Flying Kiwis – November 10
Birmingham Mail
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Predictably, Winnie’s injury last week was enough to rule him ineligible for the All Whites next week, but not bad enough that he couldn’t play 90 minutes against Aston Villa. Hmm…
To be fair, his club plays the bills. If he were to fly around the world and get injured, well, nobody wins in that situation. He and his manager have every right to ask Anthony Hudson to give him a break and Hudson was perfectly understandable in doing so. He’s trying to build a squad and a culture within the All Whites confines and it’s not the best player in the team that’s gonna be a hindrance to that. Reid will slide right in when available; this gives other players a chance to figure out the standard required of them.
So anyway, 90 minutes against Villa. Good stuff. Reid helped the Hammers to another clean sheet, though unfortunately even with Diaffra Sahko and Andy Carroll back, they couldn’t make the breakthrough at the other end. West Ham dominated in chances and possession, even if Gaby Agbonlahor missed a great early chance for Villa. A frustrating result but one that keeps them in fourth spot, now five games unbeaten.
Up Next: Rest and rehabilitation.
Chris Wood – Leicester City (English Premier League)
Another little cameo off the bench for Woody, his fourth Premier League appearance of the season and his second in a row. He played the final 19 minutes against Southampton, as the Saints marched on to another close win that sees them stay second on the table. Leicester are sitting in the relegation zone, without a win since that 5-3 comeback against Man United.
Shane Long came off the bench to score twice in a 2-0 win, unfortunately Chris Wood couldn’t counter him. Wood did manage the one shot, finding himself on the end of a fortunate headed clearance and showing great strength to hold off his marker and get one on one with the keeper. But he tried to be tricky with his finish and he put a great chance wide as Fraser Forster came out to close him down.
Still, it’s great to see Wood getting decent minutes. This wasn’t just a stoppage time run out - he came on with the score at 0-0 for the team’s top scorer. Looks like, missed chance aside, he’s starting to earn the trust of his manager Nigel Pearson.
Up Next: The All Whites play China and Thailand next week. Woody’ll be looking to bang a couple Geez, as Clint Dempsey would say.
Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
East Anglian Daily Times
Two wins in a week and Ipswich have soared up to fourth on the table, just two points off top! They’re four games unbeaten and Tommy Smith has been a part of them all.
So, after beating lowly Blackpool last week for their first win in five games, Ipswich had a couple home games to deal with. Wolves were first to visit. It was Mick McCarthy’s 100th game in charge of the Trotters and it came against a former club of his. Jonathan Parr was still out so Smith stayed in at centre back with an unchanged back four from the Blackpool game.
Ipswich harried and hassled, not giving their opponents time on the ball. Wolves had only lost once in thirteen games, but Daryl Murphy put them behind in the 35th minute and it was well deserved. After the break, Wolves grabbed a bit of a lucky equaliser as James Henry’s cross found its way inside the far post. The tie only lasted 6 minutes though, as Murphy added a second after Wolves lost the ball cheaply and Ipswich held on for the win from there. Very impressive.
Parr was back for the second game, this one against Watford, but he was left on the bench as McCarthy stuck with his form back four. Ipswich are a team playing with confidence, putting together moves from midfield that didn’t come off early in the season. This game was fought tightly, and was quite entertaining really, though the finishing wasn’t there for either team in the face of some top goalkeeping and assertive defending. It appeared headed for a scoreless draw when Stephen Hunt’s enticing free kick found itself parried back and forth in a scramble before our boy T.Smizz slammed it home for an emphatic winner! 1-0 the final score, Ipswich with three wins in eight days. Just a few weeks ago Mick was being booed from the stands, now things have changed dramatically and a drive towards promotion could be a possibility.
Up Next: Back in the national fold. Glad to have ya back, Smithy!
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Zwolle overcame a late red card to beat out Groningen 2-0 at home and snap their winless streak. An own goal in the fifth minute started things, and Thomas Necid scored midway through the second half, assisted by Socceroo Trent Sainsbury. However Necid picked up a straight red for a dangerous lunging tackle with 12 minutes to play, making things a little nervy until the finish.
Ryan Thomas played all 90 mins, not having too much to do while battling away hard. He was fouled five times. No shots or particularly incisive crosses from Ryan, but his passing game was really efficient.
The win shoots Zwolle back up a couple of places on the table into fifth.
Up Next: All Whites duty, baby!