Flying Kiwis – November 21
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
He wasn’t supposed to play. The long haul back from Peru with his injury history? No chance, surely. Except that new boss David Moyes has been dealing with some injured centre backs already, Jose Fonte most notably, and frankly he didn’t have much of a choice. Here he is in his own (edited) words in his Evening Standard column…
David Moyes: “I’m looking forward to having all the players back fit and well from their international commitments. Winston Reid will be the last one back today and in a perfect world we maybe wouldn’t use him on Sunday. We’re a bit short in central defence so we’ll see how he is.”
So away to Watford, in Davie Boy’s 500th PL game as a manager (haha, which means Sunderland sacked him on 499!), Winston was picked alongside Angelo Ogbonna in a back four. Peruvian Andre Carillo was only a stoppage time, time-wasting sub if you were wondering.
Didn’t go too well. Winnie was (understandably) rusty, it’s not often that he gets outplayed by Ogbonna. Which is not a happy reflection on the state of this club at the moment and the task ahead of Moyes, who you might remember didn’t do a great job at avoiding relegation in his last gig. A failed clearance in the 11th minute allowed Will Hughes to slam home his first PL goal and the Hammers were in trouble. Bollocks.
This wasn’t a hopeless performance, however. Richarlison continued to hound them but WHU brought a bit more energy to this one. Some direct play too but with Andy Carroll that’s not always the worst thing. Cheikhou Kouyate missed a one on one later in the half, before Huerelho Gomes made two brilliant saves to deny Marco Arnautovic. They were in it but the goal didn’t come.
Then Watford picked things back up in the second half and it took a reaching block from Reid to deflect an Andre Gray shot over the top. Joe Hart made a nice save from Marriappa’s header after the following corner but then made a poor effort at denying Richarlison’s driving shot after he’d run up on Winston on the break. 2-0 and Moyes was greeted with boos on debut. At least they were kinder to him than they were to Andy “Not Fit To Wear The Shirt” Carroll.
David Moyes: “I always thought this was a big job. Some big players with big reputations disappointed me a lot. I thought they would show me more. They need to show me why they have got that reputation. Overall it was not good enough.”
Familiar score-line for Winnie too.
Up Next: Home to Leicester City at 9.00am on Saturday (NZT)
Ali Riley – FC Rosengard (Swedish Damallsvenskan)
It was always going to be an uphill task for Ali and the Rosengarders to save this one. Champions League round of 16 against Chelsea, but you saw in last week’s edition that they dropped the first leg 3-0. They still had the home leg to save it… yet that was never very likely.
And so it proved as Chelsea won in Sweden 1-0 to eliminate FC Rosengard and, with the timing of the Scandinavian seasons, end their 2017 campaign. Perhaps if Sanne Troelsgaard’s 12th minute effort had gone in (after some ferocious running to set it up from Ali Riley) then a dramatic comeback might have been on the cards but instead it went wide and, to be honest, it was the away team that always looked more likely to score. Here’s that chance, check out Ali in the #5… that’s some serious speed here…
Eventually CFC did score as Ji So-yun got on the end of Crystal Dunn’s cut-back and her shot took a deflection on the way into the net. That was eight minutes after HT. From that point Rosengard needed to score five times to win the tie and that was never happening. They kept Chelsea from scoring again but the game sorta dragged towards its inevitable conclusion and that was that. 90 mins for Riley, as per usual.
Up Next: Hmm, well there is that Footy Ferns tour to Thailand
Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)
Times are good to be a Burnley fan, as good as they’ve been in decades probably. They’re sitting right up there on the Premier League ladder amidst the big fellas and for a time last week during the international break they were left with only five senior outfield players at training. Shows how well this team has progressed that so many of them were off representing their nations.
Obviously Woody was one of them and his lingering hamstring injury meant he only came off the bench both times for the All Whites. Controversial, sure, but that’s a matter for a different article. Because of the timing of the second leg in Peru, The Woodsman didn’t get back to the club until Friday UK time, with Burnley hosting Swansea on the Saturday. He and Winston Reid were the first to leave the NZ camp and they still only just got back there… don’t expect a massive amount of game-time amongst the male internationals this week.
Wood was never likely to play in that Swansea game anyway. He’d played 65 minutes against Southampton the game before the break on return from the first incarnation of that injury and apparently turned up well short of a hundy percent in Wellington. Although… Sean Dyche has politely denied that suggestion…
Sean Dyche: “When he left us he was fine, but that doesn’t mean something hasn’t happened along the way or he’s feeling differently when he gets there. There’s the travel, and it’s quite a journey, but I’ve got no problem. When they go on the international scene there’ll have their own view on it.”
