Tommy Smith – Ipswich Town (English Championship)

There’s one bloke we can always rely on who is never injured and that’s Tommy. And while those three losses in a row back when really threw their season off balance, they beat Huddersfield to snap that rut and this weekend righted the ship further with another 1-0 victory – this time at home to Nottingham Forest.

It was the usual suspects at the back for Town, meaning Tommy Smith at centre back where he had a quiet but effective game on the way to a clean sheet. A couple tackles, a couple interceptions, a couple blocks, just doing what he had to do alongside Christophe Berra who was a beast at CB himself.

On the attacking end, though, injuries were a worry. No David Murphy or Jonathan Douglas, adding to a long list of disabled fellas. However they responded to the lack of options up top by changing their approach, playing fewer searching long balls and dominating possession with some pretty football in the middle. Not that it worked entirely, Forest with probably the three best chances of the half, Bartosz Bialkowski making a top save or two. Town upped the intensity in the second in front of their own fans. Irish international Kevin Foley blasted one over the bar. A Ben Pringle free kick amounted to a missed opportunity. But then those two combined to score the only goal of the game after 62 minutes. Foley charged into the box after winning a loose ball, picking it back off Brett Pitman before feeding Pringle on the edge. The on-loan Fulham dude poking it in off the post for the eventual winner.

Good news is that even in ninth place they’re just one point off the final playoff spot. It’ll take something dramatic from the top five for one of them to slip up and allow Ipswich or whoever to climb any further up (five points between sixth and fifth) but then the dramatic happens every week in the Championship. Burnley and Middlesbrough currently have a slight lead on the rest of the pack in the automatic promotion stakes.

Good to see All White Junior Monty Patterson moving up at the club too. He’s currently on his way back from a broken ankle that ended his season in the first few months. Kid was a star at the U20 World Cup in NZ, hopefully he’s got a breakthrough season in him when he returns.

Up Next: Bolton vs Ipswich, 9.00am Wednesday and then Cardiff vs Ipswich, 4.00am Sunday (NZT)

Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

You’d better pour one out for Winston Reid who missed another great West Ham result through injury this week. Poor dude was on schedule to return perhaps even last week but there was a cheeky rumour going around that he’d reinjured himself. That probably isn’t true, more likely they’re just not rushing him back what with results being pretty handy without him anyway. Both Slaven Bilic and David Gold have said he should be available for the FA Cup tie at Manchester United on the weekend. If not then, they play Chelsea away in the League the week after. Geez, tough couple games there – at least on reputation.

There’s definitely a place for him when he returns though. Of late the Hammer have been favouring a back three, a tactic they’ve used their last two games for wins over Spurs and Everton. The formation allows them to use wing backs rather than traditional fullbacks and with Michail Antonio having stepped in on the right (generally a winger), that seems to suit their players better. Sam Byram had been playing right back but suspension cost him his spot and with Antonio’s current goal scoring form he might find it hard to get back in there. Not so much Winston, who’s place was held (clearly temporarily) by teenager Reece Oxford against Everton. James Collins had played there vs Spurs and pretty much since Winston was injured, however he did his hammy and could be out a couple weeks. At least the next two games.

The match against Everton was a pretty crazy one. Everton have this thing against West Ham where they almost never lose. Excluding a 2-2 draw in the Cup last year in which WHU went on to win on penalties, you have to go back to 2007 for the last time Everton were beaten by West Ham and what’s more is that Romelu Lukaku always scores. Eight goals in eight games, he’s scored in every single game he’s played for the Toffees vs WHU. That includes this one, he opened the scoring to make it 1-0 EFC.

And the Merseysiders looked the better team too, seemingly in control for the first 35 minutes… right up until Kevin Mirallas stupidly got himself sent off. That caused a reshuffle for Everton who had been trying to match WHU’s 3-5-2 formation. Still, in the second half they doubled their lead thanks to Aaron Lennon. And it should have been all over in the 69th minute when Lukaku stepped up to take a penalty (earned when Besic was tripped by Alex Song, arguably outside the area). But the dude went and missed it, hitting a terrible low kick to the left-centre of the goal (from his POV), which Adrian comfortably saved. To be fair, Adrian was like two metres off his line but apparently nobody checks that these days. Andy Carrol had come on at half-time and after that missed spottie they started pumping the ball in to him and his buddies. Antonio added yet another goal to pull one back, no chance for celebration this time unfortunately. And then only four minutes later they were level. Diafra Sakho this time. Hey but West Ham weren’t done there. Absolutely on a roll, they kept on storming forward and it was their talisman Dimitri Payet, who else, that won it late on. 3-2 to West Ham, finally getting one over the Evertonians.

With Manchester United losing, that result moves the Hammers up to fifth place and just a point behind Man City (who do have a game in hand). Quite the season it’s shaping up to be, let’s see if they can deal Man Yoo a double blow by knocking them out of the FA Cup on the weekend.

Up Next: Man Utd vs West Ham, FA Cup Quarters, 5.00am Monday (NZT)

Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)

You know what Leeds need? Their kiwi striker back. They played Brighton last week, just after the FKs deadline closed, which was lucky for them because they got absolutely hammered. 4-0 down after 38 minutes, the fact that Brighton didn’t add another was irrelevant, this was a pasting. Tomer Hemed scored two, Lewis Dunk another and Liam Cooper copped an own goal in there too. Bloody hell.

