Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

Winston Reid: “It turned into a game that we really didn’t want. They are really good. They have good quality players and have a lot of speed. Everything went wrong. I thought we started alright and we had a couple of chances. But at the end of the day we lost as a team.”

Geez, that’s foreboding. Although not if you watched West Ham take on Liverpool, the last home game of the season for the Hammers but nothing much more and a crucial clash that might define the top four race for Liverpool. Yeah, motivations matter.

Winston Reid, again: “The last few weeks we’ve been doing well as well. But we’ll move on to next season and learn from this season, especially at home. It’s just one of these things. We tried our best and went out there to try and put on a performance. But sometimes you have days like that and unfortunately we’ve had a few of them this season.”

If you wanna know what the Hammers’ mind-set was like after that rather special win over Spurs last time out, they shut down Mark Noble and Cheikh Kouyate for the season to have optional surgery on knocks that they’d each otherwise been playing through. They’re more or less done for the term and just waiting for that 3pm bell to ring so they can all go home. Liverpool not so much.

With no Nobes, that meant Winnie got to wear his captain’s armband again – as he presumably will again next week in their season closer. Got to reside over the usual defence too, although the young duo of Havard Nordtveit and Edmilson Fernandes had their work cut out in the midfield. Nah, the real selection issues were on the other side as Danny Sturridge was given a rare start and Adam Lallana made his return from injury.

Six minutes in and Sam Byram almost gave the Hammers the lead though. Played in by Calleri and he dragged his shot wide. Minutes later they coulda been behind but Joel Matip’s downward header came back up off the crossbar, lucky break. Shouts to Winnie for throwing himself in front of the rebound to help clear the danger. He also showed good awareness later to step up at the right moment to catch Sturridge offside. Other than that, the first 15 minutes were full of tentative efforts from outside the box which were all well saved.

Twenty minutes later they wouldn’t be so sharp with the offside trap and Sturridge was able to get through and chuck a couple stepovers on Adrian before slamming it low and past him. James Collins stepped up in line with Winston but Jose Fonte didn’t follow and he played him on. The pass from Coutinho was outstanding.

Right before the break the Hammers should’ve been level. Andre Ayew was waiting at the far post as a corner landed right at his feet about a metre out and he put it into the post. Then he did the same with the rebound while sitting on his arse. Poor fella wanted to bury himself like he didn’t do with that chance. Bit of a sitter, frankly.

And Liverpool made them pay for it in the second half. James Collins made a great block within a couple of minutes that was followed by a strong tackle from Reid. Adrian made a couple decent saves. Yet the Reds kept coming, a relentless period of attack to start the second spell. Wijnaldum ripped one off the crossbar on the volley which Reid was able to flick away with his head on the rebound. Only as far as Coutinho though, who took it perfectly with his first touch, skipped around Nordtveit and shot past a stretching block attempt from Reid to score from outside the box. Slightly magical, gotta admit it.

They added a third pretty rapidly but it was controversial. West Ham were hot on attack and Winston went up for a header with Wijnaldum. Arms raised and the Liverpool midfielder caught Winnie in the face, who dropped to the deck. Usually when there’s a knock to the head the ref will stop the game but here he allowed play on – it was never a foul, fully accidental, but you gotta be careful with concussions and all that. The crowd booed like hell as Liverpool attacked on the break and about twenty seconds later Coutinho had a double. Also, the ball came off Wijnaldum’s arm in the aerial challenge.

Winston Reid for a third time: “Obviously there was contact [in the challenge with Wijnaldum]. I didn’t see a handball, but I knew he fouled me. At the end of the day the referee didn’t give it. If we had got it, it could have been a different game. But it’s not the referee’s fault that we lost 4-0. We have to take it on the chin and move on.”

Divock Origi also hit the bar from distance, the fifth time the frame got rattled in this one, but it wasn’t gonna matter. Slaven Bilic made a double change two minutes prior to Coutinho’s first goal and that backfired (Jose Fonte was one of the dudes replaced). Origi got his goal with quarter of an hour left from a scrappy situation and… yeah. A 4-0 loss to put a ribbon on the first campaign at London Stadium.

The Guardian: “Bilic was aggrieved that his side were not awarded a penalty before Liverpool’s third goal, when the West Ham manager felt Neil Swarbrick should have pointed to the spot after Georginio Wijnaldum caught Winston Reid in the face with a flailing arm, and he may well have had a case. Yet any perceived injustice in relation to that incident was no excuse for some of the abysmal defending at the other end of the pitch, where West Ham were a shambles at times.”

The Independent Player Ratings: “Winston Reid – 6 out of 10 - The defender was strong in the air and managed to clear the danger from several set pieces. However, his lack of pace let him down today.”

ESPN FC Player Ratings: “Winston Reid, 4 -- A poor day's work by the New Zealander, who looked as if he might have had his thoughts on a summer trip home.”

