Flying Kiwis - December 4
Ryan Thomas – PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie)
That whole must-win Europa League game away to Sporting Lisbon didn’t exactly go as planned, with Ryan Thomas named on the bench and when he was finally subbed in for his second Europa League appearance with eleven minutes remaining the team was already 4-0 down. Which is the way it would stay. So... yeah. There’s still a chance they can qualify for the next round but they’ll need to beat Rosenborg and hope that LASK loses to Sporting while overturning a seven goal swing in their goal differences.
But forget about that because Ryan Thomas started for PSV against FC Emmen. Looking to be the fella to turn things around for PSV, the Dutch giants having won only one of their last eight games in all comps and thus finding themselves slipping out of the title race already. And quarter of an hour in, when Daniel Schwaab tapped in from a corner to cap a bright start from PSV, it was all pretty swell. But that was as good as it got.
Soon after they Glenn Bijl did his best Joel Steven impression and whacked one in from almost halfway for Essen... but VAR ruled it out for what was a relatively obvious foul in the build up. A reprieve for PSV but one they were unable to make the most of. They wasted several chances (including a whack off the left foot that went straight at the keeper from Thommo just outside the area) prior to the break... and then Marko Kolar scored one for Emmen that actually counted (from about forty eight metres closer to the goal than the Bijl one – Bijl with the assist here btw) and this young and struggling PSV team immediately felt the pressure. If any team were going to win this it was probably gonna be Emmen, they had the better chances. Well, other than when Mitroglou headed one in for the apparent winner for PSV in the second minute of injury time from a beauty of a Ryan Thomas cross but he was a mile offside and nobody really celebrated.
Emmen were also big on the tactical foul which saw Glenn Bijl sent off for a second yellow right near the end. 1-1 was the final score. A ninety minute effort from Thommo who was a little sloppy at times as he adjusts to this level after so long out but he also brought a real energy and passing range to the midfield which should see him getting plenty more of these chances, particularly as gaffer Mark van Bommel seeks answers to this rather concerning run of form.
Up Next: PSV vs Fortuna Sittard, 7.45am on Sunday (NZT)
Rebekah Stott – Melbourne City (Australian W-League)
Team of the week? Yeah sure, no dramas. This after Stotty was a rock in defence for Melbourne City in a 1-0 win over Adelaide, as an eighth minute Kyah Simon goal was all they needed to notch a second straight victory with Rebekah Stott in the lineup. Adelaide didn’t have a single shot on target. Stott just sliding back into this Melbourne City defence with no preseason, straight back from Norway, as if she’d never been away.
In fairness, City should have won by more. They were comfortably the better team but despite a lovely early goal they were never quite able to repeat that, unable to make the most of their chances and perhaps a little less than ruthless against a team that they had largely under control down the other end. Some dodgy finishing and a few poor touches in the box which didn’t make a difference on this occasion but against, say, table-topping Sydney FC next week they will need to be a little better if they’re gonna make it three wins in a row.
Up Next: Sunday at 6pm away to Sydney FC (NZT)
Annalie Longo – Melbourne Victory (Australian W-League)
The Victory had a break from the W-League stuff this week because, as you know, they were a tad busy with a bit of confederational footy. The AFC Women's Club Championship, three games in a week. It was uncharted territory for the club, for all the clubs in fact at the inaugural version of this competition, so it was a blank slate they had to work with. And the results weren’t really there... though the timing of the tournament wasn’t ideal for a team so early in their season considering how far they had to travel to face three teams all at the end of their seasons. So it goes.
They lost 4-0 to South Korean giants Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels in the first game. That was followed by a 1-1 draw with Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, with a rotated squad half-packed with youngsters. And then to finish it was a 5-0 loss at the hands of Nippon TV Beleza from Japan who would lift the trophy thanks to that result. But no need to get into all that because Annalie Longo didn’t actually play in any of these games. Nine of the eleven that started their previous W-League game featured in the first and third games in Korea but Longo was absent throughout, presumably a cheeky injury or something because she did travel.
Up Next: Back at it with a home game against Western Sydney at 6pm on Saturday (NZT)
Chris Wood - Burnley FC (English Premier League)
Eh, they can’t all be classics. Chris Wood played the whole game but Burnley lost 2-0 at home against Crystal Palace on the weekend with Wilfred Zaha scoring in first half stoppage time and Jeffrey Schlupp polishing it off in the 78th minute. Burnley just weren’t at their best. Wilf Zaha took his goal well at the near post and a player of his calibre is always going to be a handful but down a goal for most of the second half, Woody missed a golden chance to level it when he picked off a bad header from Cheikh Kouyate but blasted it a mile over the bar.
