Flying Kiwis – January 7
Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)
Burnley have played four times since the last Flying Kiwis, festive football being what it is in England. Also he was about the only one playing last week so there was no Flying Kiwis hence we get to catch it all up now. But the 1-0 defeat against Everton and 2-0 loss to Manchester United were almost completely uneventful. Burnley played the way they have in the previous few games where creativity was at an utter minimum and Chris Wood had very little to do. It was terrible. Genuine reason to worry that they need some fresh blood in January. And nothing really to write about.
But then they played, and lost to, Aston Villa at home and although the result was terrible, there was at least this one moment late on when The Woodsman did this...
But yeah, that was a little too late. Burnley had been awful in the first half in keeping with previous performances and goals for Wesley Moraes and Jack Grealish had them two down at the break. Woody might have closed things up earlier but he missed a golden chance which he couldn’t get on target. Not quite a sitter but definitely one for the blooper reel so good thing he got one back later on. Shots off target were pretty common from the Clarets on this day though. They got better as the game went on to be fair but damn they dug themselves a hole early on. Three straight defeats for Burnley after that one.
Burnley Express Player Ratings: “CHRIS WOOD (5/10) - Scored with what was only Burnley's third effort on target in four Premier League games, but could have had more. Should have done better with passes from both Taylor and Westwood in the second half.”
That game was mercifully followed by a chance to put some goals away in an FA Cup clash with Peterborough which Burnley did exactly what they needed to do and scored four times on the way to the fourth round draw. They were 3-0 up after 25 minutes and went on to win it 4-2, never really in doubt. Chris Wood played 74 minutes before he was subbed off... though he wasn’t able to hit the back of the net. He should have, his early header saved at point blank range before Jay Rodriguez tapped in the rebound for the opener. Also a little bit of a worry with his substitution as he was nursing a bit of a muscle injury and he’s played a lot of footy recently but we’ll see how that goes.
Burnley Express Player Ratings: “CHRIS WOOD (6/10) - Should have scored with a close range header, which led to the opening goal of the tie. However, the striker worked well for the team and linked play well in the final third of the pitch.”
Up Next: Chelsea vs Burnley, Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
See that name there on the bench? Been a while since we last saw that name in a West Ham United matchday squad. In fact the last time he featured on the teamsheet in an official game was back at the start of March 2018 in the game he was injured in. Since then he’s popped up in a handful of preseason friendlies, an All Whites international, and for the Hammers U23s... but this was the first time he’d been in contention for the top team. He didn’t play. He was an unused sub as West Ham lost 2-1 at home to a rotated Leicester City team. But glorious to see all the same.
However if that was the start of a new chapter for Winston Reid it was also the end of a chapter for his club. Manuel Pellegrini was sacked after the defeat, probably a justified sacking too considering it was a fourth straight home defeat which left them hanging tenuously above the relegation zone with a squad that should be a lot better than this considering the investments made in it over the summer. Pellegrini was out within two hours of the final whistle. The Chilean was in charge for 64 matches over 18 months and Winston Reid did not play in a single one of them. Which gets even crazier because his manager when he was injured was David Moyes, who was then chucked to the side in favour of Pellegrini... but who’s replaced Pellegrini now? None other than Davie Moyes. It’ll be like nothing has changed for Winnie!
Reid then wasn’t in the squad as West Ham romped to a 4-0 win over Bournemouth in Moyes’ first game in charge, though he was an unused sub again in their 2-0 win over Gillingham in the FA Cup. Pablo Zabaleta scored in the 74th minute to break the deadlock and then Pablo Fornals scored deep into stoppage time to seal it. The two Pablos. Doing what needed doing.
David Moyes, pre-Gillingham: “Winston Reid has been around. He trained today. I think, with Winston, it’s about getting him some football. He’s back training with the first team and he looks okay. We just need to see about getting him some game time. He’s been a first team player and, if I could get Winston an opportunity, it would be good to find out how he’s doing.”
