Flying Kiwis – November 12

Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)

What a glorious sight. Almost as glorious as The Woodsman rising up at the far post to nod in another banger, which he’s given himself plenty more time to do after this. Chris Wood has signed an extension to his deal at Burnley which will keep him in town until the end of the 2022-23 season – so three more seasons after this one. His previous deal was due to expire after next season so we’re talking a two year extension here... and presumably a cheeky little payrise too.

Wood joined Burnley in 2017 for what was then a club record transfer fee (£15m) and has scored 24 Premier League goals in 71 games for the club (28 in 82 in all comps). They’re the tenth English club that he’s played for, six of those being on loan, and by the end of this new contract he’ll have been at the club for six years which is more than double any other tenure at one of his clubs. And what’s more is this news comes later in the same week that Ashley Barnes, his most regular strike partner, also committed himself long term to the Clarets.

Chris Wood: “It’s great news for both of us as a striker. It’s always nice to be recognised and it’s fantastic that it’s over the line and sealed,” said Wood, who had previous spells with West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City. It’s nice to have the two years under my belt and to be settled and happy where I am and now it’s about pushing forward and doing even better. It feels exactly like home. It’s a nice base and it’s a nice settled place for me. I haven’t really settled down previously at clubs. I think two-and-a-half is the maximum I’ve been at a club so hopefully to be here for four, five, six, seven years would be lovely. I am very happy to have it signed and looking forward to the future. That’s what we’ve committed for. We see Burnley as a club to be in the Premier League for a long period of time and that’s where we want to be. We want to be playing football in the Premier League for the rest of our careers and hopefully it’s here with Burnley.”

And all this just in time for his return from a minor hamstring injury to face West Ham United – a team he’d scored five goals in four games (scoring in each of them, also adding an assist in one) against when facing them in Burnley colours – two of which he came off the bench in. That’s an incredible record and, guess what, it’s only getting better.

Burnley had lost three games in a row in the Premier League, including a 3-0 defeat away to Sheffield United last week. Chris Wood missed that one and also the 4-2 loss to Chelsea but started up front alongside Ashley Barnes here and it was Barnesy who struck first, just as he signed his contract first, ending a run of seven games without a goal when he stabbed one in following James Tarkowski’s nod-back header from a corner which, just quietly, shouldn’t have been given as it was Barnes that the ball deflected off instead of a defender as was ruled. The officiating luck would even out pretty soon though.

Thirty fifth minute. In came the cross from Dwight McNeil. A beautiful cross, picking out perfectly the towering presence of Christopher Grant Wood. Up went The Woodsman and pop went the sound of ball on skull and then that sound was replaced with the gentle ripple of a well-plucked net. Not even that gentle, actually. He fair rocketed that sucker home.

Only problem was that he was offside. It took the VAR to spot it and safe to say the Burnley players weren’t too happy about it all, especially not the long delay between the goal being awarded and then disallowed – though Sean Dyche had a work to mentally reset them that worked wonders – however forget about the little lines drawn on the pitch and the margins for error with the frame rates and the fact that the video ref was supposed to be for blatant errors not minor infringements and just peep at the image and he was kinda clearly nudging in front of the defender. It didn’t gain him any real advantage since he had to slow down to adjust to the cross but, letter of the law, it was off.

Just one more for the tally, s’pose...

No worries though, within ten minutes he’d scored one that actually counted as McNeil picked the ball off the West Ham defence and fed one into Wood’s path once more, this time with the low cross, and Woody wasn’t wasting any time in slamming it right where it was supposed to go. Quite a decent finish there and it carried plenty of pent-up frustration in it too... just check out his cheeky VAR check celebration...

The Clarets then scored a third ten minutes into the second half as West Ham keeper Roberto had a bit of a ‘mare and slapped a corner kick from Ash Westwood into his own net. At 3-0 this one was all over but for the shouting. Chris Wood probably ought to have added another one to his tally, particularly when he got in behind the defence with his strength only for his shot to be parried away by Roberto from a bit of a tough angle. Another time he lifted a volley over the top from a little outside the near post. Another he blasted one towards goal after a quick run in between defenders as Burnley won the ball in midfield but Rodrigo made a very good save.

