OK weird to do a monthly wrap, but in truth its very very difficult to get info on 2nd Division Icelandic teams - we do have a number of young players there, and finally I have found a site that will give all the info I need going forward. As the season is young I thought it would be a good time to do a catch-up....so here goes.
May 7th, Matt Nigro, started went 90, and Scored the eventual winning goal in a 3 - 0 victory for Vestri over KF in their opening league game
May 7th, Harrison Hanley, started and went 90, as Njardvik visited and beat Hottur and Jordan Tyler, who came off the bench at 61, final:0 - 1
May 13, Harrison Hanley, started went 90 as Njardvik fell 0 - 1 at home to IR Reykjavik, on an ET penalty May 14, Matt Nigro went 80 for Vestri and Jordan Tyler went 90 for Hottur as Vestri won the game 2 - 0
May 20, Jordan Tyler started and went the full 90, Scoring Hottur's 5th Goal in a 5 - 1 drubbing of KF May 20, Harrison Hanley came off the bench at minute 81 as Njardvik visited KV and came away with a 0 - 3 win May 21, Matt Nigro played 71 minutes for Vestri as they visited IR and lost 2 - 1 May 28, Jordan Tyler started, went 90 and Scored Hottur's lone goal in a 1 - 1 draw with IR May 28, Matt Nigro came off the bench at 72nd minute as Vestri fell 1 - 3 at home to KV
May 30, Harrison Hanley, started went 90 and Scored Njardvik's 4th goal is a 4 - 1 win over Aegir
The next game in Division 2 in Iceland is June 4th - so this is the complete month of May done! All teams have played 4 games, Njardvik are in 2nd place with 9 points, Vestri 6th with 6 points and Hottur 9th with 4 points So we have 3 players in the league, all have scored for their teams in the first 4 games of the season - great start - Jordan Tyler has 2 (in 3 appearances), Matt Nigro and Harrison Hanley 1 a piece (in 4 appearances) More Stuff:
Matt
Nigro, "played collegiate soccer at William Paterson University in New Jersey,
and following his collegiate career bounced around to USL tryouts" before signing this year with Vestri
Jordan Tyler played his college soccer at Penn State and Coastal Carolina before moving to PDL: KW United, Columbus Crew U19-U20
Harrison Hanley is a 24 year old striker, who previously played with Mikkelin in Finland before joining Njardvik. Played his college ball at Santa Clara
22 year old Dual USA/Colombia Johnatan Lama joined Huginn in Iceland's Inkasso-deildin (1st Division) in late April, since then he has become a regular starter and is making his mark.
Johnatan who joined Huginn from Miami/Dade FC. was a top 4 Nike Chance winner as an amateur and has spent time with several program's including Barcelona and Dinamo Zagreb, and he was under consideration for Stoke City, word has it, he is still attracting interest from several clubs in Europe.
Johnatan is one of many young Americans players going through the tough rise through the ranks, but has already shown his resilience and is one player that deserves to be watched as he will undoubtedly be one that succeeds. Huginn FC will be his stepping stone to bigger things.
Matches involving Americans in Germany were not quite over, today Jan George played for Regensburg as they won the day and promotion from Regionalliga to 3 Liga - Congrats to Jann. In Japan Daniel Schmidt has become unbeatable in the nets for Yamaga, registering his 9th shut-out in 15 games. Eddy Prugh continues to score for Bodens BK as they make an early season noise, pulling themselves into 4th spot (tied 3rd /GD) just 2 point out of top spot. Brian Span had an assist in a heart-breaker in Finland. All these events today and more Lets go to the list;
GK Daniel Schmidt has another shut-out for Yamaga as they visited Kanazawa in Japan's J-League 2. Yamaga won 0 - 2 with Daniel recording his 9th shut-out (in 15 games) Jann George and Regensburg beat Wolfsburg II 2 - 0 in the Regionalliga Play-offs. Jann started and went 79 as the Regionalliga (Bayern) team Regensburg gained promotion to 3Liga next season with a 2 - 1 agg. win - congrats to Regensburg
In Sweden Division 2 (Norrland), Eddy PrughScored Bodens 2nd goal as they beat league leaders Sandvikens 3 - 2 , and moved into 3rd spot in the league (tied 2nd / GD) Chase Miller returned from injury and played the 90 for Bodens BK.
In Finland's Ykkonen a wild game between Oulu and Ekenas and GK Tim Murray. The game had 8 goals, a hat-trick, a red card. Unfortunately Tim was on the wrong side today as Ekenas lost this one 5 - 3. Ekenas do maintain their 3rd spot, but missed the opportunity to go top
Hunter Gorskie and Legnica visited Drutex-Bytovia in Poland in a game that ended scoreless between two teams on the same number of points. Legnica will stay in Division 1 and try for promotion again next season (one game remaining this season)
In Sweden's Allsvenskan, GK Matt Pyzdrowski looks to have lost his starting spot for Helsingborg. Today Matt remained on the bench as his team lost 1 - 3 at home to Goteborg. This was Helsingborg's 2nd straight loss in league play.
Another GK who did not have a good day is Will Dieterich who along with Haukar visited Thor Akureyri in Iceland and lost 4 - 2
In Sweden's Division 1 (Sodra) Jochen Graf and Oskarshamns hosted Trollhattan and won 2 - 1. Jochen started and went 81 minutes
In Ireland's Premier League, Sligo Rovers and GK Ciaran Nugent (in 18 /DNP) had their 4th win in 5 games at Galway - final 1 - 2
In Ireland's Division 1, Drogheda and Joseph Jackson (in 18 /DNP) visited Cabinteely and came away with 1 point in a goalless draw. Drogheda are firmly in 2nd place, and hoping for a chance at promotion
In Denmark's Superliga, George Forchive and Viborg hosted BabaJide Ogunbiyi and Hobro in a game that ended with a home team victory. Both players went the 90 minutes in this one
In Sweden's Division 1 (Norra) Romain Gall started and went 56 minutes for Nykopings as they fell at Enskede 2 - 0. After a promising start to the season Nykopings has dipped a little in form and are slipping down the table
In Finland's Veikkausliiga, KuPS and HJK played to a goalless draw, with GK Craig Hill on the bench for KuPS
In Finland Kakkonen Group C, GBK visited Hercules and were out-muscled 2 - 1. Lawrence Smith went 90 and Chris Corcoran came off the bench a 89th minute in this one
Still in Finland, in Veikkausliiga, heartbreak for Mariehamn who leading 2 - 1 in ET gave up a goal at 90+3 in a game that ended at 2 - 2 Brian Span started went 75 minutes and is credited with an Assist on Mariehamn's 2nd goal.
In Iceland Inkasso-deildin (2nd tier) JC Mack went 90 in Selfoss 0 - 3 away win (JC Mack Scored earlier this week helping Selfoss advance in the Icelandic Cup)
In Norway's Tippeligaen, Brann and Alex Horwath (in 18 / DNP) won their home match against Haugesund 1 - 0.
Also in Tippeligaen, Alex De John and Start are still winless this season as they were thumped by Cole Grossman and Stabaek 0 - 5 in a battle of the bottom 2 teams. Stabaek's win increases their points but not there bottom 2 status.
Finally in Tippeligaen, AJ Soares and Viking had a comfortable 2 - 0 win over Bodo/Glimt. AJ went the full 90 minutes
In Sweden's Superettan, AFC United maintained their grip on the leagues top spot, with a 1 - 3 win at Syrianska. GK Josh Wicks went the 90 minutes, while Tristan Bowen came off the bench at minute 89.