Flashback to happier times…

Make whatever the hell of this you want to as well:

Up Next: Away to Burnley in the season closer, Monday 2.00am (NZT)

Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)

It’s all done-skees for Woody this season but that only makes this the first week of the next campaign and there’s work to be done if Leeds are gonna be back in the same competitive place they had themselves this time around. Paul Clement has already cast doubt over Kyle Bartley’s return after spending the year on loan while Pontus Janson needs some work as well with his hopeful deal. On the positive, Andrea Radrizzani reckons he’ll soon complete a full takeover of the club which means they can flush the dunny with Massimo Cellino.

Most importantly they need to get Garry Monk’s contract written up and signed but arguably coming in a close second is the state of their talismanic striker, 2016-17 Championship Golden Boot winner Christopher Wood.

Woody to YEP: “I’ve been working hard all season to do what we have been doing, trying to get promoted to the Premier League. It’s been a great season at the end of the day and we’re all looking to build next season now.”

Good thing is he’s contracted for another two years, although they might wanna open discussions sometime soon. When a player does well there are always transfer rumours – more than we realise are probably just agents trying to generate a market for new contract discussions and a pay-rise. Woody just became the sixth bloke in history to score 30 goals in a season with Leeds United.

Chris Wood: “This summer is huge. We’ve finished just outside the play-offs and we need to be recruiting well, building for next season. It’s going to be a big one. We’ll see what happens.”

Breaking down his 27 league goals for ya here, courtesy of The72:

• 16 home goals, 11 away goals
• 11 in first halves, 16 in second halves
• 15 times the first scorer in a game
• 134 minutes per goal
• 8 goals from inside the six-yard box
• 19 goals from elsewhere inside the penalty area
• 22 with his right foot
• 2 with his left foot
• 3 with his head
• 44 shots on target for his 27 goals

Chris Wood: “It’s international duty for the next month for me so brilliant, just what I need. But it’s all good. I’ll get my break time – not as much as the other lads but that’s life.”

Alright mate, that’s the focus now. Confederations Cup footy. First, however, is the pre-comp tour where the kiwis will play against Northern Ireland and Belarus and in that Northern Irish squad is Stuart Dallas, teammate of Wood’s at Leeds. How about that? The Norners also have a World Cup Qualifier against Azerbaijan (which they should win easy), should be fun.

And, ah… one last accolade for the scrapbook:

Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon (English League One)

Hey, there’s some good news there. Former NZ U20 rep Tzanev getting himself a proper deal with the Dons after spending time with their U21s late on in the season – and doing well enough to get a first team match day squad call-up on the last day of the season. The 20 year old had been with Brentford for a few years but didn’t get a second pro contract after rising through the ranks there.

Wimbledon manager Neal Ardley: “Nik came in to play for the Under-21s at the back end of the season and he impressed everybody. We want Nik to continue his development with us and his addition strengthens our options in the goalkeeping department.”

The Dons just came of a season where they started poorly, steadied themselves nicely in the mid-table of the third tier and then finished kinda slack once safety was assured. They’re talking up a big play at promotion next season though and Tzanev may not be in line for too many first team chances in the meantime but he signs not long after the club just released established number one gloveman James Shea, who has played over 100 times for them. They’ll be planning on bringing in someone new there but with the position open right now a strong preseason could mean plenty.

Quick note on AFC Wimbledon, this isn’t the same club as the Wimbledon that Vinnie Jones once played for, this is the team that was founded by disgruntled fans of that club in 2002 after that team was relocated to Milton Keynes – now re-established as Milton Keynes Dons. They started out in the ninth tier of English footy and this last season was their first in League One. It’s been a crazy rise and Tzanev isn’t the first kiwi to get on that train – back in the non-league days they came close to promotion in 05-06 with a top scorer named Shane Smeltz. Current Football Ferns coach Tony Readings also player there once upon a time.

Nik Tzanev: “To be a part of the first-team squad motivated me to keep going and try to get more opportunities. I am getting to the stage now when that is what I need to be doing. I know about the history of this club and the fans – it is an amazing club.”

Another quick note: the club is sponsored by the Football Manager game. That’s the coolest thing ever. Here’s another interview with the lad.

If you were wondering about other kiwi keepers (especially in light of Glen Moss leaving the Phoenix with an opening for one), Stefan Marinovic has one more game in his season for Unterhaching having long since wrapped up the Regionalliga Bayern division (which is in the fourth tier of German footy) with a goal difference of +69 through 33 games, losing only once and sitting first since the second game of the campaign. Marinovic has been superb as well, conceding just 13 goals in his 27 league appearances while keeping 16 clean sheets. If you’re keeping more clean sheets than you are conceding goals, then things are going well for ya. Marinovic is off contract at the end of the season and had a solid trial with Wolves in England back in his winter break. Would imagine he’ll find himself a decent club somewhere in Europe without too much worry.

