It’s been a bit of a “good news, bad news” week for Dylan Carreiro – and for Canadians playing in Scotland generally.
The good news is that the 19-year-old (pictured above, left), fresh off a successful loan at Arbroath, made his first appearance in the Scottish Premiership with Dundee, coming on as a sub in Thursday’s loss to Dundee United.
The bad news – for fans of Canada’s national team, anyway – is that Dundee sees enough in Carreiro that they refused to release him to play for his country in the upcoming CONCACAF Under-20 Championship. Of course, if that means Carreiro is set for more Premiership minutes, it could also be good news in the long run.
Carreiro isn’t the only player whose Scottish club refused to release him to play for Canada in U-20 World Cup qualifying. Fraser Aird will remain with Glasgow Rangers as they push for top spot in the Scottish Championship, a push that was aided by a 3-1 win over Dumbarton on Saturday (Aird came on as a second-half substitute).
Elsewhere in Scotland, there was no silver lining for Terry Dunfield in a rough week for Ross County, who sit last in the Premiership. The veteran midfielder went just 42 minutes on Thursday in a loss to Inverness. He then lasted only nine minutes on Sunday and was sent off following a rash challenge on Dundee’s Paul McGowan. Carreiro was an unused substitute in that game.
Still in Scotland, there was some untarnished good news for one Canadian player. Luca Gasparotto went the full 90 on the backline for Airdrieonians for the 14th straight game, helping his side earn a 1-0 win over Greenock Morton. Despite his role as a key player, Gasparotto did get a release and will join Canada’s U-20 team in their World Cup qualifying tournament.
Speaking of big Canadian defenders, David Edgar finally got back into the starting lineup for Birmingham City, albeit in an FA Cup match against non-league Blyth Spartans, as he looks to get back into the regular rotation for his club.
Also in the FA Cup, Queens Park Rangers suffered an upset at the hands of Sheffield United on Sunday, going down to a 3-0 defeat against the League One side. Junior Hoilett started and played the first half for QPR.
Elsewhere in England, Simeon Jackson started and went 79 minutes for Coventry City on Saturday in a 2-0 league win against Walsall.
Pedro Pacheco went the full 90, picking up a yellow card, for CD Santa Clara in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Feirense. Atiba Hutchinson, who can usually be counted on to go the full 90 for his club, was absent from Besiktas’s lineup due to suspension. Without him, the team fell 2-0 to Galatasaray.
A Canadian did see some action in Turkey, though; Tam Nsaliwa started for Bucaspor in Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Adana Demirspor.
Further afield, Daniel Haber started for Ayia Napa in Monday’s 1-1 result with APOEL in Cyprus, while over in Israel, Tosaint Ricketts got back on the field for Hapoel Haifa after missing a week. He came on as a sub in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv.
