Flying Kiwis – December 28
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
There’s not a lot of football going on at the moment... unless you happen to be a bloke in England in which case there’s way too much. While most are on the winter break, if their seasons haven’t finished entirely, festive fixtures in Engerland are keeping things busy... and a few New Zealand exports have been up to some magnificent activities. Enough to carry the load for a whole Flying Kiwis article. None more than Christopher Grant Wood who just had one of the best weeks of his entire career.
When last we checked in on Chris Wood, things were in a precarious position. Nottm Forest boss Steve Cooper had been sacked after a winless run of games and in his last-ditch attempts to save his job he’d reverted to picking extra-defensive line-ups that left Chris Wood (a very good defensive centre-forward, by the way) on the bench. Nuno Espirito Santo had been hired as his replacement and we were left wondering whether that would be beneficial or detrimental to The Woodsman’s game time. It’s probably not a coincidence that Wood’s best footy has always come working under British managers – he’s a certain style of striker that not every manager is going to have a use for.
Well, in the early hours of Christmas Eve NZT, Nottingham Forest faced Bournemouth and it turns out there was nothing to worry about. Nuno Espirito Santo went with an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation which found room for all their top forwards in their best positions: Wood as striker, Anthony Elanga on the wing, Morgan Gibbs-White as a central number ten. Divock Origi also played right wing... though only lasted 26 minutes before he had to be subbed off to get Moussa Niakhate out there following a red card to centre-back Willy Boly.
Boly’s first yellow card was a deserved one after only five minutes but that was nothing to upset the apple cart quite yet. Chris Wood soon showed a bit of pace drifting out to the left wing and then skipping past a defender to sting a shot on target at the near post. A cross might’ve been the better option from there... though take note of his new move shaping inside onto his right foot only to drop a shoulder and go left instead. We were to see that a couple more times in the subsequent days.
Anyway, things were going alright for Forest, with Elanga also getting a good shot away, until Boly picked up a second yellow on 23’. A pretty scandalous decision given that Boly very clearly won the ball only for a Bournemouth player to step across into his follow-through. No way that’s how it should’ve gone. But them’s the breaks and Forest had to go more than an hour with ten men. However they were able to hang on at nil-all heading into half-time and then within two minutes of the restart yer boy Mr Wood pressed high and turned the ball over on his way to setting up an Anthony Elanga goal for the lead...
Beautiful work. His first officially registered assist since his last full season at Burnley... though definitions of ‘assist’ do vary hence you could argue he had one or two others in the intervening two-and-a-bit seasons. Regardless, this was the first goal of the Nuno era.
Unfortunately, defending with ten men is kinda difficult. Within three minutes, Dominic Solanke had headed in an equaliser then he very quickly pounced to scored a second. Very slippery. But not as slippery as the main man Chris Wood who held off his marker for a 74th minute corner kick then nodded in an equaliser through a crowd of players. Not sure how it snuck past everybody but it did and Chris Wood had his fourth of the season. Go on, fella. Get in.
Buuuut they blew it in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Solanke completed his hat-trick. An absolutely supreme header from Solanke to be fair. Probably also some tired defending which ultimately cost Nottingham Forest any points. A 3-2 defeat to begin the new era... they’ll feel like it might’ve been a different story had it not been for the red card. Get the full highlights over here.
All the same, it was a start and ninety minutes for Chris Wood who scored in his first game under NES. Just the third time he’d gotten all ninety this season. He didn’t get any full games in the Premier League last season (just a pair in the EFL Cup). A very encouraging development. Very encouraging indeed. And the brother was only just getting started.
A Boxing Day fixture away against Newcastle United then rolled around. Up against his previous club at his previous home ground. A club where he hardly ever got the recognition he should have for his part in their ascension until after he departed, though where he always had a great relationship with his coaches and teammates (even dropping by to support them in the League Cup semi-final after being transferred away). Heaps more on his Newcastle tenure over here... with the bottom line being that he joined them in the relegation zone then, one year later, left them in the Champions League places,
Nuno made six changes from the Bournemouth game to the Newcastle game but the front four was untouched beyond Callum Hudson-Odoi coming in for Origi. Another prominent gig for Chris Wood, who initially found himself doing a lot of defending, mostly against set pieces (he also often dropped behind MGW in the off-ball shape, or alongside him in a 4-4-2 defensive foundation). It was during that state of play that Anthony Isak won and converted a penalty to give the home side the lead. Probably not Woodsy’s favourite image given that Isak’s arrival on Tyneside was effectively the signal for Wood’s departure.