None of them sitters or anything, it’s just that he had five shots plus the disallowed one and with the form he’s been in recently he might not have been chuffed with just the one goal to show for it. But a 3-0 win for Burnley is a huge bounce back for the club, exactly what they needed heading into the international break (where amongst a few other storylines, Burnley teammates Chris Wood and Jeff Hendrick might get to play against each other).

Ashley Barnes: “Credit to [Wood] as well. He’s in the right place at the right time and that’s what we thrive of. It was a great ball from Dwight and an all-round great team performance. I think it’s better than where we were this time last season and long may it continue. We’ve got a long season to go and hopefully we can get past what we had last year.”What they had last season being 22 combined goals. They have five each as things stand right now.

Burnley Express Player Ratings: “Chris Wood 8/10 - The New Zealander showed just how much he's been missed on his return to the side. Scored Burnley's second, had a header ruled out and could have had another three having led the line extremely well.”

Chris Wood: “It was a pretty good performance from the team. It was nice to bounce back like that. We needed to and now we put our front foot forward. We know we can do it, we know we’re a good side and we know we can put a performance together and we showed that. We just need to keep going and make sure it’s consistent every week.”

Up Next: All Whites & international break... then Watford vs Burnley on Sunday 24 November at 4am (NZT)

Katie Bowen – Utah Royals (American National Women’s Soccer League)

It must be contract week or something, because sneaking in just before The Woodsman’s new deal was confirmation that Katie Bowen was amongst 27 Utah Royals players that the club have retained the rights to in one way or another. A few of them are on USA and Canada national team contracts allocated to the Royals. Others had contract options picked up. While Katie Bowen was amongst ten players who were offered new deals.

The Royals have good reason to be re-upping. They were sixth out of ten teams last season, missing the playoffs by four points, but were in that hunt for most of the year and if it weren’t for the disruptions (that every team dealt with, to be fair) of the World Cup and the USWNT games before and after that tournament then they might just have been able to sneak on in there. Bowen played 19 games this season, same as she played last season in Utah’s first season in existence. Before that the club was in Kansas City (where Bowen played 34 times in two years).

Up Next: Offseason yarns

Rosie White – Seattle Reign (American National Women’s Soccer League)

Guess what? Rosie White had her contract option exercised so she’ll be back in the NWSL again next season too. White only joined midseason effectively as an injury replacement, although she had been angling towards a trade to Seattle earlier in the year for personal circumstances (her partner live there). Having dropped to the bench once others came back to fitness and availability by the end of the season it was a little up in the air whether she’d be kept around but no need to worry because she was one of 23 players that Reign FC chose to take up the options on, while seven others were offered new terms.

You’ll also have absolutely no surprise to hear that the North Carolina Courage picked up Abby Erceg’s contract option for 2020 as well. Three kiwis already locked in for next season’s NWSL. Fingers crossed we can add a couple more between now and then as well.

Up Next: Might be time for a little holiday, finally

Sarpreet Singh - Bayern Munich II (German Liga 3)

It’s just routine for Sarpreet Singh these days. Ever since he was assigned back to the reserves he’s been running the show and against FC Magdeburg it was no different. Singh scored twice in the first half hour – one of them even from his right foot! - as BM2 rolled out to a 2-1 victory. The last twenty minutes were a bit of a nervous stretch after Soren Bertram had pulled one back, especially considering how BM2 absolutely bottled it with a lead a week ago, but this time they held on for the win... which Sarpreet was pretty chuffed/relieved about in the post-match chat in those highlights up there.

Which means that in 11 games for this team, Singh has scored 4 goals and delivered 5 assists. Keep this up and whoever ends up as the new manager of the top team is going to have to take notice sooner or later – there’s nobody else putting in the consistent excellence for the ressies that Singh is. This win is pretty useful too, it lifts them up to ninth on the ladder and breaks a run of three games without a win. Nice way to cruise on into the international break.

Bavarian Football Works: “Singh grabbed his opening goal in the 21st minute thanks to some good play on the sideline around midfield by Kwasi Wriedt to keep the ball in play. He got the ball into space for Jannik Rochelt to run onto and start the attach for Bayern. Rochelt found Singh all alone at the top of the box, and Singh took one touch before putting it out of the reach of the Magdeburg goalkeeper and into the back of the net. Singh’s second goal came at the half hour mark. After some great/lucky work from Rochelt and Derrick Köhn, the ball found it’s way to Singh in the penalty area, and he finished his second of the match and fourth of the season.”