That sort of seems to suggest that he might have gotten a few minutes out there had the game not been as close as it was. Oh well, next time perhaps. The Hammers are still taking it extremely slow with Winston and it’s been suggested that he’s only training every second day so as not to overload him. Not sure if that’s helping or hindering him at the moment to be honest, Moyes himself there said game time is the major hurdle and Winnie sure seemed pretty desperate to get involved with that All Whites camp in November. A month and a half later and he’s still in cotton wool. However we did see Moyes go with a back three against Gillingham, harkening back to his last spell at WHU - Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop, and Fabian Balbuena getting the nods – which automatically moves Winnie up a spot in the subs ranks as one extra defender is needed per matchday squad if this system continues.
Up Next: Saturday at 9am away to Sheffield United (NZT)
Olivia Chance – Bristol City (English Super League)
Heading into a couple weeks off over Christmas/New Years, Bristol City were in a fair bit of trouble. Olivia Chance had a fair bit of personal success amongst that time as she established herself as a regular starter for her new club but as that was happening, everything else around her was getting worse. Winless from their first nine games with just three points to show for their efforts the Robins were last on the ladder and staring at relegation as 2019 came to a close. Rock bottom was that 11-1 record defeat against Arsenal (Vivianne Miedema scoring six times) and they’re out of the WSL Cup too.
They’re still in trouble, of course, and there’s a lot more work to do to get them settled safely clear of that twelfth place drop (only one team gets relegated this season)... but things are a whole lot rosier after a 1-0 win away to Manchester United. How about that one, aye?
It was a quiet start to the game with each side still working off the holidays but the game burst into action in the 34th minute when former United striker Ebony Salmon showed a burst of pace down the left wing and was able to slip the ball through Mary Earps’ legs in goal. Bristol City had quite a lot of the ball in that first half, playing with a packed midfield five (including Liv Chance who got a ninety minute run out), but they hadn’t really created a lot else other than that goal and wouldn’t create much more the rest of the way. Man United came out after the half with a deficit at home and proceeded to absolutely dominate this game but Sophie Baggaley in goal for BCFC had a blinder with save after save after save.
It really was an impressive showing from BCFC, who never stopped looking to hit United on the counter despite being asked to do an intense amount of defending as the game progressed. The last ten minutes plus stoppage time in particular was gruelling. Baggaley made an insane save to deny Jackie Groenen one on one with Lizzie Arnott then inexplicably missing from right out in front on the rebound, only hitting the crossbar. And it’s not a lie to say that Baggaley was making saves like that all afternoon.
Livvy Chance played deep in that midfield, doing her best to mark the United attackers out of the game and she picked up a late, late yellow card amidst the time wasting efforts, warned once for obstructing a free kick by standing too close and then she clashed with Ella Toone off the ball, getting a shove for leaving a foot in, and they were both put in the book for that one. Toone then hit the post with a volley from a cross basically seconds later. How Man Utd didn’t win this one 5-1 was crazy... but instead it was Bristol City who claimed an immensely valuable win.
Up Next: Chelsea vs Bristol City on Monday at 3am (NZT)
Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)
2020 didn’t start so flash for Spurs though. It was never likely to, up against Manchester City. Ria Percival got the full game on the right of a midfield three as she’s becoming accustomed to in recent times but other than that no real reason to dwell. They were 2-0 down after five minutes thanks to Pauline Bremer and Ellen White and although there was a penalty in the 20th minute which Rianna Dean both won and scored to threaten a comeback, within seven minutes the two-goal margin was back thanks to a sharp finish from Bremer. Lauren Hemp then scored a simple one just before half-time and that 4-1 scoreline was the end of it. City looked capable of adding to it but Spurs were never recovering from being three down at the break.
So it goes... prospects are better for a scrap with West Ham next week, Percy against her old club. In the meantime, here’s a thing...
