Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

On the last edition of Flying Kiwis we left off with Winston Reid battling a bit of a hamstring complaint. It’d forced him off against Everton and caused him to miss the defeat against Man City a few days later. He was still in doubt as Chelsea came to town (rough scheduling…) but this time he came through training to take his place back in the XI... albeit in a slightly different position.

David Moyes went with a three-man central defence just as he did the week before. Angelo Ogbonna retained his central centre-back position though, meaning Winston came in at RCB. Aaron Cresswell was on the left again. With the Hammers prepared to play some deep and constricting stuff that didn’t really matter, he was still doing the same type of defending, but it was interesting that the most experienced defender wasn’t at the heart of it. That might have more to do with being the only right footed player in the trio, however.

This may come as a surprise to some but David Moyes had some serious tactical wins in this match. That back three was one of them, as was putting in Arthur Masuaku at left wing-back, who was brilliant in his more attacking role. Then there was Michail Antonio playing at central striker, which allowed him and his unlimited speed and energy to lead the high press, roughing things up for the Chelsea defence. It didn’t take long before they had a reward for that either as Antonio linked with Marko Arnautovic and Manny Lanzini with the latters weaving a lovely one-two move for Arnautovic to score. How about that for a start, aye? Barely five minutes into it.

West Ham barely got near the Chelsea penalty area for the rest of the half, yet a composed effort off the ball meant they were able to limit what Chelsea could create as well. Eden Hazard was forced to drop deep to find the ball, Alvaro Morata was frustrated as much as he has been all season. Winnie did most of the damage on Morata too, frequently challenging him in the air to take away his headed threat and bringing the physical jazz as well, as evidenced by this cheeky one which Morata kinda wanted a spottie for but the ref rightly let it slide.

There was always the threat on the counter attack with Antonio and company up there, keeping things interesting amidst almost 70% possession for the defending champs. Chelsea should really have offered more than they did. Of 19 shots, only two were on target. Winston Reid and the fellas were immense in defence, Winnie made 10 def. clearances, but CFC didn’t seem to have much of a Plan B to what they were up against. Pedro came on at the break and didn’t do much, Victor Moses and Willian were introduced later and none of the three did much to change proceedings.

Reid picked up a yellow in the 67th min, wrestling down Alvaro Morata in the Chelsea half as the Blues threatened a counter. Doing what’s gotta be done. One of a few Hammers to be booked for, erm, tactical fouls as this game dragged on towards a hard-earned final whistle. The best chance that Chelsea could muster from out of the crowd of WHU defenders was a snap shot from Morata after he’d been played onside but he dragged it into the side netting with seven minutes remaining. Eden Hazard had a dig from the edge of the box seconds later… but Winnie was there with the block.

And so it was that West Ham beat Chelsea 1-0. Not enough to get them out of the relegation zone but a massive win for their season. Top, top quality from Winston Reid as well.

The Independent Player Ratings: “Winston Reid – 8 out of 10 - A colossal performance on his return from injury. Dealt with everything thrown at him.”

The Guardian: “When they did flounder, Adrián saved in quick succession from N’Golo Kanté and Zappacosta, keeping them ahead at the break and justifying his selection ahead of Joe Hart. In fact Adrián was hardly extended in the second 45 minutes, Winston Reid marshalling an impeccably drilled back line that was rarely turned around and spent much of its time repelling speculative deliveries from out wide.”

Up Next: 9.00am on Thursday against Arsenal and then 4.00am on Sunday at Stoke – both ends of the spectrum… (NZT)

Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)

Burnley have only scored 15 goals in 16 games this season. Three of them came in the first game of the season, when Sean Dyche’s lot beat Chelsea 3-2 (pre-Chris Wood, that was). Since then they’ve only scored twice in a game on two occasions – 2-0 vs Swansea and 2-1 vs Bournemouth. It hardly matters though when they keep on winning these 1-0 contests.

