Flying Kiwis – November 7
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
The important thing to remember before we proceed is that Winston got through 90 minutes and was thus passed fit to travel to New Zealand for the All Whites games, where he currently abides. Barring an injury in training (it can happen, don’t stop the prayers) he’ll be good to go.
Oh man but that comeback game against Liverpool was ugly as hell. West Ham were just picked apart and ripped to pieces. To save the suspense they lost 4-1, conceding some absolutely disgusting goals and, sure, Winston was hardly without blame there. The Hammers had looked like making something happen in the initial 20 minutes, Andre Ayew hit the post with a cheeky effort, but then some mindless transitional play from an attacking corner inexplicably allowed Sadio Mane and Mo Salah to run in straight lines for three-quarter of the length of the pitch against a single defender (Aaron Cresswell) for a simple goal.
Then some very static defending from a defensive corner allowed a weak ball to squeeze through, Joe Hart made a save which he pushed right at Joel Matip’s feet and nobody reacted. West Ham had no answer for the pace of Liverpool’s attackers and they were already weakened by the absence of Jose Fonte (who might be out ‘til January). Slaven Bilic chucked them out there in a back three to try counteract that but then here they were conceding from set pieces too, what a mess.
Manny Lanzini briefly put them back in the game with a lovely finish and then they let Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain make it 3-1 almost immediately. There were, like, 55 seconds between the goals. Madness. Oh and again nobody reacted as The Ox’s first attempt was parried right back to him (Hart-bags again). Mo Salah then finished it off with 15 minutes left as he was left open in the penalty area by Cheik Kouyate. No reason to hang around.
Slaven Bilic: “There is no excuse to concede some of the goals, a goal from your corner kick. Then, the second goal, you can call lapse of concentration or unluckiness but, at this level, no.”
Unsurprisingly this led to even more pressure on Bilic. A little surprisingly, having stood by him a couple weeks ago, the owners decided they’d had enough and they gave him the sack so when Winston gets back to London he’ll have to make some introductions to a new manager… probably David Moyes. It’s a shame since Bilic was suck a likeable guy but his WHU team were always about those one steps forward and two back and he never seemed to have the answer to their inconsistencies. Let alone their disorganisation. He leaves with the Hammers sitting in the relegation zone after 11 games, so… can’t hardly complain, unfortunately.
Up Next: New Zealand vs Peru, 4.15pm on Saturday, you might have heard (NZT)
Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)
No reason to panic, The Woodsman was back and swinging his axe on the weekend just like Winnie was. And also like Mr Reid, Woody was equally rusty in his return after missing last week. They were each only out for one game but it’s not impossible they rushed back to prove their fitness for the international window. It’s even more possible that they simply didn’t play that well because West Ham are rubbish right now and Chris Wood often has these almost-anonymous games before popping up at the end with the decisive goal.
Well, there was a decisive goal at the end but it came from Sam Vokes after Wood was subbed off with 25 minutes left. That cost him the chance to be the hero again but on behalf of those two star-crossed lovers Chris Wood’s Fitness and New Zealand’s World Cup Chances, we should probably thank Sean Dyche for his caution.
And Burnley still won regardless. Away to Southampton, they continued their incredible form with another clean sheet and another 1-0 win. They were fantastic at the back once more – Tarkowski and Mee in particular while Nick Pope made a couple nice saves – and eventually were able to carve out that winning in a game where there weren’t a lot of shots to worry about. The Clarets only had five in total and none came from Woody. As the second half progressed it seemed Southampton were starting to wrench control which is when Wood and Jeff Hendrick – two major heroes so far this season – were replaced in a double swap and it bloody worked. Vokes got up nice and high and dropped a wonderful header into the bottom corner of the net with nine minutes left. Bingo.
The trick now is making sure that Sean Dyche stays around with a couple open Premier League jobs going around at the moment. Burnley are seventh on the ladder as we hit the break now – only behind Arsenal and Liverpool on goal difference.