Up Next: Spurs vs West Ham, Monday at 3am (NZT)
Marco Rojas – SønderjyskE (Danish Superliga)
Curious one right here. Marco Rojas’ contract when he joined SønderjyskE last January was for twelve months. He’d just gotten out of the Heerenveen thing where he was barely getting any game time and now he found himself in Denmark where he steadily worked his way to where he was basically a first choice played by the time the midseason winter break hit. But that was also when his contract expired and despite a lot of interest from the club in getting him to re-up, Marco Rojas has decided otherwise.
Hans Jørgen Haysen, Sonders ‘Sports Chief’ (aka technical director): “We have not concealed that we would like to extend the contract, and it has also been close, but in the end we could not reach each other and this is sometimes the case. He is a technically strong player who, in his good days, has also laid down our game with the ball, but during the periods when the pitches have been bad and the matches are played on other terms than what he is good at it has been difficult to put his excellent feet in the scene. We have been happy to have him in the squad, but now our roads are parting, and we wish him all the best in the future.”
Very curious. Rojas leaves having played 30 league games for the club, 21 of them starts, and scoring three goals (plus a few more games + goals in cup comps). 1886 minutes of top flight footy in Denmark over a year is a lot better than the 60 combined minutes that he managed in his last half season in the Netherlands but it does beg the question where next and before you get any smartarse ideas...
He’s been sighted in Melbourne over New Years too which feels like a rather significant clue... or maybe he just wanted to see in 2020 with some old mates, who knows? He did live in that city for a fair while, probably still has a place there. And the Danish league, like most in continental Europe, is currently on winter break with players mostly off on holiday.
Based on the quote above it sounds like there were genuine negotiations but that Rojas was maybe demanding a little much so the two parties agreed to part ways. If Rojas doesn’t have something else lined up after allowing negotiations to stall without agreeing then it’d be pretty shocking. Compared to his other permanent deals in Europe this was by far the best situation he’d been in and for a guy so desperate to make it in that continent it would be a little weird to find himself back in the A-League so suddenly. But we’ll see what happens, no hurry.
Up Next: *looking eyes emoji*
Sarpreet Singh - Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)
Somebody’s sounded the magic conch shell because Bayern Munich’s top squad are assembling once more. There’s a training camp in Doha, a bit of the warm weather treatment, which means an end to the holidays for Sarpreet. That tweet above lists him as one of four players who travelled separate to the main squad... that’s because he was back in Aotearoa over Christmas so nothing to worry about there.
26 players are in the squad in the Qatar, including 16 year old defender Bright Arrey-Mbi, a dual English/German eligible prospect who signed with Bayern out of the Chelsea academy last year. Other than that, the usual fringe guys in Sarpreet’s situation are all there too – Josh Zirkzee and Lukas Mai and Leon Dajaku, all those guys. Chris Richards too, an American from the reserves who is yet to make his first team debut.
There’s plenty of club-endorsed coverage of all this. Live streams of training and all that if you’re keen to play Where’s Wally with Sarpreet Singh just in case the whole New Zealander Playing For Bayern Munich is still that buzzy for you that you have to keep seeing it to believe it. Which... fair enough. The women’s team is also off to Doha later in the month to spend a week at the same academy base. The fellas are also there for a week, where there’s 50 accredited journalists following them and two press conferences a day so expect plenty of yarns to come out of this one. They do this trip every year so it’s all pretty routine.
Up Next: Hertha Berlin vs Bayern Munich on Monday 20 January at 3.30am (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
Also in Doha right now? Ryan Thomas and his mates at PSV.
PSV resume their footy the week after next and will play a couple friendly games while they’re in Qatar. Their squad, as you’d figure, has a fair few youth players involved with a selection of 26 players making the trip (Portuguese striker Bruma’s having trouble with his passport though). Of course, PSV are like Bayern in that they don’t have a permanent manager at the moment. Ernest Faber took over as caretaker when Mark van Bommel was sacked in December and is expected to see out the season, which Hansi Flick will also do at Bayern following an impressive start to things (which included giving Sarpreet Singh his debut so cheers for that one, chief). Also relevant here are the rumours that PSV have rejected an offer from Besiktas (home of Tyler Boyd, ex-Flying Kiwi) for Mexican midfielder Erick Gutierrez, a fella who Ryan Thomas seems poised to replace in the starting eleven. Gutierrez travelled to Doha with the rest of them but the transfer window’s open all month so could be an ongoer.
