Milan Borjan’s introduction to the Turkish Süper Lig has been a rough one.
After dropping his first match for new club Sivasspor, the 23-year-old goalkeeper was on the wrong end of a 4-0 shellacking on Sunday. As if getting barraged by visiting Eskişehirspor wasn’t enough, Borjan didn’t make it to the end of the match thanks to receiving a bizarre pair of yellow cards in rapid succession.
With Sivassor down 3-0, a frustrated Borjan objected to a foul called just outside his penalty area. The referee didn’t hesitate to show the ‘keeper yellow, and then — as Borjan was walking away — showed him another yellow, then a red. The cautions were officially given at the 67th and 68th minutes, but in reality they were shown less than 10 seconds apart.
Borjan will miss the next league match for Sivasspor, who are dead last in the league and a dismal minus-5 in goal difference after two rounds.
The other two Canucks in Turkey, Mike Klukowski and Josh Simpson, both lasted the entire duration for their match on Saturday, although their club Manisaspor was also on the losing end, falling 1-0 at Orduspor.
Tuesday’s match was a bit kinder to Manisaspor, who benefitted from a second-half own goal to draw Fenerbahçe away, 1-1. Klukowski and Simpson were both in the starting lineup, although Klukowski lasted only 10 minutes after an injury forced him out early.
Over in Germany, FC Köln were big winners, prevailing 4-1 at Bayer Leverkusen. Canadian international captain Kevin McKenna went 90 minutes at the back for Köln in the victory.
Fellow defender Marcel de Jong also saw 90 minutes of Bundesliga action on Saturday, traveling with FC Augsburg for their 2-2 draw at Hertha BSC. De Jong returned to the starting lineup after a month-long knee injury, and was cautioned in the 38th minute.
Down in the 2.Bundesliga, league leaders SpVgg Greuther Fürth were held scoreless for the first time this season, drawing host Alemannia Aachen 0-0. Striker Olivier Occean played the entire match for Fürth.
Meanwhile, defender Adam Straith remained on the bench for FC Energie Cottbus in a 3-1 loss at Eintracht Braunschweig. Straith has made only one start for Cottbus so far in the current campaign, despite the side having given up six goals over the past two games.
Across the northern border in Denmark, Patrice Bernier logged 90 minutes in the midfield for Lyngby BK in a losing cause on Sunday. Bernier’s side dropped a home decision 2-0 to Silkeborg, and they remain in 11th place on the Superliga table.
Even further north, goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld kept a clean sheet for Vålerenga in their 1-0 away win at Lillestrøm in Norwegian Tippeligaen play. Vålerenga have won four of their past five league games, vaulting to fifth place in that time.
Going the other way are FK Haugesund, who fell 1-0 away at Brann last Friday. Utility man Chris Pozniak went 90 minutes in the center of defense for Haugesund, who have won once in their past four matches.
Also in northern Europe, several Canadians were in action in Finland’s top-flight Veikkausliiga. Leading the way was big defender Luca Bellisomo, who pounced on a loose ball and fired a laser from 22-yards-out to grab the equalizer for IFK Mariehamn in a 1-1 draw at Haka.
Both Bellisomo and Mason Trafford played the full 90 minutes for Mariehamn, who are firmly mid-table after 25 games played.
Not to be outdone, Frank Jonke also pulled his side level this weekend, scoring early in the second half to salvage a 1-1 draw for Inter Turku against table toppers HJK. The goal was Jonke’s second for Inter Turku after having joined the club this season from AC Oulu.
Things didn’t go so well for Tomer Chencinski and VPS, who fell 4-2 away to KuPS on Sunday. Chenchinski went the distance in goal for VPS.
Also on the losing end in the Veikkausliiga was Riley O’Neill’s MyPa, who succumbed 2-0 to hosts Honka. O’Neill started up front and played the entire match.
In the Finnish second-tier Ykkönen, young striker Randy Edwini-Bonsu maintained his torrid form by scoring another couple of goals for AC Oulu on Sunday. Unfortunately, the brace by the former Vancouver Whitecaps prospect wasn’t enough as Oulu lost 5-2 at Viikingit.
AC Oulu are still fourth in the Ykkönen standings, while Edwini-Bonsu’s 12 goals are good enough for second in the league’s scoring race.
Over in England, David “Junior” Hoilett rebounded from a concussion scare last week to star in Blackburn Rovers’ shock 4-3 win over slumping Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday. Hoilett was a buzz-saw in his 90 minutes of action, assisting on Rovers’ first goal and causing Arsenal’s full backs fits all game long.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, striker Simeon Jackson didn’t even make the bench for Norwich City in their 2-1 win at Bolton Wanderers. The victory was Norwich’s first in the league since gaining promotion.
Down a level in the Championship, David Edgar put in another 90 minutes in his increasingly regular right back spot for Burnley in a 2-1 loss away to Peterborough United. Meanwhile, Jaime Peters still could not make the match day roster for Ipswich Town in their 3-0 win over visiting Coventry.
In League One, Iain Hume and Preston North End continued their roll, winning 3-1 at Brentford, their sixth consecutive victory. Hume scored the second of PNE’s goals, giving him two goals in six appearances thus far.
Next door in Scottish Premier League action, Marcus Haber was a late entrant for St. Johnstone in their 3-0 away victory versus Motherwell. The 22-year-old forward has made five appearances for the Saints this year.