Then Ben Mee made a mess of it in giving the ball to Schlupp for the goal that sealed it. Nick Pope probably feels he should’ve done better for both goals. Wood almost scored a header late on but for a great save. Again, it was one of those days. Luckily they don’t have too much time to wait for their next chance as the defending champs come to town in the midweek... a bit awkward coz that might have already been played by the time you read this but tell the Wellington Phoenix to play more Friday/Saturday games and maybe Flying Kiwis will be finished in time for the usual Tuesday morning slot more often.
In place of beautiful highlights of the goals that Chris Wood didn’t score this week, here’s a rather hilarious vid of him and Jack Cork playing Guess Who, Burnley edition. He doesn’t look a thing like Glen Little though. Corker’s having a laugh.
LancsLive: “Part of Wood and Barnes' strength is simply familiarity - the pair know each other's game inside out having been the first choice front two for most of their time together at the club. But it is more than that. Wood plays on the shoulder of the last defender and constantly pulls defenders around with his movement. His offside record is something to poke fun at it but it further highlights his willingness to play as far forward as possible and stretch defences. That allows space for Barnes to drop into and the former Brighton man loves nothing better than a battle with a centre half. With Burnley one of the few Premier League sides playing with a front two, the duo cause problems for the majority of backlines they come up against. Both are capable of holding the ball up and they both come alive in the box.”
Neither of the pair were able to score against Palace, obviously, but they still have 30 goals between them in the last 31 games they’ve started together.
Up Next: 9.15am today (!) against Manchester City and then 4am on Sunday away to Spurs (NZT)
Tom Doyle – Chemnitzer FC (German 3 Liga)
Plenty’s been said about the supreme form that Sarpreet Singh has delivered in the German third tier but not a lot’s been said about Tom Doyle. That’s because he found himself in a pretty mud situation, where minutes were rare and the scene didn’t exactly seem like much fun. Chemnitzer are sitting in the relegation zone after seventeen games and Doyle has played just six of them. Three starts and three sub appearances, adding up for 287 minutes. Plus their old captain literally got dumped by the club when he turned out to be a fascist sympathiser... yeah, no fun.
Hence Doyle’s asked for, and been granted, an early release from his contract to allow him to return to Aotearoa. Being away from family was too much considering he wasn’t really advancing his career at the same time with minimal time on the pitch. Perfectly reasonable, as were the club when faced with this.
CFC CEO Uwe Hildebrand: “Thomas came to us a few days ago with a desire to cancel his contract and asked to return to his homeland. He took a huge step in the summer of this year when, after 27 years in New Zealand, he moved to Europe for the first time. Unfortunately, he’s going back sooner than we all, even Thomas himself, would have expected. We regret having to make this decision very much, but at the same time fully understand that Thomas wants to return to his family. Even for a professional footballer, there is a point where things are more important than football. I wish Thomas all the best on behalf of the entire Chemnitzer FC.”
Well, that’s nice of them. Now we wait and see what’s to follow... does he show up for a Premiership team in NZ or perhaps wait for the Aussie NPL season? Is there an A-League team keen on a proven left back? Time will tell.
Up Next: ???
Sarpreet Singh - Bayern Munich II (German Liga 3)
Staying in Liga 3, Bayern 2 had a back and forth one against Carl Zeiss Jena. First teamer Michael Cuisance struck first for BM2 as he got on the end of a long ball and made the most of a couple defensive reprieves to score. But the lead only lasted a couple minutes before Ole Kauper skipped through the defence and slammed one in at the near post. And by half time they were behind with nobody able to stop Julian Gunther-Schmidt from getting a diving header to the ball at the far post.
Singh found himself in a midfield three on this occasion and it was a rare quiet one without a goal or an assist... though there was a touch of class as Bayern drew level in the second half. The ball was cut back to Singh on the edge of the area but, knowing the left back Derrick Kohn was pushing forward into more space behind him, he deftly stepped over the ball and Kohn crunched it into the bottom corner. Singh then helped bowl a guy over into the net as he and a teammate tried to get the ball back to quicken the kickoff so clearly he’s ready for first team footy. But then a Paul Will own goal cost them any points, 3-2 to Jena the final score. Cuisance did hit the post late on but no biscuits.