A little bit of weirdness there, but whatever. True to expectations, Wood was left out of the squad that took on Swansea. Ashley Barnes started in his place and… they didn’t really miss their kiwi striker. This was another one of those defensively sound, creatively good-enough performances from the Clarets.
Matt Lowton went close to giving Swansea the early lead with a volley but after that it was all Burnley. After several close ones, Jack Cork’s perfectly timed run into the box allowed him to get on the end of Robbie Brady’s cross and, as they say in Latin America… GOOOOOOOOL. Ashley Barnes added a second before the break following some trash from the Swans. The only real disappointment was that they didn’t kill the game off sooner. 2-0 the final score and Burnley are only a point (and some goals) off fourth place.
And the post-match on Chris Wood?
Up Next: 3am on Monday, Burnley vs Arsenal (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)
Few people out there in the footy world will have had more eventful weeks than Jerry Brockie. An unexpected call-up to the national team turned into a 50th international cap in Peru with Brockie chucked on late in that second leg to try find a goal. It didn’t come but it made for an insane experience, fireworks and military flyovers and everything… especially with a continental cup final to play on his return to Africa.
Yeah… even Winston Reid and Chris Wood can’t look on that in envy. The first leg of the Confederation Cup final was held less than three full days after the All Whites vs Peru. Oh and it took place in Congo as well, with SSU meeting the mighty TP Manzembe. With 10 goals in the competition Brockie was plenty motivated to try add to that and win his team another cup trophy but… yikes. It didn’t help that the team’s flight to DRC was delayed by four hours either.
Jeremy Brockie: “My wife mentioned that to me as well and I said to her that luckily it’s another big important game for me to focus on. The crowd will be hostile and will make it a special occasion, so I don’t think I’ll have any problems getting myself ready. There is the disappointment of not making the World Cup, but now I’m fully focused on Sunday and getting my hands on that trophy. I’m currently the top scorer and nominated for a CAF award, so there’s plenty of motivation for me on Sunday.”
He’d know a thing or two about hostile crowds by now too. This guy can’t have helped things either, at least Peru didn’t have an alcoholic reptile for a mascot at least or things might’ve gotten ugly in Lima.
And the weather wasn’t always ideal for training in, that’s for sure.
Come game time Brockie was good to go, starting alongside what you couldn’t really say was a top strength team given a fair few injuries and the odd suspension hindering things. 19 year old Sipho Mbule was named to start in only his second senior appearance at the club – a continental cup final match! Well, Eric Tinkler will be glad he picked him because Mbule ended up with the most important moment of the game.
SSU started pretty well, all things considered, but Clayton Daniel couldn’t beat the keeper with a free header ten mins in and not long afterwards Bradley Grobler missed from close range, shooting wide from roughly a metre out. Mazembe’s goalie Levy Matampi then made a couple nice saves from Dove Wome. They soon regretted that poor finishing when the home team scored with maybe their second decent chance. Ronwen Williams in goal has to cop some blame trying to punch a ball he could have caught and he missed it through his hands. Adama Traore got the goal (no, not that one. Or that one either).
Mbule equalised after the break with a wicked shot but Daniel Adjei scored the winner in the 67th minute, more poor keeping from Williams unfortunately. The South African backup GK had a stink one. Brockie was subbed off in the 73rd minute and SSU noticeably tired as the game went on, being incredibly lucky to avoid conceding a late penalty. But they come out of it with a crucial away goal in tough conditions and should be confident ahead of the return leg. Hey and how about that flippin’ goal from Mbule!? STUNNER!
Up Next: SuperSport United vs TP Mazembe, Confederation Cup Final second leg, 9.15 am on Friday (NZT)
Katie Rood – Juventus (Italian Serie A)
It’s been dominating stuff for Juve in their first season in the women’s league. A perfect record so far, six wins from six. Not quite enough to have them top at this stage because Brescia also won their sixth straight and have scored three more goals (with a mirrored +14 goal difference) but enough to show they’re serious title contenders all the same.
A first half goal to Martina Rosucci and a second half goal to Sanni Franssi were the difference against winless Sassuolo. An otherwise unremarkable, routine result… were it not for an 88th minute appearance off the bench for Katie Rood. She’d already featured once in the Coppa Italia second leg win over Torino (Juve won 21-0 on aggregate), scoring a couple goals. Within a week she made her debut for the Footy Ferns, so… good times.