Dion Acoff went 90 in Throttur's 0 1 loss to Vestmannaeyjar in Iceland's Pepsidield. Throttur now in bottom 2 after 6 games (0 wins 1 draw) not good at all
We are in that time of the year when all the 'big leagues' in Europe are complete. For me that means zeroing in on Scandinavia (primarily). It's a time for identifying who is playing for who and where everyone is placed (not easy -sometimes- with a reduced amount of web and social media available). So this Saturday we have 4 goals, from 3 different players and Leagues. The first in Denmark, 2 goals in Sweden and 1 in Iceland. All things considered a pretty good day for so few players appearing today.
To the list;
Start off the day with ex-RBNY Academy product Sam AdjeiScored for Naestved in Denmark Bet25 Liga (2nd tier) in a game that Naestved won convincingly 5 - 1
In Finland's Veikkausliiga, Will John came off the bench late (88) as RoPS fell 2 - 3 to SJK. That's 3 straight losses for RoPS - just 2 points from the last 5 games.
In Finland's Ykkonen, Kyle Curinga came off the bench at minute 66, as Jaro visited KTP and Isaac Kannah (90), Jaro got the upper hand in the 1st half and held on to win 1 - 2
In Sweden Superettan, Ryan FinleyScores a Brace - to force a 2 - 2 draw at Ljunskille - Ryan put Angelholms up 0 - 1 which they carried till half-time, but then they gave up 2 goals in 6 minutes, before Ryan hit his 2nd goal and the game ended up a draw. Ryan now has 4 goals in 9 appearances. Angelholms still in a bit of trouble early in the season, today's point was the first in 5 games. Here are the goals http://tv4play.fotbollskanalen.se/program/fotbollsklipp?video_id=3387652
In Iceland's 2nd Division Jordan TylerScored for Hottur as they faced off with IR Reykjavik in a game that ended 1 - 1. After a slow start to the season Hottur now have 4 points in the last 2 games NOTE: Jordan Scored last weekend as well giving him a 2 goals in 2 games record
In Iceland's Inkasso-deildin (2nd tier) Will Daniels started and went 90 for #3 Grindavik in a 0 - 2 loss at #2 Keflavik - Grindavik maintain their #2 spot following their first loss of the season
In Sweden's Allsvenskan, Andrew Stadler went 85 for Ostersunds as they suffered a heavy home loss to Malmo 1 - 4
Also in Allsvenskan, Brandon Hines-Ike was in today's 18 (DNP) as Orebro visited AIK Stockholm and drew 0 - 0
In Finland Kakkonen (Group A) Jakeem Johnson started and went 90 as PEPO 1 visited Vaajakoski (FCV) and lost 1 - 2
In Finland's Kakkonen (Group C) Jossimar Sanchez started and went 81 minutes for Narpes as they visited Lapua and came away with a 1 - 4 win
GK Scott Angevine started and went 90 in a 0 - 1 loss as YPA visited MuSa also in Kakkonen (Group C) YPA are having a dismal season so far
In Finland's Veikkausliiga, Christian Eissele came off the bench for the final 10 minutes as Kemi went to Inter Turk and came away with a 0 - 2 win - Kemi moves into 3rd spot with 2 games in hand.
In Italy's Liga Pro Play-Out, Douglas Bentley started and went 56 mins as AlbinoLeffe self destructed in the 2nd leg. AlbinoLeffe where tied 1 - 1 then 3 Red Cards in the last 20 minutes and a goal by Pro Piacenza killed off any chance of a needed win.
Rosenborg struck a blow to Molde and GK Ethan Horvath as they won 3 - 1 taking command at the top of the league. Molde retain their 3rd place despite the loss
In Superettan, Sirius missed their chance to go top suffering a 1 - 0 defeat at Varbergs. Patrick Hopkins started and went 90, and Paul Torres, was in the 18 but DNP. Sirius in 2nd place 1 point off the lead.
Jon-Paul Pittman, who surprisingly, was let go by promoted Grimsby Town, has bounced back immediately, signing with Harrogate Town in the National League North league (5th tier)
Pittman commented "I played against Harrogate last year for Grimsby and got a good feeling about the place. When I've been speaking to people about a move here, well I just love everything I hear about the club. Me and the gaffer have had a chat about what is required to improve the squad, and personally I've played a lot of games and have experience in this league, so hopefully I can play my part"
Harrogate just missed promotion last season, losing 1 -2 in the promotional play-offs - Jon-Paul could be just what they are missing...
Sacramento's Marc Heider, has transferred to VFL Osnabruck in Germany's 3LIga. Marc (30) has been plying his trade at Holstein Kiel since July of 2009 , where last season he played 42 times across all competitions and scored 7 goals.
Marc began his career at Osnabruck, working his way through the ranks (U19, U21/Osnabruck II, Senior) before being transferred to Bremen, where he spent 3 years in the Bremen II squad. After Bremen Marc moved to Kiel where he had an excellent record over the years.
The annual 'clean-out' continues, as British clubs pare down their squad sizes and and start the process of rebuilding for next season. We have seen a few Americans fall along the way, over the past few days Zak Whitbread and Jon-Paul Pittman have been released, now goalkeeper Cody Cropper join's the list.
According to the MK Don's web-site, the club has decided not to exercise its contract with Cody when it expires at the end of June.
"Cropper joined the Dons as a free agent last summer and made 12
appearances during the 2015/16 campaign, nine of which came in the Sky
Bet Championship"
Cody, who is still only 23, came up through the Ipswich Town program, before moving to Southampton in August of 2012. He stayed with Southampton until last season when he moved last July to MK Don's as a free agent. Cody represented the US in the U20 and U23 levels and was included in Jurgen Klinsmann's 23 man Confederation Cup squad.
According to SBI, Cody has stated a desire to return to the US, possibly with Atlanta (his home town) or Minnesota, both MLS Expansion teams
Yesterday and again today, we had good news for Americans in Germany.
Yesterday 5/23/2016), Tim Chandler and Frankfurt won their 2nd leg P/R play-off, against Nurnberg, and will remain in Bundesliga next season. Frankfurt won the play-off 1 - 2 on agg. Tim did limp off in the 69th minute with an apparent muscle injury, it's unclear how serious Chandler's injury is. Maybe Jurgen Klinsmann will need to
go back to his Copa America roster and pick another
fullback.
Earlier yesterday George Fochive (90) and Viborg visited Europa League bound Brondby in the Danish Superliga and came away with a 0 - 1 win
In Finland's Ykkonen, GK Tim Murray had a shut-out as Ekenas beat Dan Stevens (90 + yellow card) and GrIFK 3 - 0
Today (5/24/2016) Royal Fennel, started and went 90, picking up a yellow card along the way, as Wurzburger beat Duisburg and gained Promotion to 2Bundesliga next season. Wurzburger took a 2 goal lead into today's game and scored 2 more - ending with a 1 - 4 agg win.
Earlier today, Jakeem JohnsonScored for PEPO 1 as they defeated Kultsu 2 - 1 in Finland's Kakkonen Group A - that's 3 goals in 4 games for Jakeem - for those who do not know Jakeem, he is a 25 year old Center Forward and New Jersey native. He played for the Brooklyn Italians SC before moving to Finland and spending a season with JIPPO where he scored 10 times in 22 games.
Grimsby Town have made there retention list public, and Jon-Paul Pittman is leaving the team. According to the Grimsby Telegraph;
Jon-Paul Pittman was the first released by Grimsby Town after posting a goodbye message to fans on his Facebook page. The 29-year-old from Oklahoman made 33 appearances in total this season, including substitute cameos in both the Play-Off Final and the FA Trophy Final. Scoring 6 goals.
He wrote on Facebook: "Loved my time as a Mariner. All the best to everyone associated with GTFC and I hope you supporters get to watch some entertaining football back in the League! What a ride! UTMM"
Sorry to see this happen, hopefully Jon-Paul will bounce back with another team next season,
Good Luck Jon-Paul
Yup that's Clint Dempsey at Fulham and Zak Whitbread, Norwich, as they battle in the EPL
The linchpin of last season's defensive corp at England's League One Shrewsbury Town, Zak Whitbread, has been released by the team in its annual retention listing.
