Flying Kiwis – November 26
Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)
The Woodsman’s up to his old tricks again. Early in the second half away to Watford, in a game in which he’d barely been involved in during the first half as Watford had by far the better of the play and Burnley had just two off target shots to show for anything, up he popped from a corner kick to volley in an awkward one for the lead. That’s a sixth goal in six Premier League games for the big man. Just being a smart striker and getting himself in the right place at the right time to score.
That was the one major moment for Woody in this game but it was the one that mattered most. He was subbed off with quarter of an hour to play, Jay Rodriguez coming on for a run around as the Clarets looked to hold on in what had been a scrappy affair. Jay Rod almost killed it off after a five mins out there but his shot came back off the crossbar... but a VAR intervention gave Ashley Barnes the chance to step up to the penalty spot (Wood was off the pitch but the convention seems to be that the striker who wins it gets to take it so Barnesy would have gotten this one regardless) and he made it 2-0 in the 82nd minute (just... it was tipped onto the post and barely made it over the line but a goal is a goal is a goal) before James Tarkowski got a well-deserved goal near the end to rub it in. Watford crumbling a little at the end there and falling to last on the table thanks to results elsewhere. Burnley meanwhile winning their first away game of the season.
Even Sean Dyche had to admit that it wasn’t a result that reflected the run of the game. Burnley took their chances and were rewarded by that but they weren’t three goals better. Watford were denied multiple times by Nick Pope in that first half and, honestly, this game really wasn’t much from a quality standpoint. Not one that anyone’s gonna want to watch the replay of voluntarily. That’s why you get a striker like Chris Wood though, somebody who can supply those moments of immense value that turn a sludgy performance into three points.
Sean Dyche: “I thought it was a fair reflection of the West Ham game, but today it didn’t feel like a 3-0. Watford gave as good as they got, but key moments were the thing. Great finish from Woody, who adjusted his feet at the last second to get a cleaner strike - that’s clever. We get a penalty, which I think is, Ben Foster made a couple of good saves, we hit the bar, but it wasn’t like the West Ham game. But I’ll take the win, hands down, first away win and all the rest that goes with it.”
Up Next: Burnley vs Crystal Palace, Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Annalie Longo – Melbourne Victory (Australian W-League)
It was a poor start to the season last week for Melly Vix, going down 3-0 to Sydney FC. But game two came with Annalie Longo promoted to the starting lineup to face Brisbane Roar and in a very entertaining game the Victory played much better in the midfield (surely not a coincidence) and were 2-0 up nice and quick, with an own goal followed by a Natasha Dowie penalty... although Tameka Yallop, wife of former Footy Ferns midfielder Kirsty Yallop, dragged one back in the 24th minute.
But Yallop then missed a penalty that would have tied it up prior to the break as Victory keeper Casey Dumont had a bit of a blinder with several amazing saves mixed in there. This game went end to end and finally Natasha Dowie added to that Victory lead with quarter of an hour to go with an outstanding volley. Indiah-Paige Riley scored with ten minutes left for Brisbane but they weren’t able to find the equaliser (not helped by a hand injury suffered by Aussie star Hayley Raso). So yeah, crazy exciting game and made better by a fine performance in the midfield from Longo. Perhaps a little deeper than expected but she linked up nicely with her new teammates, able to push forward and get a couple shots off too. Longo was subbed off just before the third goal was scored, with big raps from the commentary team.
The Women’s Game Player Ratings: “Annalie Longo (7.5) - The Kiwi international had a strong game. Positioned herself very well in the middle of the park. Ran hard all night.”
A bit lucky with the result considering some of Brissie’s mistakes but a much better showing from the Victory who notch their first three points of the season and they’re now in South Korea for some AFC Club Championship footy. The inaugural version of that tournament, with three games in five days against Hyundai Steel Red Angels, Jiangsu Suning and Nippon TV Beleza with the winner of that group lifting the trophy.
Up Next: Melbourne Victory vs Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, Tuesday 26 November at 11pm (NZT)
Rebekah Stott – Melbourne City (Australian W-League)
And then there were two. With Annalie Longo already out there flying the flag for Aotearoa at Melbourne Victory, now W-League legend Rebekah Stott is back in the comp after signing across town at Melly City. Not quite in time for the start of the season but of course she had a campaign in Norway to polish off first. That Avaldsnes team finished fifth on the ladder, with Stotty playing all 22 league games. Fellow kiwi Vic Esson played in half of those, as did Aussie favourite and Melbourne City icon Aivi Luik... who, oh look what a coincidence, has also popped back by the MC offices recently.
