A giant-killing cup-tie, a World Cup goal and a 6,000 miles flight to complete an international transfer, all in the space of ten days. The last two weeks have been a hectic period for Cameron Hepple, but it is something which he will have to get used to if his career progresses as he hopes.
It all started with a third-round tie in the US Open Cup. Hepple’s team, the Kitsap Pumas, had just knocked out Chivas El Paso and Real Colorado in the previous two rounds of America’s equivalent of the FA Cup and all the big guns from Major League Soccer (MLS) were about to enter the competition in the third round. In a continent with soccer clubs located from New York to Los Angeles and Dallas to Vancouver, the draw rewarded the Pumas with a tie against neighbours Seattle Sounders. This was an opportunity for the Pumas to cause a major shock against one of the big MLS teams. At the end it wasn’t to be and they went down 2-1 but won many friends along the way.
Next up for Cameron Hepple was a flight to the Bahamas for his country’s opening World Cup qualifying games against the Turks and Caicos Islands. The winner would progress through to the next stage of World Cup qualifying. The tie ended with a convincing win for the Bahamas and a first World Cup goal for Cameron Hepple for the Bahamas National Team with whom he made his senior debut at the age of 15.
It was time for a flight back to Seattle and an important career decision to be made. During a busy month there have been various enquiries from clubs interested in Cameron Hepple including some from Europe where the Bahamas attacker will have the advantage of also being a British citizen and will not be affected by various non-EU player quotas and restrictions. He and his club ultimately decided to sign a transfer deal with FC Tirana which is one of the big teams in the Albanian Premier League. Back on the plane for a 6,000 miles flight to Tirana to complete the transfer formalities and go straight into a key UEFA Europa League game.
FC Tirana finished fifth in the league so they will be hoping that Hepple will be the man to open up defences with his speed and help them make a run for the championship this season. The club did win the Albanian Cup at the end of the season which just ended so there will be no time for Hepple to settle in as he will be thrown straight into the club’s massive UEFA Europa League game against Spartak Trnava. The first leg is in Tirana this Thursday, 14 July 2011, with the away leg seven days later.