Flying Kiwis – November 22
Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)
Remember when Winston Reid was out injured and missed the All Whites? But he was already suspended for the next West Ham game and then following the international break he was unlikely to miss any games at all for the Hammers? Yeah, he didn’t (but he will). It’s not a big deal that he didn’t play for the All Whites, hey they did fine without him. Didn’t concede a goal. Click here and here for our match reports on those suckers. The frustration is more that clubs keep up the pretence that it’s anything other than their own interests keeping guys like Winnie out. Again, that’s fine. We can’t expect Premier Leaguers to play for New Zealand outside of major tournaments. But yeah, less cynicism please.
So Winston was back repping NZ as the Hammers played Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Spurs hadn’t won for seven games in all comps, although they’re also the only undefeated team left in the Premier League – too many draws are their problem. West Ham meanwhile, in case you’d forgotten, have been a mess this season and are lingering just above relegation after the first couple months.
Spurs were still without Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela, while Dele Alli was only fit for the bench. That meant a first Premier League start for youngster Harry Winks. Also Harry Kane started. For Reidy and the lads, he was back in central defence with Cheikh Kouyate and Angelo Ogbonna on either side. Michail Antonio was wing back on the right, Aaron Cresswell on the left after making his England debut the week before. Surprisingly Diafra Sakho played up top and Andre Ayew started next to Dimitri Payet. Manny Lanzini played in the midfield alongside Pedro Obiang with Mark Noble suspended. A bit of mix and match on both sides, really.
23 minutes in and West Ham earn a corner. In it’s swung by Payet, Kouyate rising to meet it and his header crashes off the crossbar. But it isn’t cleared, instead it falls to Winston Reid who lines up a thumping volley. The goal is there, the path clearing in front of him. Here it is. Another moment of glory for Winston… he strikes it… he mishits it… it’s off target. Oh but there’s Michail Antonio intersecting the scuffed shot and he headers it home. 1-0 to the Hammers. Winston gets the accidental assist.
It remained 1-0 at half-time. Spurs had dominated the ball, as they would all game with 67% possession, though they didn’t give exactly give Darren Randolph too many chances to justify his selection ahead of regular WHU keeper Adrian. That would come in the second half when Vincent Janssen smashed one at him five minutes after the break. He might have handballed it as he took it down on his chest, a couple Hammers definitely argued so. But the shot was parried away by Randolph on the dive. Problem was he parried it right to that Winks lad who promptly equalised.
Leave it to Janssen and Reid to make amends. A Payet corner kick on 66 minutes didn’t even have the chance to be headed in before the whistle went. Penalty. Reid had made a run to the near post and Janssen had wrestled him down. Lanzini scored the spottie, count it a second assist for Winston.
Which is about when the game went crazy. There were only a couple of minutes left in the game and West Ham were holding on for a desperate 2-1 victory. On came Havard Nordtveit to replace Dimitri Payet, a defensive sub to try hold the lead. Yeah… that didn’t work. After Son Heung Min managed to run around Antonio and pull back a shallow cross, Randolph made a fumble at it. No dice, all he did was take a bit off heat off the ball and give Harry Kane more time at the far post to tap in. Winnie was livid.
He’d soon get angrier. Right on the verge of injury time, Nordtveit sliced down Son and Harry Kane scored from the spot to give Spurs the 3-2 lead. Such a clumsy challenge and barely a minute after they’d conceded the equaliser. Reidy couldn’t really talk though, he’d be booked a few minutes later for a sliding tackle on Son. Oh and then he got another yellow for leading with an elbow in an aerial challenge against Kane.
Guardian Min by Min: “90 min +6: Reid goes up for a high ball with Kane. His forearm toks the top of Kane’s head. It looks accidental, but the referee shows West Ham’s captain a second yellow. He’s off, and how quickly things have turned very sour indeed for the Hammers.”
As it happened, for 88 minutes Reid had been superb. Not only the two assists but also a superb stint at the back against the physical Janssen and the crafty Kane. The West Ham website even went all in and wrote a thing about how well he played, just in case people get caught up in the red card and all that.
WHU.com: “Reid made three times as many clearances as any of his teammates with 15, positioning himself superbly and getting his head and boots to virtually everything the home side launched into the Hammers’ penalty area. Such was Reid’s outstanding reading of the game that he also totalled seven interceptions – four more than the next-best West Ham player, Michail Antonio.”
ESPN Player Ratings: “Winston Reid, 6 -- Looked comfortable for most of the match and earned the penalty that Manuel Lanzini dispatched to put the Hammers 2-1 up. It all fell apart in the closing stages, however, and a red card means the Kiwi will miss some crucial games.”
Yowza. Luckily Hull lost to Sunderland and so West Ham stay a point clear of the drop zone. 11 points from 12 games, only Hull have conceded more than WHU’s 23 goals. Bloody hell, now they’ve gotta do it without Winston next week as they take on Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United… for what that’s worth.
Anyway, if you’re after more positive Winstonery, check out his profile on the Daily Mail over the weekend – which is usually a fishrag but they get good access so whatever. Reid chats about the stadium switch, high expectations for this season, his life back in NZ and Denmark and his relationship with Sam Allardyce, amongst a bit else. Like being the first Maori footballer in the Premier League.
Oh and this humorous outsider take on NZ media’s fixation with its sports folk’s money:
“When a TV crew from New Zealand travelled to London to talk to Reid about his career at West Ham, the first question they asked was whether he drove a Ferrari. Later, they asked how much he earned. The answers to both questions were 'no' and 'I am not telling you' but the fact the clip later aired on the TVNZ channel was telling.”
