Tommy Smith gets the goal for Ipswich! (Trevor Smith via Daily Mail UK)

Flying Kiwis will keep you up to date on the endeavours of New Zealand sports folk overseas. Not the battlers, mind you, but the genuine overlooked and underappreciated superstars that for some ridiculous reason don’t get a look in on local media.

Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)

Smith cracked all the syndicated local news outlets this week, though not for his current run of form. It was because he’d apparently laid down an ultimatum to NZ Football to stop forcing him to choose between club and country or club is gonna win out. Smith was furious when he had to miss time for Ipswich because of the Mexico qualifiers, and withdrew from the Japan game squad to focus on club stuff. He had a point too when he said that that’s not how the FIFA windows are supposed to work. The whole ordeal was blown out of proportion, and by all accounts, Smith remains a vital member of the All Whites setup.

He proved just why on the weekend. Smith helped Ipswich to their first win away to Brighton since 1989 by scoring the opener (his 5th goal of the season!) and keeping the clean sheet intact for a valuable 2-0 win. His goal came in the 60th minute after tightly fought first half in front of almost 30,000 spectators ended scoreless, though it wasn’t without its chances. Brighton had only lost once in their last 11 home games, and boast the best defensive record in the Championship (17 clean sheets), but Ipswich dealt them a heavy blow, the win sealed by Daryl Murphy in the 80th minute.

The win keeps Mick McCarthy’s boys in with an outside playoff shot, now just two points off Brighton (8th), and 5 points out of the playoffs. They play twice this week, and Mick reckons these two games (3rd placed Derby & 7th placed Notts Forest) will more or less decide their fate…

Up Next: vs Derby County at home, 8.45am Wednesday (NZT)

Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

A few sightings of Winnie were had this week, but they were of him sitting on the bench. After returning to the starting lineup for the pasting against Stoke, Sam Allardyce went with the recently proven pair of Collins and Tomkins with Manchester United coming to town. For the most part, that pair were decent, though they struggled to contain Wayne Rooney. James Tomkins fell off a challenge on halfway with Rooney early on, not that he could really be blamed for what came next, with Rooney volleying the ball over the stranded keeper and into the back of the net from damn near Beckham vs Wimbledon territory. Brilliant goal. United won 2-0, with Reid an unused sub. Tomkins did pick up a late knock in a challenge with Fellaini. He appeared fine, however. Reid will have a good chance at getting on the park midweek though, with an important game against Hull City which the Hammers really need something from to avoid slipping back into the relegation battle. Also rumour is that a few upper table teams have been looking at Reid as a transfer target for next season. Spurs are the latest mention.

Up Next: Hull City at Upton Park, Thursday morning, 8.45am (NZT)

Chris Wood – Leicester City (English Championship)

Another game of picking out splinters on the bench for Wood. Leicester City’s win streak ended with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn – not that it matters with their lead on the rest of the pack. The Foxes seem to be mixing things up with their playing personnel, giving different guys game time as the season starts to wind down for them. Basically, they’re in cruise control, with 5 points and a game in hand separating them from their nearest challenger. It’s now 17 league games unbeaten for the soon to be Premier Leaguers.

Up Next: Second-to-bottom placed Yeovil visit midweek – 8.45am Weds (NZT)

Ryan Nelsen – Toronto FC (US Major League Soccer)

The whole football management game seems a lot easier this year for Ryan Nelsen. His Toronto side played his former playing team DC United, and though it wasn’t as convincing as he’d have liked, a 1-0 win was enough on the day, with marque striker Jermaine Defoe bagging the goal. The Nelsenian influence definitely seems to be rubbing off on the defence, which was stoic throughout, especially young Canadian centre back Doneil Henry. 31 year old Defoe has scored three times in two MLS games now, and his kiwi manager is backing him to be a star in the US League. Two wins from two means Toronto are one of only three teams left with a perfect record.

Up Next: Real Salt Lake, away, 2.30pm Sunday arvo (NZT)

Tony Lochhead - CD Chivas USA (US Major League Soccer)

Down by the Mexican border, Tony Lochhead unfortunately revived some of that ol’ Phoenix form, picking up an early yellow and getting caught out for pace on the second goal, helping the ball on its path with a poor sliding interception. In a close game, FC Dallas blew Chivas out at the back end of the second half for a 3-1 win. Lochhead gets an early shoutout in the highlights vid below though!

Up Next: NY Red Bulls, 8am Monday (NZT)