Flying Kiwis – December 8
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Is anyone else getting sick of how every news story from down under that involves Winston Reid leads with the ‘Imminent Transfer to a Champions League Team’ angle? Let’s see some sources or drop the idea. If he gets a big money transfer or not, he’ll still be the captain of the All Whites either way.
Right now Fat Sam’d be mad to let him leave without begging. West Ham are playing superbly and a 3-1 win over Swansea has gotten them temporarily all the way up to third!
Winston didn’t have too much to do in this game, other than marking the man-beast that is Wilfried Bony. The Hammers dominated the game throughout, though as is to be the trend in this week’s Flying Kiwis, the eventual losing team scored first. Bony finishing from close range after Jefferson Montero got in behind the WHU defence on their right hand side. Nothing Reid could do.
West Ham hit back, however. Alex Song was wonderful in the midfield, and Stewart Downing had some great moments. But the best player on the park was Andy Carroll. He toyed with the Swansea defence like it was men against boys (and Ashley Williams is a highly talented player), winning 13 headers as his aerial strength was a major factor. That’s almost twice as many headers as the two centre backs marking him made combined. Carroll popped up for the leveller before the break, a header from a Carl Jenkinson cross, and then put the Hammers in front with another header (of course) from a Stewart Downing corner. Diaffra Sahko added the third late on after Lukasz Fabianski was sent off with 10 to play (for a foul on Sahko). Reid, with plenty of room to push forward in to, was a starting point for many attacks, helping secure the ball and feeding Alex Song. Winston had 5 interceptions and 7 clearances, copping more than a few fouls too in a physical battle with Bony. Three wins in a row now for West Ham.
There was also a more than handy win midweek as West Ham came back from an early deficit to beat West Brom 2-1. The most impressive part of it was that they did it without top scorer Diaffra Sahko or the talismanic Alex Song. Kevin Nolan got the equaliser before James Tomkins scored in first half injury time. It was West Brom’s fourth straight defeat – a streak they ended with a 0-0 at Hull on the weekend - … not that they didn’t have chances. WBA took 22 shots but only 5 were on target. Winston had 4 interceptions and 7 clearances in a solid outing, though he was overshadowed by the immense James Tomkins. That lad was a brick wall.
Up Next: Away to Sunderland, 4am Sunday (NZT)
Chris Wood – Leicester City (English Premier League)
Things look brutal for Leicester. Despite Leonard Ulloa opening the scoring by knocking in a goal to break his personal drought (after Brad Guzan parried it into his path), the Foxes lead only lasted 3 minutes before Ciaran Clark equalised for opponents Aston Villa. Clark slipped his marker to guide a diving header off a free kick into the back of the net.
Ulloa came off hurt at half time and replacement Dave Nugent drew a great save out of Guzan, while Christian Benteke was a battering ram at the other end. With 20 minutes left, it was Benteke who curled the ball into the path of right back Alan Hutton and the Scotsman had his first goal in four years.
Chris Wood came on for some extra firepower after that, his third substitute appearance in the last four games – after being left out of the last match day squad entirely. However Leicester’s chances quickly grew dim after Paul Konchesky was sent off for clashing with Hutton, which begs the question: ‘Does Paul Konchesky still play football?’ A second consecutive game where LCFC has had a man sent off.
Woody had one effort to tie things up, a volleyed shot from the edge of the box that went about a metre wide. Here’s the still:
Up Next: Not getting any easier, home to Manchester City, 4am Sunday (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
East Anglian Daily Times
Another game, another win. Now Ipswich’s team of free transfers and academy players are really starting to think of the Premier League as an attainable goal – having consolidated second place.
Leeds were the latest victims.
It all started so well for Leeds, too. They were 1-0 up after 4 minutes thanks to Mirko Antnucci. But Ipswich ran rampant in front of a joyous home crowd after that. A lovely header from Daryl Murphy levelled things up within eight minutes later. Leeds looked all at sea defensively, and for once Ipswich were both dominant and clinical. Dave McGoldrick converted a penalty in the 26th, and Murphy added a second for himself (his 13th of the season) right before the break.
A mix up between Luke Chambers and Tommy Smith had been a large cause of Leeds’ goal, though Tommy made amends right after half time, heading in Stephen Hunt’s corner – even if Christophe Berra did his best to vulture it! A third goal in 13 starts for Kiwi Tom, that’s one more than he has yellow cards, amazingly. One of those yellows came in this game.
From there Town cruised to a 4-1 win. The first time they’d scored 4 in a game since last Boxing Day. The win makes it 17 points from a possible 21, with 7 games unbeaten and only one loss in their last 15. Derby County lead the Championship by just one point…
East Anglian Daily Times
Up Next: Off to Bolton for a 4am game Sunday morning (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
A fortuitously brilliant start to the season was followed by a small slump, but things are now trending upwards for Zwolle once more. They’re back up to fifth after a 3-1 win over ADO Den Haag, in which Ryan Thomas played every minute. Two Tomas Necid goals, the first from the penalty spot, plus one from Jesper Drost, meant that Michiel Kramer’s 74th minute goal was only a consolation. Ryan Thomas had a couple shots, plenty of touches and a quality passing game (86% accuracy). Although he might have been sore this morning after being fouled five times.
Up Next: 7.45am at Willem II, Saturday (NZT)
Marco Rojas – Greuther Fürth (German Bundesliga II)
It’s been a tough season for Marco. After injury spoiled his time with Stuttgart last campaign, he was shipped out on loan to Greuther Furth to establish himself and play a few games. That hasn’t quite been the case. Injuries again have been a factor, and GF’s Chairman has spoken out at Rojas’ inability to adapt to the physical stuff in the German second division. As such, he’s only played 3 times off the bench, once for only about a minute. He has at least had his time with the All Whites, as well as the Furth reserves (in what’s effectively the fourth tier). Yeah, the reserves of the team he’s on loan at from his main club. But who cares? It means football.
Compared with 25 minutes for the first team, Rojas has played 4 complete games with the reserves, for 360 minutes, scoring a goal in a 2-0 win in October. Unfortunately as the Christmas season arrives and the English leagues ramp up the fixtures, the German regional leagues take a break until March. So, not ideal. The Furth first team continue through the merriment, but that’s far from a guaranteed spot for Marco.
Up Next: The Furth Firsts host RasenBallsport Leipzig on Saturday at 6.30am (NZT)