Also . . . Final Farewell for Sinclair, Sign up for Huntsville adult soccer, HSC AGM, and MUFC needs Sponsors

Even the casual fan couldn’t deny wondrous events in the UEFA Champions League this week.

Though most of the teams I wanted to win either drew or lost this week across all European competitions, there was still a lot to love from a neutral supporter’s perspective.

Tons of goals and big comebacks from several teams were on tap in the penultimate round of the Champions League group stage.

Defending champion Manchester City found themselves down 2-0 to a quality RB Leipzig squad at half-time on Tuesday. But City was at home and has that winning pedigree. The result: three second half goals in a 3-2 win for the home team.

We never want any team from Manchester to win anything, and I’m still not sold on how good Erling Haaland is compared to the way they rant about him (another column on that is coming in the future), but credit is due for the effort it takes to turn around a match like that.

Also on Tuesday, and also at home, Paris Saint-Germain found themselves in a 1-0 hole against Newcastle from minute number 24 until deep into second half stoppage time, despite absolutely dominating their match in all other statistical categories.

In the 98^th minute, PSG was awarded a rather controversial penalty kick on a very debatable handball and Kyliam Mbappe slotted it home to grab a valuable point.

Just so we’re clear English fans – particularly Newcastle supporters – PSG deserved all three points in the match, so stop complaining about the handball at the end.

Those two Tuesday matches were just a preview of the chaos that was to come on Wednesday. Three matches saw huge second half reversals two of them by away teams.

Starting with the least attractive match-up, one of the most annoying teams and undeserving Europa champions last season, Sevilla was cruising along with a 2-0 halftime lead at home to PSV Eindhoven.

Then, the best thing ever happened: Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos is sent off after getting two yellow cards in three minutes . . . two yellows equal one red . . . and the Dutch club stormed back to win 3-2.

Sevilla was eliminated from the Champions League and will need a substantial win on Matchday 6 away to Lens, who is in third, to get back into their favourite second tier competition playoffs.

Hopefully, Lens does the job at home, and we are all saved the spectacle of nonsense that is Sevilla in Europe.

While that was happening in Spain, not too far away in Portugal, Benfica was building a seemingly insurmountable lead against last season’s losing Champions League finalist Inter Milan’s second stringers.

Up 3-0 at halftime and at home, Benfica should have cruised to a stress-free victory. That is, until a couple of first team players for Inter were subbed on and woke the Nerazzurri up.

The final result was 3-3 and a fair result considering each team was truly dominant in each half. But, wow, what a wasted opportunity for Benfica to move into a third-place tie with RB Salzburg for that not-quite-coveted back-door entry into the Europa League playoffs.

Instead, they’ll be travelling to face Salzburg in the last round with nothing less than a victory needed.

Now, the best game of the day in terms of the result had to be seeing those bums from Manchester United – remember, we only hate Mancs (and Laziale, but that’s for another piece) – blow a 3-1 lead in Turkey against Galatasaray.

The match left Man United in last place in their group, one point behind both Galatasaray and Copenhagen, and needing a win over one of the world’s top three or four teams to have a chance to advance.

Bayern Munich and their world class line-up will be heading to England on December 12 with eliminating the team in red as the focus. It says here, they do the job and keep United in last place, knocking them out of Europe completely.

For full results, schedule and standings, visit: https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/

All UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and select Conference League matches can be streamed live on DAZN Canada.

LEGEND’S LAST MATCH ON DECEMBER 5

Women’s Soccer GOAT, the all-time international leading goal scorer (men or women), and Canadian living legend Christine Sinclair is finally playing her last match for Team Canada.

The match will be held on Tuesday, December 5 in Vancouver at B.C. Place, which will be re-named Christine Sinclair Place in honour of the icon for one night only. Australia will be the opponent in the friendly match, but they will be an afterthought.

TSN will be showing the match live and have an hour of pre-match coverage as the nation has the opportunity to honour one of our greatest athletes in any sport.

Check out Thank You to the GOAT for our tribute piece to Sinclair.

register for adult soccer in huntsville

Registration for adult indoor programs in Huntsville has been open for a couple of weeks and the limited number of spots in each of the co-ed programs are filling quickly.

Our regular Tuesday night league for more experienced individuals has been renamed to Division 1. It’s a 4 v 4 program that will have a pick-up format until the holiday break, with teams being made and league play beginning in January and running through April.

On Thursday night, an intermediate pick-up league called Division 2 with mixed skill levels participating runs weekly with 4 v 4 games. There will not be teams made, it’s a come and play program.

Visit https://www.huntsvillesoccer.ca/adult to learn more and find links to register.

There is also a Huntsville women’s only training program that runs Mondays from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. It’s an invite only program and those interested can email the coordinator to find out more: womensleague@huntsvillesoccer.ca

HUntsville soccer club AGM

The Huntsville Soccer Club annual general meeting will be held on December 13 at 7 p.m. via a Microsoft Teams call. All players, coaches and families of youth players are welcome to attend, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the Club.

An email with the video meeting link will be sent out via email newsletter to the HSC membership.

The following voting positions are up for election this year, Vice President, Minor Soccer Director, Head Club Coach, Adult Coordinator, Diversity & Inclusion Officer, and Treasurer.

Opportunities exist in taking on other roles for the club that require seasonal or limited commitments, including Equipment Manager and Field Scheduler. 

Anyone interested in joining the club’s executive committee or becoming a volunteer in another fashion, can email administrator@huntsvillesoccer.ca

Muskoka united fc looking for sponsors

Muskoka United FC are looking for 2024 sponsors at both the club-wide and team specific level.

Local sponsorship, combined with the extensive efforts of the volunteer board and coaches, allows the club to offer ever-growing and improving rep soccer programming throughout Muskoka and the surrounding areas.

If you have any interest in becoming a sponsor or to find out other ways to help, contact muskokaunitedfc@gmail.com