Zak joined Shrewsbury in September 2015 (his contract is up May 30), its uncertain what Zak, now 32, will do in the coming years. Zak played 21 times in the league this past season plus an additional 5 times in the FA Cup.
The early years at Liverpool
Houston TX. Zak started his career at Liverpool, working through the ranks, U18, U21, and appeared twice for the senior squad before being loaned out to Millwall a couple of times, which ultimately led to his sale to Millwall and 4 pretty successful years at the London club where he was a fan favorite. After that Zak represented Norwich, Leicester City, Derby and then Shrewsbury. Zak represented the USA twice in the senior squad and 6 times at the U20 level.
Good Luck to Zak, lets hope he finds a new club soon.
Not a whole lot today, but we did have 1 Goal in Norway, an Assist in Denmark and a Shut-Out in Japan (considering how few American's were in action, not to bad).
The USMNT (which we normally don't write about, had a 1 - 3 win at Puerto Rico, with goals from Tim Ream (Fulham), Bobby Wood (Union Berlin/Hamburg) and Paul Arriola (Tijuana)
Finally, Belgium side Gent, with Kenny Saief qualified for the Europa League, while Netherlands side Utrecht and Rubio Rubin failed to finish off Heracles, and will not be appearing in Euro competition next season
To the list;
GK Daniel Schmidt records another Shut-out (his 8th in 14 games)for Yamaga as they beat Machida 1 - 0 in Japan's J-League
In the Belgium European Play-offs Kenny Saief, started and went 90, and picked up a yellow, as Gent secured their place in the Europa League next season with a goalless draw at home against Genk (who also qualify, but will be in the early stage qualification)
In Netherlands Europa League Play-offs Utrecht and Rubio Rubin had the opportunity to qualify, having drawn 1 - 1 at Heracles in the first leg. Unfortunately, they did not take advantage of their home field and lost 0 - 2. Rubio came off the bench at minute 82, but it was already to late for Utrecht
In Sweden's Allsvenskan, #2 Orebro drew 2 - 2 with #1 Norrkoping. Brendan Hines-Ike was in Orebro's 18, but did not play today.
Ryan Finley and Angelholms visited GAIS, in Sweden's Superettan and fell hard as they gave up 7 goals and find themselves rooted to the bottom of the league. Ryan came off the bench and played the final 45 minutes,but his team was already down 5 nil, in a game that ended in a 7 - 0 thrashing.
Jochen Graf came off the bench at minute 71, as Oskarshamns visited Mjallby in Sweden's Division 1, and came away 0 - 3 winners
In Denmark's Superliga, BabaJide Ogunbiyi played 90 and registered an Assist in cellar dwellers Hobro 4 - 2 win over league leaders FC Copenhagen - the win is unlikely to save Hobro from relegation
Romain Gall started and went 90 as Nykopings fell 2 - 0 at Brage in Sweden's Division 1, in Nykopings first loss of the season
In England, Jon-Paul Pittman and Grimsby Town (who were at Wembley last week for the promotion play-off - which they won) faced off with Halifax for the FA Trophy at Wembley Stadium. Jon-Paul came off the bench at the 62nd minute as Grimsby fell 1 - 0 to end a very successful season - League 2 next season
In Sweden's Allsvenskan, Helsingborg, with Matt Pyzdrowski on the bench, lose big at Djurgarden 3 - 0. Helsingborg have hit a bad patch and will look to bounce back, Matt lost his starting position and is having a problem winning it back.
In Finland's Veikkausliiga, Will John started and went 67 minutes for Rovaniemi(RoPS)in a 1 - 0 loss at VPS.
In Norway Tippeligaen, Start found themselves down by 2, Alex De John led the comeback as he Scored Start's first goal in a game that ended being a 2 - 2 away draw at Sogndal. Alex went 90, scored and picked up a yellow - good day at work. Start are still bottom, but have now drawn their last 2 - both away from home.
Eddy Prugh started for Bodens BK in Sweden's Division 2 as they visited Stromsbergs and came away with 3 valuable points.
In Iceland Pepsidelid, Daniel Acoff started and went 69 as Throttur visited Valur and suffered a 4 - 1 loss
In Norway Tippeligaen, AJ Soares started, went 90 and picked up a yellow card, as Viking visited Lillestrom and came away with the 1 - 2 win
So, except for some intriguing Cup games, we are now at a time when Scandinavian football comes to the fore, lower leagues become the news of the day, and scoring goes off the charts.10 Goals today 3 goals in Finland, 6 goals in Germany and 1 goal in Sweden, with 6 goalscorers.Lets start with Alassane Kane, playing for DJK Bamberg in Oberliga, almost pulled off an amazing outcome to an amazing game. With his team down 3 - 7 he bought them back within 1 with a 4 goal performance.Lawrence Smith followed up on his goal last weekend with 2 goals today in a game in Finland that saw his team score 8, same circumstance for Devann Yao who scored for BAK 07, his 2nd in the last week. Two 'Young Guns" Gideon Zelalem and Christian Pulisic, both included in their teams Cup Final games. There was a lot going on today - check out the list; (because of the difficulty in tracking lower leagues - it takes quite a bit longer to complete the list - I have broken down the list by country (temporarily)
FINLAND Mike Banner (90) and KPV visited Kyle Curinga (in18, DNP) and Jaro and won 0 - 1 as KPV maintain their lead at the top of Ykkonen in Finland. In Finland Veikkausliiga, GK Craig Hill was in the 18 but did not play as KuPS drew 0 - 0 with SJK Also in Veikkausliiga, Christian Eissele (45) is finding it hard to find the net this season (he is yet to register a league goal) for Kemi, who came from a 2 goal deficit to draw 2 - 2 against PK-35, who are bottom of the league In Ykkonen, Gabriel Witz, who went 68, picked up a Yellow, and Jazz started well enough (1 - 0 at HT) but then found themselves down and having to fight back to gain a 2 - 2 draw with JJK In Kakkonen Group C GBK ran riot over Lapua, with Chris Corcoran (90) Scoring the first goal and Lawrence SmithScoring Twice (1 pk) as GBK went on to win by a whopping 8 - 1 (GBK have won 3 in a row, and moved into 3rd spot) Also in Kakkonen Group C, Jossimer Sanchez went 90 as Narpes fell 2 - 3 to AC Kajaani. Finally in Group C, GK Scott Angevine and YPA hosted VIFK and after a torrid first half that had 5 goals YPA succumbed in the 2nd half to finish with a 2 - 4 loss GERMANY
The
Big Game today Bayern and Dortmund in the German DFB Pokal Final. Christian Pulisicmade the 18 but did not get the call today (for Dortmund) but did get the call up for the USMNT Copa America team. That will have to suffice, as Dortmund fall 1 - 0 on penalties after a hard fought and even match. In Regionalliga Nordost, Masami Okada started and went 84, in Schonberg 96's 0 - 2 home loss to Zwickau Also in Nordost, Devann Yao, came off the bench for the 2nd half and Scored a late goal in BAK 07's 1 - 3 win at Bautzen In Regionalliga West, Mario Rodriguez only lasted the first 45 minutes as M'Gladbach II fell 1 - 2 at home to Ahlen Omar Castro (who played in a friendly earlier this week for the senior squad) started and went 90 as Braunschweig II fell 3 - 0 at Lubeck in Regionalliga Nord Julian Ceesay started and went 90 as Amberg hosted Bayern II and were handed a heavy 1 - 4 loss Augsburg II were unstoppable today as they welcomed Memmingen and Dominic Robinson (64) in their Regionalliga Bayern game. David Spies (64) got the start and Scored in a game that saw 9 goals, 7 in favor of Augsburg II who win 7 - 2 Also in Regionalliga Bayern, 1860 Munich II easily won their game 4 - 1 against Rain/Lech. Fabian Hurzeller started and went 69 minutes in the win In Regionalliga