Lancashire Telegraph Player Ratings: “Chris Wood 6 - Returned from injury but never really got into the game. Offered an out ball but it was rarely sticking while he was on the pitch.”
Up Next: Same as that other guy
Stefan Marinovic – Vancouver Whitecaps (American Major League Soccer)
The task was fairly simple. The Caps would advance from their MLS Western Conference semi-final with a win or a scoring draw in the second leg against the Seattle Sounders. The only problem was that they were playing away. And also that bloke called Clint Dempsey, he’s a bit of a thorn.
After the dreariness of the 0-0 first leg, it was a relief to get some action early on in Seattle. Official, no-doubt, dead-set starting goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic was the busier keeper, naturally. An early corner or two at his end, a couple strikes straight at him which he gratefully clutched. Vancouver had a decent chance with a long ball towards Freddy Montero which seemed to put him in behind the defence but he was pushed off the ball very easily and that was that. After failing to register a shot on target in their home leg, this was unfortunately more of the same. Yordy Reyna and Cristian Techera clearly weren’t at full fitness and creatively there just wasn’t a lot going on for Vancouver.
Meanwhile Clint Dempsey went closest with a shot across the goal late in the first half. There was also a review on a possible penalty against the Caps for a jersey tug from Jake Nerwinski but it came back ugatory, captain. Nerwinski left the game injured soon after.
Seattle found their deserved goal early in the second half through the usual suspect. Dempsey got the ball on the edge of the box, threw in a shimmy to beat the closest defender, and his left-footed shot was beyond the reach of the kiwi in goal. 1-0 to Seattle but nothing really changed for the Caps, who knew that a single goal would still see them advance.
Except that they were closer to getting a red card for Montero’s high boot than they were an equaliser. It was only ever a matter of being one Sounders mistake away from making it happen but the Whitecaps didn’t even win a corner until there were twenty mins to go. Christian Bolanos’ long range header was their only shot on target in the entire two-legged tie. 180 minutes of footy. Eventually Dempsey added a second in the 87th minute. Some extremely lazy/exhausted defending from a corner allowed an easy cross towards the former Fulham lad at the far post, exposing Marinovic in no-man’s land, though it wasn’t his fault they left Victor Rodriguez THIS far open.
Anyway, 2-0 was the final score and thus ends the debut (half) season in the MLS for Stefan Marinovic. His situation will be an interesting one to follow over the next few months as the squad gets set for next season but it certainly looks like he’ll be locked in as the number one in 2018.
Up Next: Come on, you know the drill
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Make that seven games without defeat in the league now as Zwolle scrapped away to a 0-0 draw away at Vitesse. No sexy goals to take in here, although it does keep them in third on the table and ahead of a rival or two – not in the least Vitesse who remain three points back on them. Such a fantastic start for a team that was flirting with relegation at times last season.
You can already guess that Thommo played the full thing, he hasn’t missed a second yet. You might also guess that he completed more passes than anybody else on the field because that’s just what he does. This wasn’t a game that allowed him much to brag about in the attacking third but elsewhere he was his usual hard-working self in what was, to be honest, a game without too many clear goal-scoring opportunities. With Ajax losing it means that the PECers are only behind the Dutch giants and defending champs on goal difference entering the international break… although PSV Eindhoven are running away with it at the top – they just won their seventh game in a row.
Boringly there was also a scoreless draw for Heerenveen, who were away to Sparta Rotterdam. Marco Rojas has slipped back to the bench there and his introduction in the 60th minute wasn’t enough to help them snatch the biscuits. Truth be told he didn’t do a lot and in a game where there were only three total shots on target, this one’s best left to a single paragraph. Hey but it snaps their four-game losing streak in the league.
Up Next: Noo Zillund
Ali Riley – FC Rosengard (Swedish Damallsvenskan)
How’s that Champions League quest going? Yeah not so bad. Rosengard swept past Olimpia Cluj back in early October and they play their round of 16 ties over the next couple weeks. You may recall that they have the frustrating roadblock of having been knocked out in the quarters of five of the last six tournaments… well, this year it’s gonna be tough to manage even that because they’ve drawn Chelsea in the R16s – a team that’s won every single game this season in England.