The timing of the W-League makes it pretty common for players to sign up during their offseason elsewhere, most notably from NWSL clubs in America (which Stott did a bit of in recent years) but a lot of the Scandinavian seasons make that a possibility as well. Stott and Luik were both key members of the Melbourne City team that went back to back to back between 2016-2018... and Stott is apparently the all-time leader in appearances for the club, one ahead of Steph Catley.
Rado Vidosic, MC coach: “We’re excited to have Rebekah back in City colours, she’s been one of the Club’s most important players from the very start. An experienced winner, she knows what it takes to win the league and we’re looking forward to her returning with that same hunger that has made her so successful. A versatile defender, one of Rebekah’s biggest strengths is her ability to not only fulfil her defensive duties but to also contribute to our attacking style of play, as she looks to take the game on and beat her opponents. She’s an experienced international and a player that City fans enjoy watching.”
Beautiful... although there was a typo in the Melbourne City announcement, claiming Stott was a 17-cap Football Fern when in actual fact she has 78 caps... rather big difference between the two numbers.
Stott had already missed City’s first game of the season, a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle Jets with Emily van Egmond’s first half goal cancelled out by Teigan Collister in the second half. But she was straight in there days after her signing was confirmed, starting in a back three as City faced Canberra United on the road in a game that supplied plenty of drama.
Melbourne City had looked good in the first half but were somehow unable to turn a number of shots and plenty of pressure into a goal, with Emily van Egmond in particular looking dangerous without the reward. The game was still scoreless at the break but Canberra stepped it up in the second and would eventually do what City had been unable to and take a cheeky lead. Katie Stengel (a teammate of Katie Bowen at Utah) followed up on Camila’s shot off the crossbar to score.
That led to a fascinating last half hour or so, in which Milica Mijatović got in behind the defence to round the keeper and make it 1-1 before both teams had significant moments to win it. Simone Charley hit the post for Canberra, before Stotty showed why she’s been consistently one of the better defenders in this league year on year with a bit of this late on, shout out to The Guardian’s minute by minutes...
“Brilliantly defended by Rebekah Stott, as Stengel receives a long ball into the box and looks to twist and turn, but the experienced Kiwi CB steps in and clears, eventually. That could have been the winner, if it wasn’t for Stott’s tenacity.”
But then late on, third minute of stoppage time, a slice of overcommitted defending at the other end saw Melbourne City win the penalty. Up stepped van Egmond again and although the keeper got a hefty hand to it, it wasn’t enough to keep it out and City won it 2-1 in chaotic and emotionally exhaustive circumstances. Which means that teams have a 100% record with New Zealanders in their starting lineup this W-League season.
The Women’s Game Player Ratings: “Rebekah Stott (7) – The Kiwi international is back for another season and showed her experience in keeping Canberra at bay for most of the game. She injected herself into midfield at every opportunity however her final ball was sometimes wasteful.”
Up Next: Saturday at 9pm at home versus Adelaide (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)
Wow. Alright then.
Sarpreet Singh has obviously been carving it up for Bayern’s reserves and you already know that if you’ve been reading Flying Kiwis each week (if you appreciate what we do, hit up that Patreon thing and say cheers!) and with Bayern currently in between managers and happy to take their time on the search for a new boss (Pochettino wouldn’t be a bad one for Singh, just quietly) that’s given interim boss Hansi Flick a bit of room to chill out, grab himself a drink, maybe settle in with a good book, and promote four youth team players to the top squad. Sarpreet Singh was one, blessedly. Leon Dajaku, Oliver Batista-Meier and Joshua Zirkzee are the other three, the first two German U19 internationals (Dajaku has made two first team matchday squads this season) while Zirzkee is a Dutch youth international.