Sudwest, Russel Canouse (90) and Hoffenheim II hosted and beat Elversburg 2 - 1 Freiburg II left all their Americans at home as they faced Bryan Gaul (90) and Bahlinger, in a game that ended goalless Also in Regionalliga Sudwest, Irvin Parra started, went 75 minutes, picked up a yellow card as Kaiserslautern II were held scoreless in a 0 - 0 match In Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar, Charlie Butte started and went 90 as Burgbrohl visited Gonsenheim and fell in a 5 - 3 goal-fest Also in Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar, Robin Purdy went 90 in Pirmasens II 1 - 2 home loss to Ludwigshafen Borussia Neunkirchen started GK Malcolm Little(90) and MF Cordt Flätgen (90) in their 2 - 1 loss at EGC Wirges In one of the most unusual games - DJK Bamberg lost 6 - 7 to FC Sand - Yup 13 goals. AlassaneKane (90) Scored 4 Goals for Bamberg in the loss and Brandon Ruiz went the full 90. As a note of local pride....Alassane is an American Univ. Alum. NORWAY Stabaek and Cole Grossman (90) hosted Tromso in Norway's Tippeligaen and were thumped 0 - 3 - I'm sure there are calls from fans to bring back Bob Bradley as Stabaek are firmly in the drop zone with only 7 points from 12 games In the battle of the Goalkeepers, Ethan Horvath (in 18, DNP) and Molde got the upper hand over Alex Horwath and Brann late in the game, as they hit 2 in the final 7 minutes and Molde win 2 - 0 and pull away from Brann in the standings SWEDEN In Allsvenskan, Ostersunds and Andrew Stadler had no answers for Sundsvall as they were dismantled 5 - 0, Andrew came off the bench at 62 minutes, with his team already down 3 - 0 In Superettan, Sirius kicked a**e as they beat Degafors 6 - 0. Patrick Hopkins went 90 and Scored a rare goal, and Paul Torres got to play the last 23 minutes In Sweden's Division 2 (Norra Gotaland) Lidkopings FK and GK Jeff Gal visited Orebro Syrianska and came away with all 3 points and a 2 - 4 win, scoring 2 goals in the final 2 minutes. SCOTLAND Today was FA Cup Day in the UK, with finals in England and Scotland, where newly promoted Glasgow Rangers faced fellow Championship side Hibernians in the first time that 2 Championship sides will face off in the Cup Final. (Hibernians failed to reach Scotland's Premiership in a playoff game) and found that late season form count's**. Rangers started Gedion Zelalem (62), in what will be his final game for Rangers (His loan is up on 5/31). It was an even game until ET when Hib's found the back of the net at 90 +2 for a 2 - 3 win (** Hib's had 11 points from their last 5 league games, Rangers only 5) ICELAND Johnatan Lama started and went 64 as Hugin visited Akureya in Icelands Inkasso-deilden (2nd tier) and fell 2 - 1 POLAND Hunter Gorskie and Legnica welcomed Rozwoj Katowice in Poland Division 1. Hunter went the full 90 as Legnica had little trouble in their 4 - 0 win
IRELAND
GK Ciaran Nugent in the 18 (DNP), for Sligo Rovers as they faced off against Cabinteely in an Irish FAI Cup match and found no difficulty in winning 3 - 0 (the other US player Joseph Johnson and Drogheda drew 1 - 1 in their mid-week game and will play their replay on the 25th)
Most don't remember that USMNT DeAndre Yedlin is only on loan from Tottenham to Sunderland. That's testament to how he has melded into the Sunderland line-up. Now, according to a report in England's Daily Mirror manager "Big" Sam Allardyce would like that to become a permanent deal.
The 22 year old, Seattle Washington speedy defender, joined Sunderland on loan in September 2015, has played 23 times for the "Black Cats" in the EPL as well as League Cup and FA Cup appearances. He has scored 1 goal. DeAndre has represented the USA at U20, and 31 times at the Senior level.
The report in "The Mirror" states that
"Sunderland will offer Spurs around £2million to turn DeAndre Yedlin’s loan move into a permanent deal.
The
22-year-old USA international joined Sunderland in September after
finding himself behind Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier in the pecking
order at White Hart Lane.
Those two have impressed for Spurs this
season, while Yedlin has enjoyed life with Sam Allardyce at the Stadium
of Light and, with all parties happy for the deal to happen, it should
be sorted out soon."
"The offer would be for around $2.9 Million according to the report,
which is marginally less than the $3.2 Million that Spurs paid the
Seattle Sounders for the fullback."
This seems like a good situation for DeAndre, a better opportunity at playing time, playing against top flight teams and players, with a lower expectation. Personally I hope this sails through, and we can watch DeAndre progress.
According to a report by ESPNFC, USMNT and Fulham midfielder, Emerson Hyndman will leave Fulham when his contract expires next month (30.06.16). According to ESPNFC;
"Fulham had hoped to keep the highly-rated midfielder, but Hyndman has informed the club he has no intentions to sign a new deal as he plans to move on."
Emerson, who is only 20, played 17 times (16 League, 1 League Cup) for Fulham this past season, and scored 1 goal. he also played 9 times for the Fulham U21's. Emerson has represented the USA at the U18n U20, U23 and once at the Senior level
As ESPNFC has remarked;
"News of Hyndman's decision to turn down a new deal at Fulham is sure to
alert a number of clubs with the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham,
West Ham United all admirers of the talented midfielder."
Is this to early to make this kind of move? I guess we are going to find out next season.
An eventful Sunday Match Day. with the EPL coming to a close (almost - Manchester United-Bournemouth game was postponed due to a bomb scare) Reports are out that Sunderland will offer Spurs $2million for DeAndre Yedlin (that's what Spurs paid Seattle) Tim Howard finished his EPL/Everton career (Video Below) with his 132nd shut-out. In the lower leagues, Jon-Paul Pittman and Grimsby gained promotion to League 2. In Germany, promotion/relegation became clear, and the big news of the day Bobby Wood has signed a 4 year deal with Hamburg SV, and will play in Bundesliga next season. European spots are also getting clearer as teams play out in a handful of European leagues Yes we had goals today, 1 in the Philippines, 1 in Finland and 1 in Belgium, Goalkeepers provide 2 shut-outs
Lets get to the list for today;
GK Daniel Schmidt started, went 90, in a goalless draw as Yamaga faced Kamatamare in Japan's J-League (another shut-out for Daniel)
Kevin Skinker, a 24 year old mid-fielder from Holt, Michigan, started for JP Voltes in the Philippines UFL (top tier) as they hosted Forza. The JP Voltes team ran rampant in the first half scoring 7 goals. Kevin Scored number 6. The game ended with a 7 - 1 JP Voltes win as they move into 2nd place.
Desevio Payne, was not in the18 today for Groningen as they took a first leg lead into Heracles in the Netherlands Play-off for a Europa League spot. Unfortunately Groningen was unable to hold their lead after the game went into ET, where they folded quickly giving up 3 unanswered goals, losing 5 - 1 on the day 6 - 3(agg) - no European adventure for Groningen.
Patrick Hopkins started, went 71, Paul Torres was in 18 (DNP) as Sirius visited Orgryte in Sweden's Superettan, and came away with a 1 - 2 win, which moves them up to 3rd place.
Perry Kitchen started, went 90 as Hearts fought to a 2 - 2 against visitors St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League (European) Play-offs. Perry and Hearts are qualified for Europa League play next season along with Aberdeen. Celtic will represent Scotland in the Champions League.
