Flying Kiwis – March 23
Tommy Smith & Chris Wood – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
The newly merged Smith/Wood Promotion Campaign Train got off to a rocky start but suddenly it’s picking up speed again.
We’ll start at the top. Midweek at home to Bolton. After slipping from second to seventh in their worst spell of form all season, Ipswich needed a win like a starved man needs food, like a newborn child needs its mother, like Kim and Kanye needed each other.
Making only one enforced change to the team that got pumped 4-1 by Middlesbrough, Mick McCarthy called on his lads to give a much improved performance. The game started nervy and restrained, with the home fans clearly feeling the pressure of their situation. However after Freddie Sears pounced on a loose ball and couldn’t manage to beat Derby GK Ben Amos one-on-one, it opened up completely. Both sides had golden chances. Eidur Gudjohnsen put Tommy Smith on skates but Christophe Berra came to his aid to shut it down. Then soon after Smith had a chance to score from a nodded ball across the goal only to bobble it straight upwards at full stretch. Frankly, both teams should have scored by half time.
By the 79th minute, the game had completely calmed down. Formation changes had settled it and it looked destined for a drab draw after all… until Jay Tabb’s bounding volley made its way unconvincingly into the net. A scrappy goal but an absolutely crucial one as Ipswich held on to a 1-0 win.
Smith actually broke his nose during the game too, hence this bloody mess of a pic. But the fella's a hard man, he was good to go with a couple tissues.
Chris Wood was an unused sub against Bolton, though he found himself starting on the weekend away to Watford. Wood started out right in a 4-3-3 formation, the same one that McCarthy found some success with in the second half against Bolton.
This game started as contained as the last one, and it stayed that way. Nothing much happening. Ipswich had a goal ruled out early for a rightful offside, while Tommy Smith made a vital block at the other end. The game’s first shot on target didn’t come until the 41st minute, with Luke Varney’s effort tipped wide by Heurelho Gomes (remember him?). Only in the final 20 minutes did the game open up. Watford missed a great chance with ten to play (they didn’t have a single shot on target all game), while Ipswich loosened the shackles to try for the win against the fourth placed side on the table. And they got it. Richard Chaplow slipping a composed finish beyond Gomes to stea the game in the 95th minute. Enjoy some fanaticism in the stands.
Back to back wins after a run of just one in six games. Back to back clean sheets after only one in fifteen games. And most importantly they’re back into the playoff spots with only seven games left to play.
Chris Wood was subbed off after 74 minutes. He is yet to score for his loan club, although nobody’s really scoring too many for them. He only had the one shot but showed his beastly ways in the air with five aerial challenges won. His second start and fifth appearance for Ipswich so far, he’s now off to join up with the All Whites in Korea.
Tommy Smith isn’t in that team, he chose to sit it out. He’s been coming under a fair bit of pressure from the local faithful for his performances recently, especially with a number of sloppy goals being conceded during their slump, so a couple solid results will come as a relief to him. Smith has started 112 of Mick McCarthy’s 125 games in charge of Ipswich.
Up Next: Huge game at home to leaders Bournemouth, 5.15am Saturday April 4 (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Really bad news for Thomas, he was subbed off after 31 minutes against Excelsior with a knee injury and will now miss the All Whites game against South Korea next week. His coach, Ron Jans, speculated that it was a minor medial ligament thing, but that they’ll have to wait and see how bad it is. That suggests anywhere between on to six weeks of recovery. Jans also said that he’d now rather not see Thomas kitting up for the national team, and Anthony Hudson promptly ruled him out soon after:
Zwolle went on to draw that game 1-1, a frustrating result in a game they had planned to win.
With Winston Reid also still injured (he didn’t play as West Ham beat Sunderland 1-0 at home), a couple of young locals have been called up to fill out the All Whites squad. Adam Mitchell and Moses Dyer are both NZ U-20 internationals and both playing pretty regularly for Wanderers SC in the ASB Premiership. This after Kosta Barbarouses tore a hamstring for the Melbourne Victory on Friday, being replaced in the squad by 20 year old Burnley academy player Cam Howieson. Hudson’s showing a major leaning towards blooding young players on the international stage.
"Bringing Cameron into the squad reflects our intent to identify and develop our best U-23 players and maximise the time we spend with them for the benefit of our upcoming Olympic and All Whites campaigns." – Anthony Hudson
Up Next: Might have to be a spell on the sidelines, sadly.
Marco Rojas – FC Thun (Swiss Super League)
Returning to the starting XI, it wasn’t quite the opportunity Rojas was after. His Thun side may have started promisingly away to Sion, but things got sloppy soon after.
Initially though, Rojas was well involved, swinging a dangerous corner in from the right hand side, which was blasted just clear of the crossbar. Down the other end, a free kick on the edge of the box drew a parried save from the Thun keeper fifteen minutes later. The ball didn’t find it’s way to safety though, instead falling near the penalty spot, where it was spectacularly bicycle-kicked into the far side of the goal by Moussa Konate. An incredible goal, and one that gave Thun’s opponents plenty of confidence. Konate, who last week scored the quickest goal ever in the Swiss Super League (10 seconds), doubled the lead after 38 minutes. Thun tried a few things but they had no answer and it was 3-0 midway through the second half. Our boy Rojas had a late chance to pull one back, showing some nimble footwork to cut inside his marker within the box however his shot sailed a little high and wide.
Up Next: Thun vs St. Gallen, 3.45am Sunday (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)
Ooh, dial it up. SuperSport are through to the quarterfinals of the Needbank Cup after a 1-0 home win over Orlando Pirates, and the winner was an absolute stunner from none other.
In the 73rd minute of a tense encounter against one of the better teams in the nation, Brockie peels off to the edge of the box to follow an aerial pass across the defence. He judges it perfectly, swinging clean through it and driving it inside the post. GOOOOAL!
And it even came with a man of the match award. Lovely jacket, too.
Up Next: Back to the league stuff, 2am Sunday at Maritzburg United