In Flick’s own words they’ll be training with the top team until the winter break (so for about the next month – which is about as long as Flick’s expected to be in charge for) in order to give them the best circumstances to develop as players. Singh has been a standout for the ressies so he was always gonna be pushing for more prominence at the club and this confirms what we already knew which is that he’s already one of the very top prospects at Bayern Munich, incredibly.original article
(There’s a couple other quotes from Singh in that thread, the original article is from Bild but it’s behind a paywall so meh... good chat though)
Although for all the buzz around this little move it’s not actually that much of a change for Singh. He was already training with the first team whenever they needed the numbers (as long as there weren’t midweek games demanding more specialised preparation) and this doesn’t mean he leaps ahead of Coutinho in the gaffer’s thinking all of a sudden. Singh was already in Bayern’s wider Champions League squad and he could have been picked for any old Bundesliga game this season. He just hasn’t been. Notably none of the quartet were in the side that beat Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-0 this weekend either. But training full time with the top squad is clearly yet another step in the upwards direction as Singh continues to do all the right things at Bayern.
And he continued to do the right things as Bayern II drew 1-1 away at 1860 München II. Kwasi Wreidt converted an early penalty kick but Bayern didn’t really get a lot going in the attacking sense and Dennis Dressel finally got the home side level in the 68th minute on the second effort. Ninety minutes for Singh who found himself in a more attacking role this time around, though it was a quiet one by his recent standards. BM2 were pretty lucky to take a draw from this one considering the barrage they were put under in the second half but having done so they keep themselves nicely in midtable with the bottom team up next (and the top team, MSV Duisburg, the week after that).
Up Next: Bayern 2 vs Carl Zeiss Jena on Saturday at 7am... although Bayern does have a Champions League game away to Crvena zvezda on Weds at 9am if you’re feeling lucky (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
First game back from suspension and Ryan Thomas was straight back in there for PSV, starting alongside Pablo Rosario and the young fella Mohamed Ihattaren in a midfield three and playing a pretty impressive 74 minutes before he was replaced against Heerenveen. Basically the same time he was subbed in the All Whites vs Ireland game too, with these last two matches of his the most he’s played in a proper game since April 2018 when he was still at PEC Zwolle – that was his last ninety minute game. This was his second start for PSV (he was sent off in the first one), having also come off the bench two times. Steadily upping that influence.
Also returning to the lineup after a little injury break was striker Steven Bergwijn and it was who thumped in a rocket in the 17th minute to give PSV the lead. A little under twenty minutes later that same fella cut inside and curled in another beauty to double that lead. Two fantastic goals from a player they’d really missed the last couple games as the club had stunk it up a bit and lovely to see Ryan Thomas doing his thing in the build up too, rolling around and getting into pockets of space and making sure the ball kept moving.
Heerenveen made it interesting ten mins into the second half when Jens Odgaard slammed one in from the edge of the area and a PSV team lacking in confidence didn’t make it easy on themselves after that... but they were able to lock it down on the strength of that quality first half. 2-1 to PSV who snap a run of six games without a win, this their first three pointer since early October. Ajax and Alkmaar also both won this weekend so the gap remains for third-placed PSV – they’re 5 points behind AZ and 11 behind Ajax. But it’s all good because Ryan Thomas is finally poised for a good run of games.
The local reports were pretty glowing for Thommo. PSV fans have been crying out for a midfielder of his style who is comfortable in possession and can move the ball around smoothly. Erick Gutierrez had been playing in this role most of the season but despite some magical moments he’s been too inconsistent for coach Mark van Bommel’s liking which might just have opened this spot up in the first eleven for Thommo just as he returns to fitness and coming off a frustrating run of six games in all comps without a win, leaving them prime for a shake-up. MVB had already taken the captain’s armband from Rosario and given it to Denzel Dumfries this week. Thommo’s His previous start he’d been used as a number ten, with the early red card making that experiment a bit irrelevant, but it’s as a deeper midfielder that he was at his best for PEC Zwolle and it’s there that he offers the most to this PSV side.
Interesting to see how careful they are with Thomas’ minutes now. There’s two games coming up this week and with the state of their previous month and a half of form they need to win pretty much every league game for the next wee while to get back into the title race but prior to travelling to FC Emmen on Monday morning 8am NZT they’ve also gotta go to Portugal for a huge Europa League game which they really need to get at least a point from to stay in the hunt for the knockout rounds.
Up Next: Away to Sporting in the Europa League on Friday at 9am (NZT)
Marco Rojas – SønderjyskE (Danish Superliga)
Another fella seemingly reinvigorated by a bit of national team duty, Marco Rojas was in the starters for Sonders as they hosted Lyngby Boldklub and after Kevin Tshiembe had tapped one in from a corner kick at the far post, some mud defending there, it was Rojas with the twinkle toes to set up Christian Jakobsen for the equaliser. Big fella Jako did well to beat the offside trap too.