In Denmark, Babajide Ogunbiyi started and went 90 as Hobro visited Odense and left with all three points in a 0 - 1 win, a rare win for the Superliga cellar dwellers
In the other Netherlands European Play-off, Rubio Rubin came off the bench at the 69th minute in a game that Utrecht took control of early, and never let up. After a first leg goalless draw with Zwolle, Utrecht were on fire and scored 5 goals as they won the game 5 -2. Utrecht will now face Heracles in the final for the remaining (Netherlands) Europa League spot.
Masami Okada started went 90 in Schonberg 95 loss at Babelsberg in Regionalliga Nordost
GK Adam Hobbs, started went 90 as Optik Rathenow fell 3 - 1 to Neustralitz in Regionalliga Nordost
Devann Yao came off the bench in the 58th minute as BAK 07 beat Meuselwitz 3 - 1 also in Regionalliga Nordost
Brendan Hines-Ike was in the 18 (DNP) as Orebro beat Elfsborg 1 - 0 in Sweden Allsvenskan. Orebro are now tied for 2nd place.
Jochen Graf came off the bench at the 68th minute, picked up a yellow card as Oskarshamns beat Oddevold 2 - 1 in Sweden Division 1.
Justin Kinjo was in the 18 (DNP) as Dusseldorf visited Braunschweig in Germany 2Liga, and came away with a 0 - 2 win - The win took Dusseldorf out of the relegation zone, thay will remain in 2Liga for next season
Shawn Barry was in the 18 (DNP) as FSV Frankfurt beat 1860 Munich in 2Liga. The win did not help Frankfurt who are relegated to 3Liga next season.
Andrew Wooten, started went 90, in Sandhausen's finale at Furth, where they lost today's game 3 - 1
Fafa Picault made it on to the pitch in the 80th minute as St. Pauli scored at will and handily beat Kaiserslautern 5 - 2
Bobby Wood, who has signed a 4 year deal with Hamburg, only got 5 minutes on the pitch as Union Berlin hosted Freiburg and won the duel 2 - 1. Freiburg won 2Liga and are promoted to Bundesliga. Bobby had 17 goals this season - pretty good Bobby
Brad Guzan, was in the 18 (DNP) as the relegated Aston Villa had the unenviable task of visiting Arsenal on the EPL final day. The result was predictable 4 - 0 Arsenal. Was this the last time that Brad dresses for Aston Villa ?
Tim Howard's final game for Everton was as it should be, with Everton winning 3 - 0 over Norwich, and Tim getting another shut-out. (his 132nd EPL shutout, tying Brad Friedel for most by an American) A fantastic career with Everton ends, as Tim returns home.
Geoff Cameron started and went 80 (Injury) as Stoke beat West Ham 2 - 1 denying the Hammers an opportunity in Europe next season
DeAndre Yedlin started and went 76 as Sunderland visited Watford and played to a 2 - 2 draw, Sunderland had previously reached safety from relegation. Report's out of England (Daily Mirror) have Sunderland planning a $2million offer for DeAndre prying him away from Tottenham
In Sweden Superettan, GK Josh Wicks (90) and Tristan Bowen (8) faced off against Varbergs. On what was an off-day for AFC who fell behind early and had to wait till the 60th minute for the equalizer. The game finished 1 - 1
Romain Gall, started, went 90 and picked up a late yellow card as Nykopings were held to a 1 - 1 draw at home by TG FF in Sweden Division 1
Jon-Paul Pittman came off the bench, at Wembley Stadium, for Grimsby as they battled for promotion to League 2. Winning 1 - 3 over Forest Green - Jon-Paul ended the season with 5 goals, down a little from last season. Congrats to Grimsby who are promoted to League 2
Brian Span took no time to put Mariehamn on the scoreboard when he Scored the opening goal in their 3 - 0 win over Lahti in the Finland Veikkausliga, and that put Mariehamn at the top of the table.
Daniel Stevens started and went 64 minutes as GrIFK beat TPS Turku in Finland Ykkonen. For GrIFK a much needed win following 3 poor performances
Andrew Stadler came off the bench at minute 60, to help his team Ostersunds win 2 - 0 over Goteborg in Sweden's Allsvenskan. Ostersunds have now won 2 in a row following a poor start to the season
Kenny Saief went 90 and Scored a PK as Gent faced off with Waregem in Belgium's play-off for European places next season. On the day, bottom placed Waregem were the better team, beating Gent 4 - 2 . Gent remain in 3rd spot, but following 3 straight loses there position is tenuous, just 2 points ahead of Genk.
After a successful season in Germany's 2. Bundesliga with Union Berlin, Bobby Wood has been picked up by Hamburg SV for an estimated $4 million. According to Kicker on-line the deal was completed today, following conversations and a medical on Friday. Hamburg finished 10th in the Bundesliga this season.
Great move for Bobby, who has earned the move up. I am sure we will see Bobby in the USMNT in Copa America next month.
So today was the final day for the senior leagues in Germany, with Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen all qualifying for the Group Stage of the Champions League, and M'Gladbach will have to take the long road in qualifying. In the Europa League Schalke and Mainz qualify with a disappointing Hertha entering the early rounds to qualify. Stuttgart and Hannover are relegated to 2Liga, and Frankfurt will play in a play-off against Nurnburg to see if they get to stay. In 2Liga Freiberg and RB Leipzig are promoted to Bundesliga, while at the bottom Paderborn are the only club officially relegated until the results of tomorrow's games. In 3Liga, Dresden and Aue are promoted to 2Liga with Wurzburber waiting to see who ther opposition will be in a promotional play-off. Stuttgart Kickers, Cottbus and Stuttgart II round out the relegation picture for Germany's senior leagues.
***What is going on with the Stuttgart program?????
Elsewhere, we had 4 goals from 3 players, 1 in Finland, a brace in Sweden and a PK also in Finland.
Lets just go to the list; In Sweden's Division 2 the early game was Bodens, Eddy Prugh (90) and Chase Miller (90) against Skelleftea. The game ended in goalless draw. Bodens are still unbeaten but fall a spot to 3rd.
Devonte Parker came off the bench at 63rd minute as Mainz II visited Cottbus in Germany 3Liga and came away with a 2 - 3 victory
Marc Heider started and went 90 as Kiel where pummeled by Erfurt, and lost 0 - 3 in there final home game of the season.
Royal Fennel started and went 90 as Wurzburger visited Ryan Malone (18) and Magdeburg and won 0 - 1. Wurzburger done enough to ensure that they would play in the Promotion Play-off against a 3Liga team (that will be decided Sunday)
Joel Sonora (90) and Stuttgart II ended their disastrous season with a 3 - 1 loss at Wehen. They are relegated, and will play in Regionalliga next season
In Finland's Kakkonen Group A PEPO 1 visited Sudet and and although Jakeem JohnsonScored the the games opening goal PEPO 1 failed to hold on to the lead and fell 2 - 1
Sasa Plavsic started for S. Kerbura in their Sweden Division Two game at Karlbergs. S. Kerbura won the game 1 - 3 with Sasa Plavsic Scoring 2 goals (3 minutes part) in the victory
In Finland's Kakkonen Group CLawrence Smith Scored from a PK in what was ultimately the winner as his team GBK Kokkola visited AC Kajaani and won 1 - 2. Captain Chris Corcoran (90) was back following red card suspension
In Finland Ykkonen, Mike Banner (30) and KPV took the lead into halftime and then hung on as Oulu came back strong in the 2nd half. The game ended a 2 - 2. KPV remain unbeaten at the top of Ykkonen.
Gabriel Witz started and went 90 for Jazz in Finland Ykkonen as they search for their first points of the season, this game at home against KTP with Isaac Kannah (22) was an opportunity against another team starting slowly. Jazz scored 3 goals, but KTP out paced Jazz and scored 4 - final Jazz 3 - 4 KTP.
