Flying Kiwis – October 27
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Just like last week, Winston Reid was unable to suit up for West Ham, his back injury keeping him out another game, though it doesn’t sound too serious. No setback, just another week’s rest first.
“Winston Reid is out, he isn’t going to make it for this game. It is nothing major but he will not play.” – Slaven Bilic.
It sounds like he’s not back in full training yet either so pencil him as a doubt for next week.
Instead he got a great seat on the bench for another classic Hammers upset as they beat Chelsea 2-1. Damn, and what drama! Mauro Zárate put the increasingly fragile Chelsea lads behind and, on the brink of a half time deficit, things reached breaking point as Nemanja Matic stupidly got himself a second yellow and two players were booked for dissent in the aftermath. Then Silvino Louro, a CFC assistant coach, was sent to the stands for yapping too. That was how it was at half time but as the players emerged for the second half, Jose Mourinho did not. He was sent off too for carrying on the debate during the spell. Winston was clearly enjoying it from his seat near the front row.
It’s not often you see him smiling during games, to be fair. Gary Cahill equalised in the second stanza but then with Chelsea looking to force the win despite their 10 men, up popped Andy Carroll at the other end with the decider, 2-1 to West Ham. Chelsea’s fifth loss of the season, the Hammers now sit third and have beaten all four of last year’s top six that they’ve played. Pretty incredible.
Hey and Winnie also got a sweet shout out this week from Liverpool and Premier League centre back legend Jamie Carragher in his column for the Daily Mail. Big praise here:
“Winston Reid, though, has been just as influential. It was a surprise West Ham were able to keep him, as I have no doubt he has the qualities to play for a top-four team. I’ve liked him for a long time, so to re-sign him on a six-year contract was a massive statement.
I remember talking to Allardyce once at a function we attended together and it was at a time when there was a lot of talk about James Tomkins.
But Sam said to me about Reid: ‘He is the one.’ He confirmed my gut feeling that he could progress to a high level. How Reid performs on Saturday will be crucial against a Chelsea side that has dominated matches at Upton Park, winning nine of their last 14 visits. Diego Costa has started to show glimpses of getting back to his best and will put Reid under intense pressure.”
One slight amendment, he says Reid has the quality to play for a top four team, well, according to the current table he is playing for one.
Up Next: Off to Watford at 4am on Sunday. Guts to Winston, he’s gonna miss the Rugby World Cup final. Perhaps this explains the lingering hip injury? (NZT)
Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)
As expected, Steve Evans was unveiled as the new Leeds manager, signing a rolling contract that’ll see him through ‘til June – probably a safe call from chairman Massimo Cellini, given his trigger finger when it comes to managers.
“Am I cautious, am I nervous, am I excited – everything. It’s wedding days, it’s babies being born, it’s your first date all rolled into one. It’s overwhelming. You realise the size of the opportunity you’ve been given and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.” – Steve Evans.
Having said that, Cellini was suspended by the FA within hours of unveiling his new manager. Tax evasion, nothing to see here move along.
For his first week in charge Boss Evans had himself a double road trip, first to Fulham and then to Bolton. Fulham first up. Coming off a tumultuous few days, the club must have been desperate for a shot in the arm and thankfully they were able to provide one with a much better performance than they’d shown the last few games. Evans listened to the fan rallying for two strikers and went with just that, Chris Wood and Mirco Antenucci playing together for once. Unfortunately after a bright start with plenty of half chances, Leeds then fell behind as young gun Moussa Dembele skipped through the defence and snuck a shot under keeper Marco Silvestri, who will be a bit embarrassed to have missed it.
But the Whites kept battling away and earned a spot kick in the 64th minute after a handball, up stepping Chris Wood to slam the thing home (despite a firm hand on it from the diving goalie). 1-1 was the final score, a welcome point and a much more promising effort in a game they were actually a little unlucky not to win in the end. Woody was subbed off after 70 minutes with a bit of a limp (he was fine for the next game). He had a couple shots on target and was much better distributing the ball with more help around him.
And now over to Bolton.
Again, Leeds looked much more confident and they really forced the issue. But… they couldn’t score. Tom Adeyemi hit the post, and then Leeds did their usual Leeds thing and conceded a scrappy goal. Shola Ameobi striking it, the former Newcastle forward’s first goal since May 2014. It was from a cheaply conceded corner and a poorly dealt with one too.
Woody came close to levelling as he brought down a bouncing ball and struck a turning volley but the keeper got down to it. Leeds down at the half.
Afterwards, their keeper redeemed himself a little from his last few performances by tipping a dangerous low shot wide, before Leeds finally found their way through. Just as against Fulham, it was from the penalty spot. Antenucci went sliding past defenders on his way into the box and he was shoved down from behind. Penalty, red card. Ante took the kick this time and he tucked it away.
Leeds flooded forward with the man advantage but they couldn’t find a winner against a team with only one victory in their last 17. 1-1. A promising performance but a frustrating one too.
“We dominated enough to win but the quality of balls into the box, especially in the last 20 minutes, weren’t clinical enough. When that happens, people put bodies on the line and you’re relying on luck. We missed chances at key stages and, like Fulham, we gave a silly goal away. We should defend it much better and we go away disappointed.” – Steve Evans.
