Flying Kiwis – December 8
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
It’s one thing to know that there’s a kiwi dude playing regularly in the Premier League, but not enough of us realise how freakin’ good this fella is. Winston’s a certain kind of no-nonsense defender and that means that he’ll probably never get a chance at a Champions League team. Yet when you watch him play like he did against Manchester United this weekend, at Old Trafford, you wonder: Why not?
Granted, defending goals isn’t what United are worried about. After this one they’ve still only conceded a single goal at home all season (in the PL). It’s the four 0-0 draws that’s keeping them back in fourth place and it was thanks to the efforts of the foremost Flying Kiwi that that fourth one came to be.
In fact, were those efforts packaged with just a little more luck, then he may have had the match-winner too, dropping a header down onto the post in the first half. This chance was one of three major ones that the Hammers had in the first half, the best being the first one when Victor Moses was played through following a Daley Blind misplaced pass only to shoot right at the keeper one-on-one. A massive let-off for the home team. Chris Smalling was then able to bundle a later chance off of Mauro Zarate’s face, then off the post, away to safety before Winnie’s effort.
But it was at the back where Winston was at his imperial best. Twice he thwarted Anthony Martial. The first time he dropped a shoulder to force him away from goal and into a tighter angle before stepping across and dispossessing him, while the second time he threw himself into an impressive block. Two highlight moments in a game where he was constantly breaking things up. His 6 interceptions and 7 clearances were both game-highs.
However his most talked about moment might have been the scuffle he had with Bastian Schweinsteiger before the break. The ref halted things to have a lil chat with the pair but they were straight back into it as the game restarted with Schweiny seeming to throw an elbow to the kiwi defender. Reid dropped to the deck, except the ref had missed the act (despite having just warned them both) and nothing happened. Winston was certain that it was a red and his manager, Slaven Bilic, agreed after having seen a replay.
Zarate missed the chance of the game in the second half, beating the offside trap with a clever run only to inexplicably miss the target by a long way. United then piled on the pressure as the game went on (in front of some impatient fans), though ultimately there were no goals coming. A point well-earned for the Hammers and Winston was arguably the man of the match.
And such was his mastery that he was rewarded with a spot in Garth Crooks’ BBC Team of the Week. Which as all players know, is about as great of an honour as any can ask for. One that makes the Ballon D’Or look like it fell out of a Christmas cracker.
Up Next: Home vs Stoke, 4am Sunday (NZT)
Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)
The up and down season of Leeds United took another brief resurgence the other day as they hosted Hull City and took all three points from the Tigers despite being solid underdogs.
Hull lost for the first time in ages last week against Derby, snapping an 11 game unbeaten streak, while Leeds had lost back to back 1-0s after consecutive wins had seemingly righted the ship. Up against a quality opposition, relegated from the top flight last season, manager Steve Evans switched up to a 4-5-1 formation with Chris Wood playing as the sole striker – a role he had a fair bit early in the season but not really since Evans took over.
Both teams tried their hands early on, gently prodding away from corners and from distance. Woody slammed one straight at the goalie from a decent way out. Ah, and then who should open the scoring but the very man you’re reading this paragraph for:
Beautiful cross from Stuart Dallas, Wood with the smart run and finish. He then peeled off to salute the crowd for sticking with him as he’d had a few struggles recently. Nothing like a goal to restore the confidence.
Nor a second goal to really get the crowd going. That came from Tom Adeyemi, prodding home after a corner. He lost his boot in the process. Leeds had to really cling to it in the second half, especially after Ahmed Elmohamady scored from his head to make it 2-1. They ended up sitting all the way back but it didn’t matter, it wasn’t gonna be Hull’s day. Wood was subbed off two minutes into injury time to a standing ovation and the Whites survived for a 2-1 win.
Up Next: Away to Charlton, 4am Sunday (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
Ipswich are slowly positioning themselves for a run at the playoffs and, best case scenario, promotion via the p/o final but they’re definitely not among the top few teams vying for automatic entry to the Premier League. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, are and they proved it on a Friday night at Portman Road.
It was a fairly typical Ipswich team, Smithy starting alongside Berra. And to be fair to them they were arguably the better team in the first half, a half of few chances with both teams playing pretty deep. Luke Chambers, getting forward from right back, had Town’s best chance of the half as he poked at a bounding ball at the far post.