Robbie Brady ruled out for the season, undergoing surgery on a busted tendon in his knee in the midweek? Nah no dramas for the Clarets. It’s next man up as it always is for them and replacing Brady in the starting XI against Watford was Scott Arfield and guess who scored the winner right on the brink of half-time?

Chris Wood didn’t score in this one however he did play the full game for the first time since he scored that late equaliser against Winnie’s West Ham back in mid-October. That includes All Whites duty too, of course. And he had a couple shots here that might have added to his four PL goals, the best of which saw him gassing in behind the defence and looking to lob Heurelho Gomes on the run with his sidefoot but he just didn’t get enough heat on it. The other was a dig from the edge of the box which Gomes saved down low. Plus he did put the ball in the back of the net later on only for Jack Cork to be flagged (incorrectly, if you ask the BFC fans) for offside and the goal disallowed. Wasn’t too far from getting on the end of the rebounded save from Gudmundsson’s shot later on either.

But the decisive moment in this one was arguably the decision to send off Marvin Zeegelaar for a two-footed challenge on Steven Defour with 38 minutes gone. Both keepers had already been put into action, with Woody’s two attempts and Johan Berg Gudmundsson’s free kick threatening for Burnley, but after the red card it was the home team that had the best of things. Not an overly aggressive challenge but definitely a silly one. Needless to say the managers disagreed on the severity of the punishment.

Ashley Barnes thought he’d added a second only for the linesman to again deny them that clinching goal, except this time the call was spot on. It didn’t really matter while they kept that sheet clean and they did it without the injured Ben Mee as well. Keeps them level on points with Spurs, who saw that coming?

Lancashire Telegraph Player Ratings: “Chris Wood 6 - Twice tested Gomes in the first half but not as influential after the break.”

Up Next: Hosting Stoke midweek at 8.45am on Weds before heading to Brighton at 4.00am on Sunday (NZT)

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

Another week and another good result for the PECers. They’ve still only lost twice all season after coming from behind away to Excelsior for a 2-1 win. Mike van Duinen’s goal from the penalty spot soon after the break had the hosts in a great position to end their three-game skid but they hadn’t accounted for the maestro Ryan Thomas… who set up the equaliser almost immediately for Mustafa Saymak. Nice cross there, chief.

The first goal was definitely a penalty, no controversy there. But look at Thommo dropping that thing on his chest and whipping a mean ball in back across the goal. Couldn’t hardly miss from there.

Younes Namli then won it from a direct free kick with 25 minutes still to play. Excelsior’s chances of getting a late leveller were significantly harmed by Stanley Albers’ red card late on and 2-1 was the way it ended. Keeps Zwolle happily in fourth with a couple postponements helping extend the gap beneath them.

Again, this is just more of the same from Ryan Thomas who is quietly putting together an incredible season for Zwolle, the kind of footy that could get him more than a little interest next month when the transfer window opens back up. He’s already working his way up in reputation among some of the best in the Dutch league (the best, according to some stats) and keep your eyes peeled because there’s a documentary coming about him too, which will hopefully end up online for us kiwi viewers too.

Not so flash for Marco Rojas, if you were wondering. He was an unused sub as Heerenveen conceded an 85th minute equaliser at home against VVV Venlo, having come from one down after ten mins.

Up Next: PEC Zwolle vs AZ Alkmaar, 8.45am on Weds & then Willem II vs PECZ, 6.30am Sun (NZT)

C.J. Bott - USV Jena / Amber Hearn – FC Koln (German Frauen-Bundesliga)

Umm… nah. Not great. Bott and Hearn each got full games for their Bundesliga teams but goals were flying in all over the show and none of them for their teams. Bott’s USV Jena were on the wrong end of a first half double for Carolin Schiewe before SC Freiburg went and added three more in the second for a 5-0 victory. Meanwhile Hearn’s FC Koln were already 1-0 down when Carolin Dej was sent off in the 34th min and it only got worse from there. They held it close until an hour in and then it was floodgates as six goals in the final half hour gave Werder Bremen a 7-0 win. Both games were away but that’s not much consolation. At least they got to be on the other end of a big win for the Football Ferns the other week.