Up Next: 1860 Munich vs Bayern II, Monday 25 November at 2am (NZT)

James Musa – Phoenix Rising (American USL Championship)

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After one record setting season & 2 trophies later my time @phxrisingfc has come to an end. Although I’m deeply disappointed that I fell one hurdle short of achieving what I came here to do, to bring a USL Championship to Phoenix, I won’t forget the awesome people I met & the memories we made over my 2 years here.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ Firstly I thank my teammates past & present. You welcomed an injured Musa in with open arms & I will never forget that. It was an honour working with you, standing side by side & going into battle with you all. No one can take away from us what we achieved together these past 2 seasons. We fell one game short last year & this year set domestic football records that may never be broken. I meeean 20 wins on the trot!!🔥 Only we will ever know what we went through together to achieve such feats. Thanks for the memories lads, I’ll miss you all!⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ To the ownership & coaching staff I thank you for bringing me to the club, trusting in me to represent Phoenix & the time and resources you invested in me. I wish you all nothing but success. To everyone behind the scenes from the groundsmen to the ticket sales people that go unrecognised & make things tick, I thank you too, the true backbone of this organisation.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ To all the supporters, you guys are the heart & soul of this club - I salute you. The atmosphere you guys create week in week out was second to none, you carried us through games & made this place a fortress. The player/fan bond here is something special & I felt nothing but love from you all since the moment I arrived. It was truly a pleasure to suit up & play in front of you.⁣ ⁣ Lastly, to the nearest & dearest. My family, closest friends & girlfriend. You guys are the reason I play the game we all love. A piece of each of you is always with me on the pitch. You all push & inspire me daily to be a better man, a better player, achieve my goals & I hope that was seen by the club & fans. Thanks for sticking with me through the highs and lows that the game brings, I love you all.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ It’s now time for some much needed rest, reflection, family time & a nice cold corona or 2. Let’s see where the beautiful game takes me next. Cheers, Musa.

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And the hits keep coming. This time on the negatory side, however, as James ‘The Moose’ Musa has announced he’ll be parting ways with Phoenix Rising after two seasons. The rising busted records all over the show during the regular season but got stumped in the playoffs – a third straight season of heartbreak for Moose in the USL. In 2017 his Swope Park Rangers lost 1-0 to Louisville City in the grand final to an 88th minute winner. Then last year his Phoenix Rising again lost 1-0 in the grand final, again versus Louisville City, and while the winner came twenty five minutes earlier that time The Moose also played ninety minutes fewer having been injured for the playoff run. And this year as the clear favourites going into the playoffs the Rising were beaten in the Conference semis and Musa was an unused sub in both playoff games.

It’s that last bit that makes this new news make a lot of sense. James Musa is 27 years old and although he started more games than he was on the bench for this season, that had a lot to do with the Gold Cup falling in the middle of the season and robbing them of a couple players (as well as the usual injuries and suspensions). The USL is not the pinnacle and he’s an established pro at this point. Playing off the bench ain’t cutting it.

The Rising are only retaining eleven of their current squad so it looks like a few of them might be chasing opportunities elsewhere (including a couple starters). Musa did make one MLS appearance with Sporting Kansas City back in 2017 and he now has a Gold Card too so while the Welly Nix revival is definitely on the cards, it’s hardly the only option either. Maybe give a buzz to Bill Tuiloma or Michael Boxall, get them to put in the good word because both those teams could use a defensive mid like this fella.

Up Next: ???

Simon Elliott – Sacramento Republic (American USL Championship)

Republic FC: “We want to thank Simon and Ben for their tireless work and support in the development of Republic FC. They have both represented the club well and we wish them the best moving forward in their careers. With our 2019 season coming to a close, our focus is on preparing for next season, competing for the USL Cup, and continuing to build toward the bright future of this club.”