Up Next: Manchester United vs West Ham, 5.30am Monday (NZT)
Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)
For once there isn’t a whole lot to say about Woody’s week. They were up against Newcastle United and they lost 2-0. Newcastle are the best team in the Championship, managed by Rafa Benitez, and they deserved the win. It’s a result that snaps Leeds’ three game winning streak and keeps them out of the playoff spots (a draw or win and they’d have risen above Norwich) and it also ensures that Newcastle have now won eight in a row. That whole relegation thing’s actually working out for them nicely. Here’s a TNC thing from before the season about their situation.
The most memorable moment of the game came upon the 11 minute mark, where both sets of fans stood in applause to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Gary Speed’s passing, which occurs net Sunday. Speed played for both clubs and famously wore the #11.
Chris Wood played the whole game. Two shots, both off target, and three key passes. Not a whole lot of footy at his feet though. He’d scored six times in seven games at Elland Road before this one.
Newcastle naturally had the better of the early stages of the game but Leeds still come away from this one feeling like they maybe missed an opportunity to do something impressive. The first goal came in the 23rd minute when Rob Green spilled the ball at Dwight Gayle’s feet. Whoops. An absolute howler to be honest, Jack Colback’s lob had come from miles out and didn’t have a lot of speed behind it either.
Leeds were certain they shoulda had a penalty as Ronaldo Vieira’s volleyed cross hit Colback’s arm but the ref was having none of it. Gayle then added another on 55 minutes, drifting towards the far side of the goal to slide in Vurnon Anita’s super cross. 2-0 and they weren’t gonna blow it from there, sorry Woody. Apparently Dwight Gayle had gotten in a kerfuffle during the international break and had four teeth knocked out it a Merseyside pub (wouldn’t be the first, aye?). Only reports at this stage but if that’s true and he responded with a match-winning double then what the hell were people getting all worked up over Wayne Rooney for?
The Guardian: “Leeds started at a sluggish tempo and Newcastle, filled with a quality unusual for the Championship, had the edge on Monk’s team whose two key players this season had both been on international duty in the week leading up to this match. The centre-half Pontus Jansson and the striker Chris Wood are crucial components in this Leeds side yet both lacked sharpness after playing for Sweden and New Zealand respectively.”
Garry Monk: “In my opinion it’s a clear-cut penalty. I’ve had many penalties given against me or my team for much less than that. Had that goal gone in it would’ve changed the complexion of the game and in the second half we started really well. We just needed that goal which would have lifted the crowd and the players. We competed very well against a team that are top of the league but we just fell the wrong side of those critical moment.”
Elsewhere Wood named his idol speaking to LUTV: “Alan Shearer. He was just a natural goal-scorer and that’s something I would love to implement. He got a great record in the English leagues and that’s something I'd like to strive for as long as I can.”
Up Next: Rotherham vs Leeds, 6.30am Sunday (NZT)
Bill Tuiloma – Olympique de Marseille (French Ligue 1)
There was another 90 minutes for Tui kitting up with the CFA side here. His seventh of the season for them and he helped the lads to a 2-0 win over Colomiers US at home, propelling OMII back up to fourth on the table.
It was a fairly comfortable result. Tuiloma played on the left side of a three man midfield. They took the lead thanks to a Vena Diambu own goal on 25 mins (silly lad may as well have tripped over his own feet) and then within a couple more minutes Leya Iseka had doubled that lead from the penalty spot. The second half was a lot more even as both teams had their chances. Only a series of saves kept OM from adding to their tally, while the offside flag made sure their clean sheet stayed clean. Tui picked up a yellow card in the 73rd minute.
Also, remember this?
Up Next: Tarbes vs OMII, 6.00am Sunday (NZT)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)
Oooh, look away if you’re of soft disposition, the PECers went to Feyenoord this weekend and got pumped. Dirk Kuyt scored the first goal, a header before halftime, and then Karim El Ahmadi and Jens Toornstra each added long range beauties in the second half. Ryan Thomas was coming back from international duty so maybe no surprise that they left him on the bench, however that did last for manager Ron Jans as he subbed on his kiwi midfielder after 45 minutes.
It wasn’t good. Zwolle stacked their defence with five men and all that did was it kept them from being able to hold the ball up front. They only had one shot on target all game and while their keeper made a couple top saves, he couldn’t stop the long bombs and when a team is scoring from there, no amount of bus parking is really worth it.
But shout out to the Feyenoord fans, who came through with a pretty touching tribute for midfielder Tonny Vilhena whose mother passed away recently.
Up Next: PEC Zwolle v FC Groningen, 7.45am Sunday (NZT)
Jeremy Brockie & Michael Boxall – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)
SSU still haven’t lost a league game since their season opener but they’ll be a little frustrated that they also didn’t win this latest one. Up 1-0 at the break away to Baroka, they’d shaded the half and were good value for that lead. Following a few chances, like this one for example…
Supersport.com: “Stuart Baxter's men came to the encounter eyeing another win and striker Jeremy Brockie took a shot in the 16th minute, but it went wide and failed to troube goalkeeper Oscarine Mahuluke.”
… they eventually bagged one when Thabo Mnyamane slipped the ball in having gotten on the end of a sweet pass from Clayton Daniels. However the second half they just couldn’t keep it up. Baroka piled on the pressure and it tolled when Morgan Gould was picked up for a handball in the box. Richard Matloga took the spottie and he dutifully made it 1-1, which was the way that it finished. Jeremy Brockie was subbed off in the 74th minute. Michael Boxall didn’t play after flying back in from international duty with the All Whites. He was really good in New Caledonia on Tuesday night, remember. SuperSport drop to third on the table with this result.
Up Next: Kaizer Chiefs vs SSU, 6.30am Thursday (NZT)