Up Next: Monday 20 January, away to VVV-Venlo at 12.15am (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie & Dan Morgan – Maritzburg United (South African Premier Soccer League)
Happy times here as Maritzburg beat Golden Arrows 2-1 in their first game of the new year – just their second win in the last seven league games, although they’ve had a couple useful draws in that time. It took some serious late drama though. With 85 minutes played they were down 1-0 to a Danny Venter goal but Daylon Claasen equalised before an own goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time sealed the comeback. Dan Morgan started but was subbed off at the break as things got reshuffled a bit while Jeremy Brockie was an unused sub despite his team chasing the game. So... the Flying Kiwis angle isn’t as exciting as the club angle but that’s football. Elsewhere in South Africa, Andre De Jong is still out injured with the broken foot he picked up on All Whites duty about a while back.
Up Next: SuperSport United vs Maritzburg, Thursday at 6.30am (NZT)
Annalie Longo – Melbourne Victory (Australian W-League)
You’re doing well when you can go to Perth and come back with three points. The Glory aren’t the same without Sam Kerr this season but then the Victory haven’t been living up to their name either lately, prior to Christmas they’d only won one W-League games from five. Against Perth they were under pressure early as Katarina Jukic hit the post in the third minute and then twenty minutes later they were facing up to a penalty after Emily Menges got too rough... but Casey Dumont continued her incredible season with a third penalty save of the campaign to deny Crystal Thomas.
Buoyed by surviving all that, the Victory struck through Amy Jackson with a deadset screamer for the lead at the break and she scored a second soon after the break with a much more simple header. Annalie Longo had whipped the ball across where it was looped back over to where Rosie Sutton was lurking. Somehow Sutton headed an otherwise open goal onto the crossbar but Jackson was flying in to score on the rebound. Funny thing is she was brought into the team (this was only her second start this season) for extra defensive cover in the midfield alongside Longo and Haley Hanson and she ended up scoring both goals. Perth did get on the board soon after through Leticia McKenna after the Victory failed to clear their lines but that was the only time they were broken. Another solid ninety minutes for Annalie Longo and a 2-1 win.
Which was chased a few days later by another win by the same scoreline at home versus Newcastle United. This time it was the Victory who started on the front foot, taking the lead inside ten minutes thanks to a powerful header from Natasha Dowie. Then 25 minutes into it they were 2-0 up. Darian Jenkins with the strike this time, right place at the right time to score on her birthday.
That had MVC nicely in control, Longo allowed to knock the ball around in the midfield as she does best. Dumont made one fine save in the first half but nothing else. The Jets would put one away an hour into things as Gema Simon was left with the whole left side of the penalty area to herself in a defensive mishap – another avoidable goal, one that the coaches won’t have missed. The goal was a bit against the run of play and the Victory continued to look the more likely to score but they didn’t so there was a frisky last ten minutes or so where the nerves emerged. Longo was subbed off around then for extra defence. No worries though. Back to back wins since Xmas means the Victory are suddenly up to fourth on the ladder with the semis very much back in reach with only five games remaining.
Up Next: Adelaide vs Melly Vix, Saturday at 9.30pm (NZT)
Rebekah Stott – Melbourne City (Australian W-League)
Make that three clean sheets in a row for Rebekah Stott and the Melbourne City defence. They beat Brisbane Roar 2-0, scoring early through Milica Mijatovic in the sixth minute and leading the entire rest of the way, padding that with an Aivi Luik goal in the 74th minute. The Roar gave them a very tough game though, in fact they nearly levelled a couple times in that first half including one header from Hayley Raso which was cleared almost off the line by Stotty. A few weeks ago she scored one from that distance, this time she cleared one from that distance. Whatever it takes, right?
