Nelsen played the whole match – his first since a knee operation – but Aston Villa won 3-1 to move into the top four while Blackburn are bottom of the table after two games.
In the second-tier English Championship, Winston Reid again played 90 minutes in the centre of the West Ham defence and was denied a goal at the other end by a point-blank save from Leeds United goalkeeper Andrew Lonergan. Leeds scored in injury time to draw 2-2 but the point keeps West Ham in touch of the play-off places.
After making his European debut for Birmingham mid-week against Nacional, Chris Wood was on the bench for the Blues against Middlesbrough and played the last 18 minutes in a 3-1 loss.
Tommy Smith endured a miserable afternoon for Ipswich, being sent off early in the second half against Peterborough, who ran out 7-1 winners.
In League One, Rory Fallon played the final 14 minutes for Yeovil Town in a 1-1 draw away to Walsall.
Elsewhere in Europe, Kosta Barbarouses made his first appearance in European inter-club competition, coming off the bench for Alaniya early in the second half as the Russian first division leaders dropped the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie 3-0 to Turkey’s Besiktas on Friday.
In China, Chris Killen scored for Shenzhen Ruby in a vital 4-1 win over Dalian Shide that edges his side closer to moving out of the relegation zone.
Stateside, Simon Elliott and Michael Boxall both played full games for Chivas and Vancouver respectively as Chivas drew 2-2 with Colorado and Vancouver went down 2-1 to Portland. Dan Keat made another fleeting appearance for LA Galaxy, this time as a 90th-minute substitute against San Jose.
In Germany‘s Frauen Bundesliga, Ria Percival made a winning debut for FFC Frankfurt, who defeated Essen-Schonebeck 3-0 in their league opener.
Amber Hearn’s USV Jena started with a defeat to Rebecca Smith’s VfL Wolfsburg. Hearn played 80 minutes for her new club but Smith is still sidelined through injury and did not feature.
Sarah Gregorius made her debut for Bad Neuenahr, who started their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Freiburg.
Back in England, Hayley Moorwood played 90 minutes in a home loss for Chelsea against Bristol City while it was a happier weekend for Kirsty Yallop in Sweden as she notched her first goal for Vittsjo, who moved 12 points clear at the top of the Swedish first division with a 2-0 win over Sandby.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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