Flying Kiwis – February 27
Tommy Smith, Kip Colvey & Deklan Wynne – Colorado Rapids (American Major League Soccer)
The Anthony Hudson Era has begun in Colorado. Just days before his successor was named for the All Whites, he had his first competitive game in charge of the Colorado Rapids as they hosted Toronto FC (the team that Ryan Nelsen once managed) in almost freezing conditions in Denver.
It was a CONCACAF Champions League game, the first leg of a to 16 knockout tie. It was also Hudson’s first opportunity to show the new directions that this team was ready to head in after basically being one of the worst teams in the MLS in 2017. And, as we grew accustomed to with the All Whites, Huddo is never shy of backing up the chatter. He named six new acquisitions to start against Toronto, including former USA midfielder Enzo Martinez and a couple kiwi internationals: Tommy Smith and Deklan Wynne. The others newbies being Edgar Castillo, Jack Price and Jack McBean.
Smithy was an expected starter, they didn’t sign him to sit in the reserves. Deklan Wynne not so much and certainly not so much playing as the left-sided centre-back in a back three. However Wynne had gotten the start in their last preseason game so there was some hint at this. While he’s used to a back three with the All Whites and Hudson, he was always a left wing-back there. In fact the first choice LCB was Tommy Smith. Given that the team suggested that Wynne was headed for a loan to start the season, this suggests he might just be sticking around. Good gig for Deklan who’s certainly paid a few dues over the last couple years.
Toronto won it 2-0. They picked a strong team, a better team, and after having a bit of trouble with Colorado’s initial combination of selective high pressing with a deep and sturdy backline made it tricky to create chances against them but 55 minutes in Jonathan Osorio scored with a loopy back-post header from Sebastian Giovinco’s cross (past Deklan Wynne) and Tommy Smith couldn’t get out of a tangle to clear it off the line. Then less than twenty minutes later Giovinco scored one of his own with a tough volley.
Curiously Anthony Hudson didn’t make any substitutions. He said he thought it important to give these guys 90 minutes out there, to experience some fatigue, though equally it might have been hard for any subs to come into this game cold when the weather was literally freezing. All good for Deks.
The club confirmed in the lead in that Kip Colvey is currently out with a quad injury which explains his recent no-shows. Forward Shkelzen Gashi was also out injured although defender Axel Sjoberg, who is arguably their most renowned centre-back, was left out despite being available. Danny Wilson is going to step in there eventually, probably for Deklan Wynne. Homegrown talent Kortne Ford is pretty well loved by supporters. Interesting one, there.
Anthony Hudson: “What I do is, I come away from this feeling very positive about where we’re at today. The first three and a half weeks spent with a new team has been spent working on the foundation of the team and getting things organized. We’re just scratching the surface of where we’re at.”
Say and they also signed a striker! Joe Mason on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, their second signing from Wolves after midfielder Jack Price a little while ago – no doubt the Darren Bazeley influence in effect there. Mason will need an international spot which still leaves Wynne’s place very much in question. He’s not a projected long-term starter yet and might only be filling a spot until others are ready and he jets off to the USL but we’ll see how that goes.
Up Next: Second leg of the Champions League, away to Toronto FC at 2.00pm on Wednesday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
To start the season, the PECers lost just twice in their first 20 games in all competitions. Those two defeats were against Ajax and PSV, the two top sides in Holland. Pretty much magnificent even with a couple draws that could’ve been wins. But right before the winter break they were pumped 4-0 by ADO Den Haag and from kickoff of that game it’s mostly been junk ever since.
Two defeats in the first 20 games, seven defeats in the following nine. Including getting dumped out of the KNVB Cup 4-1 by AZ Alkmaar. The latest was a trip to play mid-table Heracles and they emerged from that with a 2-1 defeat, dropping Zwolle down to sixth on the ladder (having once been challenging for third).
Piotr Parzyszek was close to giving the PECers an early lead but couldn’t quite get on the end of the cross and from there most of the chances went Heracles’ way. Kristoffer Peterson made it 1-0 in the 42nd minute but by then Brandley Kuwas had already hit the frame of the goal twice and he was unlucky not to make it 2-0 soon after HT. Instead Zwolle levelled it up with Parzyszek the scorer but it took only ten minutes before Heracles were back on top. Vincent Vermeij with the goal. Each team had plenty of shots here (in fact Thommo was one of only three starters not to take a pop for PECZ, the others being a keeper and centre back) but no more goals were scored.
A tidy game all the same for Thomas who completed nine out of every ten passes and created a couple of chances for teammates to score. Plus his five tackles in the middle of the park were the most among his teammates. But these solid midfield performances don’t mean as much when the team keeps losing.