Life in Finland is not that great right now for GK Scott Angevine, as his team YPA lost big at OPS in Kakkonen Group C, 5 - 1 YPA have yet to record a point and have let in 10 goals - time to improve!
In Germany Bundesliga, Timothy Chandler and Frankfurt lost at Bremen (Aaron Jóhannsson still out injured) 1 - 0. Frankfurt will be in the Relegation Playoff where they will play Timothy's old team, Nurnberg which will be there chance to stay in Bundesliga.
***Stuttgart and Jerome Kiesewetter are relegated to 2Liga
At Leverkusen GK David Yelldell was called into action as regular starter Dario Kresic was unable to continue. David was not able to stop a Ingolstadt PK but Leverkusen went on to win 3 - 2 and cement their spot in Champions League next season. Ingolstadt did not use Alfredo Morales who sat on the bench today.
*** Dortmund were held to a 2 -2 draw today (Christian Pulisic was not in the 18) but their path to Champions League was already set, along with Bayern Munich.
Fabian Johnson (not in 18 due to injury) and M'Gladbach won their game 0 - 2 at Darmstadt and will enter the Qualification Round of Champions League. Devante Parker (who played in Mainz II game today) will have an opportunity next season for Mainz who will play in Europa League. (Schalke were the other team to qualify) as they held John Brook's and Hertha in a goalless draw. Hertha will enter the Europa League early round and take the long road to the finals.
Ryan Finley went 90, picked up a yellow card as Angelholms were trounced by Assyriska FF 0 - 3 in Sweden's Superettan
In Iceland Division 1 (2nd tier) JC Mack started went 90 as Selfoss fall 3 - 0 at Keflavick - its early season so no panic yet for Selfoss.
In Regionalliga Bayern, Bayern Munich II beat Augsburg II, with David Spies putting in 90 minutes, 2 - 1. Julian Green was not in the 18 for Bayern.
Also in Regionalliga Bayern Amberg and Julian Ceesay got thumped 4 - 0 by Schalding-Heining
In Oberliga Bayern Nord, Alassane Kane (90) could not find the net as DJK Bamberg were trounced 4 - 0 by Grossbardoff
In Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar, GK Martin Little and Cort Flatgen both went 90 as Neunkirchen won 2 - 0 over Hauenstein
In Regionalliga Sudwest, GK Zack Steffen (90) and Caleb Stanko (72) and Frieburg II beat up on Kaiserslautern II and Irvin Parra (85) 5 - 2
Bryan Gaul (90) was on the losing side as Bahlinger visited Offenbach and were handed a heavy defeat in Regionalliga Sudwest
Charlie Rugg (20) came off the bench and helped Trier beat Pirmasens 0 - 1 also in Regionalliga Sudwest
Also in Regionalliga Sudwest, Russell Canouse went 90 as Hoffenheim II visited Spielberg and won handily 2 - 5
No Christian Pulisic for Dortmund this week, but Junior Flores made a brief appearance for Dortmund II in their 3 - 0 win over Velbert in Regionalliga West
In Poland Division One, Hunter Gorskie went 90 as Legnica visited Grudziadz and came away 0 - 1 winners - shame they are a little to far back for promotion this year they are picking up their game 3w 1d 1L in last 5.
GK Will Dietreich kept a clean sheet until the 75th minute as Haukar beat Akureyi 4 - 1 in Iceland's 1st Division
GK Ciaran Nugent started on the bench (DNP) as Sligo Rangers faced off with Bohemians in Ireland's Premier League and won 1 - 0.
Alejandro Bedoya (90) started for Nantes as they visited PSG - one they could probably done without as they got pummeled 4 - 0 in their final game of the season.
Everton will have a special game program tomorrow to celebrate Tim Howard's tenure at the club, very classy. Tim is obviously a very high profile keeper, but there are others playing in Europe and Scandinavia who get less coverage (undeserved) and some are on the move.
Paul Rachubka who spent this season with hapless Bolton Wanderers has been released. Paul has become a bit of a journeyman in England's lower leagues, so it would not surprise to see him latch on to another over the off-season.
Brendan Moore, who had a terrific season on loan to Torquay United, has returned to Fleetwood, where presumably, he will take up the position as backup. Brendan should insist on another loan if that's the case, he should be playing and growing.
Cody Cropper ended the year on a sour note, and reportedly, MK Dons will decide whether or not to cut him this coming week. Cody is one of 5 goalkeepers on the Milton Keynes side, so its understandable that they need to reduce the squad. USYNT Cody is just 23, but he needs to be playing to hone his craft, and maybe another year or 2 with MK Don's as a backup would not be a bad thing.
Chris Konopka, from Toms River New Jersey joined Scottish Premier League side Ross County on a short term contract that will expire on June 30th. Ross County is apparently having Keeper problems, they currently have 3 on the books (incl Chris) with one loanee leaving at the end of May. It would be great to see Chris sign a longer contract with the club. Chris played with the Philadelphia Union and Toronto, in MLS
Tyler Back, joined RoPS in Finland Veikkausliiga, from Oregon State in February. Tyler played 3 times for RoPS in the League Cup allowing only 1 goal and he had 2 shut-outs. Since then he has been loaned to cross-town FC Santa Claus (please don't laugh) playing in Kakkonen Group C. Tyler came in and was made the starter - Tyler is 1 win 2 losses after 3 games.
Finally, Brad Guzan had an up and down season, feels more down than up, his team Aston Villa are relegated to the championship, and as is normally the case, a wholesale departure of players is/will happen. As for Brad, no news at this time - this one is closely watched.
As clubs make their 'Summer adjustments' I will keep an eye on the forgotten goalkeepers and update as things happen. Please if you see a report on a Goalkeeper move et. al. please let me know
In soccer not everyday is going to be a great day - today may be one of those day's. There is good stuff, but not so good as well (and a lot of 'short appearances). First we had 3 goals, 1 in Sweden, 1 in Germany and 1 in Iceland. We had a shut-out in Germany from 1 goalkeeper, and a very costly red card from another in Norway. 2 teams in Germany were promoted to Bundesliga next season, in Denmark one team is on the cusp of promotion, one team will play in a play-off final in England, 3 teams, in 2 country's (Belgium and Netherlands's, will play in play-playoffs for a Europa League place. Lets go to the list;
Gboly Ariyibi started and went 90 as Chesterfield visited Bradford and came away empty handed, 0 - 2, in their last game of the season in England's League One
GK Brendan Moore is back at Fleetwood, after his successful loan period with Torquay United, and back on the bench (DNP) for Fleetwood final game, which they won 2 - 0 over Crewe.
Zak Whitbread (90) and Shrewsbury ended their League One campaign with a 0 - 3 loss at Swindon. Shrewsbury ended the season just above the drop zone - close
Josue Soto, was in 18 (DNP) as Jaro hosted Etchu Tabe (90) and Haka in Finland's Ykkonen in a goalless draw
Daniel Stevens, went 90, picked up a yellow as GrIFK fell 0 1 to JJK in Ykkonen
Isaac Kannah and KTP welcomed Ekenas IF and GK Tim Murray to today's Ykkonen game, but were happy to see them leave after a 1 - 2 loss
Defender Gabriel Witz, started and went 90 as Jazz visited Oulu and lost 4 - 1. Jazz are yet to register a point this season
Desevio Payne was in Groningen's 18 (DNP) as they won their Eredivisie game against Heracles 2 - 1. Groningen will join Utrecht in the (Eredivisie) Europa League Play-offs battling for the 3rd available spot - Feyenoord, Alkmaar are the other 2.
At Utrecht, Rubio Rubin was in 18 (DNP) as they fell at home 1 - 3 to Alkmaar. Alkmaar qualified for the Eredivisie Europa League Play-offs.