Rojas almost set up another one soon after with a low driven corner kick (old mate getting in on more set piece duties in recent times as he’s established himself as a first choice player) but somehow the ball stayed out. Sonders then took the lead midway through the 2H as Jakobsen whacked in a scrappy one after a long throw... but Lyngby levelled up in the 77th through Rezan Corlu and to be honest they were a tad lucky to avoid a handball in the box a few minutes earlier as well. Ah well, a 2-2 draw. Rojas was subbed off pretty much immediately after the go-ahead goal with a defender coming on in his place so... yeah, backfired. He also picked up a yellow card along the way.
Up Next: Randers vs SønderjyskE, Monday at midnight (NZT)
Hannah Wilkinson - Sporting CP (Portuguese 1a Divisão)
A 5-0 win and another Hannah Wilkinson goal. Wilkie had to be content with starting on the bench again but that’s sorta what you have to deal with when everyone else is scoring goals too. Sporting were 4-0 up barely an hour into this one against CF Benfica (not the good Benfica women’s team but the other one) and the game was long decided by the time Wilkinson appeared in a double sub with quarter of an hour to go. But that’s no reason not to add another one to the tally. To the surprise of nobody, it was another header with Wilkinson too tall, too strong, too good at the back post off an 88th minute corner kick. Sporting stay second on the ladder on goal difference ahead of SC Braga, three points behind SL Benfica.
Up Next: Albergaria vs Sporting CP, Sunday at 3.45am (NZT)
Elliot Collier – Chicago Fire (American Major League Soccer)
He made his international debut last week but this week Collier’s had his contract option declined by the Chicago Fire. One of nine players not picked up by the Fire including a number of first teamers as they celebrated a rebranding of the club with a shakeup of the playing roster (two weeks after dumping their coach). It’s still possible that Collier re-signs with the Fire on new terms though that feels unlikely given he would have been on pretty team-friendly contract numbers already as a fringe player. But he’s available for other clubs on waivers if they wanna claim his rights. - the waiver process in MLS being a lot like a draft process with clubs selecting in reverse order of their 2019 records (postseason included) and starting with the expansion sides. Collier doesn’t get to enter free agency yet as he hasn’t met the required years of service – yes, MLS contracts are massively and unnecessarily complicated. So for now he’s in an awkward limbo phase but the good news is that the waiver selections begin tomorrow NZT, meaning there should be some swift clarity to everything.
Collier played 16 games for Chicago Fire in the 2018 season, starting nine of them and scoring one goal in 904 minutes. At USL level he scored 1 goal in 11 games (550 minutes) on loan at Indy Eleven in the second half of 2018 and then scored 6 goals in 26 games (1832 mins) at Memphis 901 in 2019.
Up Next: [*chews fingernails nervously*]
Tommy Smith & Deklan Wynne – Colorado Rapids (American Major League Soccer)
And Collier won’t be alone in all this waiver process thing either. Michael Boxall has signed a multi-year deal and Bill Tuiloma had his contract picked up for next year but over on the Colorado Rapids there was action. You’d have figured that might be Deklan Wynne but no, actually it was Tommy Smith who got dumped on the waiver wire. Wynne had his contract option picked up while Smith is easily the most high profile of the players the Rapids have left exposed to potentially leaving the club.
Not completely out of the blue though. Smithy will have been on significant dollars which always tips the scale but more importantly Colorado recently traded for USA U23 international Auston Trusty as well as negotiating a permanent deal for Lalas Abubukar who had played the second half of 2019 on loan with the Rapids and significantly improved their defence when he did. Two new central defenders in town, decisions were going to have to be made.
But Smith’s not necessarily out of there yet. The club general manager has been on the record saying that negotiations are continuing and with Smithy happy and settled in Colorado it could be a matter of accepting lower terms. His current contract, for a player who’s been inconsistent in his time in the MLS, and considered an import player as well, the market place might not be huge for him, dunno.
Padraig Smith, Rapids GM: “We’ve declined the team option and we’re still in discussions with Tommy. There’s different avenues to ensure that we’re giving [Head Coach] Robin [Fraser] the best squad that we can for next year. We’re going to make the right decisions for the club.”
And based on these comments from a couple weeks ago, unless something has changed it seems more likely than not that he and Colorado will be able to come up with some solution.
