Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

Since Winston Reid returned from injury it’s almost been like a different West Ham. Two games and two clean sheets – the only thing missing away to West Brom on the weekend was a winning goal.

And, erm, a bit more entertainment, to be honest. This was a 0-0 draw with only two total shots on target in the entire game. It’ll be remembered as the match in which Gareth Barry tied the record for most Premier League appearances with his 632nd, drawing level with Ryan Giggs, and that’s about it. There was a moment of controversy as Ben Foster took out Chicharito outside the box which might have been a red though the ref settled for a caution. Also there was Pedro Obiang’s incredible shot from closer to halfway than he was to the penalty area, thumping a curling effort over Foster and off the crossbar.

Instead this was a game, kinda predictably given the two teams playing, in which defending was the main order of the day. West Ham will be disappointed at the lack of any partnership between Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez so far but on the flip side Slaven Bilic must be loving the return to form of Jose Fonte and the return to fitness of Winston Reid. The only defensive negative was an ankle injury to James Collins which could cost him a spell on the sideline.

Slaven Bilic: “We played solidly and limited them to one chance. In the second half we played more dominant football. Two clean sheets in two games is important progress. I am not extremely delighted but there are a lot of positives to build on. “

Six defensive clearances for Winston in the ninety, tied most with WBA’s Ahmed Hegazi for the match. Add in an interception and a block or two and this was a really fine performance. Didn’t conceded a foul and barely misplaced a pass as well. But the highlight of his performance was this desperate bit of blockery. That is some kiwi defending, alright. Me oh my yes boy!

Jose Fonte: “Some people might say, perhaps we could have changed or gone a little bit more offensive but, in my opinion, first and foremost you have to keep clean sheets and if you don’t concede, you know that’s the base. We feel very comfortable and very secure when we play like this and now it’s just about working the system and trying to find solutions when we play against teams like this, to break them down.”

Up Next: Two home games, vs Bolton at 6.45am on Weds in the League Cup & vs Spurs at 3.00am Sunday (NZT)

Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)

What’s been happening with Woody? He didn’t score this week for one thing but when Sean Dyche trimmed the strike force in half for a 4-4-1-1 shape against Liverpool at Anfield it was Woody that maintained his spot up front instead of Sam Vokes or any of the rest of them. Scott Arfield playing in behind him. There’s a vote of confidence right there.

Wood’s big target man frame makes him a difficult matchup for the Liverpool defence however with the Reds holding 71% of possession his chances to shine were limited. He had a few of these kinds of games for Leeds too, where he works hard for no reward and bugger all touches of the football. Woody didn’t even have a shot at Anfield. Not only that but he fluffed more passes than he was able to hit a teammate with, a sign of his isolation as much as anything. Nobody won more aerial duels in the match, granted, but still a tough day at the office (winning headers also meant needing early treatment for a clash of heads with Ragnar Klavan).

Yet even on the tough days he’s got a knack for doing something impressive and while it was hardly of the calibre of Robbie Brady’s assist for Wood’s first Burnley goal, he did manage to get the slightest of touches on a ball that sat up for Arfield to smack in to give Burnley the lead. Didn’t get credited the assist on Fantasy PL in case you were wondering, fair enough too since he barely touched the damn thing, but the goal doesn’t happen without his physical presence in there being a menace. That’s worth some moral fantasy points, at least.

The lead only lasted a few minutes before Mo Salah took down a tough one on his knee and struck it beyond Nick Pope (in his first start as keeper in the PL) for the equaliser. Safe to say that Liverpool had far more chances to go in front than Burnley did from that moment and yet it was Ben Mee who twice needed clearances off the line from his back post headers for the Clarets – Joel Matip with an impressive denial and Simon Mignolet parrying another away. Dominic Solanke then hit the crossbar at the other end. Woody was subbed off with three minutes left and Burnley held on for a good point.

Lancashire Telegraph Player Ratings: “Chris Wood 7 - A nuisance to Liverpool’s backline. Great awareness for the goal and battled hard on limited service.”