Omar Castro (in 18 / DNP) was hoping to make his debut for Braunschweig in Germany 2Liga as they visited Bochum and won 2 - 3 - maybe he will get off the bench next game - hope so
In Finland's Kakkonen, GK Nathan Stokie (90) and forward Jakeem Johnson (90) were on the losing side as PEPO 1 were beaten 0 - 3 at home by FC Futura in Kakkonen Group A
In Kakkonen Group CLawrence Smith came off the bench at 72 minutes as GBK thumped MuSa 5 - 0. GBK were without captain Chris Corcoran who is serving a red card suspension
Also in Kakkonen Group C, Jossimer Sanchez started and went 90 as Narpes lost their home opening game 0 - 1 to VIFK
GK Scott Angevine (90) and VPS got thumped at home 0 - 3 by TP-47 in Group C as well - not a good day in Finland's Kakkonen for American's
Douglas Bentley started and went 88 minutes as AlbinoLeffe visited Mantova in Italy Lega Pro Group A, and came away with a point in a 1 - 1 draw
In Sweden's Allsvenskan, Matt Pyzdrowski was on the bench (DNP) as #3 Helsingborg beat #2 Malmo 2 - 1
Bobby Wood started and went 63 minutes in Union Berlins 2 - 0 loss to Bielefeld in Germany 2Liga
Shawn Barry started and went 53 minutes in Frankfurt's 1 - 0 loss to Dusseldorf
Fafa Picault started and went 83 minutes in St Pauli's 1 - 0 loss to Nurnberg
Andrew Wooten came off the bench at minute 83 as Sandhausen drew 2 - 2 with Duisburg
Terrence Boyd and Red Bull Leipzig and Caleb Stanko/Zak Steffen at Freiburg are promoted to Bundesliga next season
Bodens captain Eddy Prugh had the day off (He will play for the U21's tomorrow) and Chase Miller went 90 as Bodens visited Harnosands and won 0 - 1 Bodens now sitting in 2nd place in Sweden Division 2 Norrland
USYNT Romain GallScored the winning goal for Nykopings in Sweden Division One, as they visited IFK Lulea. 2nd goal in 4 games, Nykoping now in 3-way tie for 2nd place (4th on GD)
In Germany's lower leagues, GK Adam Hobbs starts, plays 90 and gets a shut-out as Rathenow beat Nordhausen 2 - 0 in Regionalliga Nordost
In England, Jon-Paul Pittman (63) and Grimsby, won 0 - 2 at Braintree to reach the Vanarama National League Final at Wembley Stadium next Sunday. A win for Grimsby next weekend will mean League 2 football next season
Nermin Crnkic came off the bench for the 2nd half, but it didn't help today as Slovan Bratislava imploded and lost 0 - 4 at home to Trencin in Slovakia's Fortuna Liga
Eric Palmer-Brown started for Porto B in Portugal Segunda Division as they beat Benfica B 3 - 1 - Porto B won Segunda Division, but will continue to play in the league as promotion is not allowed (as Senior Squad plays in Primeira)
Alassane Kane started, went 90 as DJK Bamberg were beaten 1 - 4 by Bayern Hoff in Oberliga Bayern. The lone Bamberg goal was Scored by Alassane
In Norway, Cole Grossman (90) and Stabaek visited high-flying Rosenborg and got dumped 3 - 1...Stabaek (still win-less) not the same team without Bradley Senior.
Dylan Romney came off the bench at minute 76 as Savona visited Prato in Italy Lega Pro Group B Savona took the lead, but couldn't hold on to it as they lost 3 - 1
Kenny Saief started and went 90 as Gent suffered a horrible home loss to Club Brugge, 1 - 4. Belgium has a play-off system for UCL and Europa, so despite the loss they are still in position for the Europa League spot in the 10 match play-off, after 7 games played.
GK Jeff Gal, started and went 90, as Lindkopings fell 2 - 1 to Stenungsunds in Sweden Division 2
Conor O'Brien started and went 90 as Horsens hosted Skive in Denmark's Bet25 Liga (2nd tier) Horsens won the game 3 - 2. Horsens look good for promotion with 4 games left. Be good to see Conor back playing at highest level
Oh Dear! Looks like GK Ethan Horvath has cost his team a win. Ethan started and went 82 minutes before being ejected for a straight RED card. At that time Molde were winning 1 - 3 against Haugesund. The red card resulted in an 85th minute penalty and that was followed by an 89th minute goal - and the game ended at 3 - 3, and Molde dropped out of 2nd place to 3rd - expensive day for Ethan.
In Iceland, Dion AcoffScored Throttur's first goal as they played KR Reykjavik in Iceland's Pepsideild (1st tier) the game ultimately ended in a 2 - 2 draw, with Dion going 90
Busy, Busy, day that saw 7 goals by 4 players, 1 in Philippines, 1 in Germany, 3 in Israel (video) 1 in Poland and 1 in France (video). There was an assist in England (video) and we had a couple of shut-outs by our goalkeepers 1 in Japan and 1 in Germany. In all (I covered) 54 US players played in 14 countries today - pretty impressive numbers
Lets go to the list;
GK Daniel Schmidt and Yamaga visited Verdy in Japan's J-League 2 and came away with a 0 - 4 win, another Shut-out for Daniel
NYC born Mark Winhoffer, who is a dual USA/Philippines, Scored Global's 7th goal, in an 8 - 0 demolition of FC Laos in the Philippines UFL (1st tier)
Devante ParkerScored Mainz II's 3rd goal as they welcomed Rostock in their Germany 3Liga match and beat them 4 - 0 pulling themselves out of the relegation zone with one game left in the season.
No reports just yet, but Joel Sonora left the game for Stuttgart II in the 34th minute, which generally indicates an injury. Ryan Malone was in 18 (DNP) soe Magdeburg as they played to a 1 - 1 draw in 3Liga. Stuttgart II are relegated, Magdeburg cannot reach the lone promotion playoff spot, with just one game remaining.
Royal Fennel (90) and Wurzburger hosted Marc Heider (80) and Kiel as they played to a 1 - 1 draw. Wurzburger has secured the promotional play-off spot for 3Liga.
In England's Championship, Blackburn (Adam Henley in 18 DNP) beat Reading and Danny Williams (90) 3 - 1 . Blackburn end the season at 15th, and Reading 17th.
Johnathan Spector got the start for Birmingham as they visited Cardiff. Johnathan went 90 picked up a yellow in a 1 - 1 draw. Birmingham end up in 10th place in Championship.
Fulham started Tim Ream (74) and brought Emerson Hyndman off the bench (33) as they hosted relegated Bolton and (GK Paul Rachubka in 18 DNP) and came away with a closing day 1 - 0 win.
Eric Lichaj went 90 for Nottingham as they beat MK Dons (Cody Cropper did not dress) 1 - 2. MK Dons are relegated along with Bolton and will play in League One next season.
Haji Wright played the first half for Schalke U19 as they lost 4 - 1 at Bochum U19 in Junior Bundesliga West. Schalke end up finishing the season in 2nd place. Dortmund (who also lost today) take the top spot in the league.
Christian Eissele started, went 67 minutes as 10 man Kemi beat Ilves 1 - 0 in Finland's Veikkausliiga
GK Craig Hill signed yesterday with KuPS, today he found himself in 18 (DNP) as KuPS beat VPS 1 - 0, also in Finland's Veikkausliiga
In Bundesliga, Alfredo Morales came off the bench for Ingolstadt at minute 63, as they fell to Bayern 1 - 2 as Ingolstadt's run of poor form continues.
AJ Soares started, goes 90, as Viking beat Tromso 2 - 0 in Norway's Tippeligaen. Good result for Viking now just 3 points off the top spot (in 4th)
Tim Chandler came off the bench at minute 58, picked up a yellow as Frankfurt beat Christian Pulisic (off bench at 65) and Dortmund 1 - 0.The win lifts Frankfurt 1 point above Bremen and relegation.