Whatever comes to pass there, and it’s bound to be a classic, Rosengard are dead certain to be back there again next time what with a 3-1 win away to Kvarnsveden in their penultimate game of the season booking another three points. They won’t be able to catch Linkoping for the title but they also can’t be caught for second. Riley and her one-time-podcast-mate Anita Asante are the only two players to have featured in every league game this season but with their finale against Hammarby coming in between the two legs against Chelsea that might soon change. So at a worst case scenario, the Footy Ferns captain has been one of her club’s most reliable players while making the top sixteen in the Champions League, coming runners-up in the league and winning the Svenska Cupen. There have been worse seasons in history.
Up Next: 8.05am on Thursday away to Chelsea in the UCL (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
He’d been back fit for a couple of weeks, by his own admission even, but as often happens you miss some time and you’ve gotta wait your turn to get back in there. Jake Gleeson will tell you all about that, he’s been on both sides. However with Ipswich playing twice this week on the verge of the international window, it’s a pleasure to be able to report that Smithy played in one of those games. The midweek one, a 3-1 defeat against Cardiff.
Yeah okay so it wasn’t the perfect return. Adam Webster was rested for the game and Smith came in to start alongside Luke Chambers and give away a couple fouls, misplace some long balls and pick up a yellow card in the second half. Not to mention the sloppy goals they conceded, damn. It was definitely a rusty return to action… but at least he got a game under his belt before the All Whites playoffs.
East Anglian Daily Times: “Dominic Iorfa was caught out of position too often, Tommy Smith was ring-rusty in only his sixth senior start of 2017, while skipper Luke Chambers had too many sluggish moments.”
Mick McCarthy: “What has been difficult though, and hard to gauge, is that Tommy Smith has had a back operation and hasn’t been fully right yet. He’s fit to play but he’s not had that run of 20 games to be fully back in his pomp. Adam (Webster) has had an ankle injury which has kept him out for a long time so Chambo has been the one constant.”
And then he wasn’t even on the bench for the weekend’s game against Preston, probably because he was one of six changes for the midweeker in a very thinly-veiled attempt to target the weekend’s game. Webster took his usual place back and played a fantastic game as Martyn Waghorn, David McGoldrick and Bersant Celina all scored in a 3-0 win. Town turned it on in the second half after the first 45 almost came and went without a shot on target for either team until Waghorn’s stoppage time free kick. Good for them, they get the international break now which is super helpful given some of their injuries.
Tommy Smith: “There are more of us coming back now and that means there is some good competition for places. Without that pressure you can start to get complacent. You need to know there are others challenging for your position. It keeps you on your toes and makes you more determined to perform at the top level. It would be nice to have everyone fit at some point this season. If all the guys are fit then I think we have a really strong squad on paper.”
Starting with you, amigo.
Up Next: All Whites duty, since you mention it
Jeremy Brockie – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)
Two things for SSU. First is that they grabbed a useful three points in the league with a rare fixture that they were actually able to play without postponing amidst all the cup fixtures. They hosted Golden Stars and put three past them without reply. Brockie almost scored just 20 seconds into it, setting the tone, and he set up Reneilwe Letsholonyane’s opener in the 24th min, sliding it over for an easy tap in. Aubrey Modiba added a couple goals (the second from a Brockie through ball) and Brox’s ya uncle.
Second is that as they come into the international break, the team have set up camp at the hotel where England stayed during the 2010 World Cup as they prepare for the first leg of the Confederation Cup on November 19 (their time, not ours). They’re away in that first game in Congo before TP Mazambe Englebert (great club name) head to South Africa a week later for leg two. It’ll be a tight fit for Brockie after he was recalled for New Zealand – he’s got three days in between games to travel from Peru but that’s the job. There are five dudes in the South African team also missing the camp at the mo’.
