Asia/Oceania
Killen’s eighth of the season was an 82nd-minute equaliser at home against Shandong Luneng but an even later winner to the visitors was enough to relegate Shenzhen from the Chinese Super League on the penultimate weekend of action.
Fresh from winning the Finnish league and cup double with PK-35, Emma Kete scored on debut for Perth Glory but fell 3-2 to table-topping Canberra United in the Australian W-League. Abby Erceg and Anna Green also suffered defeat as Adelaide Lady Reds lost 3-0 to Newcastle.
In week four of A-League action, Mike McGlinchey’s Central Coast Mariners beat Shane Smeltz’s Perth Glory 2-1, Glen Moss’s Gold Coast United defeated Jeremy Brockie’s Newcastle Jets 3-1, and the Wellington Phoenix went down 2-1 to Melbourne Victory at home.
Marco Rojas entered the match against his former club as a late substitute while Tim Brown, Leo Bertos, Tony Lochhead and Ben Sigmund all started for the home side.
Tim Brown was at the heart of many of Wellington’s best chances while Sigmund had a typically uncompromising game in defence before being sent off in the 67th minute for a last-man tackle that also conceded the match-wining penalty.
In the Far East, Michael Fitzgerald’s Zweigen Kanagawa won 4-1 over Sony Sendai to move up to seventh in the Japanese Football League, while on the opening day of the O-League, David Mulligan scored two late goals to round out a vital 4-1 away win for Auckland City over Koloale in the Solomon Islands.
Europe
Kris Bright’s third goal in as many games for Balzan Youths helped his side to a 3-1 win over Marsaxlokk that moves Balzan up to seventh in the Malta Premier League.
Winston Reid put in another 90-minute shift for West Ham United as the East London club cemented second place in the English Championship with a 3-2 win over Leicester City.
Chris Wood started for Birmingham City against Brighton and Hove Albion but the on-loan forward drew a rare blank in the goalless draw. The Blues are now in eighth place with two games in hand.
Rory Fallon endured a tough day at the office in Aberdeen’s match against Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers. The target man lacked support up front and was then red carded for an elbow in the second half.
The DFB Pokal Women’s Cup took centre stage in Germany, with Ria Percival’s Frankfurt edging Rebecca Smith’s VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 in a clash between two Bundesliga heavyweights.
In the other all-Frauen Bundesliga clash Amber Hearn’s USV Jena went down 2-0 to Bayern Munich in extra time, while Katie Hoyle and Sarah Gregorius both featured as Bad Neuenahr progressed to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over second division Hoffenheim.
North America
With Major League Soccer entering the play-offs, Dan Keat was the only Kiwi potentially involved but the former New Zealand U-23 rep was not needed as LA Galaxy edged New York 1-0 in the first leg of the Conference semi-final.
In Collegiate action, Football Fern Betsy Hassett racked up 59 minutes and one assist in UC Berkeley’s a 4-0 win over Oregon and Rosie White played the second half in UCLA’s 8-0 win over Colorado.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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