Oh damn. There aren’t a lot of kiwi coaches at professional clubs overseas but Simon Elliott was one of them, coaching against the likes of James Musa, Kyle Adams, Sam Brotherton, and Elliott Collier in the USL this season. He’d gotten that gig in 2018 after being promoted following three years in charge of the club’s academy teams (U15/16 and U17). He and his assistant have both been let go at the end of their contracts soon after Republic fell 3-0 to El Paso Locomotive in the Western Conference semifinals. Elliott won 35 of 70 games in charge for the club, drawing 13 and losing 22. A little inconsistent there and that was something his general manager specified when talking about the decision though it’s hard not to separate this from the recent chat that the Sacramento team have been accepted as an MLS expansion side in 2022 – so two more seasons in the USL and then it’s onto the big time. Apparently Simon Elliott just wasn’t their dude to see that dream through. Cam Knowles is still in charge at Portland Timbers 2 by the way. Still got one kiwi USL coach.

Up Next: Get him in on that All Whites staff, Danny

Ali Riley – Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)

So... that Champions League quarter-final draw was made and yeah. Four-time defending champions Lyon are on the cards... s’pose you’ve gotta beat the best to be the best after all.

Up Next: DFB Pokal, Bayern vs Wolfsburg, Sunday at 2am (NZT)

Marco Rojas – SønderjyskE (Danish Superliga)

It was an eventful first few minutes as Sonders travelled to AGF. First the home team had a chance cleared off the line and tipped onto the post barely thirty seconds into the match. Then, coming back the other way a couple minutes later, Marco Rojas was almost played clean through on goal by Rilwan Olanrewaju Hassan but the fella’s pass was rubbish and then the same guy air-balled a fortuitous effort seconds later as the ball was fed back to him. Jón Dagur Þorsteinsson then curled one into the top corner for AGF and we were still only six minutes into the match.

Sonders survived a penalty shout for handball but conceded again as Bror Blume smashed one in on the volley. They did what they could to get back into it and a Christian Jakobsen goal after an hour (coming after Rojas had a thunderous volley blocked) made it interesting... though the chaos that it unleashed wasn’t really helpful. AGF scored again from a scrappy corner having already hit the post again. Then Marco Rojas swung in a free kick to the far post which Artem Dovbyk headed home in response – a handy assist for the bloke, who also played his fourth 90 minute performance in his last six games as he becomes more and more of a regular face for this team - but nine minutes of madness was capped by another AGF goal and they went on to win it 4-2. A fair result on the face of things however that does make it four league defeats in a row for Sonders, who are now six points and four places off the top six.

Up Next: After internationals it’s Sonders vs Lyngby at midnight on Monday 25 November (NZT)

Nikko Boxall – Viborg FF (Danish Division 1)

Se højdepunkterne fra kampen

A 2-1 win over Næstved has put Viborg back on top of the Danish second tier. In a game they did well to dominate, turning possession into goals was not an easy feat but after somehow being held scoreless in the first half, Jess Mensah did the trick five minutes into the second. Nikko Boxall had started the move stepping forward and Christian Sørensen’s ball across picked out Mensah whose shot seemed to take a healthy deflection. You make your own luck.

Sørensen nearly doubled that lead straight after but the ball didn’t quite get to him at the far post. Then, dramatically, Næstved suddenly equalised from a corner swung into the mixer which about thirty players all crowded for on the edge of the six yard box and the ball snuck in off Joel Felix. But Christian Sivebæk struck back with quarter of an hour to play and Viborg were able to nullify the late advances of their visitors to claim victory. Vejle could only draw while Fredericia lost at home to Skive so Viborg go back top by a single point.

Up Next: No international break, with Vendsyssel on the cafrds on Monday at 3am (NZT)

Steven Old – Morecambe (English League Two)

If you were dreaming of an FA Cup run for the Shrimps, don’t bother. They were pumped 4-1 by Blackpool (League One) in the first round. Ninety minutes for Steve though.

Up Next: Carlisle away on Wednesday at 8.45am (NZT)

Jeremy Brockie & Dan Morgan – Maritzburg United (South African Premier Soccer League)

The South African: “As the August transfer window came to a close, one man desperate to leave Mamelodi Sundowns in search of regular minutes and goals was Brockie, whose time at Chloorkop had been something of a nightmare. However, things have not gotten any better for him under Eric Tinkler, with the coach saying that he was not match fit after so long in the stands at Sundowns. Added to that, with a busy fixture list for Pitso Mosimane’s side last season, there was only limited training time for Brockie. The striker was even pictured sitting on the sidelines during one session with other players preferred in a “second team” for a practice match.”

