Flying Kiwis – September 22
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Right… who saw this coming? Winnie and West Ham breaking Manchester City’s flawless start to the season with a 2-1 win at the Emirates. The Hammers have now won away at Arsenal, Liverpool and City, incredibly.
They got an early boost with the late withdrawal of David Silva, though in his place came Kevin De Bruyne, who had a fantastic starting debut. Yet despite that and despite five consecutive clean sheets for City, West Ham took an early lead through Victor Moses. Just six minutes in, he took advantage of a bit of extra space and slammed a lovely low shot past the reach of Joe Hart and inside the near post. Soon after it was 2-0, with Winnie climbing high from a corner to header goal-wards over Kolarov. His effort was stopped in its tracks but Diafra Sakho bounced it in after a short scramble.
That was exactly what the rear-guarding Hammers wanted. 2-0 up after 31 mins, now to get down to the business of holding onto it. Kevin De Bruyne pulled one back right before half time but the second half was 45 minutes of frustration for City. Piling on the pressure without being able to break through. 72% possession, 19 shots and 16 corners but only the 1 goal.
Winston Reid was immense at the back, probably second only to his performance against Arsenal this season. He made 21 clearances. Twenty-one! Not to mention the rest of the work he got done. This was a City team with Aguero, Toure, Sterling and De Bruyne… world class attacking talent, the most expensive starting XI in Premier League history, and Reid and his teammates kept them at bay. It was enough for the kiwi to be voted man of the match by the BBC.
"Winston Reid was...it was like a couple of twins on the pitch, like two Reid brothers. He was always at the right place, he was a leader at the back today - he was really good." – Slaven Bilic
Up Next: League Cup vs Leicester City. That one’s on Wednesday at 6.45am (NZT)
Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)
For the first time this season, we had a clash of Flying Kiwis. Leeds vs Ipswich, Chris Wood vs Tommy Smith. What a time to be alive!
It was a kiwi that scored the winner too but probably not the one you’d expect. A tight midweek clash was decided by a loose header from Tommy Smith at the far post, Ipswich taking it 1-0. Some terrible defending gave him that opportunity and it proved the only goal in a pretty dour game. Leeds had just one shot on target and were booed from the field by their own fans. The loss makes it five months without a home victory, a streak stretching back to a 2-1 win over Ipswich (coincidentally) in March – a game which saw Wood make his loan debut for Ipswich last season. See, plenty of history in this one.
A late penalty shout was the best Leeds had to muster, Wood mostly isolated and feeding on scraps. The closest he came was an air swing on a bicycle kick. Ipswich were better. If they’d spent more time a training on their finishing then they’d have won it more comfortably. Despite some occasionally crappy ball distribution, Smithy was one of the better players on the park, dealing with most anything that found its way into the box. A very handy three points for them after a pair of disappointing losses.
“After the two defeats, we needed to bounce back with a clean sheet away from home and that was the perfect way to do it.” – Tommy Smith
That game was followed by a frustrating draw with Birmingham. 1-1, though they could have easily won it with the chances they had. Those chances came right from the start. In fact it was Smithy who guided a header from a corner on to the angle of the frame (not that he was taking credit, screaming for another corner kick). Yet it was Birmingham that took the lead, capitalising on a slip by Christophe Berra.
Town did equalise, though it came from the penalty spot. A debatable call for a foul on Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Brett Pitman made no mistake. Despite a flurry of great looks in the second half, Ipswich couldn’t quite sneak the win they probably deserved. They also had Smithy to thank for an exceptional diving block on the six-yard box that they didn’t lose it.
A shout out to Smith’s teammate Ryan Fraser too. The Scotsman is on loan from Bournemouth and was named Championship Young Player of the Month for August.
Up Next: Umm, well, they drew Manchester United in the League Cup, so… 7am Thursday (NZT)
Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)
Following that devastating loss in the Flying Kiwis Derby midweek, Wood and co. were out to bounce back against Milton Keynes Dons… and that’s exactly what they did.
It was a rare convincing win for Leeds, wins of any kind have been hard to come by. This was only their second of the season though with their five draws it was enough to launch them into tenth place.
A couple of saves early kept Leeds from falling behind but they soon got a foothold. Charlie Taylor was superb for the Whites. It was him responsible for both goals. First, he burst into the penalty area and was cut down, the ref straight away pointing to the spot. Up stepped our Woody, who coolly made amends for that one he sent into orbit against Doncaster in the League Cup shoot out.
That’s four goals for the season now. Wood got the go as a lone striker in this one, he’s fast making a real name for himself with the kind of consistent game time he’s been begging for his whole career. He had 5 shots and was dominant in the air. Always a threat when he can get himself involved.