Times Live: “Brockie is returning from Peru via Sao Paulo in Brazil on Friday morning and will transfer straight to Lubumbashi with the rest of the team.”
Hey and how about this?
It’s a 30-man shortlist for the CAF African Player of the Year – Based in Africa Award. Which means the best player currently playing in Africa, basically. In case you were wondering how a New Zealander was nominated for African Player of the Year. There’s another award for the best player of African nationality regardless of where they’re playing. But you’d be right to wonder: Brockie’s the first non-African to be nominated for this thing!
Jeremy Brockie: “It’s a little surreal to have the nomination. We have a SuperSport WhatsApp group and one of guys posted the story from your website in our group. I jumped on social media and I saw everyone going on about it. It’s a fantastic achievement and hopefully I can represent SuperSport well.”
His teammate Dean Furman has also been nominated. The winner is announced in the New Year.
Up Next: All Whites first, then the other stuff
Clayton Lewis – Scunthorpe United (English League One)
Clayton’s had to wait his time before getting that elusive Iron debut. International clearance was one thing and then fitness another as Lewis came off a long offseason after the Confederations Cup. He sat on the bench a couple times for league games but never got on. No worries though, that left the EFL Trophy as the ideal opportunity to take his bow and when Graham Alexander named his side there was Clayton Lewis getting that very first start in pro footy.
The gaffer: “We haven’t seen Clayton yet so it will be a great introduction for him.”
And so it proved to be. Both Doncaster and Scunthorpe were already through from the EFL Trophy so Lewis’ inclusion was one of eight changes made from this 1-0 win over Oldham on the weekend. Aussie Cameron Burgess was one of the three to retain his place. Sounds like Lewis had a few nice touches too, quickly winning a bit of favour with the new fans, although a relatively even first half was busted open by Liam Mandeville’s 37th minute goal, turning it in from a Tyler Garratt cross. Then this happened, soon after the break…
Lancashire Telegraph: “But the Iron didn’t have to wait too long to draw level with debutant Lewis netting his first goal for the club. Madden held the ball up well before laying it into the path of the onrushing Lewis who slid the ball under Marosi.”
Hey, how about that? Goal on debut!
He even came close to adding a second with a chipped shot but no luck and the game ended with a draw – Lewis playing all 90 mins. That meant penalties what with this being a cup game and all, even if the penalties were only for seedings. And even then it didn’t matter because the Iron lost the shootout and still came top on goal difference. Lewis took the third one… and put it over the crossbar. Can’t have everything all at once, aye.
Graham Alexander on Clayton Lewis’ Debut: “We know around the final third he can create and score goals – we’ve seen that in training. We know there’s more to come from him fitness-wise, but if you get him on the ball in good areas, he can produce. It was a real composed finish. I’m delighted for him to introduce himself to the supporters well on the pitch, and he can be happy with that and his contribution. He worked hard to be fair to him.”
More where that came from: “To get through 90 minutes tonight is really good and we’re pleased with that. We asked how he was with 20 minutes to go, and he was a bit tired but wanted to stay on. To be fair, he was still looking to create in the last ten minutes and wasn’t dead on his feet. There is still more to come from him, and room to improve, but for a debut and his first game in English football, he can be pleased with his performance.”
By the way, the EFL Trophy is that one that includes some Premier League/Other academy teams. Doncaster’s group happened to include the Sunderland U21 team, for example. Unfortunately that game, a 3-1 win to Scunthorpe in late-August, came too soon for a Clayton Lewis vs Sam Brotherton/Michael Woud contest, although neither of those other two played that game anyway. Sunderland just sacked another manager so there might be a tiny chance of one of them coming close to the first team this season. Maybe… probably not. Right now Sunderland are flirting with relegation again so they could certainly use something new. Woudy got a go for the U23s against Manchester United the other week. He’s not too far away.