Chris Wood: “It is not about making an early impression with a goal, it is about making an impression with your work-rate and everything else. You know what Burnley is about – the team, the squad, what the manager asks of you, it is a hard-working side and they expect that of their players and I am sure as long as you give that for the team, the fans will see that and appreciate it.”

Sam Vokes: “Over the years here we have had a few partnerships and they have worked well and I think Chris Wood is a fantastic talent. He has already scored some important goals for us. So when we go with two up front it’s important to get that relationship going. Obviously, we have had strikers here before and it’s important to get on well off the pitch and during training well. You want to forge that relationships on the pitch. It’s important for both. I think you see that when you play on the pitch. I definitely think we can work together. I think we showed that last week. We both have a physical presence.”

Up Next: A personal one for Woody as Burnley take on his old mates at Leeds in the League Cup at 6.45am on Wednesday before hosting Huddersfield (who he always scores against) at 3.00am on Sunday (NZT)

Marco Rojas – sc Heerenveen (Dutch Eredivisie)

There were 66 minutes played, plus a few seconds of change, when Marco Rojas was introduced to the match. Heerenveen were playing Excelsior and the score was locked at 1-1. Excelsior had led at half time thanks to Ryan Koolwijk’s goal but Arber Zeneli had levelled things five minutes after the resumption of play. Rojas replaced Morten Thorsby for an extra attacking option. Three minutes later this happened:

A slick little finish there on the angle and the interplay with Reza Ghoochannejhad was superb. It was the only shot Rojas would have in his 23 minute spell and he’d only get on the ball six times in total. However that moment of magic proved to be the difference. Rojas’ first goal in Eredivisie football and it earned his team a 2-1 victory – their third in a row after beginning with two draws. This was Rojas’ fourth appearance off the bench (85 mins of footy all up) and he’s yet to make a start but that day has gotta be close now.

It’s been twenty years since Heerenveen last went their first five games unbeaten in a season. It’s enough to shoot them all the way up to fourth and the gaffer is dreaming big.

SCH manager Jurgen Streppel: “After the fantastic victory against PSV Eindhoven last week we were faced with different circumstances against Excelsior Rotterdam in terms of the pitch and in a smaller stadium against an opponent that plays differently and we dealt with it well. We spoke in the changing room at half time about the need to anticipate better not just in attack but also in defence and we managed to have a good phase in the second half which enabled us to go on to win the game. We are doing well and to build a team you need time and I can only compliment my squad that with a completely new defence we can achieve these kinds of results. We believe we can achieve something here at Heerenveen. We know that we can play good football and we must show that every week.”

Up Next: Away to Excelsior (again) only in the KNVB Cup this time – that’s at 5.45am on Thurs (NZT)

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

It ain’t quite Heerenveen levels of hype but the PECers have had themselves a quality start to the season as well – one which they added to by beating Heracles 2-1 on Sunday morning. Couldn’t call it a classic performance either. Youness Mokhtar gave them a lead with a powerful shot inside three minutes yet they failed to find a second before HT despite dominating, allowing Jamiro Monteiro to tie things up straight from a free kick with only a dozen mins left on the clock. Luckily Mokhtar wasn’t finished being the hero and five minutes from time he put another one into the net for the victory. Sweet as.

Thommo has really settled into a role there now in the midfield of a 4-3-3 formation. The kind of role that allows him to get on the ball plenty of times and really help control a game. This one was no different as he touched the ball more times than any other player on his team while still boasting a passing success of over 90%. There were four shots, only one on target, plus two chances created on attack plus he got stuck in off the ball, winning a few headers and tackles and, mate, just taking care of business really.

That off-the-ball stuff has really shone through lately as his game has developed. In a feature on De Stentor this week he credits that to the work he’s done physically since joining Zwolle. Putting on muscle and working on his general fitness. Similar to what happened to a fitter Chris Wood at Leeds, that’s coincided with fewer injuries and it’s allowed his performances to thrive too.

