Flying Kiwis – November 28
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Shout out to Winnie, 150 Premier League starts. He already played his 150th overall PL game earlier this season and he’s closing in on Ryan Nelsen’s total of 198 appearances in the English top flight (190 starts), which you’d imagine he catches eventually with a big long contract to his name gonna keep him in London for a while yet. Chris Wood is the third kiwi on the list… with 19 PL appearances and only 7 starts.
Start #150 was a Friday night home game against Leicester City, an opportunity for David Moyes to start winning over a few fans. Perhaps next time he’ll have more success with that if his team doesn’t go and concede a quick goal and have to play from behind. Winston got some criticism on the telly for his positioning and once it was one on one with him against Jamie Vardy, sure, he had no chance. But those things happen a hundred times during a game and Angelo Ogbonna should have cleared the danger. But he slipped. And Marc Albrighton scored, wrong-footing Joe Hart. The out of position right back didn’t help either. Safe to say it was a mess all around.
Yet after that they eased themselves into the game and with a big home crowd in there for Davie’s first game at London Stadium they ended up playing kinda well. Much better than in recent times. Cheikhou Kouyate even scored a goal! A genuine, honest to God goal for West Ham! Header from a gorgeous Lanzini corner.
That was on the fringe of the break and the second half was much improved. Marko Arnautovic had his best game in a Hammers jersey and the only thing that was missing was a winning goal. An Andy Carroll performance too but let’s not get carried away. Winston was up for a 96th minute corner and the ball almost fell to him to strike six yards out on the turn but Wes Morgan held him off and Andre Ayew put it over the bar. 1-1 was the final result.
Football.London Player Ratings: “Winston Reid - Wasn't strong enough in a challenge with Vardy that led to Albrighton's opener and like his defensive partner, looked a bit rocky at times. Decent second half but he wasn't really tested too much. 6”
Up Next: Everton vs West Ham… that seems resonant… at 9.00am on Thursday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle vs Marco Rojas – sc Heerenveen (Dutch Eredivisie)
It’s the game we’ve all been waiting for, Heerenveen vs Zwolle, Rojas vs Thomas… the only problem was that Marco Rojas has slipped back into a bench role and didn’t get the start here. Thommo did, of course, since Thommo never misses a minute for the PECers… but it wasn’t quite the same without Marco.
Pretty good from his teammates though, they looked sharp as they took the early lead through Michael Vlap with a sweet strike. Vlappy then buggered up a great chance to give SCH a deserved 2-0 lead and they were made to pay for that when Nicolas Freire headed in from Younes Mokhtar’s free kick before the break. Then soon after the resumption Zwolle took the lead thanks to Mustafa Saymak. Kingsley Ehizibue’s initial shot had been saved but Saymak was there for the rebound.
Marco Rojas was never introduced, despite Heery chasing the game at home. Zwolle were able to sit back a bit with the lead, although Saymak did hit the crossbar, and after withholding some real pressure they got themselves a very rare win away to Heerenveen, a place they hadn’t won at for a fair few seasons. Thommo got a late yellow card after they’d entered the time-wasting portion of the game. That lad just keeps on laying it down, mate. Outstanding form.
Ryan Thomas: “I mean, we had some good chances to score. Them more so but I think you saw during the game, as the game went on, especially in the second half that they were the team playing at home, they needed to bring the game to us. I think we played to our strengths well and got the result.”
Marco’s now been an unused sub in both games since the international break, gotta get back on the wagon soon. As for the PECers, they’re still a very dizzying fourth place and only three points off Ajax who are in the second Champions League spot.
Up Next: Zwolle vs Utrecht at 8.00am on Saturday & Roda JC vs Heerenveen at 2.30am on Monday (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)
In the end it was one game too far. One goal too far, even. The 2-1 defeat over in Congo in the first leg of the Confederation Cup final was a wasted opportunity but still an okay result in tough circumstances. All they needed was a 1-0 win at home to lift the trophy.
Thing was, they couldn’t find that goal. They were lucky not to fall behind in the opening stages and breaking down the TP Mazembe defence was no easy task. Brockie especially, he was having no luck out there. They had a goal disallowed for offside, that was about the best they could manage.