In happier news, kiwi teenagers Elijah Just extended his trial with PEC Zwolle and has even been given a chance to train with the top team for a bit, should opportunities allow. All very promising. He’d been there for a month and apparently had a quality showing in a 2-2 draw for the youth team against FC Twente’s kids.
Gerald Nijkamp, PEC technical director: “He has made such an impression on us in a month's time that we wanted to see him for longer. He has qualities. Elijah is especially good and reliable at the ball and that maybe makes him a typical PEC player.”
Albert van der Haar, PEC youth coach: “Elijah is a typical PEC Zwolle footballer. He has a good positional game and an eye for the spaces on the field. Elijah is not a kick-and-rush footballer, so he fits well here. He would not be out of place.”
The only issue is that he doesn’t have an English passport like Thomas was able to get, which will make signing him more expensive. Not harder, just more expensive. Hey, they can always make it back in transfer fees one day if Elijah Just ends up being as good as Ryan Thomas.
Up Next: PEC Zwolle vs VVV Venlo, 12.30am on Monday (NZT)
Amber Hearn & Meikayla Moore – FC Koln / C.J. Bott - USV Jena (German Frauen-Bundesliga)
Things started good for FC Koln. They didn’t look that way when Irini Ioannidou stepped up for SGS Essen to take a seventh minute penalty but they sure looked good when she missed it. And they looked even better in the 28th minute when Amber Hearn went and did this…
Nothing wrong with the scrappy ones.
With wins so hard to come by, FC Koln were in unfamiliar territory on the verge of a half-time lead. Amber Hearn with the goal, Meikayla Moore playing right back and keeping a zero in the oppo goal column… right up until Turid Knaak equalised in the second minute of injury time. With half-time oranges freshly cut and everything!
And then, having held on at 1-1 until the final seven minutes of the game, Linda Dallmann put Essen in front and they quickly added two more goals (for Nicole Anyomi and Lea Schuller) to make it 4-1. Unfortunately that’s kinda the way it’s been this season for Koln. At least Hearn got another goal though. A third for the campaign for her. Also only the fifth of the Bundesliga for her entire team, who hadn’t hit the net in a league game since November 12, incredibly.
As for CJ Bott, she was on the bench again as USV Jena went and drew 1-1 away at Werder Bremen. Janine Angrick had put Bremen in the lead with quarter of an hour left but then Amelia Pietrangelo brought the drama with an equaliser in the 87th minute. Bott was then almost straight away brought on (for a striker) to get some extra defence out there and Jena earned only their second draw of the season, to go with their one win. Good signs.
Up Next: Both teams are back at it on the 19th of March after the international break (NZT)
Chris Wood – Burnley (English Premier League)
After weeks of confusion about his injured knee, Chris Wood is finally back in action. He didn’t play against Southampton this weekend, as Burnley’s winless streak extended to 12 games with a 1-1 draw, but he was included on the bench. This after he got through 70 minutes in a closed-door friendly against Blackpool.
Sean Dyche: “Woody got 70 minutes in, so he’s back in the thinking. That was by design, by the way, we took him off at 70 minutes just to make sure he’s building his way back into true fitness.”
Fellow hobblers Tom Heaton and Dean Marney also managed to play that one, which goes a long way towards easing up an injury list that’s come close to filling out a complete starting eleven at times this season which is hardly easy for a team that’s pretty slim pickings in terms of depth already. Even the bloody manager’s injured too! Sean Dyche ruptured a thing muscle feeding the footballs out at training, apparently.
Woody’s gonna need to oust Ashley Barnes before he’s back in the XI. Barnes scored again versus Southampton, his fourth of the season which matches Woody’s tally, and has largely been preferred to Sam Vokes in Woody’s absence. He’s started all ten games that The Woodsman has missed, though Vokes has lined up beside him a time or two.
However nobody’s really scoring many goals for this team and that’s their biggest issue at the moment. Southampton’s late equaliser may have been clouded in controversy after the referee ran in the way of Ashley Westwood, which caused the Clarets to lose possession and pretty soon Manolo Gabbiadini was putting the ball in the net. Yet that’s what happens when you only score once every game. Leaves you open to back luck. Over this dozen-game winless streak they’ve only once scored more than once (2-2 vs Huddersfield). If Woody can guarantee goals, and that’s basically what they bought him for, then he’s gotta be close to getting back in there.
By the way, Burnley are still seventh. Haven’t won since before Christmas and they’re still seventh.
Up Next: Burnley vs Everton, Sunday at 1.30am (NZT)
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Winston had an extra week to rest up following his throat infection and he did and he was back on the bench as West Ham played Liverpool. But only on the bench. Instead James Collins, Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell made for a back three, flanked by Pablo Zabaleta and Patrice Evra at wingbacks. It didn’t help them. Despite some early flourishes, Marko Arnautovic twice going close from distance, they eventually caught the full force of Liverpool being Liverpool.