Up Next: Koln host Wolfsburg and Jena host Duisburg, both in the early hours of Monday morning (NZT)

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

A couple games and a couple draws for SSU. That hardly tells the full story though, as SuperSport continued their domestic catch-up race after all the games they missed for their CAF Confederation Cup final run. Still sitting back in eleventh after this but with at least three games in hand on anyone else and only one defeat in the PSL so far.

Against Orlando Pirates they had more than enough chances to take the biscuits but they were kinda wasteful. Brockie in particular, who smacked one over the crossbar from a good sight and he only got unluckier from there…

Goal.com: “Brockie had another chance to break the deadlock from a free-kick situation in a promising area, but the 2017 Caf Confederation Cup Golden Boot winner's effort from the set-piece narrowly missed the target. Pressure mounted on the Pirates defence with half-time break fast approaching. Mabokgwane was beaten by Brockie's low shot at the near post, but the upright came to the goalkeeper's rescue, before the hosts cleared their lines.”

But he couldn’t break the deadlock and neither could the rest of his mates, that one ending 0-0. Not a terrible result against the team now second on the ladder but also not what they’ll feel they deserved. That feeling probably gets balanced out by scoring a 95th minute equaliser against Cape Town FC a few days later then.

Brockie had volleyed one towards goal only to see it deflect wide late in the first half. Not late enough that there wasn’t time for Aubrey Ngoma to put Cape Town up at HT though. Brox was subbed off after 55 minutes, having played the whole game earlier in the week, and the task of saving this one was left to others. Both teams had their efforts yet SSU were the team really forcing it. They probably thought it was gone when centre back Azubuike Egwuekwe headed off target almost four minutes into injury time. Even more when Clayton Daniels’ cross didn’t find a finisher. But time ticked on and Egwuekwe popped up in close from Maphosa Modiba’s cross and SSU had themselves a 1-1 draw with barely a second to spare.

Up Next: Away to Free State Stars on Thursday at 6.30am (NZT)

Hannah Wilkinson – Vittsjo GIK (Swedish Damallsvenskan)

Yoooo… right back at it again next year!

Up Next: Chilling in Aotearoa for a spell

Luke Adams – Ljungskile SK (Swedish Division 1)

Speaking of signing in Sweden… here’s former Wellington Phoenix defender and All Whites 2016 Nations Cup standout Luke Adams putting pen to paper in Zlatan-land.

Adams had been playing for South Melbourne in Aussie but left the club ahead of the start of their preseason and now we know why. He’s been training with the club since November and has impressed with his ability but also, according to the club, his character and leadership skills.

It’s not the highest standard out there, we’re talking the third tier of footy in Sweden and a team that’s coming off a mid-table finish. So the plan will obviously be to try work a promotion up to the Superettan – which is where Tyler Lissette’s been playing with Varnamo, starting 29 games for them in 2017. Read a bit more on Luke Adams over here.

Up Next: Well the Swedish season doesn’t start until April so…

Olivia Chance – Everton (English Super League)

It’s been close to a month since the last WSL fixtures so we were well overdue some Everton vs Sunderand and Yeovil Town vs Reading… but we didn’t get any YT vs Reading because of a waterlogged pitch amidst the chilly weather. Which means Anna Green got an extra week off – as did most players with four of the five games postponed due to variations on the theme of winter. Snowy conditions, frozen pitch, waterlogged pitch, you name it.

Everton’s game went ahead as planned though and a good thing because they stormed to a 5-1 victory against Sunderland. With only one prior league win they really needed this result, one which scoops them up to sixth on the ladder and ahead of their opponents on goal difference. Courtney Sweetman-Kirk and Danielle Turner each scored doubles with Chaney Boye-Hlorkah also getting on the scoresheet before Bridget Galloway’s injury time consolation. Olivia Chance didn’t start but as usual she was in off the bench in that second half, playing 22 minutes after her team cleared the bench having already gone up 4-0.

