Junior Hoilett still hasn't committed his name to his birth nation of Canada or his father's homeland of Jamaica. But on the day Canada named their roster for CONCACAF's Olympic qualifying tournament, fans sure wish he was on their side.
The 21-year-old striker volleyed in the winning goal for Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday in a 2-0 victory over Sunderland in England’s Premier League. The goal was Hoilett’s third in his past two EPL matches, giving the former Canadian youth international six on the season so far.
Sitting out this past weekend’s EPL proceedings was Simeon Jackson, who remained on the bench as his side Norwich City fell 1-0 at Newcastle United. Norwich have slipped to 13th in the Premier League, but the tightly packed mid-table sees the Canaries just three points off eighth place.
In the English second tier, David Edgar put in his customary 90 minutes for Burnley in a 0-0 deadlock at Cardiff City.
Meanwhile in England’s League One, striker Iain Hume hit a brace on Saturday as his team Preston North End grabbed three points at Exeter City. Hume also went the full 90 on Tuesday as PNE fought to a scoreless draw at Carlisle United.
Over in Germany, it was another day, another pair of goals for Olivier Occean. In what is becoming standard procedure, the 30-year-old striker struck again for SpVgg Greuther Fürth over the weekend, this time scoring twice and leading his side to a 4-1 win over 1860 München.
Occean is now tied for the lead in the 2.Bundesliga scoring charts with 15 goals.
Greuther Fürth’s win kept them atop the standings, with second-place Eintracht Frankfurt also winning 3-0 over Dynamo Dresden. Striker Rob Friend came on for Eintracht in the 85th minute, after all the scoring had already taken place.
Also seeing action as a substitute in the 2.Bundesliga was Randy Edwini-Bonsu, who entered the fray in the 69th minute for Eintracht Braunshweig in their scoreless draw with FSV Frankfurt.
Up in the German top flight, defender Kevin McKenna was a late entrant for FC Köln in a 4-1 loss at Hannover 96, subbing in at the 77th minute. The defeat dropped Köln to 13th in the Bundesliga.
Meanwhile, across the border in the Netherlands, Atiba Hutchinson went 90 minutes at right back for PSV Eindhoven as they thrashed Heerenveen 5-1 on Sunday. The win allowed PSV to keep pace with AZ Alkmaar and Ajax, both of whom are ahead of Hutchinson’s club in the Eredivisie standings.
Down a rung in the Eerste Divisie, midfielder Alex Marello started and went 71 minutes for SC Veendam in a 1-1 draw with visitors Almere City. It was only the third start for the 23-year-old, who has made eight total appearances for 16th place Veendam this season.
Over in Switzerland, Josh Simpson started for BSC Young Boys against Grasshopper on Saturday but only lasted 20 minutes before being shown a red card for a reckless challenge. Ten-man Young Boys ended up losing the match 2-0.
Coming out on the winning side was goalkeeper Milan Borjan, whose FC Vaslui defeated FC Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt 3-1 in the Romanian top flight. Vaslui are currently on a four-game winning streak in all competitions, all of which have come after Borjan took over the number one shirt.
Half a world away in Australia, Issey Nakajima-Farran was in the starting lineup for the Brisbane Roar in a 2-1 win at the Newcastle Jets. Brisbane remain in second on the A-League table, two points behind leaders Central Coast Mariners.
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