A trio of Canadians were in action on Tuesday in English Carling Cup action, none more exciting than Iain Hume and Preston North End. The veteran striker (above) scored in the final minute of regulation at Deepdale, breaking a 2-2 deadlock with Crewe Alexandria and sending PNE on to the next round.
Also participating in the Carling Cup was David Edgar, who played the final 30 minutes in a wild 6-3 victory by his club Burnley over League Two’s Burton Albion FC. Burnley looked to be moving on as they headed into stoppage time with a 3-2 lead, but Burton Albion — managed by former Canadian international striker Paul Peschisolido — pulled level just before the full time whistle. That brought about a frantic extra time in which Burnley showed their class by potting three goals in the additional period of play.
On the losing side of the Carling Cup ledger was right back Jaime Peters, who went the distance for Ipswich Town in a 2-1 home loss to Northampton.
Moving on to Germany, the step up to the 2.Bundesliga doesn’t seem to have slowed down Olivier Occean.
The Brossard, Quebec, native struck for his third goal in as many matches for new club Greuther Fürth this past weekend, leading the side to a 1-0 win over Dynamo Dresden on Saturday. Occean transferred to Greuther Fürth over the summer from third tier Kickers Offenbach, a move that has seemed to have benefitted both club and player as Greuther Fürth have won all three 2.Bundesliga matches thus far.
Elsewhere in the German second tier, defender Adam Straith was on the bench but did not play as his team FC Energie Cottbus were shelled 5-0 by hosts 1860 Munich over the weekend. The combination of a lopsided loss and a red-card suspension to one of Energie Cottbus’ starting center backs could mean some playing time for 20-year-old Straith in the near future.
Up a division, Marcel de Jong made his Bundesliga debut in Saturday’s 2-2 draw between FC Augsburg and Freiburg. De Jong went 90 minutes for newly promoted Augsburg at his customary left back position, picking up a yellow card in the fifth minute.
Meanwhile, Kevin McKenna watched 1.FC Köln’s 3-0 away defeat to VfL Wolfsburg from the bench. Striker Rob Friend fared no better as he wasn’t even dressed for Hertha BSC’s return to the Bundesliga, a 1-0 loss at Nürnberg.
In the Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven opened their 2011-12 Eredivisie campaign with a 2-1 loss at AZ Alkmaar on Sunday. Midfielder Atiba Hutchinson did not play as he is working his way back to match fitness after undergoing minor surgery over the summer.
Down a level in the second-tier Eerste Divisie, Andrew Ornoch played 71 minutes and picked up a caution for Telstar in a 1-0 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles. Also, 22-year-old Alex Marello was an unused substitute for Veendam in their 3-1 loss to Willem II.
To the northeast, Issey Nakajima-Farran stayed on the bench as his AC Horsens tied AaB 3-3 in Danish Superliga action over the weekend. Horsens are currently second on the league table after four rounds.
While many of the European leagues are just getting underway, the more northern Scandinavian circuits are well into their season. Norway’s Tippeligaen is nearing the two-thirds mark of the campaign, and Chris Pozniak’s Haugesund are surging with a strong push up the table.
Pozniak featured in both of Haugesund’s games this past week, each a comfortable win. Last Wednesday, Haugesund dispatched Sogndal 4-0, with their Canadian defender notching a rare goal in the 21st minute. They followed that up with a 4-1 victory on Monday afternoon over lowly IK Start, which allowed Haugesund to jump to sixth place in the Norwegian top flight.
The other Canuck in the Tippeligaen, goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld, backstopped Vålerenga to a 1-1 draw with Sogndal on Sunday.
In nearby Finland, Frank Jonke was a late entrant for Inter Turku in their 2-0 win over Jaro last Saturday. Jonke subbed on in the 83rd minute for the second-placed side.
Elsewhere in the Veikkausliiga, a couple of Canadians squared off as IFK Mariehamn fell 1-0 to visiting VPS. Tomer Checincski picked up the clean sheet for VPS, while Mason Trafford played 90 minutes at the back for the home side. No sign of Luca Bellisomo for Mariehamn.
Finally, striker Riley O’Neill started and was subbed out at the 66th minute as his side MyPa played to a scoreless draw versus TPS on Saturday. MyPa remain in seventh on the Veikkausliiga, tied on points with sixth-place Mariehamn.
