Alll Whites striker Chris Wood has had to wait to find the net in the early stages of the English Premier League season but is now off the mark in style, hitting both goals as Burnley earned a comfortable 2-0 win over Norwich at Turf Moor.

The damage was done early on as Wood capitalised on some loose marking to head Burnley in front in just the 10^th minute and he had his second just a few moments later, stroking Dwight McNeil's driven cross into the roof of the Norwich net from five yards. He will be pleased to now be up and running after taking until November to score his first league goal last term.

Wood's goals ensured the Clarets recorded their first win since the opening day of the season as they climbed up to seventh in the table.

In League One, young goalkeeper Nik Tzanev was again an unused substitute as AFC Wimbledon were beaten 3-1 by Bristol Rovers but former All Whites defender Steven Old was more heavily involved for Morecambe in League Two, taking full part in a 3-1 loss at Oldham Athletic. The prospects of the Shrimps remain precarious as they are now third from bottom and only two points away from the dreaded drop out of the Football League.

Erceg leads Courage to shield

The North Carolina Courage have claimed a third successive National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Shield under the captaincy of Abby Erceg, confirming they would finish top of the league again with a 3-0 win over Utah Royals.

The match involved a pair of Football Ferns with Erceg lining up in the middle of the Courage defence as usual while Katie Bowen started at right back for Utah. Both Kiwis played the full 90 minutes but only Erceg was able to celebrate as the Courage booked the minor premiership and a home semi-final. It was their sixth win in a row, a club record.

Fourth-placed Utah now have a fight on their hands to earn their own semi-final berth as they are locked on points with Reign FC with only three games to play. Fittingly, the playoff-chasing pair are set to come up against each other on Wednesday night with their season hopes potentially on the line. It will be another clash involving two Kiwis as Rosie White is likely to feature for the Reign.

White started against Sky Blue on the weekend but was withdrawn with just over 20 minutes left on the clock as the Reign fell to a damaging 1-0 loss, despite dominating much of the game. White played in a three-woman midfield behind an attack that included Megan Rapinoe, who was later named Women’s Player of the Year at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in Milan.

Only one playoff place now remains with the Courage joined by the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns in already securing their spots.

Boxall on verge of post-season

All Whites defender Michael Boxall is on the verge of helping Minnesota United book a place in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Playoffs and the Loons can do so for the first time in club history with a win over Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night. They had a chance to clinch their berth over the weekend with a win against the Portland Timbers but had to settle for a scoreless stalemate. Boxall played his part in keeping a clean sheet with a 90-minute shift and was shortlisted for the club’s Man of the Match voting on social media.

Boxall briefly came up against a fellow Kiwi in the match as Bill Tuiloma made a late cameo off the bench for the Timbers but couldn’t do anything to change the outcome of a frustrating afternoon in his few minutes on the pitch. Tuiloma and the Timbers are still in the hunt for the playoffs though and can take a step towards that with a positive result against New England Revolution on Wednesday.

The Colorado Rapids are also mathematically alive for the post-season and that is partly down to the efforts of Tommy Smith, who headed home a late winner in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Sporting Kansas City. The night didn’t begin well for the All Whites centre back, who forced the ball into his own net to give Sporting a two-goal lead, but he more than made up for it as Colorado came back to seal a memorable win. Firstly, he teed up Diego Rubio for Colorado’s equalising goal by controlling a deep cross and laying it off for his team mate to smash home. Then, with only a few minutes still to play, he met a corner with a powerful header to give the Rapids an unlikely three points and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Chance makes impact for Bristol

It hasn’t taken Olivia Chance long to make her mark at new club Bristol City, the Football Ferns midfielder earning her first start and playing a key role as the Robins outclassed the London Bees 3-0 in the Continental Cup, the FA Women’s League Cup competition. Chance played the full 90 minutes and was responsible for getting the ball rolling, playing a neat pass behind the Bees defence for Carla Humphrey to give Bristol an early lead. She also nearly got on the scoresheet herself late on, dispossessing a Bees player before rifling a shot just over the cross bar.  

It wasn’t such a good day for Football Ferns centurion Ria Percival and her Tottenham Hotspur team mates, who are already out of the Continental Cup after a 4-0 humbling at the hands of Reading, for whom fellow Fern Anna Green played last season. Percival had been captain in the two league games played so far – which included a memorable 1-0 win over Liverpool – but the returning Jenna Schillaci took the armband on this occasion as Spurs struggled to contain a rampant Reading. Percival was replaced on the hour with her side already four goals down and will hope for better when facing former club West Ham United at the 60,000 capacity London Stadium this Sunday in Tottenham’s return to league action.