Brockie was subbed off with 64 minutes played after a frustrating performance. His replacement, Dove Wome, came close to a goal but his effort was saved and even a red card to one of the other fellas didn’t help them. Largely because seven minutes after Mazembe were reduced to ten, so were SSU with Thuso Phala dismissed with a straight red.
That was right at the end though. SuperSport’s attempts were in vain and the Congolese team lifted the trophy at their expense. 0-0 in the second leg, 2-1 on aggregate. Preeeeetty disappointing for Brox coming so soon after that All Whites defeat too.
Business Day Player Ratings: “JEREMY BROCKIE (5/10): Hardly received any service and when he did win in the air, the ball went off in the wrong direction. Went off after an hour.”
IOL.za: “But by then, Mazembe were home and dry thanks to Kimwaki putting Jeremy Brockie in the same pocket he stifled him in, in the first leg to do what many clubs struggled to do in this competition, contain the New Zealand forward. Brockie finished this tournament as the top goal-scorer with 10 goals, falling short of his target of 12.”
Jeremy Brockie, post-match: “It’s been a long journey, travelled all around Africa. It’s been an amazing experience and to get so close but so far hurts. They are a well-structured side. They have some experienced players at the back and they did not give us too many opportunities to get a sniff at goal. It’s disappointing that we did not have a little bit more composure in the final third. We needed to play with more tempo at times. We could have penetrated more.”
Up Next: SSU vs Ajax Cape Town at 6.30am on Thursday (NZT)
Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)
The strangeness about The Woodsman’s injury at least got some clarification this week with the big fella left on the bench for the team to face Arsenal. Fit and available, but not ready to start. Which is refreshing to see after Sean Dyche seemed to paint it last week like he was barely injured in the first place and given how he only played 60 outta 180 minutes against Peru (while NZ had zero shots on target)… that made more sense.
Sean Dyche: “Chris Wood has had a good week with us, he’s definitely available for selection.”
And with the Clarets doing their usual thing the stage was all set for him to come on and do some damage with a dozen or so minutes remaining. Scores still tied at 0-0, freezing cold and Burnley nursing some very impressive form, particularly at home. Arsenal’s team bus had gotten stuck in traffic and they only arrived at Turf Moor 52 minutes before kickoff. All the ingredients for one of those typically Arsenal upsets… like Burnley almost managed last season but for Laurent Kolscienly’s late goal (which wasn’t only a handball but he was offside too).
A strong first half had largely limited Arsenal to nothing, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Robbie Brady both came close at the other end. Jack Wilshere came on for the Gunners a little before Woody and seemed to make a couple things happen. So on comes Wood, replacing midfielder Stephen Defour in an unexpected sign of intent. In times gone by Burley would’ve been clinging for a draw in that situation but the 2017-18 edition goes for the win – a sign of how far they’ve come and also how well they’ve already done this season that they can risk that point for more.
But Woody hardly got to do anything other than stay warm after getting subbed on – he touched the ball twice, one good pass and he lost the ball the other time. That’s it, two touches. Arsenal had most of the ball towards the end as they tried to find a winner and despite their 17 shots it did appear that Burnley were good for that point – each team had only two shots on target all game.
Except then came the moment of controversy as Granit Xhaka’s curling lob into the box was headed across by Shkodran Mustafi and suddenly Aaron Ramsey (who had spurned the Gunners’ best chance in the first half) was lying on the deck. James Tarkowski supposedly pushed him there but as to how much contact there really was… that’s something the respective managers disagreed upon afterwards. Once Alexis Sanchez stepped up for the spottie almost two minutes into stoppage time, it was all over.
Up Next: Midweek footy away at Bournemouth, 8.45am on Thurs (NZT)
Katie Bowen – Kansas City (American National Women’s Soccer League)
This news shouldn’t come as any surprise as it’s been rumoured for quite a while now but a couple weeks back FC Kansas City officially shut up shop, with Real Salt Lake acquiring their franchise and moving them to their town. It’s a shame for Kansas City and it means Katie Bowen will have to find a new residence next season, hope the rent in Utah is all goods. But from the wider perspective this is a very good thing for her and her team.
