For Simeon Jackson, a new season means a fresh start with a new team in a new league.
But it wasn’t the kind of start the former Norwich City forward was hoping for as he made his debut with newly promoted Eintracht Braunschweig. Jackson (above) got the start on Saturday as Braunschweig opened their Bundesliga campaign with a 1-0 loss to Werder Bremen.
Down in the 2.Bundesliga, defender Andre Hainault came on as a late substitute for VFR Aalen as they picked up their first league win of the season on Sunday. Hainault was on in second-half stoppage time to help Aalen hold on for their 1-0 win over Erzgebirge Aue.
On Monday, Olivier Occean picked up his first league start of the season for Kaiserslautern in a game against former club Greuther Fürth, who he helped guide to the top flight two years ago. Fürth would have the last laugh as they held Occean off the scoresheet and beat Kaiserslautern 2-1. They were the first dropped points of the season for Kaiserslautern.
In England, David Hoilett opened his goalscoring account for Queens Park Rangers as they look for a quick return to the Premier League. Hoilett’s goal on Saturday came just three minutes after Huddersfield Town had opened the scoring as the game ended in a 1-1 draw. QPR have a win and a draw in their first season back in the Championship.
David Edgar’s Burnley are also on four points after the first two games after they picked up their first victory over the season on Saturday. Edgar came off the bench in the 73rd minute as Burnley hung on to pick up a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
In Greece, Julian de Guzman scored his first goal for Skoda Xanthi on Thursday but it was in vain as they bowed out of the Europa League’s third qualifying round with a 2-1 loss to Standard Liege. Xanthi had already lost the first leg by the same 2-1 score so they went out 4-2 on aggregate. The Greek Super League starts this weekend.
In Sweden, the 10-game unbeaten streak for Kenny Stamatopoulos’ AIK came to an end as they were beaten 1-0 by Malmö FF on Sunday. Despite the loss, AIK are just three points back of first place in the Allsvenskan.
In Finland, Frank Jonke’s Jaro are in fourth place despite two-straight scoreless draws in the Veikkausliiga. Jonke was on the field for all 90 minutes on Saturday as Jaro had to settle for a 0-0 draw with last-place JJK.
Down in the Ykkonen, it was a week to forget for goalkeeper David Monsalve as he conceded seven goals in two losses for Oulu. Monsalve gave up four last Wednesday in a 4-0 loss to Haka and then gave up three more in a 3-2 loss to Viikingit on Monday. Oulu are right in the middle of the table, sitting in fifth place in the 10-team league.