It was enough to spark the already testy Leeds fans into full on mania. Apparently embattled owner (as is the standard nomenclature) Massimo Cellino left at half time, after which the team actually played a bit better. More likely coz Brighton took the foot off the pedal though. Cellino did say that sacking yet another manager isn’t in his plans:

“Come on. That is not the problem. I wish it was just this problem. We have a problem because we are in an emergency moment. We have five players out and I didn’t speak with him after the game because we were both very disappointed and very embarrassed about what happened, but it is not just because of the coach. I am very embarrassed for the supporters because they really are better than this team. That is the only thing I can say.”

The fans aren’t so chuffed with him even still, though. A few weeks back there was a protest with “Time to Go Massimo” banners hung and before their Saturday game vs Bolton there was a mock funeral – complete with hearse – and a flyover banner letting the Italian know that perhaps they aren’t on the best of terms.

From the protest group’s statement:

"At 1430 a hearse will travel down Wesley Street with a police escort, parking on Lowfields Road next to the Billy Bremner statue, before pall bearers remove a Leeds United branded coffin on the council-owned ground at the south western edge of the plinth to memorialise the death of the club we fell in love with."

Apparently it worked, either that or the club’s rotten form ran out because they went on to beat Bolton 2-1 for their first win… well, their first win since Chris Wood was re-injured last. Five games without one, snapped with a handy three points against the worst team in the division. Look, they all count. Mirco Antenucci scored on either side of half time and the Whites held on after Kaiyne Woolery pulled one back with 15 minutes left.

Getting back to our main man here, Chris Wood is still yet to return but he’s imminently close. There are midweek fixtures coming up and Leeds travel to Cardiff. Woody is hoped to be available, which is great news for this column. He came through full training on Monday and Steve Evans is keen to see him back on the pitch:

“It could be that he’s on the bench at Cardiff. It’s a possibility so long as there’s no concern about him. But if it’s not Cardiff then he’ll definitely be involved at Blackburn on Saturday. We’re desperate to have him back and to be fair, he’s desperate to be playing too. It’s been frustrating for him but we saw in January that these problems can reoccur easily. We’ve really missed him but we’ve tried to do our best by him.”

Hey but no pressure, bro:

“He’s got nothing to prove though, and certainly not to me. I think he’s a top player in this league and people have seen the difference when he’s been in the team.” - SE

Up Next: Cardiff vs Leeds, Weds 8.45am & Blackburn vs Leeds, Sun 1.30am (NZT)

Marco Rojas – FC Thun (Swiss Super League)

Little Frodo got 80 minutes for Thun as they played FC Zuerich on the road. A team a couple places below them but one capable of playing some good footy and Thun were put on the back foot for most of the contest, meaning that there really wasn’t much to say of Marco’s efforts. Zuerich had far more of the ball and will be pretty disappointed not to have snuck a win out of it. Instead it was a solid defensive performance from Thun, which took away from their attack but it stole them a point in a 0-0 draw. Decent enough stuff, given they play the bottom team next game. Rojas was replaced after 80 by Stefan Glarner (who is primarily a defender, showing you where the mind was at).

Click here for unembeddable (but good vid quality) highlights.

Up Next: FC Vaduz vs Thun, 5.45am Sunday (NZT)

Bill Tuiloma – RC Strasbourg Alsace (French Championnat National)

So funny story here, turns out Bill Tuiloma was absent this week due to a spot of illness. Here’s what the RCS website had to say on Feb 29:

“Bill Tuiloma et Massiré Kanté étaient absents, ce lundi matin, des terrains. Les deux joueurs se remettent d’une angine et devraient de nouveau être opérationnels au plus tard mercredi.”

Oh sorry, don’t speak French? Yeah, neither do we, but the internet is a wonderful tool. What that says is that both Billy and Massire Kante were absent a few days with throat infections. Must be contagious. It also said they were due back no later than Wednesday, however neither made the squads for the game vs Epinal, a 2-1 win in which two penalty kicks saw them come back from an early deficit to stay two points off the top. Although Kante’s absence may have been down to the fact that he was still serving a suspension for an earlier red, guts bro. Tuiloma hasn’t played since Feb 13 and this loan spell is starting to feel like something of a bust.

Up Next: Away to Colmar, 8.30am Saturday (NZT)

Jeremy Brockie – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)

Umm… no hat-trick this week for Brox. In fact nothing at all as SSU were beaten 2-0 by league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 at home. Both Brockie and Michael Boxall played all 90 minutes, the latter getting a yellow in the 81st. This tweet sums it all up:

Up Next: A week off, better rest up nice.

Kip Colvey – San Jose Earthquakes (American Major League Soccer)

Hey now look at this! Kiwi Kip Colvey got a mention the other week as a draftee for MLS outfit San Jose but he’s gone and made it a few steps further since featuring semi-prominently (mostly off the bench) in pre-season. The lad signed a full contract and went on to make his debut as a half-time sub in the opening game of the season. US international Chris Wondolowski scored the only goal for SJ in a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids, a strong start to the season there against a the team that finished bottom of their conference last time out.

​“Kip is very versatile, capable of playing on the left or right side,” said Earthquakes general manager John Doyle. “He possesses good technical skill and we’re looking forward to what he can do.”

In other MLS/Kiwi news, the defending champion Portland Timbers began their season with a 2-1 home win over Columbus Crew (who they beat in last year’s final), with Jake Gleeson watching from the bench.​