Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz netted doubles, Chris Wood continued his remarkable run in England and Football Ferns skipper Rebecca Smith got in on the action in Germany.
Asia/Oceania
Smeltz was the star turn in the Australian A-League, scoring in each half to take his career A-League goals tally to 51, two shy of Archie Thompson’s all-time record.
The first was a deft header in the 34th minute and the second a clinical right-foot strike from the edge of the area midway through the second spell to lead Perth Glory to a 2-1 away win over Melbourne Heart.
“To get to 50 goals is a nice total but I was just pleased to see the team get the three points,” Smeltz said.
“It was our first game away from home this season and the boys are buzzing. It’s a great start to the season.”
Not to be out done, Killen made the most of a return to the Shenzhen Ruby line-up by netting twice in two minutes to earn his side a crucial point against relegation rivals Chengdu Blades in China. The draw keeps Shenzhen above Chengdu and a win away from climbing out of the drop zone with three matches remaining in the Chinese Super League.
Much closer to home, All Whites vice-captain Tim Brown had an eventful night for the Wellington Phoenix, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 home win over Newcastle Jets but being sent off late in the game for a questionable second booking.
Ben Sigmund and Leo Bertos were also impressive for the Phoenix, the latter combining with Tony Lochhead to set up Wellington’s second goal. Jeremy Brockie played 69 minutes for the visitors while Mark Paston sat out the match with injury.
Glen Moss looked sharp in goal for Gold Coast against Mike McGlinchey’s Central Coast but was denied a clean sheet by a late looping header as the game finished 1-1.
There was another start for Marco Rojas in a star-studded Melbourne Victory line-up but he couldn’t prevent his side falling 1-0 to Adelaide.
In Japan, Michael Fitzgerald played a full match for Zweigen Kanazawa in a 1-1 draw with Ryukyu in the third-tier Japanese Football League.
Ivan Vicelich was another All White on the scoresheet over the weekend, scoring Auckland City’s second goal in a 3-2 win over Waitakere United to lift the inaugural ASB Charity Cup.
Europe
Chris Wood can’t seem to stop scoring goals at the moment. His 87th-minute effort against Leicester City was his eighth of the English Championship season for Birmingham City, and sealed a 2-0 win over a Foxes side that had gone unbeaten in their previous seven games.
Winston Reid has recovered from a hamstring strain and played the full 90 for West Ham United as the East Londoners moved up to second on the Championship table.
Meanwhile, there was still no sign of All Whites skipper Ryan Nelsen on the Blackburn Rovers bench in the Premiership although he is rumoured to be close to making a return from injury.
North of the border Rory Fallon was not on the scoresheet himself but was instrumental in Aberdeen’s opening goal in a 3-1 win over Dundee United.
Over on the mainland, Rebecca Smith’s late header for VfL Wolfsburg wrapped up a 3-1 away win over Hamburger SV that keeps her side fourth in Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga.
Ria Percival’s FFC Frankfurt remains top after a 7-1 thrashing of Bayern Munich with the defender playing the full match.
Katie Hoyle and Sarah Gregorius both played the full match against title challengers Turbine Postdam and, although they might take heart from a competitive 1-0 loss, Bad Neuenahr remain rooted to the foot of the table.
Amber Hearn also played the full 90 but her USV Jena side lost 3-0 at home to Duisburg.
In Scandinavia, Emma Kete played 72 minutes for PK-35 in a heavy 6-0 away win over Kokkola to clinch the Finnish Naistenliiga trophy, while a fit-again Craig Henderson appeared on the bench for Mjällby in a 2-1 over Trelleborg in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
Further afield, Kosta Barbarouses was an unused sub in Alaniya Vladikavkaz’s 2-0 win over Baltika that keeps the pressure on the leaders in the Russian first division.
North America
In Major League Soccer, Michael Boxall returned to the Vancouver Whitecaps line-up, first as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 midweek win over DC United and then in the starting 11 in a 2-0 loss to Dallas on the weekend.
Goalkeeper Jake Gleeson has recently been seeing some time in Portland’s reserves but was an unused sub in the Timbers’ 2-0 MLS loss to the Houston Dynamos.
In Collegiate action, Betsy Hassett clocked up major minutes in wins for UC Berkeley over USC and Arizona, 2-0 and 1-0 respectively, while Rosie White played nearly 80 minutes across two games – a 4-1 loss to Stanford and a goalless draw with Washington State.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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