Raso also hit the crossbar as well as hitting a one on one straight at the keeper, after Stott had missed the through ball. Usually expect the Aussie star to score with that many chances but oh well, not our problem. Stott was playing on the right side of a defensive three once again, with licence to step up into midfield in possession. Steph Catley then missed a penalty in the second half as City looked to kill this one off, striking wide of the target, before Raso had a decent shout for a spotty at the other end but it was denied. Then Luik slammed in the second and City were home. Phew. There was still time for Tameka Yallop (wife of former NZ international Kirsty Yallop) to have a shot deflected over the top by Rebekah Stott but even if that had gone in it was still pretty late to go and find another to tie it up. 2-0 to City and they stay top of the table, three points clear of Western Sydney who have a game in hand.
Interesting timing for Raso and Stott to be going head to head here... because they were both nominated for Player of the Month for December. Yeah, Stotty getting some serious recognition for her performances there... although she’s fifth of five on the fan vote so get chomping on that one, please.
W-League: “City are grinding their way to the Premiership - five consecutive victories by a one-goal margin is testament to that - and New Zealand international Stott is the integral part of their assault. Stott played crucial roles in all three of City's December wins over Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory, and the Kiwi broke a long-scoring drought by popping up with the winner herself against Glory.”
Up Next: Thursday at 9.30pm against Canberra United (NZT)
Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon (English League One)
23 year old kiwi keeper Nik Tzanev started the season with a bit of a whirlwind, finally getting a few games for the senior team at the Dons after injuries struck the squad, but following that he settled into a bench role and then spent last month on loan at Sutton United. Where he’s been playing great, so great that he’s had his loan deal extended until the end of the season.
AFC Wimbledon: “Nik Tzanev will gain more first-team experience at Sutton United with his loan deal having been extended until the end of 2019/20. The 23-year-old has enjoyed a very successful spell at the National League club so far with his performances having helped Sutton United up to 12th in the table. When Nik joined Sutton in November they were near the bottom, but he's since starred in seven victories out of 10, keeping two clean sheets along the way. Keep up the good work Nik!”
Sutton Utd manager Matt Gray: ”Nik has been great for us since he joined and I’m delighted that he will continue to play for us for the rest of this season.”
Love it. (Although they did lose to Chesterfield 1-0 in the only game since this happened).
Up Next: Away to Stockport County at 4am on Sunday 19 January (NZT)
Hannah Wilkinson - Sporting CP (Portuguese 1a Divisão)
No goals for Wilkie, who was a second half sub as Sporting came back from 1-0 down after 68 seconds and scored twice in the last twenty minutes after it was tied 2-2 against SC Braga, winning 4-2 away from home in their first game back from the holidays. Some cracking goals in this one, although the strike that put them in front was a deflected free kick. Take ‘em however they come. Braga are third on the ladder so this win for Sporting put some serious distance between themselves and their opponents and keeps them in touching distance of favourites Benfica.
Up Next: A-dos-Francos, at home, on Monday 20 January at 4am (NZT)
Steven Old – Morecambe (English League Two)
That makes it three straight single-goal defeats. Keeps them last on goal difference. The transfer window’s open now for a few emergency loans but hard to see them getting out of this scrape the way it’s going. Steven Old’s still playing every week at least.
Up Next: Morecambe vs Colchester on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Greg Draper – The New Saints (Welsh Premier League)
Plenty more goals coming where Drapes is concerned too. He scored a hat-trick against Cefn Druids prior to that interview and then followed that up with an 89th minute equaliser at home against the same crew... with Dean Ebbe scoring deep into injury time for a 2-1 win. A huge win too, as it keeps them ahead of Connah’s Quay after twenty rounds in first place. They’ve got two more matches before the league splits into top half and bottom half so a run at another title’s looking bright.
Up Next: Newtown vs TNS on Saturday at 9am (NZT)
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