serie A fixtures, including four from their last five. They’ve taken 13 points from those five games with the Milan Derby draw being the only blemish. Bowen is third in the team for minutes played. Plus with Fiorentina losing against Juventus this week, Internazionale are now second in the standings.

Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for a Sampdoria win this season. They lost 2-1 to Como this week, conceding in the opening minute of the game but then equalising through Sara Baldo on 60’... only for an injury time own goal to condemn them to another defeat. On the positive side, it was a fourth straight start for Kiara Bercelli, who logged seventy minutes of typically high-energy footy. She even mustered a couple of shots too: one was a header off target, another was a curling effort on her right foot from inside the area after the keeper had been drawn away from the middle. Couldn’t curl it back enough to place it within the far post though.

Bercelli was the first one over to Baldo to celebrate the goal when it happened. Just a pity they didn’t get what they deserved from the performance, as goalie Amanda Tampieri’s diving two-handed save hit her near post and then bounced in off her back. Very unlucky. Sampdoria remain last with 4 points from 13 games... but it continues to be true that they are playing much better since they sacked their previous coach (and promoted Bercelli to the starting line-up).

Up Next: Winter break for the next month

Liberato Cacace – Empoli FC (Italian Serie A)

In other news, check out who got another start as a left winger. For the third time in the past four Serie A matches, it was Libby Cacace the Attacker selected by Empolj and you’d better believe he had a couple of bright moments against Torino. None more so than the chance he had ten mins into the second half, running onto a loose ball in the area six yards out and in line with the post. Alas, he slashed it past the post. Didn’t have the help of a deflection this time and he missed, maybe that was the problem. There was also a good shot turned wide for a corner kick in the first half but nope no second Serie A goal for Libby Cacace just yet.

While Cacace missed from six yards... opponent Che Adams scored from 46 yards. Adams was barely over halfway when he ran onto a pass on the break and decided that rather than running all that way he’d simply shoot from where he was. The shot chipped the Empoli keeper for a superb goal. That superb goal ended up being the only one in the match. Empoli dominated large stretches, especially in the first half, but even against an out-of-form Torino side they regularly leaked dangerous moments back the other way with goalie Devis Vásquez making a couple of saves from first half headers (enough saves to make up for the one that lobbed him from halfway).

So, yeah, Cacace missed a great chance and Empoli went on to lose 1-0. This time it was he who was subbed with around twenty to go, with Giuseppe Pezzella seeing out the ninety minutes at left wing-back for the first time since October. Usually Cacace subs in for him at some stage – and since Cacace began starting alongside Pezzella, it’s tended to be Pezzella subbed and Cacace moving back to LWB. This was a disappointing defeat but we move on. Lots of games to play over the coming weeks.

Up Next: Atalanta vs Empoli on Monday at 6am (NZT)

Sarpreet Singh - União de Leiria (Portuguese Liga 2)

They lost 1-0 so the game itself was nothing special. Paços Ferreira took the victory over UD Leiria thanks to a ninth-minute goal from Ze Uilton, a deflected effort on the counter which looped up off a defender’s heel and dropped under the crossbar. UDL wasted some serious chances along the way. Singh set up a beauty by pulling strings outside the box but his bro was offside even before the keeper saved the chance rushing out. There was some bad far post misses. There was a header disallowed in stoppage time right at the end. A frustrating defeat.

But in amongst all that something notable happened: Sarpreet Singh played a full game. He did that three times in a row at the Olympics. He’s done it a few times for the All Whites over the past couple years. But you have to go back to April 2023 back with Jahn Regensburg for the last time he logged ninety at club level. Singh’s getting back in the swing. That’s what we like to see.

Up Next: Monday at 3am, Oliveirense vs UC Leiria (NZT)

Kate Taylor - Dijon FCO (French Première Ligue)

There’s a hierarchy that has emerged in French footy. No shocker that Lyon and PSG are at the top, duking things out in a title race. It’s much more surprising that Dijon FCO have managed to set themselves up in the next tier below. They faced another such team this week in Paris FC. Significant opportunity to push towards Best of the Rest status... only for them to get smoked 4-0. Okay then. Dijon have been excellent against the teams below them, taking 20 points from a possible 24 and scoring multiple goals in all but one of those matches. But they lost 3-0 to Lyon, they lost 6-1 to PSG (with a Kate Taylor goal), and now they’ve lost 4-0 to Paris FC. Very firmly embedded in fourth place as the Première Ligue reaches its halfway point and hits pause until the new year. Kate Taylor did play ninety minutes here.

Up Next: Lyon vs Dijon on 9 January (NZT)

George Stanger – Ayr United (Scottish Championship)

Nothing particularly to it, just wanted to remind folks that there’s a kiwi youth international starting every week for Ayr United as they try and get promoted to the Scottish top flight. In fact, he’s played more minutes in the Scottish Championship than any of his teammates this term... and they also credited him with an assist in this match, a 5-2 win against Falkirk. Stanger set up the equaliser after Falkirk had, a) gone ahead in the second minute of the match, and b) been reduced to ten men in the eighth minute of the match. The red card was for a deliberate handball that stopped a runner getting through on goal. Kinda harsh, to be honest. But Ayr United weren’t complaining as they promptly dashed away onwards to a big win. Stanger’s assist was a flick-on header at the near post off a corner. See it at around 3:58 in the video.

Falkirk are top of the table so this was a massive outcome for Ayr Utd. They’re still seven points back in third but they’ve closed the gap. They face second-placed Livingston next so a win there would lift them up to second. The way it works in Scotland is the champions go up automatically, then second place faces off against the winner of a third vs fourth clash. Winner of that game plays the second-to-last team from the Premiership to see who gets to play top division next time. Ayr United are right in that promotion battle after 17 games played.

Up Next: Livingston vs Ayr United at 4am on Sunday (ZT)

Jay Herdman & Finn Linder - Vancouver Whitecaps II (American MLS Next Pro)

The good news is that the Whitecaps Next Pro side have “exercised the 2025 contract option for Finn Linder”. The bad news is that they haven’t done the same for Jay Herdman. Admittedly, this was the expected outcome ever since they loaned him out to Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC for the last few months of the 2024 season. Herman went on to win the CPL with Cavalry FC, starting in the final, which leaves the door very much open for him to re-sign on a permanent basis with that lot.

Especially since they’ll have some Concacaf Champions Cup to look forward to in February. The draw has already been made and Cavalry FC are up against UNAM of Mexico in the first round. Two-legged ties. Remember, Cavalry FC qualified for this stuff last season too and it was Myer Bevan who scored their only goal in a 6-1 aggregate defeat against Orlando City (USA). There’s some history to live up to there. Or, you know, he could seek his fortunes elsewhere. Who knows? We’ve already had news last week of Moses Dyer leaving the CPL to chase his fortunes in Europe.

Up Next: Patience

Josh Redfearn - Welling United (English National League South)

We’re dipping down the divisions a fair bit to find Josh Redfearn in the English sixth tier. Usually well below the catchment for Flying Kiwis these days. But, mate, when a brother is scoring goals like this then it is going to make the cut. Four goals in five starts. This one was a winner, helping his new club begin to claw their way up the ladder after a rotten start. Eight points from the past four league matches has them well clear of the drop zone all of a sudden. Happy days... with many more to follow.

Here’s a yarn from a couple weeks ago after his first goal for Welling United...

Up Next: Salisbury vs Welling United at 4am on Sunday (NZT)

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