Ryan Thomas: “I went to Zwolle almost every day with my personal trainer. That helped me a lot. I did especially explosive things to gain momentum and acceleration. I saw and noticed that my body became stronger. In the beginning I was squatting sixty kilos. After a year, I could easily do double that.”

It’s bloody working too. You haven’t been paying enough attention to the All Whites if you don’t think this dude is amongst this country’s top three or four players right now.

SoccerNews.NL Team of the Week: “Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle) - It was a pleasure to watch the New Zealander this weekend for PEC Zwolle. The young midfielder sets out the lines for the Zwollenaren and helped deliver his team the victory at Heracles Almelo.”

Up Next: Away to De Meern in the Cup on Friday at 3.00am before travelling to VVV for a league game on Monday at 1.30am (NZT)

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

The standard week appears to include a Jeremy Brockie goal more times than not and this Flying Kiwis is no different. When you’re on the verge of breaking the all-time club goal scoring record then that’s not really a surprise either.

To be fair, it almost didn’t look to be the case. Brockie played the full game as SSU hosted Platinum Stars except up against a strong defensive effort from the Stars it seemed it’d be a day of frustration. This from a team yet to win a point but five minutes to go and it was still 0-0. Five minutes to go… and then Sifiso Myeni happened. His first goal for the club after joining on loan from Bidvest Wits on deadline day: a good old fashioned rocket for the decisive goal. Of course, that still left a few more ticks for Brox to do his usual thing.

KickOff.com: “It would not have been a complete SuperSport performance without a goal from Jeremy Brockie. The New Zealand-born striker scored in the third minute of stoppage time to seal a victory which put Matsatsantsa in fifth place on the table with six points from three matches.”

That was his 52nd goal for the Pretoria club and it takes him within five of Abram Raselemane’s SSU record. South African international Raselemane, who tragically passed away in 2008 aged just 30, scored 57 times for SuperSport in his years there between 2001-06. Brockie should reach that mark soon having only played two and a half years there. He’s scored in every competition he’s played in and there are only three PSL teams that he’s yet to find the net against: Bloemfontein Celtic, Free State Stars and Baroka.

Jerry Brox: “Closing in on the club record is a goal that I'm now set upon myself to achieve, and I’m hoping that I can knock it off over the next couple of months. To be honest, I never thought about records before I came here, but it would be a satisfying achievement. Let me get there first, though!”

Things weren’t fantastic a few days later as SSU hosted Zambian side Zesco United in their Confederation Cup quarterfinal first leg. It was a poor game with few chances but SSU came away from it rather furious at a few of the refereeing calls – specifically a Bradley Grobler goal disallowed for a handball after 14 minutes. Replays suggested there was plenty of doubt about the whistle and coach Eric Tinkler was none too chuffed about it afterwards. But nah, it ended 0-0, Brockie didn’t do a whole lot and they’ll probably need an away goal next week in Zambia to advance.

Up Next: Tomorrow, actually. 7.15am kickoff against AmaZulu (NZT)

Amber Hearn – FC Koln (German Frauen-Bundesliga)

It’s an international window in most women’s leagues so there’s bugger all to talk about with the lasses this week. However there is one player who deserves a mention: Amber Hearn, beginning the next chapter of her career with FC Koln. Getting 86 minutes in a 2-0 opening defeat away to Frankfurt didn’t really amount to much but Hearn swiftly got off the mark in Koln’s first home game of the season. Well… it was an 86th minute consolation goal in a 5-2 defeat… but still. Koln were down 3-0 after 18 minutes which perhaps oughta be something to try and not replicate in the future. It was 2-2 over the remaining 72 minutes, including Hearn’s strike.

Bit of an awkward one, had to rely on the defender to miss the cross and when she did it landed at a tricky height on the bounce but with the open net Hearn is too good to miss out there. It’ll be a tough season for Koln so all these moments are gonna count.

