It was the last set of fixtures before the international break and throughout the recently announced squad for the two games against St. Kitts, the called-up players all made appearances to head into the qualifiers in game shape.
There are still a handful of key players who are recovering from injury, most notably Atiba Hutchinson, Kevin McKenna, Iain Hume and Marcel De Jong, but the good news is the players who will be replacing them, such as Patrice Bernier, David Edgar, Olivier Occean and Mike Klukowski have all been playing and contributing to their respective domestic clubs.
Olivier Occean can’t stop scoring as he’s netted in his last two games, and this weekend scored the tying goal in extra time to save a point against St. Pauli in a 2-2 draw. Tosaint Ricketss followed suit and continues to contribute in Romania as he scored for Politehnica Timisoara in their 3-0 victory this past weekend.
As the Scandinavian countries are finishing their seasons’ and Finland already wrapped up, the last one of note to keep an eye on is Norway with keeper Lars Hirschfeld’s Valerenga fighting for the last Europa League spot. Their loss to Fredrikstad last Monday has hurt their chances, however, they are one game out of second place but unfortunately battling for that spot with four other teams.
In Turkey
There is no question the match of the weekend occurred in Sivas, Turkey as reigning Super Lig champions and current table-toppers Fenerbahce came to face Sivasspor with Milan Borjan between the posts. It has already been a true test of the Canadian’s mettle this season as he started the year as the number one keeper, but lost his first two games, then went down to injury. With Atilla Koca stepping in and getting Sivasspor their first victories of the year, it looked like Borjan might be relegated to the bench. With Stephen Hart passing on call-ups to let him re-establish himself in the side, Borjan has done just that and made a strong claim to keeping his spot as Sivasspor downed Fenerbahce 2-0 at home and earned Borjan his second clean sheet in just over a week.
All the way to the western coast of Turkey, both Mike Klukowski and Josh Simpson are playing their part in a strong start to the season for Manisaspor, as they have managed to keep pace with the best in the league in the early going. Now five wins without a loss, and four of them wins, Manisaspor kept their form as they beat Antalyaspor 1-0 to stay in a three-way tie for third place with Istanbul BB and Galatasaray.
Milan Borjan earns another clean sheet as Sivasspor down league leading Fenerbahce 2-0:
Olivier Occean saves a point for Greuther Furth, scoring the equalizer in extra time to tie St. Pauli 2-2:
Tosaint Ricketts adds the insurance goal in a 3-0 victory:
Here's how the rest of Canada's Internationals fared across the pond:
Issey Nakajima-Farran – Brisbane Roar (AUS):
Saturday, November 5, subbed in at the 64th minute in a 2-2 draw with Melbourne Victory.
Patrice Bernier – Lyngby (DEN):
Sunday, November 6, played all 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Copenhagen.
Simeon Jackson – Norwich City (ENG):
Saturday, November 5, subbed in at the 76th minute in a 3-2 loss to Aston Villa.
Ethan Gage – Reading (ENG):
Sunday, November 6, did not play in a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City.
David Edgar – Burnley (ENG):
Saturday, November 5, played all 90 minutes in a 3-1 loss to Bristol City.
Iain Hume – Preston North End (ENG):
Saturday, November 5, did not play in a 5-2 loss to Charlton Athletic.
Jamie Peters – Bournemouth (ENG):
Saturday, November 5, played all 90 minutes in a 2-0 victory over Scunthorpe United.
Paul Peschisolido – Burton Albion (ENG):
Saturday, November 5, coached in a 1-0 victory over Macclesfield Town.
Gavin McCallum – Lincoln City (ENG):
Saturday, November 5, did not play in a 2-1 victory over Barrow.
Haidar Al-Shaibani – Nimes (FRA):
Saturday November 5 vs. Beauvais – Match postponed due to poor pitch conditions.
Kevin McKenna – FC Koln (GER):
Saturday, November 5, did not play in a 3-2 loss to Werder Bremen.
Marcel De Jong – FC Augsburg (GER):
Sunday, November 6, did nto play in a 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich.
Rob Friend – Eintracht Frankfurt (GER):
Next match, Monday November 7 vs. Erzgebirge Aue.
Adam Straith – Energie Cottbus (GER):
Sunday, November 6, subbed in at the 65th minute in a 2-0 loss to SC Paderborn.
Olivier Occean – Greuther Furth (GER):
Monday, October 31, played all 90 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 3-1 loss to Eintracht Braunschweig.
Saturday, November 5, played all 90 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 2-2 draw with St. Pauli.
Nik Ledgerwood – Wehen Wiesbaden (GER):
Saturday, November 5, did not play in a 2-0 victory over Chemnitzer FC.
Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault – Preuben Munster (GER):
Saturday, November 5, played 45 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Saarbruken.
Julian Uccello – Crotone (ITA):
Saturday, November 5, did not play in a 1-1 draw with Reggina.
Atiba Hutchinson – PSV Eindoven (NED):
Sunday, November 6, did not play in a 4-1 victory over Heracles.
Andrew Ornoch – Telstar (NED):
Sunday, November 6, did not play in a 4-1 loss to Volendam.
Lars Hirschfeld – Valerenga (NOR):
Monday, October 31, played all 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Fredrikstad.
Next match, Sunday November 20 vs. Stromsgodset.
Chris Pozniak – Haugesund (NOR):
Next match, Sunday November 20 vs. Stabaek.
Tosaint Ricketts – Timisoara (ROM):
Saturday, November 5, played 67 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 3-0 victory over Arges Pitesti.
Marcus Haber – St. Johnstone (SCO):
Next match, Monday November 7 vs. Aberdeen.
Daniel Imhof – St. Gallen (SWI):
Saturday, November 5, did not play in a 1-0 loss to Chiasso.
Mike Klukowski – Manisaspor (TUR):
Saturday, November 5, played all 90 minutes in a 1-0 victory over Antalyaspor.
Josh Simpson – Manisaspor (TUR):
Saturday, November 5, played 79 minutes in a 1-0 victory over Antalyaspro.
Milan Borjan – Sivasspor (TUR):
Friday, November 4, played all 90 minutes and kept a CLEAN SHEET in a 2-0 victory over Fenerbahce.
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