One interesting note, Wood was still on the park for the penalty, he played all 90. But after the strike pair discussed it for a bit, Wood backed down and let Antenucci take the spot kick he earned. Ante’s was the better kick, just quietly.
What that means is that Leeds still only have two wins this season, now from 13 games, and are without a win in five. But a couple draws show progress, next up is to do something about that shocking home record…
Up Next: A rare Friday game, at home to Blackburn at 8.45am (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
Ipswich are a long way from feeling like sacking their own manager but Mick McCarthy still has problems. They’re now six games without a victory, only bottom placed Bolton and manager-less Charlton have worse streaks. This after a midweek loss to Hull and a weekend draw at Nottingham Forest.
Hull are a good side, they currently sit second after also beating a good Birmingham side. Still, for an Ipswich team that set up to be solid and stifling, to leave the city with a 3-0 loss was far from acceptable. For the first half hour it worked too, Town even creating a couple close chances. But Alex Bruce rose high at the back post to head in the opener in the 36th and it was all Hull from there. Chuba Akpom added another before the half and David Meyler put some icing on the cake with a great chest-and-volley from the edge of the area. The less said the better, Smith was poor but then so were the rest of his defenders. Left back Jonas Knudsen is having big problems.
But at least Hull have a badass floodlight system. This was unveiled before the Ipswich game.
The game at Nottingham Forest was a much better one at least. McCarthy made four changes, all to midfield and attack, though it didn’t have much effect at all for the first hour. Ipswich looked a team short on belief – which they probably are – and while they defended much better to deny Forest, it wasn’t until the 55th minute that they drew a decent save out of the opposition keeper.
But then with 15 minutes left, they found the goal that they craved. A cross into the box from Kevin Bru was only partly cleared and Jonathan Parr lobbed in a difficult volley. Not pretty but it didn’t have to be.
From there Town seemed to have the game sown up. They kept their structure and seemed to be cruising towards victory. Except that Notts had one last run in them. A long ball into the box was punched away by Dean Gerken, but straight to an attacker. The shot across the goal was cleared off the line only to fall right to Liam Trotter and he tied it up. In the sixth minute of injury time. When you’re luck’s out, it’s really out, right? More effective from Smithy, who made a few crucial clearances though he did get caught too high up the park on a couple occasions. He also earned himself a yellow card.
That leaves Ipswich now languishing in 13th place having been first after four games. They’re seven points off the playoff places and in desperate need of a win.
A fan vote on the East Anglian Daily Times has 17% of fans labelling the central defence as the main area to strengthen, which falls below goalkeeper, fullback and central midfield. 36% blame the lack of form on under-performing key players.
Up Next: Ipswich vs Cardiff, 4am Sunday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Kinda heartbreaking for Zwolle, a 90th minute goal condemning them to defeat at home to Utrecht. They’d actually taken a deserved lead in the 14th minute after Lars Veldwijk’s shot was parried away, falling to Ryan Thomas on the edge of the box. He drew in a couple defenders and spread the ball to his left for Wout Marinus who cut inside one guy and stuck it into the near corner.
But 10 minutes later it was 1-1, Sebastien Haller getting in behind and beating the keeper coolly. The PECers were the better team at home, they had more possession even if they were a bit reckless with it. Still, they looked on course for the win with five minutes to play when Veldwijk was hauled down in the box. In a recurring theme for these dudes this week, a penalty was awarded and a red card dished out. Only Stef Nijland went and walloped his shot over the bar.
Then, as time ran down, the ref made the controversial decision to award Utrecht a penalty. Aussie Trent Sainsbury with the foul although he protested it was outside the box. Haller stepped up to win the game. 2-1, Zwolle lose their second in a row.
Ryan Thomas got all 90 here, curiously playing deeper in midfield than his usual advanced role. It meant he got far more touches of the ball (64, tied most of any Zwolle player outside of the defenders) and he was much more accurate as a passer too, able to spread it round more than before. It’ll be something to keep an eye on if he ends up playing there more often, he did okay if not fantastic in his first trial. Plus if there's a personal positive to come out of the penalty shambles at the end, it's that manager Ron Jans has said that Ryan will now be the team's first choice spot kick taker.
Up Next: 6.30am Sunday, away to Groningen (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)
It’s a bit of a light one this week. Marco Rojas was unavailable through injury for FC Thun too as they claimed a valuable 2-1 win over Lugano. Plus Bill Tuiloma’s side had a week off, they next play this Saturday.
But we do have a beauty from Brockie to bring you.
His and Michael Boxall’s SuperSport United have been struggling badly early on in the new season, with only a single win in their first seven and four consecutive losses now. They’re third to last on the table, the latest a 2-1 loss to Lamontville Golden Arrows.
Still, they’re at least alive in the Cup, getting immediate retribution over the Golden Arrows with a 3-1 knockout win. Brockie scored twice. Brox also has two league goals this season though his goal celebrations have been a source of great controversy. To put it simply, he’s been trying to dance and he’s no good at it. It seems he’s partially solved that now though, putting a bit of kiwi back into his post-goal show.
Given that this game came after the All Blacks knocked South Africa from the Rugby World Cup, there was definitely more than a little gloating about this.
Up Next: Chippa Utd vs SuperSport Utd, 6.30am Wednesday (NZT)