Except that Newcastle barely showed that level of enterprise again all game. They were far from their best and Nottingham Forest began to gain confidence with some counter attacking fluidity. Wood was wide open in the middle for a sitter only for Elanga to shoot instead of crossing. That was late first half. But the bro learned his lesson because the next time he got in that position, Elanga put one on a platter for Wood to tap home from a few yards out. All tied up just before half-time.
If you thought that was cool you had to catch what he did next. 53rd minute of the game, Wood was played through by Elanga after again angling his run towards the left. He shaped up on Dan Burn and then sent him to the concessions stand with another drop of that shoulder before dinking a lefty finish past Martin Dubravka. The sort of goal that Lionel Messi would be proud of (admittedly, Messi’s scored that goal a hundred times compared to Wood’s once). Stunningly good football. Nottingham Forest were in the lead. Then seven minutes later he did it again beating the offside trap for Danilo’s pass and then rounding the keeper to complete the second Premier League hat-trick of his career. Glorious. Remarkable. Outstanding.
The first of those hatties was scored for Burnley against Wolves a couple years ago which means that one hat-trick was scored against Nuno Espirito Santo and the other hat-trick was scored for Nuno Espirito Santo. Clearly Nuno was paying attention. He saw something. He recognised it. He utilised it. Nottingham Forest went on to win this thing 3-1, their first victory since beating Aston Villa in early November – snapping a streak of six defeats and a draw. You want more stats, here are more stats:
Newcastle United had conceded four goals in nine home games this season, winning eight of those matches. In the tenth game Chris Wood alone scored three.
This was also just Forest’s second away win of the campaign.
In all his EPL appearances for Newcastle, Wood scored four goals in 1773 minutes. In a single day he buried three against them in 90 minutes.
He’s also now up to seven for the season which has him back on course to hit double-figures again (for the fifth time in his career). He’s done that in just 649 minutes and from 4.9 xG.
Nobody with six or more goals this season has done so in fewer minutes than Chris Wood.
In fact if you look at the goals per ninety minutes stats, it’s Chris Wood and Erling Haland on a ratio of 0.97 leading the pack. The Newcastle duo of Callum Wilson (0.87) and Alexander Isak (0.75) are next in line.
He’s also the only player with more than four goals but less than 20 shots... he’s got seven goals from 18 shots.
Wood is only the second Nottm Forest player to score a Premier League hat-trick, the first being Kevin Campbell in August 1996.
He’s also now one of 70 players with multiple EPL hatties, plus he joins Andy Cole, Marcus Bent, and Joshua King as players to have scored hat-tricks against their own former clubs. Cole’s was also against Newcastle, coincidentally.
So... we can put the Nuno worries to bed then. Wood has scored four goals with an assist in two appearances under NES, arguably his team’s best player in both matches. The end product is brilliant but it runs deeper than that. His confidence is thriving. His touch is looking great. He made several good defensive clearances while holding the ball up as well as ever. He looks reinvigorated. After two years of trying to fit in with new clubs, doing a lot of sacrificial work for teams that aren’t willing to adapt to his strengths... here was what it looks like when a manager lets him be The Guy again.
Nuno Espirito Santo: “And the way he did it was amazing. The goals are important but how he finished the second goal is beautiful. Something that I’ll enjoy seeing over and over again. It’s beautiful. Congratulations to Chris. And for Chris to score goals, they have to work very hard behind [him]. All of them. The fans. Let’s enjoy this moment but let’s not stop here.”
What’s especially funky is how he’s suddenly running at defenders... he didn’t have a successful take-on at all under Cooper this term now he’s 4/4 under Nuno. Note also that he scored all three hat-trick goals with his left foot. He’s yet to score with his right at all in 2023-24... four with his left, three with his head. His overall Prem career reads: 26 right-footed goals, 21 headed goals, 14 left-footed goals, and 1 other.
You probably also spotted that he was too classy to celebrate against his old club. A nice touch in a game that was full of nice touches from this bloke.
Up Next: Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United at 6.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Jacqui Hand - Lewes (English Championship)
Here we go... the first major move of Flying Kiwis Transfer Season has arrived and it’s Jacqui Hand joining Lewes in the English Championship. This comes off the back of two successful years in the Finnish top division with Aland United (including winning a cup title in 2022 and getting nominated for Forward of the Year in 2023), not to mention a very bright World Cup campaign. The Finnish media had had been reporting that she was leaving since the season ended a couple months ago, with more recent reports suggesting that she was already training with an English second-tier club. Seems like we can now safely assume which club that was.