But since then it’d largely been a matter of sitting on the bench. She made her league debut in a 4-1 win away to Empoli, coming on for Franssi for 14 good minutes of footy. Now a first home league appearance (the win over Torino that she scored in was also at home), replacing Benedetta Glionna with two mins left. Right before an international break too. That seems like a good omen.
Up Next: Footy Ferns, but Juve’s next one is away to Brescia (!) at 2.30am on Dec. 3 (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Yup, Marco Rojas may have gotten the rest as his team strolled to a 4-0 win away at FC Twente – left on the bench as Martin Odegaard inspired a much needed win to break their five games without victory – but there was never any doubt that the ever-present Ryan Thomas would continue to lay it down for the PECers. (To be fair to Marco, his game was a day earlier so he’d barely had time to train since jetting in from Peru).
Zwolle were at home to PSV Eindhoven, the runaway leaders of the Eredivisie. A team that’d won ten of their eleven previous games. Ajax won 8-0 this week and they’re still eight points behind PSV. So a difficult task for Thommo and company but they were definitely up for it. Body on the line and everything.
Fine looking clearance, son. In fact Ryan Thomas, fresh from flying halfway around the world, was absolutely fantastic in this one. He was whipping that ball all around the field as Zwolle dominated possession against the league leaders. The first half was kinda cagey but Zwolle were great value in the second half, all that was missing was the goal to cap it off. A goal did come… but it was scored by PSV’s Nicolas Isimat-Mirin in the third minute of injury time. Keeper saved the initial header but the Frenchman was there waiting for it. Devastating for the PECers, an eighth straight league win for PSV.
Up Next: Haha, maaate! Heerenveen vs PEC Zwolle, 8.45am on Sunday (NZT)
C.J. Bott - USV Jena & Amber Hearn – FC Koln (German Frauen-Bundesliga)
The good times of last week for Amber and Koln absolutely imploded this time around as they hosted Turbine Potsdam and were smashed 8-0. Yeah, no kidding. They were already 5-0 down by half-time and… nah, let’s not dwell on this game. CJ and Jena were much better in only losing 1-0 away to SC Sand. It means they remain without a win this season, though Duisburg also lost 1-0 away (to Hoffenheim) so they stay second to last as well. Except it’s pretty gutting when you concede the winner in the 83rd minute. Let’s move on, shall we?
Up Next: International break (just in time for the German winter!), then they’re back into it in the second week of December – Jena awy to Freiburg and Koln away to Werder Bremen.
Jake Gleeson & Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
After a bit of chat about the future of the Vancouver All-Whitecaps last week, it’s now time to dig into the other MLS team with multiple kiwis on the roster. The Portland Timbers had another strong season but couldn’t get past the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Western Conference Semis despite topping the conference standings in league play. A few too many injuries at the wrong time and they didn’t have the goals in them, going down 2-1 on aggregate (all the goals coming in the second leg in Oregon).
Bill Tuiloma only ever got to play with the reserves despite training with the first team most of the time while Jake Gleeson began the season as the starting goalie but lost his spot to Jeff Atinella, whose hot form while Gleeson was out injured proved undeniable. Funnily enough, both of them were nominated for MLS Save of the Year.
The Oregonian: “Gleeson entered the season as Portland's No. 1 goalkeeper after proving himself in the lineup and taking over the starting role in 2016. It was clear in 2016 and, at times, in 2017 that Gleeson is capable of being one of the top shot stoppers in MLS. But Gleeson was inconsistent this season. He finished the year with a save percentage of 62.7. Gleeson waited five years to earn a place in the starting lineup with the Timbers before losing that spot this year. Still, Gleeson is an affordable and more than competent backup goalkeeper that could push Attinella for the starting role in 2018. If Gleeson is willing to accept a possible role on the bench once again, he is definitely worth the investment from the Timbers.”
Regular injuries in the backline kinda obscure the stats a little (as does the American insistence on individual stats in team games) - the Timbers were healthier and scoring more goals down the back end of the season when Atinella was starting, not that you can’t argue he earned that starting spot. However with the MLS not so keen on long term contracts, Gleeson has a choice here. He could settle back into the backup role he once held before winning the gig in similar circumstances to how he eventually lost it… or he could gamble on getting a starting job elsewhere. He’s a free agent if he wants to be.
Complicating all this is the departure of manager Caleb Porter who shockingly resigned from the Timbers at the end of the season despite having turned this team into one of the better ones in the competition – they won the MLS in 2015, remember. Apparently he wants new challenges, now the Timbers’ top priority has to be replacing him. In comes a new boss and everyone starts from scratch. Anthony Hudson, maybe? (Might be good for Tuiloma but it wouldn’t be for Jake…).