It’s been a couple years now that the Kansas City team has been mired in ownership dramas. Last year their owners were alleged to have made some sexist comments in leaked emails (which they blamed an angry co-owner for allegedly fabricating them). So the NWSL forced a sale but the new boss didn’t really give a damn and left the team to suffer in poor finance. This way we should finally get some stability from the boardroom, maybe even a little extra cash in hand. They should even be able to draw some crowds again.
It comes after popular head coach Vlatko Andonovski was inexplicably released ahead of the offseason, though this new sale sorta explains why that happened. Salt Lake will inherit all the existing FCKC contracts, including Katie’s, and will be treated as an expansion team which gifts them the first pick in the upcoming draft too. Big shame for Kansas City though.
SB Nation: “There’s also a great foundation to build on, if the new staff can convince players to stick around. Captain Becky Sauerbrunn, vice-captain Nicole Barnhart, Yael Averbuch, Desiree Scott, and Amy Rodriguez are great veteran leaders. Sydney Leroux showed flashes of brilliance in her first season back from pregnancy and could be a superstar again with the right talent around her. Christina Gibbons, Shea Groom, and Katie Bowen are talented young players who could become franchise cornerstones, as could the No. 4 overall pick. All of these players could perform better next season with access to the best ownership support and facilities they’ve experienced in their careers.”
Up Next: More offseason, pretty much
Clayton Lewis – Scunthorpe United (English League One)
These are happy times at Scunthorpe and they’re only getting happier after a 2-0 win versus Charlton on the weekend made it five wins in a row in all comps – with five clean sheets in their last six games. They’ve won their last six league games, including Charlton, which means The Iron have scooped back up to third on the ladder, only two points off automatic promotion (granted, having played an extra game than both Wigan and Shrewsbury).
Hey and it gets better – Clayton Lewis made his League One debut when he was named to start against Charlton. The kiwi midfielder scored in his first game for the club in the EFL Trophy and had been on the bench for three league games and an FA Cup match without getting on the park. So it was a little bit of a surprise to seem him chucked in against Charlton.
He might not get to be a regular starter for a few more weeks yet, however. Clayton was a bit off the pace here, most evident when a lazy first touch allowed CAFC left winger Ricky Holmes to come sprinting through and pick-pocket him, going from defence to attack in a hurry and it took a brilliant stretching stop with the keeper’s foot to deny Mark Marshall after Holmes had slipped him in. And to make it worse, Scunthorpe’s right back Jordan Clarke did his hammy trying to sprint back on the cover, soon to be subbed off. Then later on a blind pass was blocked and fell to old mate Ricky again, who ran it up and saw his shot tipped round the post. Yikes, Clay.
Lewis was subbed off at half-time. Josh Morris replaced him… and the winger only went and scored to incredible second half goals to turn the game around and win it for Scunthorpe. Absolute bliiinders! Two more reasons there why Clayton might have to wait his next turn, but the team’s winning games and playing well so things are all good.
Scunthorpe Telegraph Player Ratings: “Clayton Lewis – Struggled to get to grips with the tempo of the game and was subbed at half time – 5”
In other Scunthorpe news…
Up Next: FA Cup time, with a second round clash at Doncaster Rovers on Monday at 3.00am (NZT)
Steven Old – Morecambe (English League Two)
Thiiis guy, aye! Keeps on scoring goals! This latest one was a rather handy one too, earning the Shrimps a valuable point to continue their narrow resurgence after a terrible start to things. They needed this one after conceding a late winner at home to Crewe in the midweek, a result which dropped them below those jokers on the table. Then Old’s second half goal away to Carlisle earned a 1-1 draw and they’re able to stay two points off the bottom and out of the relegation zone. Come on, fellas!
They should have actually won that game. Kelvin Etuhu’s goal came from a shot that ought to have been saved and then Adam Campbell hit the crossbar with a late penalty. On another day they’d have won that game 2-0. Maybe next time.
And here’s a joke to finish on…
Up Next: Home vs Coventry at 4.00am on Sunday (NZT)
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