Tommy Smith: “At some stage it would be great to come and play for Ipswich Town, whether or not that's possible, who knows? Contract negotiations are underway with Colorado and it looks likely that that will be get done, which is great for me personally. But at some stage myself and my wife are looking to come back to England to settle. Whether that's at the end of this next contract or another time, who knows?”
Smithy has played 60 games in two seasons for Colorado Rapids, with 7 goals to his name in that time. All 60 games were starts, adding up for 5384 minutes. 5 assists too, sneakily. Tommy Smith’s always been a set piece beast after all.
Up Next: Best wait and see...
Erin Nayler – Girondins Bordeaux (French Division 1 Féminine)
Nayler was on the bench again, presumably a little rotation after the international window and giving a well-liked local backup some minutes in Romane Bruneau but not really sure on that one. Still, away to Paris FC Bordeaux came away with another solid win. Khadija Shaw and Viv Asseyi both scored in the first half and a 73rd mintue own goal capped the scoring at 3-0. Bordeaux now a couple points clear in third place as they notch their third win in a row.
Up Next: FCGB vs Stade Reims, Sunday 8 December at 2.30am (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie & Dan Morgan – Maritzburg United (South African Premier Soccer League)
There was no Jeremy Brockie, an unused sub on the occasion, but there was plenty of Dan Morgan as Maritzburg struck late through Judas Mosemaedi to beat Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in the Telkom Knockouts to storm on into the final. This was a big upset too, Chiefs were expected to win this thing easily but Mosemaedi scored after half an hour, sprinting out on the break and picking off an underhit backpass. And even after Chiefs finally levelled in the 78th minute, Maritzburg still pushed forward and earned a deserved win. They’ll face Mamelodi Sundowns in the final, the team that Brockie’s on loan from (so he won’t be able to play that one, sadly).
Up Next: Maritzburg vs SuperSport, Thursday at 6.30am (NZT)
Steven Old – Morecambe (English League Two)
A 5-0 loss with a first half red card to a defensive teammate. Yeah that’s not one to dwell on.
Up Next: Morecambe vs Carlisle, 4am on Sunday (NZT)
Nicole Stratford – USV Jena (German Bundesliga)
Holding down the fort for the kiwis in the Frauen Bundesliga this week was Nicole Stratford, getting her second start for the club and her first full ninety minutes in a 2-0 defeat against SC Sand. No sign of Paige Satchell on the other side but great to see Stratty at right back. But yeah it’s been tough for USV Jena, who took this one into the break at 0-0 but conceded after just two mins of the second half through Dina Blagojevic and then in the 58th minute Ricarda Schaber completed the scoring. Jena have lost seven games in a row in all comps now and are bottom of the Bundesliga with only one point from ten games. It’s been tough... both goals were pretty amazing long range efforts here though so perhaps there’s improvements in that. Not like they got ripped apart or anything.
Catch the highlights in here...
Elsewhere Ali Riley was an unused sub as Bayern Munich scored late to draw 1-1 with league leaders Wolfsburg, the first points Wolfsburg have dropped all campaign.
Up Next: Away to Duisburg at 1am on Sunday (NZT)
Olivia Chance – Bristol City (English Super League)
Weeks don’t come much worse for footy clubs than this one. Not unexpected, as Bristol City faced Arsenal in the Conti Cup and then days later hosted Manchester City in the league... but to concede 12 goals and score zero in the two combined was not how anyone dreamed it’d go, that’s for sure. Arsenal won 7-0 with doubles to both Kim Little and Vivianne Miedema while Man City saved the damage ‘til late as they won 5-0 but didn’t score the last three of those goals until the final six minutes of things. The only real positive? 180 minutes for Olivia Chance. Full games in each.
Up Next: Doesn’t get any easier as they face Arsenal away again, this time in the league at 1.30am on Monday (NZT)
Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)
It was almost as bad for Spurs. Drawing 0-0 at the half away to Chelsea with a bit of a rotated team, Ria Percival was subbed on at HT and they went on to lose 5-1, ouch. And then a few days later with Percival playing the full game at right back, Spurs lost 3-1 away to Everton. No penalties conceded by Percival, no obvious errors leading to goals... but clearly a forgettable week for the kiwis in the WSL. Katie Rood’s Lewes lost both their Conti Cup game and also their league game this week a division down too so wow yeah that’s six defeats from six for the kiwi crew in England so best flush the dunny and move on, as the saying goes.
Up Next: Away to Birmingham at 3am on Monday (NZT)
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