Up Next: Scunthorpe vs Bristol Rovers at 4.00am on Sunday (NZT)
Erin Nayler– Girondins Bordeaux (French Division 1 Féminine)
The good news is that Nayler’s back and taking care of business for FCGB after being injured for most of October. Mostly, at least. She made a couple brilliant saves as Bordeaux took on Paris FC but in a wild game in wet conditions there were a few too many shots that needed stopping and a last gasp Mathilde Bourdieu winner booked the points for Paris in a 3-2 win. Devastating time to concede, although they’d have lost it a lot sooner without the NZer between the sticks.
Things were better last week as GB beat Guingamp 1-0 away from home, with Nayler preserving that clean sheet with this one incredible diving stop that she tipped onto the crossbar. Don’t believe it? Okay then here: it was one of the saves of the week…
Up Next: As Erin says it’s Montpellier, 2.30am on Monday 20th (NZT)
Anna Green – Reading & Olivia Chance – Everton (English Super League)
It was cup week round these parts and Anna Green’s Reading had drawn Arsenal, ordinarily a tough task but one made easier by their opponents’ notable lack of a manager. See, Arsenal can sack a manager after all... oh no wait, Pedro Martinez Losa actually resigned. Anyway, word is that Melbourne City assistant Joe Montemurro is the frontrunner – dirty Aussies.
But Arsenal didn’t have a problem getting by Olivia Chance’s Everton last week despite the lack of gaffer so nothing to take lightly. Or it wouldn’t have been if Greenie didn’t have Fara Williams as a teammate. The England international and former-Arsenal forward scored twice in a 2-1 victory, the second quite literally coming straight from the kickoff after Beth Mead had equalised. No seriously, check it out:
Reading had to defend tough in the last half hour but they held on, Anna Green coming on as a 90th minute substitute. A few days earlier Reading had comfortably seen off Watford, also in a WSL Cup game, and Williams scored there as well. So did Molly Bartrip and so did Kirsty Linnett and so did… hey so did Anna Green! She got the fourth goal in the stoppage time. Icing on the cake. Between those two wins Reading are now five games unbeaten in all competitions and second in the Group 1 South standings (the top two advance to the quarters) with a game in hand on Arsenal and equal points. Green played the whole contest against Watford, which is nice after only getting seven minutes in the first four league games.
Which must mean it’s time for some Everton and they also had a couple of cup contests, beating Birmingham 1-0 before losing 2-1 to Manchester City. Both of which are pretty decent results after the trash way Everton have kicked things off this season. Courtney Sweetman-Kirk’s goal in the 12th minute of the game secured the win against Birmingham, with Chance coming off the bench in the 78th min.
However against a dominant Man City team, defending WSL Cup champs and yet to fail to win in 2017-18, close wasn’t close enough. Izzy Christiansen scored with a header in the first half after a very dominant start from City but things settled down after that. Everton were able to keep it interesting and then suddenly they struck through Simone Magill’s header with 13 mins left. Problem was City didn’t take long to force the winner through Nikita Parris and, yeah, 2-1 it ended. City overtake Everton atop the group standings. Chance was subbed in for the last twenty minutes of this one.
Up Next: Everton are away to Yeovil Town at 4.00am on Sunday while Reading host Chelsea at 1.30am on Monday (NZT)
Jake Gleeson & Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Just when you think you’re out they go and pull you back in… and then get knocked out. There were two kiwis on the bench for Portland as they took on Houston Dynamo in the second leg of their playoff tie, injuries taking a toll on their squad and it only got worse when Darren Mattocks had to be replaced 13 minutes into things. Of course, neither Jake Gleeson nor Bill Tuiloma got to get on the field or anything but they were both there, at least. And now Tui has a squad number: 25. You know, for when you wanna get your replicas ordered for Christmas.
Gleeson’s usurper Jeff Attinella made a couple nice saves as the two teams hesitantly tested each other out after a 0-0 draw in Houston in the first leg. Houston’s keeper made a wicked stop himself. And then Portland took the lead. Dairon Asprilla got a little lucky as Dylan Remick slipped trying to get to the back post for the cross but Asprilla then struck a fine shot to make it count. Portland were 51 minutes away from the Western Conference final.