Hearn is one of two kiwis currently in the Women’s Bundesliga, the other being C.J. Bott who signed for Hearn’s old team USV Jena. Bott, who is with the Footy Ferns at the moment (unlike Hearn who withdrew from selection this one time), didn’t play in the second week but made her debut as a 64th minute sub in the first week (a 4-1 defeat to Turbine Potsdam, though they drew their next match). Since the American stuff is closing in on the end of the regular season, it’s decent timing to add some of this into the mix, as well as the English Super League which begins next week (featuring Anna Green for Reading and Olivia Chance for Everton).

Up Next: FC Koln are away to Bayern Munich, 1.00am on Monday (NZT)

Michael den Heijer - NEC Nijmegen (Dutch Eerste Division)

It’s probably only a matter of time before MDH gets his first team debut for NEC. He’s been on the bench for all of their league games this season as the Dutch club has gone about trying to win their place back in the top division. So far that could be going better, NEC has 7 points from their first five games having drawn 1-1 with Emmen on the weekend. MDH has also popped up with two appearances for the U21 team to keep fit. Anyway, the dude has one hell of a story as to how he ended up playing in the Netherlands and… drum roll… here is that story:

Up Next: Emmen vs NEC (again!), this time in the KNVB Cup, at 5.45am on Weds (NZT)

Jake Gleeson & Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)

Big Jake is back, baby. But four weeks out with that hamstring injury has left him in a slightly precarious position. Remember that it was an injury to their last numero uno that allowed Gleeson to step in and he deputised so well that Adam Kwarasey soon found himself back playing in Norway and Jake Gleeson had won the first choice gloves.

Jakey’s been back in training for a week now and was ready to return as the Timbers took on Real Salt Lake but the coach never confirmed if he’d go straight back in with Jeff Attinella going good in his absence. Attinella actually hurt his shoulder in the previous game but was able to finish the game and when the team lists came out it was Attinella who held onto his place, Gleeson on the bench.

Coach Caleb Porter: “The goalkeeper position is the same as any other position. We'll make the same decision on that as we do with all the other positions based on what we know on current form, past form, past evidence and what we see in training and what we've seen in the past games.”

It’d be a slap to the face of Gleeson, after he spent five years with the team before finally earning his first choice status and it’s not like he was playing poorly before either. Maybe a step down on last season but definitely not poorly. But Attinella conceded only two goals in his four games, Portland winning three of them, and he even matched Gleeson at his own specialty in winning MLS Save of the Week.

Oregon Live: “[Gleeson] went on to make 27 starts, record six clean sheets and compile 118 saves in 2016 before entering 2017 as Portland's starting goalkeeper. While Gleeson has come up with some big saves this year as well, he has been somewhat inconsistent in the net.”

Attinella was also a backup for a long time, playing four years at Real Salt Lake before joining Portland and he only 29 times for RSL played in those four seasons. He doubled that tally of goals conceded against his old team, though. Diego Valeri set a new MLS record by scoring in his eighth consecutive game but Attinella’s mistake had already put Portland down 1-0 by then. And they were only level for a short time before Jefferson Savarino scored what proved to be the winner with half an hour left. 2-1 defeat, although Attinella was decent after failing to save the first goal.

Oregon Live: “Jeff Attinella had started in four-straight games in place of injured Jake Gleeson heading into Saturday night. But Gleeson was fully healthy Saturday and Timbers coach Caleb Porter showed a lot of confidence in Attinella by leaving him in the starting lineup. Attinella, who had performed quite well in his four-straight starts, made a key mistake early in Saturday's game when he failed to stop a savable shot from Albert Rusnak. But Attinella did a good job of responding after the miscue, making two big saves in the game and denying Real Salt Lake in a key 1v1 situation. While Gleeson and Attinella will likely continue to compete for the starting job moving forward, Attinella still seems to be the front-runner to continue to hold onto the No. 1 goalkeeper role.”