Speaking of Bill Tuiloma, nothing about his arrival suggested they were ready to chuck him straight into the big leagues. Instead he had a good run of games in the USL, playing at first in his favoured defensive midfield position and later on at centre back. Having acclimatised now he’s got more of a chance of pushing his way into match squads. And he could have a shot at both CB and DM.
Liam Ridgwell is Portland’s best centre-back but his injuries have meant lots of chances for others – Ridgewell missed 19 games this season. Plus as an established import player he’s earning a lot of cash too. Gbenga Arokoyo is an option at the back but he missed this whole season with an Achilles injury while Roy Miller, another CB, tore his Achilles towards the end of the 2017 set. Might be an opening there.
Defensive midfield is much more settled thanks to Diego Chara’s continued excellence. Chara has a broken foot right now but they reckon he’ll be good by preseason. They also have David Guzman who can hold things down in midfield but he’s likely to be playing at the World Cup for Costa Rica in the middle of the next MLS season. Hence Tui might get a shot at developing himself as Chara’s deputy. Unlike Gleeson, Tui is already under contract for 2018 so we’ll see how that goes.
Up Next: A new gaffer would be nice…
James Musa – Swope Park Rangers (American United Soccer League)
Ah bollocks. Grand Final of the USL, The Moose playing the full contest as Swope Park Rangers took on Louisville City, and Cameron Lancaster’s late header won the title for the other guys. Swope Park have lost back to back finals now. Suuuucks. And with that the final bit of kiwi influenced footy in America ends for the year. See ya again in 2018 for the Yankee dispatches.
Up Next: Offseason, basically.
Anna Green – Reading & Olivia Chance – Everton (English Super League)
WSL Cup games here and Reading had no trouble extending their superb recent form as they travelled across town to play London Bees. It meant a couple changes too and Anna Green was named to start at fullback, almost immediately getting involved down the wing with a tasty cross into the penalty area in the first minute. She was all over the damn place on attack.
Things were still tied at zip at the midway point but two goals in three minutes, Aussie defender Kirsty Pearce with the first and Brooke Chaplen the second, busted this game wide open. That ended the resistance and allowed Reading to make a couple subs, Greenie coming off with 26 minutes left. Reading would then add two more goals thanks to Rachel Rowe and Rachel Furness just to make it fun and it ended 4-0. Good enough to put them through into the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Chance didn’t get picked to start against Oxford United in Everton’s final WSL Cup group stage game but she was in there nice and early as Meg Finnigan was forced to leave the game in the first half. The Toffees were already 1-0 up by then thanks to Chloe Kelly’s 10th minute strike, though despite some continued pressure it was a tough task to find that second goal. Chancey came close herself.
EvertonFC.com: “The Toffees restricted the U’s to few chances in the first half as they maintained their pressure, again coming close after Kelly clipped a lovely ball forward into substitute Olivia Chance’s path but the Oxford centre-back intercepted just in the nick of time.”
Kelly then almost scored a bicycle kick right before the break. Almost. Don’t worry, the goals did come eventually. Everton were a little more fired up after HT and Kelly scored a couple more to complete a hatty while Claudia Walker also found the net in a 4-0 victory that all but puts Everton into the next round. Just relying on Man City to beat Birmingham in a few weeks now.
Up Next: Footy Ferns duty, since you mention it
Adam Mitchell – Bolton Wanderers (English Championship)
Here’s a cool one. 2015 U20 World Cup lad Adam Mitchell’s had a wild career so far. He did the Wanderers thing in NZ before the U20 WC before joining the late WaiBOP franchise after that. Then, dramatically, the Croatian-born defender went and signed with Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade… although his time there only resulted in one sub’s appearance for the first team in a preseason friendly. He went on loan to OFK Beograd, where he played a handful of times, before moving to NK Celje in Slovenia at the end of his Red Star contract back in February.
It’s been one hell of an odyssey and one that hasn’t allowed him too many opportunities to play football, sadly. But his journey’s added another chapter lately as Mitchell’s joined up with Bolton Wanderers and their U23 team.
Mitchell featured back in September as Bolton’s U23s went down 5-0 to QPR’s juniors. Julio Baptista, the former Real Madrid, Arsenal and Brazil striker, also played his first game for the club that day, which was an interesting one. Mitch then disappeared for a bit after that initial trial but once he got that contract down he was back, playing in a 2-0 win away to Huddersfield U23s, getting the run in a development team Lancashire Senior Cup game against Fylde and then playing again on the weekend as Bolton whalloped Hull City’s U23 team 6-1 at home.
Up Next: The Grind, baby
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