John Brooks, back in action at Hertha, went 90, in their 1 - 2 loss to Darmstadt. Hertha are now in a 3-way tie with Mainz and Schalke in the Europa League spots, and 3 points behind M'Gladbach for a UCL spot. Hertha play Mainz next. Darmstadt have given themselves a 3 point cushion in the relegation battle
Kevin Dzierzawski (56 minutes, yellow card) and Peterhead won't be playing in the Scottish Championship next season after losing 2 - 1 (6 - 2 agg) to their nemesis this season Ayr United in the semi-finals of the promotion play-off.
Defender BabaJide Ogunbiyi (90) and Hobro visited Randers in Denmark Superliga and lost 0 - 2. Hobro look to 2nd division football next season
GK Brad Guzan, in 18 (DNP) in a goalless draw at home with Newcastle.
Geoff Cameron went 90 for Stoke as they fell 2 - 1 at Crystal Palace
DeAndre Yedlin went 90 for Sunderland as they try to escape relegation and play in the EPL next season. In an exciting game Sunderland came from behind to beat Chelsea 3 - 2, and keep hope alive, with Yedlin providing an excellent cross/Assist to Defoe's winning goal. Shane O'Neill was in 18 (DNP) as Cambridge visited Mansfield, in England League Two, and played to a goalless draw.
In Scotland's Premier League (European) Play-offs, Perry Kitchen(90) and Heart's played Ross County (GK Chris Konopa not in 18) to a 1 - 1 draw. Hearts are already qualified for the Europa League.
Andrew Stadler came off the bench for Ostersunds at minute 70, as they beat Kalmar 1 - 0 in Sweden's Allsvenskan.
GK Josh Wicks (90) and Tristan Bowen (in 18, DNP) and their team AFC faced off with Angelholms and Ryan Finley (90) in Sweden's Superettan in an tense affair that ended with a 3 - 2 AFC victory
Patrick Hopkins went 76 minutes, Paul Torres (in 18, DNP) as Sirius fought back from a 2 - 0 defecit to draw IK Frej 2 - 2 also in Superettan
Miserable day for Jochen Graf and Oskarshamns as they visited Osters in Sweden's Division One, and were dismantled 3 - 0
Ex Columbus Crew, Aaron SchoenfeldSCORES A HAT-TRICK as H Tel Aviv beat Yehuda in Israel Ligat ha'Al 2 - 4 Make that 8 goals in 10 games since joining H Tel Aviv. You can see all the goals (6) from this game
Hunter GorskieScores his first goal for Legnica as the ex NY Cosmos player gives his side a 0 - 1 win over Belchatow in Poland's Division 1
Devann Yao went 90 in BAK 07's 1 - 3 win over Victoria Berlin in Regionaliga Nordost
Fabian Hurzeler started for 1860 II, picked up 2 yellows (Red)and left the game at 79th minute as 1860 II lost 2 - 4 aginst Unterhaching in Regionaliga Bayern
Mario Rodriguez went 72, in M'Gladbach II's 0 - 3 loss to Lotte in Regionaliga West
GK Zak Steffen started, went 90 (Shut-Out) Caleb Stanko went 90 as Freiburg II pummeled Neckaretz 6 - 0 in Regionalliga Sudwest
Irvin Parra started and went 90 for Kaiserslautern II visited Hessen Kassel and came away with a 1 - 3 win in Regionalliga Sudwest
Bryan Gaul started and went 90 as Bahlinger beat Saarbrucken 1 - 2 also in Regionalliga Sudwest
Charlie Rugg came off the bench for Trier at minute 63, as thay fall to Steinbach 2 - 1 in Regionalliga Sudwest
In Iceland's Division One, JC Mack started and went 90 for his new club as Selfoss beat Leiknir 3 - 2 in their opening game of the season
Yes GK Tim Howard was present at Evertons 3 - 1 loss to Premiership Champs Leicester City, in 18 (DNP)
In Norway's Tippeligaen, Brann and Alex Horwath (in 18, DNP) welcomed Start and Alex De John (73) to town. Brann came out on top 1 - 0 and moved into a 4-way tie for 2nd place in the league. Start, are well, still waiting to start, with no wins this season
In Ireland, GK Ciaran Nugent sat this one out on the bench (DNP) as Drogheda beat Wexford 4 - 1 in the Irish Premier League
An early goal and a PK put Nantes and Alejandro Bedoya in a hole as they hosted Caen in French Ligue 1. Alejandro led the fight back and Scored, but it was not enough as Nantes fall 1 - 2 to Caen.
Goalkeeper Craig Hill has left Kultsu FC and moved to KuPS in Finland. Craig who joined Kultsu in 2015 had a mixed time with the Kakkonen (third tier) side, being loaned out to KTP in Ykkonen (second tier) for 4 months before returning. The move to Veikkausliiga's KuPS (first tier) happened today, and would seem like a good move on his part.
Craig played at SMU before being drafted by FC Dallas in 2011, form there he spent a short time at River Plate in Puerto Rico and the San Antonio Scorpions (Craig's home town) before moving to Finland. Craig had 5 shut-outs in 18 games for Kultsu.
More than enough going on today to warrant a 'Daily Wrap'. Finland who are in their very early season had a full card of games, while Norway's NM Cup is getting to 'nitty gritty' time. The news from Norway is grim for US players.
We had 3 goals, 1 in Bosnia, 1 Finland and 1 in Sweden.
Let just go to the list.....
Danijal Brkovic (dual US/Bos) started and went the whole 90 minutes and Scored Olimpic Sarajevo 2nd goal in a 0 - 3 win over Drina Zvornik in Bosnia's Premier League. With just a couple of games left Olimpic are 1 point from safety (relegation) Jakeem Johnson started went 90 and Scored PEPO 1's 2nd Goal as they visited MPS in Finland's Kakkonen and came away with a big 1 - 4 win Daniel Stevens came off the bench at minute 73 as GrIFK hosted Isaac Kannah (90) and KTP in Finland's Ykkonen, in a game that ended 1 - 1 Also in Ykkonen, GK Tim Murray had his work cut out for him as Ekenas hosted Jazz Pori and newly arrived Gabriel Witz in a game that ended with Ekenas holding on to a 3 - 2 win Etchu Tabe went 90 minutes for Haka as they stumbled at home against Mike Banner (90) and KPV with a 0 - 3 loss (their first of the season) KPV are now top of the Ykkonen. Josue Soto was in the 18 (DNP) as his team Jaro visited Oulu and came away with a 0 - 1 win In Veikkausliiga, Christian Eissele (90) and Kemi visited KuPS and were defeated 0 - 2 Brian Span came off the bench at minute 56 for Mariehamn as they faced PK-35 at home in a game that ended goalless Alex De John started went 90 as Start fell 3 - 1 at Sandnes in the NM Cup in Norway Ethan Horvath was in 18 (DNP) as Molde was kicked out of the NM Cup 2 - 1 by 2nd division (3rd tier) Stjordals Blink in what must be considered a shock result for high flying Molde Cole Grossman started and went 90 in Stabaek's 0 - 3 win at Baerum in the NM Cup AJ Soares (90) and Viking joined in on a shocking day for the big clubs as Viking were booted from the NM Cup by 2nd Division Vidar.
Eddy PrughScored again (that's 3 in 2 games) for Bodens in their Sweden Division 2 match against Gaellivare Malmberget. Eddy's goal (the first of the game) was the eventual winner in a 2 - 0 scoreline.
Also in Sweden Division 2. Minding the home net GK Jeff Gal and Lidkopings FK came up short as visiting Karlstad held the home team to 1 goal in a 1 - 3 win. NOTE: Of the 5 Teams that have US Players in Norway's top flight only Stabaek (Cole Grossman) has survived today, loses today by Start, Molde and Viking. Bran lost in an earlier round.