Lewes manager Scott Booth: “It’s fantastic to finally get Jacqui onboard. She’s a player I have admired for some time now. Her ability to play anywhere across the front line, offering pace, intelligence, and an eye for goal will prove vital in the 2nd half of the season.”
As you can gather, this deal is only for the second half of the season. A few months to get acclimatised in England – where she’s been targeting a move since she graduated from uni in America – and then see how it goes. After 14 goals in 29 Kansallinen Liiga games (and a bunch more assists) it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think she can play at a higher level than this... but it’s hard to get a WSL gig mid-season. This way she can jump in at a level she should be able to handle right away and score some goals, bag some assists, help Lewes avoid relegation, and then check how the landscape looks. If nothing else comes along then she can surely just re-sign with Lewes. That’s what happened with Aland, where she originally joined on a short-term deal then ended up staying for two years.
Lewes are second-to-last in the Championship at the Christmas break having only just jumped ahead of Watford after winning their most recent game (and Watford blowing a 3-0 lead after seven minutes to draw 3-3 against London City Lionesses... with Grace Neville scoring for LCL). They are the lowest scoring team in the division and they desperately need some help. Jacqui Hand will give them that. This is the same level as Grace Neville, Paige Satchell (London City), Katie Kitching (Sunderland), and Olivia Page (Sheffield United) currently play. Also got CJ Bott (Leicester), Ria Percival (Spurs), and Anna Leat (Aston Villa) in the top division so we’re getting quite a collection of Flying Kiwis in England again.
Lewes is a former club of Katie Rood. It’s also the club that Natalie Lawrence now works at (as an assistant) having left the Wellington Phoenix and returned to England – you can guarantee she was a major factor in getting this deal over the line. Whenever a coach with kiwi connections gets a decent job overseas there’s always a hope they’ll use their platform to raise up a few NZers. Lovely to see an instance where that’s actually happened. Your turn next, Des Buckingham.
Up Next: First game back is on 22 January against Durham at 1am (NZT)
Ben Waine – Plymouth Argyle (English Championship)
They don’t have a permanent manager and they don’t have their top two strikers available but Plymouth Argyle do have Ben Waine and he was in a mood to make the most of his opportunity. This goal was part of a bonkers game of footy as Plymouth Argyle drew 3-3 with Birmingham City.
Birmingham started well, with goals for Jay Stansfield (15’) and Jordan James (39’) putting them up by two... however they slipped up just before the break to allow Plymouth to get one back via Joe Edwards. We hadn’t seen much at all of Ben Waine to that point but it was Waine’s perseverance in chasing down a long ball that helped lead to some defensive hesitancy for Edwards to rush through and score. The goal that got them back in the match. Then just a few minutes into the second half a red card for Birmingham’s Krystian Bielik made things even better for them.
Plymouth adapted their shape to be more aggressive against the ten-men... but left themselves short on numbers at the back and that cost them in the 62nd min when their high line was breached and Birmingham made it 3-1 with less than thirty to go. No dramas there. Ben Waine quickly cancelled that out with his second Championship goal (and fifth overall this season) then Morgan Whittaker scored a ripping equaliser with a couple of minutes remaining to leave it at 3-3. Argyle did push for a winner but nah that didn’t happen. Waine was subbed after 88 mins. By the way, there was some questioning about whether Waine got the touch on that goal or if it was the defender. Waine got the official credit though, which seems about right. Highlights here.
Fast-forward to Boxing Day and the Waine Train was at it again. Picked to start away to Cardiff City and in the 17th minute he got himself to the byline to set up Morgan Whittaker for the opening goal...
Good to be tallying up those goal contributions. It was an excellent cross. He’s still not getting enough touches (although his role of running off the shoulders of the defence doesn’t necessarily lend itself to that) and he didn’t have a shot in this match. But if you’re logging goals and assists then folks will forgive that stuff – that’s what it’s all about, after all.
This game also ended in a draw. Cardiff levelled up later in the first half, then took the lead early second half. Whittaker then got his second in the 66th and that was how it ended. Waine played 81 minutes after his 88 the game before. As close as he’s gotten to a full game in the Championship so far – and his fourth start in the last five matches, granted they’ve all come amidst injuries to other options. On that note, Ryan Hardie is expected to return from his concussion protocol for the next game while Mustapha Bundu has been cleared of any serious damage with his leg injury so could also be back as soon as then. Waine’s definitely advanced his case in the past two games though. That’s what he had to do and he’s done it.