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

It was madness on the final day of the Eredivisie. Dirk Kuyt bagged a hatty as Feyenoord secured their first title in 18 years, holding off a tight challenge from the youngsters at Europa League finalists Ajax (who won 3-1 on the final day fielding a year with an average age of 20 years and 139 days, a new record). PEC Zwolle, on the other hand, got smashed 4-1 by PSV Eindhoven to close their dreary campaign on a tough note.

With nothing to play for the PECers still named a decent team and a first half goal to Ted van de Pavert had them up 1-0 at the break. Ryan Thomas rolled out on the left wing and played the full 90, winning four tackles as Zwolle spent most of this one defending. They managed to hold onto that lead until the 78th minute… but then they conceded four goals in ten mins and it all ended with a whimper. 14th place out of 18 teams this year, 35 points from that with a -28 goal difference. It was a struggle, but they survived in the top flight.

Thommo finished his league campaign playing in 31 games out of 34 in the league, despite a few niggling injuries. 24 starts and 7 subs appearances. Fifth most minutes for the team even. Only scored one goal in there but contributed five assists, picking up a single yellow card as well for decoration. Passing success of 74.3%, 1.3 shots per game, 1.0 key passes/game… yeah, decent enough. Scored more goals for his national team than he did for his club though, that’s a bit weird.

There’s also been continued chat about Thommo possibly leaving the club this offseason, along with a few other Zwollers, with his contract having two more years to run now, after he signed an extension in March 2016. When the time is right, it’s right. Best keep an eye on any interest there.

Tyler Boyd - Vitória S.C. (Portuguese Primeira Liga)

Apparently he’s nowhere near the national team setup any more these days but Tyler Boyd is about to polish off a strong season over in Portugal. Didn’t get on the field for the first team like he did last season but played roughly 250 more minutes for the ressies with 30 of his 33 matches coming from the starting XI. Most impressive is that the former Welly Nix lad scored 8 times, making him the VSC2’s second top scorer.

Vitoria II close out their season when they host Benfica’s second team next Monday morning and a victory should put them up into the top half of the table. They just lost 1-0 away to Porto II but that one was notable coz it was the first match Boyd has played in about a month after injury. Could’ve added a few more to that goal tally otherwise. Still got one more chance.

Up Next: 3.00am on Monday against Benfica II (NZT)

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

Stuart Baxter’s signed a new five-year deal to return as the manager of the South African national side after this season’s end. That’s rough news, he’s brought plenty of success to this team, particularly in cup competitions, although the balancing act of juggling all those cups at the moment just spilled over into the league season where a couple bad results over a few weeks in April ended their chances of winning the title. Now they’re looking at third place at best. Baxter, by the way, was the South Africa boss back when they played the All Whites in NZ several years ago which was where he first saw Brockie and Boxall play.

Cape Town were still plotting a late run at first though when they came up against SuperSport last week. A scuffed clearance from Clayton Daniels allowed them to take an early lead too, even more fuel to the growing fire. But the home team are better than that and twice drew good saves out of the CT keeper, Thuso Phala with one attempt and the bro Mike Boxall with the other. He and Brockie played the full game despite the Confederation Cup group stage coming up soon… which turned out to be a good call.

SSU levelled after half an hour, Phala fed in Thabo Mnyamane who buried it before Daniels made amends for that first goal when he turned one in at the right end from a free kick after the break. Oh but then he went the other way and gave away a penalty to see the score set at 2-2 with 25 minutes left. In the 74th minute? Up popped Jeremy Brockie.

Simple finish, important goal. Cape Town pressed hard for an equaliser but SSU added a fourth in injury time thanks to Thuso Phala, another fantastic game for him, and 4-2 was the way it ended. Curiously though, Phala was one of three players booked in the last ten minutes of that game for SuperSport, all of whom were a yellow away from a one-game suspension. With the Nedbank Cup final coming up and only one league game before that one (both matches are against Chippa United), that seems like a lot more than coincidence.

Ooh, shirt swappin’!

A few days later SuperSport was at home to face Horoya in their opening group stage game of the Confederation Cup campaign. Having negotiated qualifying, they’re now plotting something more although that didn’t stop Baxter from resting a couple lads at the same time. Both kiwis sitting on the bench, for example. A late team bus meant the visitors took longer than expected to arrive at the stadium and kickoff was delayed by 40 minutes. First half hour it was all SSU but there was hardly a chance to show for it. Then they went behind after some weak defending. A brilliant free kick from Keegan Ritchie made it 1-1 but then they leaked another one with a shot through traffic that found the corner. On came a few subs, Phala was one and nine minutes later Brockie was another. This is what happened:

Kickoff.com: “Substitute Phala eventually found the equaliser for the Tshwane side as he collected a pass from Reneilwe Letsholonyane, after Jeremy Brockie did well to let the ball run through his legs, and slotted home from inside the box in the 83rd minute.”