Both keepers made fantastic saves early in the second half as the game opened up more and Middlesbrough forced their way on top. Smithy was dragged out wide by a lobbed ball and he was caught out playing Albert Adomah way too slack and the winger cut inside him to cross to the far post, where Christian Stuani headed it home. 1-0 down after 54 minutes. Ipswich did what they could to get back into it, changing formation and making a few subs, but Boro killed it off in the 74th when David Nugent scored – his 15th goal in 14 games against Ipswich. That one came on the break following a sloppy turnover of possession and although Smith did his best to guide Nuge wide and try to block the shot on the angle, all he could manage was a deflection that helped the ball into the near post.
The 2-0 loss holds Ipswich in ninth as they round the corner into the Xmas season. One point off sixth place. From the day of their next game they play six times in 22 days in what’s always a pretty defining stretch of football (especially for a thin squad like Ipswich’s). Three of those teams are above them on the table currently. No pressure, Smithy.
Up Next: MK Dons vs Ipswich, 1.30am Sunday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
After his knee injury last week, Ryan Thomas was out for Zwolle’s trip to NEC Nijmegen, reduced to tweeting about it from the stands. He wasn’t the only incapacitated one either. Zwolle was struck by somewhat of an injury crisis for the game which led to a formational change and a bit of pessimism. Still, that didn’t stop them bursting out to a 2-0 lead in the first half. Goals to Socceroo Trent Sainsbury and then to Lars Veldwijk right before the break.
Unfortunately they then let that lead slip to draw 2-2. So it goes.
Anyway, Thommo may not be playing at the moment (he’s doubtful for next week as it stands) but he’ll be around for a while yet, signing a one year extension on his contract to potentially keep him in Holland ‘til 2018. Thomas has always talked about leaving for a major league eventually, nobody really sees him spending his career at Zwolle (which is pretty typical for the cash-strapped club, who’re great at bringing in cheap and young players and selling for profit), but for now it’s the perfect situation for him. Injuries aside.
"I feel confident here and play every week. If I make a move, it's likely that elsewhere I’ll be sitting on the bench. I want to first make strides in Zwolle before I leave." - RT
Up Next: Home to AZ Alkmaar at 2.30am on Monday (NZT)
Jake Gleeson – Portland Timbers (American MLS)
It’s a little bit of a quiet week in FKs this time around (but not really, when we started this column we were LUCKY if we could find five top-level lads to write about. We used to DREAM about having five guys to write about!). What with Bill Tuiloma sitting on the bench, Marco Rojas being injured and Tyler Boyd still chilling ‘til he gets a chance in the Vitoria first team (77 mins for VS2 this week, he’s been a regular). But we do have this, the conclusion of the Gleeson tale.
JG was once again on the bench for Portland as they took the field against the favoured Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup Final, their first ever. Gleeson only played one game for them this season having spent most of it on loan with their second team (where he was very good), but he was recalled for the last two months of the season as well as the playoffs and kept a clean sheet against Vancouver as their regular GK was a late scratch. He held his squad place for the final.
Gleeson didn’t get on the field, he watched the drama unfold from the comfort of the sidelines… which is exactly where Crew keeper Steve Clark probably wished he was after this howler gave the Timbers the lead within a minute. Either on the sidelines or buried in a deep hole somewhere.
27 seconds it took for them to open the scoring. They were 2-0 up within seven minutes. The Crew fans were stunned and some of the idiots reacted by hurling beer cans at the celebrating players, which is bound to have a few repercussions.
The dude in front of Gleeson on the depth chart, Adam Kwarasey, then had a howler of his own as he spilled a high ball at the feet of a striker for 2-1. But after that crazy start there were no more goals. Portland came close to adding a third but they didn’t need it, holding on for their first ever title and the first championship in any major sport in the city since the Trailblazers won the NBA in 1977. And a kiwi lad gets to celebrate among them.
Jake won’t be the only kiwi celebrating with the Timbers either, the club’s General Manager is none other than Gavin Wilkinson, 38 cap All White from the 2000s. There’s a pretty cool profile of him on Sports Illustrated from the other day, talking about his application and his success having overcome a tough start to the job. Cheers to all involved.
“It would be validation—validation for the fans, for the front office, for the coaching staff,” Wilkinson said of a potential MLS championship. “It would show that there is true passion and belief and intelligence behind what is happening. It would align everything. To say that the Timbers are one of the best teams in MLS is something we’d like to hear on a regular basis, and it’s something we know we’ve got to work very hard to maintain…There are a lot of people in this organization that understand what this team means to this city and who want to help this team be successful. It means an awful lot to a lot of people.”
Up Next: Nothing much, bro. Just partying.