Strangely, there was a rumour floating around that Waine’s being targeted by Japanese club Albirex Niigata. Waine did play at the Tokyo Olympics, including against Japan, which was also a key factor in Michael Woud getting his move to that country... though Woud’s example is a rough one as he’s hardly gotten a game outside of that recent loan move which got him a few Asian Champions League spots. Albirex Niigata is the club that Michael Fitzgerald plays for, though there’s not much connection between those two. To be honest, this feels like nothing much at all. The account that seems to have originated the rumour isn’t very substantial and it doesn’t make much sense from the flipside perspective. Waine’s not been starved of game time lately. The Pilgrims cannot afford to lose any strikers. Plus Waine made a point of his desire to play and live in England when he first moved over. Nah, unless there’s a crazy development in the pipeline we can probably ignore this one.
Up Next: Saturday at 7am away to Southampton, then Tuesday at 4am at home vs Watford (NZT)
Max Crocombe - Burton Albion (English League One)
There are few things more glorious in football than a goalkeeping assist. This one came via an absolute bomb of a kick from Crocs out to Bobby Kamwa who did the rest for a pretty brilliant goal. It happened only ten minutes into their Boxing Day clash with Blackpool but that early goal proved to be all they needed. Blackpool had the better of the game, especially in the second half, yet their shooting was erratic and Crocombe didn’t actually have a save to make. Only one punch and a couple of high claims. Still, he did what he needed to do. An assist and a clean sheet and three glistening points.
David Button of Reading is the only other keeper with an assist in League One this season. Crocombe also thus matches Max Mata’s efforts (albeit in more than twice as many minutes... plus Mata has a goal). Haven’t seen heaps of Mata lately, he’s been getting solid stints off the bench but for a team that’s now lost three in a row. The whole team remains a myth in front of goals so can’t expect too much from Mata but they have ground out some decent 1-0 wins along the way.
Tyler Bindon’s also dropped to the bench for Reading lately, having not started since 9 December. Since then he’s had two games off the bench and two as an unused sub... with Reading going unbeaten in those four games. Three draws and a win, edging their way towards escaping the relegation zone (despite their four point deduction for financial irregularities). Bummer not to see more of Bindon but can’t really complain if the team is getting results. All three teams with NZers are going to be focussed far more on that relegation line than the playoff line over the rest of the term.
As for League Two... nothing to report in the way of minutes. Nik Tzanev was an unused sub for Wimbledon in a 1-0 loss against Sutton. Jamie Searle was an unused sub for Forest Green in a 4-2 loss to Newport. Tommy Smith was an unused sub for MK Dons in a 1-0 win over his old club Colchester... not getting the chance to do a Chris Wood, sadly. That win does lift MKD up into the last playoff spot ahead of fierce rivals AFC Wimbledon. Long way to go yet of course. Meanwhile Forest Green are in last place and have joined the list of Flying Kiwis adjacent clubs to have sacked their manager within the past few weeks. Troy Deeney has been appointed as the new gaffer there.
Up Next: Burton vs Shrewsbury at 8.45am on Saturday (NZT)
Kees Sims - Ljungskile SK (Swedish Ettan Södra)
If you remember back to the start of this year, Kees Sims spent his offseason doing some professional development. After a stint training with Lilleström SK, a Swedish top division side, he then went to England for short trial stints with Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, and Coventry City. Nothing that led to a transfer but it was all good experience before he went back to Ljungskile for another term – where he played the equal most minutes in his third-tier conference of any player born in 2003 or later. The team didn’t do fantastically but Sims was very good. 26 matches, six clean sheets, 72% save percentage, 3.37 saves per ninety, 0.29 xGA per ninety. These stats are from LSK’s own website.
Now it’s been reported that he’s at it again. Sims recently spent time on trial with Swedish top division club GAIS – who are fresh back in the Allsvenskan after consecutive promotions. Two years ago Sims played against GAIS in the Ettan Södra. Having won that division, GAIS then came second in the Superettan to return to the top tier. That’s one major connection he’s got with them. Another is that Dan Keat used to play for GAIS and remains an influential presence in the Ole Academy alumni.
