Despite only playing about five minutes on Saturday, Kevin McKenna made the most of his time on the field.
With the score between hosts Hamburger SV and McKenna’s FC Köln deadlocked at 3-3, the big defender subbed in to help lock down the away draw. McKenna did one better when in the 88th minute — just three minutes after he stepped onto the field — he scored the winner, securing his side’s first victory of the 2011-12 Bundesliga campaign.
A day earlier, fellow Canadian international Rob Friend surprisingly made the bench for Hertha BSC in a 1-0 win over VfB Stuttgart. Friend did not see the field, however, and is still the subject of swirling rumors about his impending transfer within Germany.
Another Canadian who missed out on Bundesliga action over the weekend was FC Augsburg’s Marcel de Jong, who reportedly has a slight knee injury. Augsburg fell 1-0 at Nürnberg on Saturday.
Down a division, Olivier Occean and SpVgg Greuther Fürth continued their great start to the season with yet another victory, this time a 4-1 result away at VfL Bochum. Occean was once again instrumental in the attack, scoring his club’s second goal and assisting on another, although he also picked up a slight knee sprain that will keep him out of Canada’s first two World Cup qualifiers this coming weekend.
Greuther Fürth are now clear leaders at the top of the 2.Bundesliga with 15 points after six matches, and Occean is in a three-way tie for the league scoring lead with five goals so far.
Also in the German second tier, 20-year-old defender Adam Straith watched the entire match from the bench as his team, FC Energie Cottbus, played to a scoreless draw at Erzgebirge Aue.
Over in England, Blackburn Rovers attacker David “Junior” Hoilett had a game he’d likely rather forget, as he picked up a yellow card and had his penalty kick saved in a 1-0 loss to visiting Everton. Blackburn remain on zero points after the first three Premier League games.
Elsewhere in the Premiership, Norwich City’s first trip to Stamford Bridge since promoting back to the top flight went as expected, with Chelsea cruising to a 3-1 win. Simeon Jackson didn’t get off the bench for the Canaries, who finished the match with 10 men on the field.
In the second-tier Championship, David Edgar went 90 minutes on Saturday for Burnley, who won 2-1 on the road at Derby County. The 24-year-old defender has made two league starts for the Clarets thus far in the campaign.
Meanwhile, fellow defender Jaime Peters was again nowhere to be found as his side Ipswich Town defeated Leeds United 2-1 at Portman Road. The 24-year-old speedster has yet to even make the bench for the Tractor Boys this season, after two years in which he was an integral part of the team.
Also missing in action on Saturday was Marcus Haber, who didn’t dress for St. Johnstone as the Saints drew 3-3 with Dundee United in Scottish Premier League play. Haber has made four appearances — including two starts — for St. Johnstone in the SPL this year.
One player who did see some game action was Patrice Bernier, who debuted for his new club Lyngby BK of the Danish Superliga. Bernier — who is coming back from a broken leg suffered at the end of last season — played 36 minutes, although Lyngby fell to his old club, FC Nordsjælland, 4-0.
Meanwhile, former Danish-league star Atiba Hutchinson took the night off, watching his team PSV Eindhoven dismantle Excelsior 6-1 in the Dutch Eredivisie. Hutchinson is still working his way back to match fitness after an injury sustained with Canada at the Gold Cup, although that hasn’t stopped him from joining his national team this week.
In the Dutch second division, Andrew Ornoch scored his first of the season for Telstar, helping the club to a 3-0 win over Dordrecht. Ornoch started the match and was pulled in the 84th minute, three minutes after he had found the back of the net.
Also in the Eerste Divisie, Alex Marello continued to await the call, sitting out SC Veendam’s 2-1 loss to FC Den Bosch. Marello, a 22-year-old midfielder from Burnaby, B.C., has made the bench in all four of Veendam’s matches this season, but he has yet to see any playing time.
Up in Norway, a pair of Canucks faced off in the Tippeligaen. Lars Hirschfeld’s Vålerenga defeated Chris Pozniak’s FK Haugesund by a 3-2 score line, which allowed Vålerenga to move within one spot of their opponents on the league table. Hirschfeld went the full 90 in goal, while Pozniak entered the match in the 64th minute.
In nearby Finland, Frank Jonke played the final 17 minutes and received a yellow card in stoppage time as his Inter Turku lost 2-1 to JJK in Veikkausliiga play on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the Finnish top flight, goalkeeper Tomer Chencinski picked up a clean sheet while going 90 minutes for VPS at RoPS on Sunday.
In the other Sunday Veikkausliiga match, Canuck duo Mason Trafford and Luca Bellisomo both started for IFK Mariehamn in a 2-0 losing effort at FC Honka.
On Monday, striker Riley O’Neill entered the match in the 46th minute for MyPa, who were victorious over Jaro, 2-1. Both MyPa goals came in the second half, although O’Neill was not directly involved in either of them.