Katie Rood is also out of the Continental Cup after Lewes suffered a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace in a match marred by a  pair of serious injuries, which left Lewes to finish with only nine players as their substitutions had already been used up. Rood started on the bench and came on with nearly 20 minutes remaining as Lewes chased an equaliser. She couldn’t help produce one and was disappointed not to progress in the cup. “We knew it would be a challenge with both teams rotating players,” she said. “It’s disappointing to not play to the extent we know we’re capable of but that’s football sometimes.”

Riley wins clash of Kiwis

A pair of Kiwis came up against each other in the Frauen Bundesliga in Germany as Ali Riley’s Bayern Munich swept aside SC Sand, for whom Paige Satchell came on for an 11-minute cameo. Riley has had to make do with a place on the bench early on in her Bayern career but the Football Ferns captain was handed a full 90 minutes at left back this time as her side cruised to a 5-0 victory.

Staying at Bayern, Sarpreet Singh had a quiet week by his recent standards but played the full match as Bayern Munich II edged out Ingolstadt 2-1 in the German third tier. The match was most notable for the appearances of Bayern first team squad members Alphonso Davies and Michael Cuisance, who helped the club’s second string to their first win in four matches.

Earlier in the week, Singh and Riley were both part of a Kiwi catch-up at Bayern Munich’s training headquarters as members of the New Zealand sevens rugby team, who were in town for the Oktoberfest 7s tournament, popped in for a visit. The sevens players were hosted by Bayern at the club’s UEFA Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade and even held a training session at its state-of-the-art facility. Following the session, a meet-and-greet took place between the sevens team, Riley, Singh and Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski, who was presented with a New Zealand sevens jersey.

Bott pushing for Champions League

Over in Sweden, Football Ferns fullback CJ Bott is on the verge of the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Vittsjö GIK, whose hopes of claiming the Damallsvenskan title are fading but they remain second with the top two teams both qualifying for Europe. With first-placed Rosengard setting the pace, Vittsjö needed to keep in touch but instead fell further behind after a disappointing 1-0 loss at Eskilstuna United.

Bott played for the majority of the match but was subbed off with a couple of minutes remaining as Vittsjö desperately tried to salvage something. Despite the loss, Bott can be proud of her recent efforts as Vittsjö had won their previous three matches and have the best defensive record in the league. But they are now seven points off the top with only four matches remaining so are unlikely to catch Rosengard.

In Iceland, Betsy Hassett has spent most of the season battling away in the lower reaches of the table with KR Reykjavík and signed off with a 3-1 defeat to Stjarnan. Reykjavík have now finished seventh in the 10-team league, ensuring their top-flight survival and also making a cup final along the way. Hassett has been one of her team’s most consistent performers, scoring two goals and providing a handful of assists across the campaign.

In contrast, Hannah Wilkinson’s season is just beginning in Portugal with new club Sporting Lisbon, who romped to a whopping 17-0 victory over A-dos-Francos to follow up their opening 2-1 success against Sporting Braga. Wilkinson started both games on the bench but came on for the last half hour in each and, not surprisingly, joined in on the goal-scoring fun in the second. The Football Ferns striker notched her first goal for the club in additional time and will look to earn her first start when the action resumes for Sporting Lisbon after a three-week break.

Thomas returns to PSV fold

All Whites playmaker Ryan Thomas has finally made his first appearance in a match day squad for PSV after a year on the sidelines through injury. Thomas picked an ideal game to start his comeback with PSV hosting Ajax in the most famous fixture on the Dutch Eredivisie calendar. The 24-year-old from Te Puke did not make the field in the 1-1 draw but will be delighted to be back in the fold after coming through such a frustrating stint out of action. Now that he is back in consideration, he will look to return to match sharpness and impress manager Mark van Bommel over the coming weeks.

In Denmark, fellow All White Marco Rojas played all but the last 20 minutes as SønderjyskE drew 1-1 with Hobro, their third draw in a row. They are now ninth in the 14-team league and without a win in their last seven matches.

The Kiwi contingent in Europe meanwhile continues to grow with youth international Charles Spragg putting pen to paper on a deal with Palamós CF, who play in the Spanish fourth tier.

Article added: Wednesday 25 September 2019