Kees Sims: “As a person, I don’t hope too much, but I try to perform as well as I can and see what that leads to. They wanted me to come back on Thursday and Friday as well. Now I’m waiting for a response. It went pretty well. In the first week I got used to a new environment and became more comfortable after a few days. Things went better there and I could really show who I am and how I play. I am satisfied. As a footballer, it is always attractive to play for a club with a strong history and a large supporter base. I would be delighted but it’s a long way to get there so I’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
That was in mid-December. Since then he’s also popped by Hobro IK in the Danish second tier (also strong Ole Academy links in Denmark with Callum McCowatt and Elijah Just having spent much of their careers in that Danish First Division specifically). We’ll be keeping ‘em peeled as to whether he’s got any more stops on his offseason tour. Sims was the starting goalie at the U20 World Cup earlier in 2023 and is a good shout of making the Olympics squad next year too.
Up Next: The journey continues...
Zac Jones – Haverfordwest County (Welsh/Cymru Premier)
Respect a Zac Jones clean sheet, always. This one was against Barry in a 2-0 win. The visitors got a red card for a rash challenge after twenty minutes though it wasn’t until midway through the second half that Hwlffordd were able to make the advantage count for goals. Jones had one tough save to make late on, although they were already up a couple by then.
This win continues on a sharp spell of form from both Jonesy and his club. Five wins and a draw from their past seven league games has them now mere goal difference from making the top half split with two more matches left to sort that out. If they can do that then they’ll be guaranteed a chance to compete for the last Welsh Europa Conference League spot... which they earned last season thanks to ZJ and his penalty saving heroics (which continued on into the ECL qualifiers themselves).
Up Next: Aberystwyth vs Haverfordwest on Sunday at 3,30am (NZT)
Henry Gray – Chelmsford City (English National League South)
Clearly this was a week for goals and goalkeepers so here’s another of the latter. Henry Gray went on loan to Chelmsford City a few weeks back to gather up some senior team experience in aid of his development at Ipswich Town. These two clubs have strong links, as discussed when that transfer first happened, and had just lost their main keeper to injury. So it made a lot of sense. Gray very quickly played in a local cup competition which ended in a penalty shootout defeat. He then had watched the next games at a distance... before getting his league debut as an early Christmas present.
CC were at home against Torquay United and they won 2-0. City scored nice and early in the third minute as part of a dominant start. Gray earned a round of applause for his first involvement, rushing far outside his area to header a bouncer over the top which he then chased down further to punt out for a throw. The more favoured Torquay then owned most of the rest of the half, though other than one sharp leg save by Gray they struggled to test the kiwi keeper. Second half wasn’t much different – with one volley clipping the crossbar but nothing on target. CC went on and scored in the 84th to seal the deal. Catch some highlights.
After which they did it again with a 3-0 win away against Braintree Town. Three goals in the last 25 minutes of the contest did the damage. Both teams had good chances up until then, including Braintree hitting the post, but once CCFC scored first they ran away with it. Probably shoulda scored more than they did. More highlights to peruse from that one. Bottom line is that Henry Gray has played two league games, kept two clean sheets, and won both of them. They’re up to seventh in the table, only two points off third.
Up Next: CCFC vs Braintree Town again on Tuesday at 4am (NZT)
Dublin Boon - Roda JC (Dutch Eerste Divisie)
One more goalkeeping yarn for the people. You may recall young Cantabrian gloveman Dublin Boon popping up in this column a few times. After moving to Roda JC from Nomads United, he’s appeared regularly for the U21s and has made the bench a couple of times for the first team already. Now here’s a bit of a feature on him from the RJC website so we can get to know his story in his own words...
Dublin Boon: “My name is Dublin Boon, I am 18 years old and I am from New Zealand. I am the keeper of Roda JC O21. I have already completed my studies at Burnside High School in my home country. I currently live on my own in Kerkrade. My previous club was in New Zealand: Nomads United from Christchurch. This season is my first season at the Roda JC Football Academy.
Exactly one year ago, in December 2022, I participated in a training camp in Melbourne, Australia. This was organized by Boris Ivanov of Victoria Football and several international scouts and trainers were present. A number of them had become enthusiastic about me and so I had the opportunity to go to the Netherlands in February. I also had a number of trials at PEC Zwolle, FC Emmen and at OH Leuven in Belgium, plus also the opportunity to train at PSV, because trainer Albert van der Sleen had me seen at the training camp. All this took a few months, until Robert-Jan Zoetmulder, a PSV goalkeeper coach and former Roda JC goalkeeper coach, recommended this club to me. I went on trial before the season started and was finally hired for the O21.”
Up Next: Might be too much to hope for a first team debut this season but we’ll see how it goes
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