Up Next: Everton are at Bristol City at 6.30am on Sunday while Reading host Man City at 3.00am on Monday (NZT)

Tyler Boyd – CD Tondela (Portuguese Primeira Liga)

Hey so what about Tyler Boyd, whatever happened to him? Got himself a loan to get him playing in the Portuguese top flight this season but doesn’t seem to get much of a mention in FKs most weeks? Yeah, that’s because Tyler’s been doing his thing nice and under the radar. He’s been in and around match squads all season but minutes haven’t been easy to come by.

This week Boyd was an 84th minute sub as Tondela went to Desportivo Aves and came away with a 1-0 win thanks to Eli’s 51st minute goal. It was a handy win that put CDT ahead of their opponents on the table and up to 12th overall, clearing some space between themselves and the relegation zone (7 points of space, in fact). That was his tenth Primeira Liga appearance of the season out of 14 games, with his only start being in a 1-1 draw against Feirense back near the start of the campaign. He did score in a 3-0 win over Moreirense but he’s only logged 297 minutes on the field so far all up. He did get a full game in a cup tie as well but they lost so no more chances there.

It’s a fair stretch from when he was starting basically every game last time out in the second tier for the Vitoria reserves but a step up in quality was always gonna be tougher. And Boyd is hanging around there, still getting the nod late in games to come on and do a few things. That’s all promising enough stuff.

Up Next: Tondela vs Benfica, 9.15am on Monday (NZT)

Erin Nayler– Girondins Bordeaux (French Division 1 Féminine)

Once again, there’s Erin Nayler in the saves of the week compo. There wasn’t a lot of reward in that one as GB lost 3-0 to PSG but while the attack didn’t do much better this week the defence sure did. Nayler got herself a casual clean sheet in a 0-0 home draw with Soyaux – first clean sheet since October even.

Conditions weren’t great with buckets of rain falling and the pitch struggling to keep up with the season, causing for some less than stellar footy. Which is not to say that Erin didn’t have a bit to do, so we’ll see if she sneaks into the top saves vid again next time.

Up Next: Away to ASPTT Albi at 2.30am on Monday (NZT)

Deklan Wynne, Myer Bevan & Francis de Vries – Vancouver All-Whitecaps (American Major League Soccer)

A little bit of news here, as the Whitecaps have announced their USL moves ahead of the impending transfer window in the MLS. You’ll remember that they disbanded their reserves team but signed an affiliate deal with the new Fresno expansion USL team (which is replacing VW2). Weirdly they only loaned three players out there though. That means more than a dozen of the old VW2 squad has been cut loose… including Francis de Vries.

EightySixForever: “Francis De Vries has signed for Canterbury United in the New Zealand premiership. The New Zealand premiership is not a fully professional league. De Vries was always on the bubble of potential MLS talent but he’s 100% to good to be playing semi pro football. He’s a solid defender so it’s a bit odd that Fresno wouldn’t want him.”

Terran Campbell, Sean Melvin, and Matthew Baldisimo are the three Fresno loanees, while Michael Baldisimo (younger bro) will go to the U19s and, as you already know, Deklan Wynne and Myer Bevan have been offered MLS deals. There’s still a good chance that Wynne and Bevan end up at Fresno after a preseason with the MLS blokes, but we’ve gotta pour one out for Francis de Vries as his All-Whitecap tenure comes to an end.

As for the other MLS jokers, there could be some funk coming up with the MLS Expansion Draft. Los Angeles FC are entering the league and to help them out they’ve got the option of selecting players right up out of other clubs. Those clubs can designate 11 contracts as untouchable and the rest are available to be snatched up… although LAFC can only take one from each club and a maximum of five overall. Stefan Marinovic has been protected by Vancouver, as was James Musa for Sporting KC and Mike Boxall at Minnesota Utd. But Jake Gleeson, Bill Tuiloma and Kip Colvey are all unprotected if LAFC are keen enough. Most likely not, but yeah.

Up Next: Should be a couple contract announcements soon…

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