Yeah it’s been tough for Jeremy Brockie even after he got out of Sundowns. He started the first four games he was available for with Maritzburg but didn’t look himself, even missing a penalty at one stage, and his coach had to admit that after so long on the sidelines he still wasn’t at the required match fitness to be delivering at his best. Things have slowed down for him since with the Team of Choice taking more of a patient approach, but he was back in amongst the starters for both of Maritzburg’s games last week.

The first was a midweek trip to Orlando Pirates, a tough fixture for them, but they emerged with a 0-0 draw as both teams had second half red cards. That was the fourth straight clean sheet for Maritzburg in the league. For the most part they spent the game playing on the counter attack and Brockie just wasn’t as involved as he would have liked and was subbed off with twenty minutes to play. Another impressive ninety minutes for Dan Morgan though, who has been playing at left back during this defensive hot streak. He picked up a yellow card in amidst it all.

Then on the weekend it was Bloemfontein Celtic on the cards and here Micah Lea’alafa even got the start as all three NZ Premiership veterans were named in the XI. And for the first half it was it was all Maritzburg... except they couldn’t find a goal to show for it. Brockie missed a chance wide at the near post while Lea’alafa flicked on a header that Thabiso Kutumela whacked into the frame of the goal. They were made to regret that when Bloem took the lead five minutes into the half. Brockie was replaced on the hour, while Lea’alafa was hooked at half-time... and those subs turned out to be a bit premature because a head injury to one of their dudes after they’d already used all three meant they had to finish the game with ten men and soon enough they trailed 2-0 with less than ten minutes to salvage anything.

But ten minutes turned out to be plenty. Incredibly the Team of Choice scored twice, first in the 87th minute from a Daylon Claasen penalty and then again in stoppage time as Dan Morgan set up Judas Mosemaedi for the leveller. Sounds like Mosemaedi did most of the work but good for the fantasy footy stats either way. The big headline is Jeremy Brockie having now played 418 minutes without a goal for Maritzburg but the real story is how Dan Morgan has nestled himself in as an important player for this lot already.

Up Next: Away to Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday 24 November at 2am in the Telkom Cup semis (NZT)

Andre De Jong – AmaZulu FC (South African Premier Soccer League)

And of course we cannot be forgetting the other New Zealander in amongst this lot, as Andre De Jong started in a 2-0 win for AmaZulu over Stellenbosch (a massive result with relegation implications) and then came off the bench for twenty minutes in a 2-0 defeat a few days later against Chippa... who are bottom of the table so inverse effects with that one. ADJ has been a little in and out, and even in that win over Stellenbosch he was subbed off at the half. He’s considered more of an attacking midfielder in a team that doesn’t really play a number ten at the moment, their situation being a little perilous and all, so he’s having to get in where he fits in a tad. But he does always seem to be there or thereabouts.

Up Next: Away to Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday 27 November at 6.30am (NZT)

Jana Radosavljević - BV Cloppenburg (German Bundesliga 2)

One of the newer names in the Footy Ferns squad (although she has been picked once before) is Kiwi-Serb Jana Radosavljević, who made her senior international debut in the tour to China this weekend. Rado might have been a shot at the World Cup squad earlier this year but she was still working back from an ACL injury early on last season for her second div German side BV Cloppenburg. Which was a devastating one as she’d started things so well. But she’s back in business after missing all but the first three games of last season and thankfully she’s picking up where she left off with three goals in 10 Bundesliga 2 games already. Which is even more impressive considering that Cloppenburg kinda suck at the moment and are bottom of the table with just one win from those games. An inability to keep clean sheets (one from ten – the one game they won, 2-0 over Bayern II with Rado getting the second) seems to have a lot to do with that. But think for a second how tough it is to come back from a serious knee injury (a few Ferns have had to do it lately, most notably Olivia Chance and Hannah Wilkinson who are now at different clubs to where they suffered those injuries) and look at Rado starting every league game so far and that’s pretty crazy. Got an international debut to show for it too now.

Up Next: Away to Turbine Potsdam at 11pm on Sunday (NZT)

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