Then they were 47 minutes away from elimination as Remick more than made up for things with a thumping volley of his own to level things. It gave Houston the away goals advantage and the T-men had to go chasing things. They did… but ultimately it was Mauro Manotas who killed it off with a low, long-range strike that beat Attinella into the bottom corner with 13 minutes left. Maybe next season, aye?
Here’s an indication of the injury curse that afflicted the Timbers: “On Sunday, the Timbers were forced to compete without Diego Chara (broken foot), Larrys Mabiala (hip injury) and Fanendo Adi (hamstring injury), as well as Roy Miller, who ruptured his Achilles tendon the day before the game. Timbers winger Sebastian Blanco came on as a second half substitute, but was not healthy enough to start Sunday after suffering second-degree burns from spilling boiling water on himself in late October.”
Spilt boiling water on himself. If that ain’t a curse then what is?
What’ll be interesting now is what Jake Gleeson does. He’s proven himself as a starting goalie in the MLS but has lost his spot well and truly to Attinella. Bill Tuiloma might have a contract situation on his hands too after failing to get a single MLS appearance in his first half season but he doesn’t exactly have much leverage like Gleeson does. Could be a trade forthcoming?
The Oregonian: “Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, who claimed the starting spot in 2016, entered 2017 as Portland's No. 1 keeper and went on to make 21 starts for the Timbers this season. But Gleeson went down with a hamstring injury in August, which prompted Timbers coach Caleb Porter to give Attinella a chance in the starting lineup. Attinella made the most of it with a clean sheet and an MLS Save of the Week honor in his first two starts following Gleeson's injury. By the time Gleeson returned to full health, Attinella had solidified his spot in the lineup.”
Up Next: End of the line.
Rebekah Stott – Seattle Reign (American National Women’s Soccer League)
GOOOOOOAL! Not just any goal either but an 82nd minute winner in the Melbourne Derby. Yeah, that’ll do alright. Nice way to bounce back after getting smoked in the season opener in Perth too.
Fox Sports: “The game was headed for a stalemate before super sub Rhali Dobson flighted in a superb, deep cross that was angled in via the head of Rebekah Stott eight minutes from time.”
Up Next: Home to the Jets on Sunday at 6.30pm (NZT)
James Musa – Sporting Kansas City (American Major League Soccer)
The Moose is in there somewhere, he played the full game and even scored in the shootout as Swope Park Rangers advanced to the USL decider with the narrowest of victories over OKC Energy. They took it 7-6 on spotties and it wasn’t one of those ‘one miss and it’s over’ shooutouts either – all eleven players ended up taking one!
Hell of a moment: the goalie saved four kicks and then scored the winner!
Last year the Rangers came up one short. This year they’ll get the chance to win it all when they play Louisville City in the final, the Kentucky side also advancing on spot kicks. Moose will be able to play it too after he was left out of the latest All Whites squad.
Up Next: 3.00pm on Tuesday, the Big One (NZT)
C.J. Bott - USV Jena vs Amber Hearn – FC Koln (German Frauen-Bundesliga)
Finally, a game in which at least one of the two kiwis in the Bundesliga would get to add something to their points total. Both Bott and Hearn played the whole thing, Hearn starting up front and Bott at left back, so there will have been a few head to heads in there too, most likely. Jena were making a good go of it in the first half but then Karoline Kohr struck against the run of play and Koln hung on for the home victory, their first of the season. Neither of these teams are much for scoring goals so it was always gonna be a close one. The result takes Koln off the bottom of the table.
Up Next: It’s another winnable one for Koln, who play MSV Duisburg (the new bottom team) on Monday morning. For USV, they host Hoffenheim a few hour earlier (NZT)
If you learned something valuable from Flying Kiwis this week then perform your Karmic honours and smack an ad for us, cheers chieftain.