They shoulda won but they also didn’t really prioritise the competition and with that group stage formula they can get away with a couple of those as long as they can avoid defeat. Will be interesting to see how they balance those priorities over the last two games of the PSL season.

Elsewhere Boxall’s been chatting about the Confederations Cup (with an ‘s’, the international comp not the Europa League of Africa comp) with Goal.com. Boxall is likely to be in that side, he always is these days for the All Whites, even if his mate Jeremy Brockie is a firm outsider there.

Mike Boxall: “I think if we get three points in our first game [vs Russia] it will back us up to go and get another point at least in the other two games. Typically, people think of Oceania football at the tournament to make up the numbers .Judging by previous results, it’s hard to argue with that, but our coach, Anthony Hudson, over the last couple of years has put us on a path to do well in these kind of stages. I think we have developed and come a long way as a team. We’re definitely not going to make up the numbers. So, we’re going there to do well as a team.”

Don’t tell NZ Football but that article has Anthony Hudson’s name as Anthony Hamilton. Silly folks.

Up Next: Away to Chippa Utd at 5.30am on Thurs (NZT)

Myer Bevan, Deklan Wynne & Francis de Vries – Vancouver Whitecaps II (American USL)

Look, another kiwi joker on the Whitecaps! Somebody’s got a connection there alright. There’s also NZ-eligible Ben McKendry there as well, although (reasonably) aligned himself with Canada instead,  .

Myer Bevan is currently with the NZ U20s ahead of the World Cup there next week. He’s bene with the Nike Academy in England where he’s played as a striker putting goals away against youth teams from some of the finest clubs in the world and he’ll hook up with Vancouver after the FIFA U20 World Cup… pending his Canadian work visa but that tends not to be an issue with players. He’ll join the other NZers there at the second team in the USL division.

WFC2 head coach Rich Fagan: “Myer is a modern striker with good height, balance, pace, and intelligent movement. He is strong with both feet and can play as a lone striker or in a tandem. He is also willing to work incredibly hard for the team defensively. We are excited to work with Myer and look forward to helping him reach his potential.”

That Nike Academy thing is real interesting, give them a google if you’re similarly piqued because that’s a pretty unusual path to professionalism but if you do crack the ranks then they’ve got a strong record of finding pro clubs for ya.

In the latest WFC2 match, the team showed up for their fourth win of the season, beating Colorado Springs 3-1 at home. Injury has ruled Francis de Vries out at the moment but Deklan Wynne was there on show, picking up a yellow card late on, as Marco Bustos, Gloire Amanda and Chris Serban scored goals. See if you can spot ol’ Wynnebags in here:

As for Kippo, Mr Colvey has spent the season so far in the same USL league on loan at Reno 1868 from his San Jose Earthquakes side in the MLS. Five starts there outta six games, most recently contributing to their first win (and first clean sheet) of the season in a 4-0 victory away at Phoenix Rising where he played left back – defending up against none other than Shaun Wright-Phillips. Here he is saying some words on the MLS team’s twitter:

Jake Gleeson – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)

Back in business now after sitting out a few games with injury, Jake Gleeson returned to the starting XI to reclaim his numero uno role. There might have been a few worries there as Jeff Attinella played very well in his absence and after all it was an injury to the incumbent that allowed Jake to steal that spot last season. But nah, back between the sticks and doing things like this:

Portland could only manage a 1-1 draw with Atlanta. Some would say they were lucky to even get that as a surprisingly defensive Timbers side had only 28% of possession in the first 45 minutes. They were at least able to limit the shots by sitting deep but after getting back into the sheds at 0-0 it took all of 60 seconds before they were behind after the break. Julian Gressel hitting one into the corner. Portland wee much better after that and Liam Ridgewell equalised within five minutes but an increase on the old pressure gauge didn’t toll in the end and the Timbers, after winning their first three games, have now only won two of eight since.

Oregon Live: “After doing a good job to keep Atlanta off the board in the first half, the Timbers had an immediate letdown after coming back for the second 45 minutes. The Timbers turned over the ball in the 46th minute and allowed Jeff Larentowicz to send a cross into the box. Liam Ridgewell then failed to step to Julian Gressel, who slotted a savable left-footed shot past Jake Gleeson. It was an all around disappointing and avoidable goal. Timbers coach Caleb Porter said after the game that the Timbers were way too casual in the moment. Portland cannot let their guard down like that, especially in a game where they are being significantly out-possessed.”

Also, you’ve gotta laugh…

Up Next: Montreal vs Portland, Sunday at 7.00am (NZT)

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