Emra Can scored the first from a corner - which wasn’t particularly well defended, just quietly – before Mo Salah missed the chance to make it 2-0 at the break when he headed over from close range. No dramas, he got his goal soon after the resumption with a tidy finish from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s assist. Then Roberto Firmino skipped past Adrian after Joao Mario had given the ball away in a dangerous area for three. Michail Antonio entered off the bench and immediately pulled one back but Sadio Mane made it 4-1 and that was the end of it. Probably need a change to that backline, aye?
That game began with a tribute to West Ham and England legend Bobby Moore on the 25th anniversary of his passing. We also celebrated another famous anniversary during the past week… Winston Reid’s first goal for West Ham. It came in a 5-1 FA Cup win over Burnley back in 2011 and began a run of rare but valuable goals for Winnie. He’s only grabbed 10 of them in seven years but West Ham have won every game in which he’s scored.
Winston Reid: “Of course, I remember it, even though it was seven long years ago! It was an FA Cup tie and we ended up winning 5-1, so it was good and I’ll never forget my first goal for the Club. It was before I knew Ginge (James Collins), but it was a Ginge-esque header, getting ahead of my marker at the near post, getting a good connection and, luckily enough, hitting the back of the net. That season obviously wasn’t ideal for any of us as we ended up getting relegated, but it was my first season with West Ham and I ended up playing 12 games. In different circumstances, it wouldn’t have been too bad, but it didn’t turn out how anyone would have hoped.”
Up Next: Swansea City vs West Ham at 4.00am on Sunday (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie – Mamelodi Sundowns (South African Premier Soccer League)
The Sundowns should’ve beaten Free State Stars in the midweek. Percy Tau put them up 1-0 inside five minutes and they continued to push hard for goals against a deep defence but sloppiness ensued. Jeremy Brockie was not immune, he put a one-on-one situation wide of the post and drew a fantastic save soon after from a header. He’d play 79 minutes and not come closer than those two golden opportunities. Then FSS went and equalised early in the second half and the early complacency came back to bite them. 1-1 in the end, still no goals for Brox at his new club.
Manqoba Mngqithi, Sundowns Assistant Manager: “At half time, we made [Jeremy] aware that we know what he’s capable of. He’s going to score a lot of goals for us but he must not rush. He must not get desperate because he starts to do things that are uncharacteristic of him. He wants to shoot on angles that don’t suit him but we know he has the capacity to help us. Everybody must be patient with him.”
The pressure won’t have lifted after another scoreless game on the weekend. Brockie came up against his old SuperSport United buddies but he wasn’t able to score against them as easily as he used to score for them. Probably because he only got subbed on for the last three minutes. Thabo Mnyamane had SSU up early and it wasn’t until the 78th that Percy Tau was able to equalise for a 1-1 draw. Brockie never really had a chance.
For what it’s worth, he said he would’ve celebrated against his old team if it had come to pass.
Jeremy Brockie: “Yes, I had good memories at Supersport and now I am on a new journey. I will celebrate goals like every time. I am still in touch with a couple of the guys in the team like [Dean] Furman, [Thuso] Phala. They still give me lot of support as well. It’s just a matter of time before one goes to the back of the net. I have to make special mention of the [Sundowns] fans. Even now [against Free Stars Stars] they still supported me. I would like to thank them.”
Up Next: AmaZulu vs Mamelodi Sundowns, 5.00am on Saturday (NZT)
Anna Green – Reading / Olivia Chance – Everton (English Super League)
‘Twas a busy week as the Super League crammed in a midweek round of fixtures before the international break, which saw both Reading and Everton involved. Reading were up first and they gave Bristol City what-for with a 4-0 win, highlighted by a couple goals in the space of four minutes early in the second half. Fara Williams scored a superb double with Kirsty McGee and Brooke Chaplen also getting Gs. Anna Green started her second game in a row (Harriett Scott’s injury opening up a spot in the starting XI) and played 71 minutes before being replaced after the fourth goal was scored.
Everton, on the other hand, may have been playing some solid footy recently but they came up against an Arsenal team that hadn’t conceded a goal in over a month. And they still haven’t. Beth Mead scored the only goal of the game late in the first half and the Toffees were left to wonder what happened to their luck. Half the team went close, Olivia Chance amongst them.
Everton FC: “Olivia Chance time and again drove forward with real purpose, with the New Zealand international almost levelling matters seconds after the restart. A fine Mollie Green pass into the box was coolly brought down by Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, who in turn slid a pass into Chance’s feet following her darting run into the box, but Gunners keeper Sari van Veenendaal reacted well to tip her shot wide.”
Arsenal won it 1-0. Five straight starts in all comps for Chancey though, whose recent form has gotta rival any player in the Football Ferns squad right now.