With four games to play, the Timbers are still in a good place to make the playoffs. As for Bill Tuiloma, the T2 side didn’t have a game this week but are back into it next Sunday as they look to maintain a slight form rise with three draws in a row.

Up Next: Timbers vs Orlando City, 1.00pm on Monday (NZT)

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

The midweek Flying Kiwis Derby never got to happen. None of the Whitecaps were in action against Minnesota United and while Boxall did continue his appearance streak he was also on the wrong end of a 3-0 defeat. So… not much to enjoy there. Stefan Marinovic was on the bench again for VW.

However a few days later and Minnesota did something fun. An 89th minute goal by Abu Danladi, having come off the bench, gave them a 3-2 win away to Montreal Impact. Christian Ramirez, who he replaced, had scored an equaliser for 2-2 on the hour mark having recently found out that his wife is pregnant. Happy days for all then.

It really was a fantastic game. Montreal took the lead early through Patrice Bernier and shoulda been 2-0 soon after only for Ignacio Piatti to see his spot kick saved by Bobby Shuttleworth (the penalty was for a handball, nothing to do with Mike Boxall don’t panic). In the 20th minute Kevin Molino made them pay by scoring his own spottie at the other end for another handball. Michael Salazar gave the home team a second lead after the break only to let it slip thanks to Danladi’s brilliant finish at the death.

Up Next: Sunday 1.00pm at home to FC Dallas (NZT)

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

Jake Gleeson was stuck watching from the bench as his team lost, Stefan Marinovic got to watch from the bench as his team drew 2-2 at home to Columbus Crew. It keeps the Caps top of the conference (ahead of Portland with two games in hand). Sporting Kansas City is third but James Musa was also an unused sub in their last game (a 3-1 win over New England). So lucky for Mike Boxall because nobody else was visible in the MLS this week. Even Kip Colvey, who has slipped onto the bench for San Jose Earthquakes a couple times lately, was nowhere to be seen.

About those All-Whitecaps in the second team now, there was some business happening there. The VW2 team has signed a new centre back, American defender Danny Barbir who was last with the West Bromwich Albion Academy having been in the Manchester City system before that (and a brief appearance with Stoke’s U23s before he made it to Vancouver). That meant more competition for Francis de Vries as he returned from a one-game suspension but no dramas – de Vries and Barbir starting at the back and Cole Seiler moving out to right back.

Only problem was that in the defensive shifts Deklan Wynne was left on the bench for Chris Serban. Myer Bevan got the 90 minutes though, which is always nice. We’re nearing the end of the American season and the Whitecaps 2 side only have four more games to play. This one was the first of three straight home games but despite a promising enough performance they still leaked a late winner to lose 2-1 to Orange County. Francis de Vries did some superb stuff on defence and he passed the ball around well however Bevan was mostly left hovering on the last man wishing for some service. It’d help if he held the ball up a bit better too… which should come with more experience. The loss means VW2 has now won just once in their last 17 games.

Up Next: Whitecaps vs Colorado, 3.00pm on Sunday (NZT)

Brock Messenger – FF Jaro (Finnish Ykkönen Division)

Best wishes to 2015 NZ U20 World Cup rep Brock here after he was released from his contract in Finland, where he’d been playing regularly in the second tier, for family reasons. The fullback reportedly asked for the release and he played his last game for the club in a 0-0 cup clash against KPV Kokkola. Here’s a translation of a report on YLE Sporten:

“New Zealand fullback Brock Messenger and FF Jaro have agreed to an early release on the player's contract. Messenger is still in the squad for Saturday's derby against KPV, but will then return to his home country. Messenger came to Jakobstad at the beginning of the season and signed a one-year agreement after a short trial period. The 22-year-old has played a total of 25 times for FF Jaro in Division One in the 2017 season and scored a goal. He returns to his home country for family reasons.”

Up Next: Dunno… back to Canterbury United? Here’s hoping everything’s all good first.

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