It was a rough week for Canadians over in England. While David “Junior” Hoilett continues to be Blackburn Rovers’ offensive talisman, chipping in a goal in Saturday’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United, his strike was the only one of the match for Blackburn Rovers, as they fell 3-1 at St. James’ Park.
Meanwhile, Simeon Jackson wasn’t named in the game-day 18-man roster for Norwich City as the Canaries won their second straight Premier League fixture, 2-1 over Sunderland.
In the second-division Championship, 24-year-old defender David Edgar went the distance for Burnley on Saturday in a 1-1 home draw with Southampton, his fifth start of the young season. Edgar replicated his 90-minute performance on Tuesday, as Burnley thrashed Nottingham Forest 5-1 in midweek play.
Down a level in England’s League One, Iain Hume played 81 minutes on Tuesday and scored twice, leading his side Preston North End to a 4-3 away win at Wycombe Wanderers. Hume also featured in Preston’s weekend fixture, a 2-1 win over his former club Tranmere Rovers on Saturday. PNE have won six straight matches in the league.
Also in League One action, on-loan Jaime Peters made his debut for AFC Bournemouth, going 83 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Hartlepool United. Peters joined Bournemouth from second-tier Ipswich Town earlier this month.
Across the border in Scotland, Marcus Haber saw spot duty for St. Johnstone on Sunday, subbing in at the 84th minute of a 2-0 win over Hearts. The result put St. Johnstone into fourth place in the Scottish Premier League standings.
Over in Norway's top flight, for the second straight week, Lars Hirschfeld backstopped Vålerenga to a 1-0 win. After earning a clean sheet on the road last week, Vålerenga returned home on Sunday and downed visiting Rosenborg. Hirschfeld’s team has won four of its past five league matches, and now sits in fifth place.
Also seeing action in the Tippeligaen was Chris Pozniak, who went 90 minutes on the backline for Haugesund in a 1-0 victory over Aalesund. Pozniak has become a mainstay in the Haugesund lineup, making 19 appearances so far this year.
Next door in Denmark, veteran midfielder Patrice Bernier was instrumental in Lyngby BK’s second Superliga win of the season. The 32-year-old Quebec native assisted on the winning goal for his struggling club, who traveled to AaB on Monday and claimed a 2-1 victory.
In nearby Finland, several Canucks were in action as usual over the past week. Last Wednesday saw two Canadian strikers go head-to-head in the Veikkausliiga, with each finding the back of the net. Frank Jonke’s Inter Turku defeated Riley O’Neill’s MyPa 3-2, with Jonke scoring in the 24th minute and O’Neill bagging a goal in the 79th.
Five days later, Jonke and Inter Turku met Chencinski’s VPS, which ended in a scoreless draw. Both Canadians played the full match for their respective sides.
O’Neill was also in action on Monday, logging 90 minutes in MyPa’s 2-1 loss at RoPS.
Not to be forgotten, goalkeeper Tomer Chencinski and VPS droped a 2-0 decision to HJK, while IFK Mariehamn — featuring both Mason Trafford and Luca Bellisomo in the starting lineup — fell 3-0 to visiting TPS.
In the Finnish second division, Randy Edwini-Bonsu notched a hat-trick for AC Oulu in a 6-2 rout of OPS. The 21-year-old attacker has 15 goals on the season, good for second on the league scoring chart.
Finally, Josh Simpson flew the flag for Canadians in the Turkish Süper Lig, starting for Manisaspor in their 2-0 loss to Istanbul BB. Simpson’s day was cut short when he was shown at straight red card for a violent challenge just before halftime.
Simpson’s teammate for club and country, Mike Klukowski, sat out after suffering an injury in last week’s match.
Also sitting out was goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who was suspended for Sivasspor’s 3-0 rout of Bursaspor on Sunday. Borjan was ejected from Sivasspor’s previous game after receiving two quick yellow cards for dissent.