Reading got themselves up a spot to sixth with that win, ahead of Sunderland on goal difference, and with a game in hand that would put them fifth with a point or better while Everton’s win over Reading last week ensures they’re sitting decent in eighth and in range of making a run down the stretch.
Up Next: The WSL resume in late-March with Reading travelling to play Chelsea and Everton hosting Yeovil Town, both at 2.00am on Monday 26 March (NZT)
Stefan Marinovic & Myer Bevan – Vancouver Whitecaps (American Major League Soccer)
It’s all looking upwards for Stef. Not so much for Myer Bevan who’s struggled to get on the park for the Caps in preseason and doesn’t look to be a part of the immediate first team picture. Either he’ll hang around in case somebody gets hurt and look to take his shot that way or he might get a loan out, at least initially. Should find out soon with the less than a week until the new season. Most big-ass roster calls will be made by then in order to get it all in accordance with the league rules, so watch this space next week. As for Cory Brown, he’s out trying to earn a deal with their new USL affiliate.
Up Next: Vancouver Whitecaps vs Montreal Impact, 12.00pm on Monday (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
Midseason form already.
Up Next: First game of the MLS season for Minny Utd is away to San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday 4 March, 4.30pm (NZT)
Jake Gleeson & Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Heroic stuff from Jake in the final preseason hit out for the Timbers. He made a bunch of saves in his hour out there in what ended up being a 3-2 win for Portland, although scores aren’t worth much in those contests. Bill Tuiloma also started alongside Gleeson and a lot of the second unit types though left the field ten minutes earlier through injury. Looks like both of them will oughta be on the MLS roster in a week’s time (at least that’s the educated guess) but neither is likely to get a crazy amount of game time. At least not in the short-term. (Which is a big boost for Tuiloma and a drop off for Gleeson).
Stumptown Footy: “In addition to their 3-2 win over SKC on Saturday, the Timbers’ reserves dominated a closed-door friendly with the Houston Dynamo by the score of 4-0. Among the stars of that game was Julio Cascante, who scored (for the second time this preseason), but also anchored the backline. Although Cascante had a little bit more of an adjustment period, both he and Bill Tuiloma posted an excellent preseason that has made Cascante a bona fide threat to the starting spot of Liam Ridgewell or Larrys Mabiala, and has made a convincing case for Tuiloma to receive serious consideration for playing time.”
Up Next: LA Galaxy vs Portland Timbers, 4.00pm on Monday (NZT)
Elliot Collier – Chicago Fire (American Major League Soccer)
The Fire are in an interesting place because they’re supposed to be playing Uncle Tony’s Colorado Rapids first but the Champs League stuff has seen their opening fixture delayed. So while the Rapids have had to cut their preseason short, the Chicago side has an extra week. They also have maybe half a dozen spots left open on their roster which means more time to make decisions there. Including open international spots and plenty of money. Sounds like Elliot Collier might just be a part of that after featuring several times in preseason, even scoring a goal.
A lot of the roster flexibility comes down to some wild moves on draft day, which go far beyond the kiwi striker they picked in the third round. They also traded up for two first round picks (Jon Bakero at 5 and Mo Adams at 10) and let their best winger, David Accam, go to Philadelphia Union for a heap of cash. Bastian Schweinsteiger is still there (and he finally made his preseason debut last week) but around him they’ve gotten younger and cheaper. Which could lead to further deals, we’ll wait and see.
Collier started the latest preseason game but didn’t do much as part of a second-string team. Still, the fact that he’s still around shows that he’s making things happen. Elliot’s one of eight unsigned players still with the roster as of the last official update. By the way, getting signed wouldn’t necessarily mean playing MLS – they only have one open international spot at the moment so a loan out would be a high possibility.
Up Next: First MLS game is at home to Sporting Kansas City at 12.00pm on Sunday March 11 (NZT)
James Musa – Sporting Kansas City (American Major League Soccer)
Speaking of Sporting KC…
The Blue Testament: “Now it could be that he’s just hurt or had to return home for some other reason, but as I stated after that Tweet, my gut tells me he’s getting cut. I have absolutely zero evidence of that but with Brad Evans signing and his ability to play defensive midfielder (not to mention Felipe can play there too), Musa taking up an international spot just seems silly. He only made one appearance for SKC in 2017 to boot. It’s the curse of getting a first team contract too soon. Of the guys called up (Tyler Pasher, Adrian Zendejas, Amer Didic, Kevin Oliveira, Kharlton Belmar and James Musa) if Musa leaves, that means half are gone. And Didic and Zendejas have yet to log a MLS minute.”
Musa played 150 minutes across three preseason games, missing more than he played in.
Up Next: SKC begin things against New York City FC but we’ll see if The Moose is involved
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