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. 

Chris Wood – Leicester City (English Championship)

It was certainly a busy week for Chris Wood. After being overlooked as a sub in recent games, the big kiwi striker was handed a couple of opportunities, and he took those opportunities by the scruff of the neck and ravaged them. Leicester welcomed relegation bound Yeovil Town midweek unbeaten in 17 previous league games but were a little too generous in their hospitality, falling behind after 22 minutes, then struggling to fight back like the respective league positions suggested they would. It was one of those days were you could create a million chances and nothing seemed like it was gonna go in. In fact, the Foxes settled for 31 shots, with 8 of them on target. The starting pair of forwards were having an off day, so Nigel Pearson gave both Chris Wood and Kevin Phillips a nod on the 67 minute mark. Despite continued dominance (67% possession for the game) - and the occasional threat of a Yeovil counter attack - it wasn’t until the final seconds of the game that they made the break through. Going for the standard last ditch tactic of throwing the keeper forward, gloveman Kasper Schmeichel nearly made it pay off. Just like his famous old man before him, Kasper proved a more potent threat going forward than you’d expect, crushing a superb header against the crossbar, and down possibly (probably) over the line. While K.S. ran off to appeal/celebrate, though, Woody was there to head in the loose ball and make no doubt of it. The goal was awarded to Wood – no doubt the Dubious Goals Panel will want a look at it. 1-1 final score.

Then the big game. First place Leicester travel to second place Burnley. LFC unbeaten in 18 league games, Burnley unbeaten in 16. Burnley were without top goalscorer Danny Ings, and they knew that a win would draw them level on points with Leicester, for the meantime anyway, while a loss would probably cost them the chance of catching the Foxes for the Championship Title. It got worse for Burnley early on when striker Sam Vokes went off injured inside the first 10 minutes, causing a big reshuffle. Leicester had their own injury problem in the first half, Jamie Vardy picking up a niggle that caused him to come off, and on came Flying Kiwi Chris Wood, after 34 minutes. With his first touch of the ball, Wood flicked on a driven ball right into the path of David Nugent for the opening goal. Leicester dominated the game, and were good value for the win, but it wasn’t sealed until late on, when Chris Wood held off his marker and unleashed a stunning volley for a 2-0 win. With Vardy likely to miss a couple weeks, Wood has done well to take his chance. Leicester are now 6 points clear of second with a game in hand and only 8 left to play. There’s a trophy on the line, sure, but first off is the 7 more points that will guarantee them promotion back into the Premier League after 10 long years.

Nigel Pearson on Chris Wood: “He’s had a difficult season after the instant impact he made with goals last season, but although there are unhappy players on the bench I’m delighted they all buy into the team ethic - and Chris took his chance today.”

Up Next: Away to Wigan, 7.45am Wednesday, then a short turn around before hosting Sheffield Wedensday on Saturday morning (NZT)

Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

The Hammers had a crucial win over Stoke midweek. 2-1 was the score, and although it wasn’t one for the neutrals, the 3 points are valuable after 3 consecutive losses saw West Ham slip a bit closer to relegation than they’d have liked. After returning finally to the starting lineup against Stoke two games back, Reid hasn’t been seen, sitting out both this and the Manchester United game with an illness. He’s expected to be good to go for tomorrow morning’s game against Sunderland, which will please Sam Allardyce, as regular starter James Collins is out after going off hurt in the Hull game. It seems Reid is a wanted man too, despite his absences. After Arsenal and Spurs both got mentioned as suitors last week, we’ve heard the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United since then. All four of those teams are looking to strengthen their defensive depth for next season. Better watch this space…

Up Next: Sunderland tomorrow morning, 8am – set the alarm (NZT)

Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)

A very tough week for Ipswich turned out pretty decent in the end. Naturally Smith played all 180 minutes of the double gameweek. Ipswich’s playoff chances were on the line as they met two teams in and around the same position on the table. First of all, Derby County, who could not have had a better start, taking the lead after less than a minute. Ipswich fought back and equalised, before Christophe Berra scored the winner in the 90th minute. Then against manager-less Nottingham Forest, they again fell behind inside 5 minutes but after some sustained pressure (not really their thing) and some attacking substitutions from Mick McCarthy (see previous note), Daryl Murphy headed home an equaliser, and made it a good week for the Trotters, now just two points off sixth place and a playoff spot with 7 games remaining.  Smith was unspectacular in both, doing enough to keep oppositions at bay for the most part. The early goals will be a big concern, as this team cannot afford to be playing from behind each week as they try to claw their way into the Premier League. All things considered though, they’re much closer than they were this time last week.

Up Next: Blackburn away – 2am Sunday (NZT)

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

We didn’t get any Ryan Thomas on the weekend, as Zwolle drew 1-1 with ADO Den Haag. We got more than enough of him midweek though. Thomas played 73 minutes as Zwolle beat NEC Nijmegen 2-1 to make the final of the Dutch knockout cup – the winner coming a little after Thomas was subbed off. It’s a huge result for the team, with a trophy on the line when they play the final, on the 21st of April, against Dutch powerhouses Ajax. That’s a tough matchup, sure, but with Ajax seemingly headed for the Champions League, that means that by virtue of just making the final, Zwolle are granted a Europa League qualifying place, win or lose!

Up Next: Groningen at home on the 5th (NZT)

Ryan Nelsen – Toronto FC (US Major League Soccer)

Hmm. This is more like the rollercoaster of managership that Ryan Nelsen must have been expecting. His Toronto side were trounced 3-0 away to Real Salt Lake, ending their perfect start to the year. TFC couldn’t seem to hold possession, though things may have been different had both Michael Bradley and Jermaine Defoe been able to finish chances that both cannoned off the post. In between those two chances, Salt Lake bagged a third goal, after an early penalty and a 28th minute second gave the hosts a comfortable early lead. A plan of using the width and crossing a lot didn’t seem to work so well against two very tall centre backs, and Jermaine Defoe seemed to have some issues with the offside flag. Mostly, though, it’s the weak defensive performance that Nelsen will be furious with.

Meanwhile, Tony Lochhead (Chivas USA) played the first 76 minutes of a 1-1 draw with Thierry Henry’s/Tim Cahill’s New York Red Bulls.

Up Next: Toronto FC play at Columbus Crew/Chivas USA play LA Galaxy – this coming Sunday & Monday respectively (NZT)