And then with a few ticks left in the opening stanza, Taylor did it again, this time saving the glory for himself. The left back inspired the performance, easily the best player on the park. Quite a fine defender too. The Dons did make it interesting though. Simon Church finishing from close range on the end of Josh Murphy’s cross with 15 minutes left.
However a red card soon halted MK Dons’ prospective comeback and if the goal was only a little bigger then Woody would’ve made it 3-1 with a second for himself. 2-1 final, just what they needed.
Up Next: Middlesbrough vs Leeds, 1.15am Monday (NZT)
Bill Tuiloma – RC Strasbourg (French Championnat National)
Having sat out last week following his All Whites detour, Tui made his Strasbourg debut on the weekend, coming on as an 82nd minute sub in a 1-0 win over SAS Epinal. He replaced the goal scorer, Belahmeur. Not much to write about to start, but it counts as Tui’s third professional league appearance in France.
A relatively deserved win, though. Their second of the season and their third clean sheet. Enough to rise them to sixth on the table with a six game unbeaten streak.
If you’re keen, here’s an interview (in French) from a local paper. A few highlights:
- "I love the city, the stadium ... And I was at the game last Friday, there are fantastic supporters."
- "I do not know the [Championnat] National, but everyone says this is a good level of championship, with lots of physical combat."
- The only thing that saddens Kiwi, ultimately, it is the weather. "I'm scared of winter, I was told it is very cold here,” says the Polynesian with a grimace. Sure. But maybe Tuiloma will have the opportunity to warm up by placing a few well-chosen tackles on the park…
Oh, and this brilliant expression, where they say that Tui’s out to prove that “kiwis are not penguins with a round ball”. Outstanding. Expect to read that phrase in Niche Cache articles from now on.
Up Next: Home vs Colmar, 6.30am Saturday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Zwolle are all the way up to third on the table now after a 2-1 home win over ADO Den Haag. They were actually as high as second before other fixtures were played. But the PECers had to do it the hard way, coming from behind on their way to victory and holding on tight at the end.
Mike Havenaar gave Den Haag the lead in the 35th minute with a curling effort from outside the box. Fine goal, though it came after a cheap turnover of possession. The equaliser didn’t come ‘til the 68th minute through the speedy Sheraldo Becker shooting from a sharp angle and it was Beker again who set up the winner, beating a man and feeding Lars Veldwijk who shrugged off his marker (literally) and slipped it by the goalie. Den Haag had a couple late shots but couldn’t make anything of them, Zwolle holding on to their fourth win of the season, unbeaten so far.
Ryan Thomas struggled to get involved in this one, playing in the centre as the attacks tended to go down Becker’s right. Thommo didn’t manage a shot or a key pass, though he did show good vision on a few passes.
Up Next: Should be a tough game away to Feyenoord, 1.30am Monday (NZT)
Marco Rojas – FC Thun (Swiss Super League)
It was cup week in Switzerland and Thun had an away tie at Lausanne, a second division team but one on a hot run of form (looking at a promotion run), while Thun have been battling away in the lower half of the Super League. So it shouldn’t be a huge shock that it was a much closer game than their divisional difference alone suggests.
Lausanne got off to a sharp start, winning a few corners, although not really threatening the goal from them. Thun, meanwhile, rested on the long ball to Simone Rapp, the big fella. It was Rapp who gave them their first decent chance too, his shot tipped past the post in the 24th minute. Still, it was Lausanne that had the better of the half and they really should have finished it with a goal or two. Seriously, they missed some golden chances.
Rojas used his pace to beat a couple defenders in the 55th, cutting inside them and curling for the far post but the keeper was able to get a hand to it. After that the game dried up a bit. Rojas came off in the 72nd and Thun were unlucky not to give away a penalty for a shot that deflected into a defender’s arm.
But then with less than ten minutes remaining, the goal came for Thun. A lovely ball from a free kick powerfully headed home by Sandro Wieser. A 1-0 win. Thun advance. No easy matter, mind you.
Up Next: St.Gallen vs Thun, Wednesday 5.45am (NZT)
Tyler Boyd - Vitória S.C. (Portuguese Primeira Liga)
Not a great week for Boyd. His Vitoria Seconds lost 1-0 to Varzim, a game in which both teams were reduced to 10 men. Boyd had a couple of moments, one shot in particular driven wide early on but there weren’t many chances to the game. Tyler did get 90 mins, though. Earlier in the week they also hosted Atletico but that ended in a scoreless draw. Boyd came on in the 72nd minute as a part of a double sub, looking for more attacking emphasis. It didn’t come to pass, 0-0 that one ended. That leaves Vitoria II with only 1 win from 8 games and languishing in the bottom quarter of a busy table.
Up Next: 4am Thursday Oct 1 - Vitoria de Guimaraes B vs Penafiel (NZT)