Up Next: Away to MSV Duisburg on Monday at 2am (NZT)
Nicole Stratford – USV Jena (German Bundesliga)
Stratty was an unused sub as Jena got themselves a 0-0 draw away to MSV Duisburg, who Meikayla Moore should hopefully be rejoining some time after the winter break as she continues her recovery from that achilles injury prior to the World Cup. A better result for USV Jena than it was for Duisburg, since it was only Jena’s second point of the season from 11 games, but Duisburg do climb above FC Köln on goal difference and thus out of the relegation zone thanks to this one, as those folks lost 2-1 to SC Sand (Paige Satchell also an unused sub there – same deal with Ali Riley for Bayern’s 2-0 win over SGS Essen).
So a quiet one for the kiwis in the Bundesliga but up there’s an interview from NZ Football’s website about Stratford’s journey to the professional ranks and the sudden surge in her career over 2019. Enlightening read.
Up Next: Hoffenheim vs FF USV Jena, Monday at 2am (NZT)
Hannah Wilkinson - Sporting CP (Portuguese 1a Divisão)
Back in the starting team for Wilkie, although she only lasted the first half against Clube de Albergaria before she was replaced by Carolina Mendes with the scores tied at 1-1. That’s the pressure at a club like this, where every game is pretty much a must win. And naturally it was Carolina Mendes who then popped up with the winner in the 79th minute. 2-1 to Sporting, who remain three points back on SL Benfica after nine games played.
Up Next: 4am on Monday vs Valadares Gaia (NZT)
Marco Rojas – SønderjyskE (Danish Superliga)
Never a good start when your goalkeeper punches one into his own net. Nor is it ideal to go and concede a minute after the second half begins and then again in stoppage time at the end of things. But with the form that Sonders have been showing lately it’s no real surprise that they’d be digging themselves some holes. They lost 3-0 to Randers and this was after they packed the midfield with stoppers to try and get something out of the game... meaning that Marco Rojas was dropped to the bench after a nice run of games. He’d be chucked out there for the last 25 or so minutes but they were already a couple goals down by then. Should have better luck next time against the second to bottom team on the table Esbjerg... who are also the last team that Sonders were able to beat. They’ve failed to win any of their last six league games since then.
Up Next: Sonders vs Esbjerg on Monday at 2am (NZT)
Olivia Chance – Bristol City (English Super League)
Ninety more minutes for Olivia Chance in the midfield for Bristol City, really starting to establish herself as a first choice option there having started all four Conti Cup games and now three of the last four WSL games too. But... this wasn’t one for the highlight reel. At least not for Bristol City, who were absolutely demolished by a rampant Arsenal. Vivianne Miedema was in illustrious form, scoring six goals and setting up another four, not even joking. Arsenal won it 11-1. Biggest win in WSL history. Here’s the video proof...
The inability of the BCFC defence to deal with the pace and movement of the Arsenal frontline or to win basically any ball delivered into the box was preeeetty awful. There’s a lot of footage amongst all that of Liv Chance standing helpless on the edge of the area as yet another goal is scored. Even the one that Bristol City got was a penalty with a few minutes left, already down 11-0, which was initially saved but some wicked backspin allowed Yana Daniels to get there first on the rebound.
This was always shaping to be a brutal few weeks out of the international break, with a useful 3-3 draw away to Reading then very quickly followed by a 7-0 away to Arsenal in the Conti Cup, a 5-0 loss at home to Manchester City in the league, and now this one. Playing two of the best teams in Europe three times in eleven days is never going to be easy but conceding 23 goals in those three games is rather... yeah wow.
Up Next: The relative comforts of Birmingham at home, 4am on Monday (NZT)
Katie Rood - Lewes FC (English Championship)
Up Next: Durham vs Lewes, 1am on Monday (NZT)
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
One more step along the way back to recovery. Not only did Winnie sneak in another appearance for the U23s but he went as far as playing the full ninety minutes, something he hadn’t done since before he was injured, 21 months ago. He played 60-odd minutes for that team a month or so earlier and was replaced by a 15 year old when he was subbed. Then he played 45 minutes for the All Whites. Now a ninety minute effort against Brighton U23s (WHU won the game 3-1), coming through unscathed as he ticks off another milestone in the road back to full fitness.
And then, at the gaffer’s very next press conference...
Manuel Pellegrini: “Winston Reid is playing already 90 minutes with the U23s, so next week he will start working with us.”
Now there’s been a fair bit of shifting of the old goalposts with Winnie in recent times from the Hammers so here’s hoping they actually stuck to this idea and he’s started training full time with the first team again. But it’s all progress. It’s all heading in the right direction.
Up Next: Whatever he’s asked to do
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