Winston Reid – West Ham United (English Premier League)

They say cometh the hour, cometh the man. And in the 94th minute at home against Sunderland with his team desperate for a win and struggling to find it… henceforth came Winston Reid.

Sunderland haven’t won a game all season. Sure, they’re desperate, but so were West Ham what with the clunking home form they’ve provided so far. Winston might have had a penalty early on when he took some grappling from Javier Manquillo. Dimitri Payet was superb, creating all sorts and unlucky not to score himself a time or two. Which led us to that final minute of injury time. A corner kick. Payet squares it. Reid swivels. Reid shoots… REID SCORES!

Sweet Lord, what a moment. He doesn’t score that often but when he does they tend to be big ones. Effectively the last kick of the game. Let’s watch that again with commentary:

The Telegraph:

A massive three points then, enough to push WHU up the table a few spots, while condemning Sunderland to another week at the foot of things. Needless to say David Moyes wasn’t too happy, with Jonathan Calleri possibly obstructing the keeper’s view from an offside spot. Which is a stupid rule anyway, tbh:

Moyesy: “It was offside. It should be given offside. The referee thinks it is onside. You can tell by the referee's movement to the linesman that he is not sure, they weren't sure but it was not a goal.”

Slaven Bilic had other thoughts:

“We can’t say it was one from the training session but Sunderland made a mistake. They thought — I thought, as well — we’d put the ball in the six-yard box from the corner. They went with all the players basically to protect the six-yard box. It was a crucial decision from Mark Noble to come short for the ball outside the box for the corner and for Payet to give it to Reid in a good situation with many bodies in front. You have to be a bit lucky to score that kind of goal but I think we deserved it.”

But it wasn’t only the goal. Winston did his bit in shutting down Jermain Defoe and helping the Hammers to another clean sheet. Two interceptions, 6 clearances. He was very solid there as a part of a back three – though his buddy Kouyate had 15 clearances which is massive. Yo but Winston blocked three shots too. He also got a yellow. A very Winston Reid performance all around.

Garth Crooks’ BBC Team of the Week: CENTRE BACK – Winston Reid

“This is the second time in as many weeks that Winston Reid has made my TOTW. Last week he battened down the hatches against Crystal Palace and this week he provided the goal that gave a lucky West Ham three points that were so desperately needed. In the meantime, the Hammers are still struggling to come to terms with playing in their new stadium. That said, I do see a far more determined side these days, prepared to grind out results and not roll over just because things are proving difficult at the moment.”

ESPN Player Ratings: “Winston Reid, 6 -- Commanding in defence and even scored the winner. To be fair, the New Zealander's low shot that went through a bunch of players probably deserved a goal less than some of the intricate play earlier on by some of his more creative teammates, but that, as they say, is football.”

Up Next: Both Winston and Woody have EFL Cup games which have probably been played by the time you read this. Then West Ham take on Everton away, Monday at 2.30am (NZT)

Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)

What a funny game football can be. And what a flippin’ crazy league the English Championship is. Remember a few weeks back when Garry Monk was on the verge of being sacked? Well, Leeds are just three points out of the playoffs now and they still haven’t scored more than twice in a game all season, with only one winning streak to speak of.

They played twice this week, midweek at home to Wigan and then away to Wolves on the weekend. The Wigan game was the more fun, since it provided us with another one for the Chris Wood highlight reel. It was 28 minutes into the game when Hadi Sacko somehow didn’t get tackled by Dan Burn and so, counting his blessings, he swung one into the box. Thump off the chest of Woody, leaning back, he dropped the ball at his feet and slammed it across goal and into the net. My man! Get in there!

Eddie Gray, ex-Leeds: “He's a good striker of the ball, Chris Wood, that's why he takes penalty kicks as well. We saw him score a wonderful goal against Derby the other year and his goal here was a wonderful strike. He took it well on his chest, he was very cool there [and it] was good play all round for a centre forward. It was great control from him.” (LUTV)

An eight goal of the season for Woody, putting his team ahead. But if anything this woke up the visitors and fellas like Will Grigg (not on fire, not quite terrifying, but definitely a little scary), Nick Powell and Jake Buxton all had top efforts that somehow were kept out, either by Rob Green in goal or simply by fluke and fortune. To be honest it made what had been a tentative game into something really entertaining.

Leeds came out after the break a lot better, looking to fire in that second goal. A couple times they came close too, though Wigan were threatening as well. The Whites eventually decided they were pretty happy to stay at 1-0, and Monky started making a few subs. One of whom was Woody coming off with five to play - probably mercifully too what with coming off All Whites duty and all that. Pablo Hernandez and Hadi Sacko, a couple attacking threats, also came off before him. Making it pretty clear that they were shutting up shop.

Just imagine where Leeds might be had they held on for the win too. But instead they leaked an injury time leveller. Tragic stuff. Shaun MacDonald got the final touch when he volleyed it in off the crossbar but before it got to him a Jordi Gomez corner had been curled all the way to the far post where Max Power headed it back across and Stephen Warnock air-swung on a bicycle kick. It was not a pretty goal to concede. And… Max Power? What did he get that name from a hairdryer?

Shots to Woody though. Yorkshire Evening Post gave him an 8/10 for the match, which was the best of any of his teammates and WhoScored.com had him as their man of the match too, with a 7.8. Three shots on target, a couple key passes, 44 touches which is a solid tally for Wood as a hold-up player plus of course he scored that goal. One of his better ones.

Garry Monk: “We scored a very good goal to give us the lead but the next step in that situation is not to rest and do enough. It’s to go and dominate and get the second goal. You leave a team with a sniff of getting back into it with a 1-0 lead.”

The following game wasn’t exactly as triumphant for Wood but it worked out better for the team so he’ll be taking that. Despite it being a fairly end to end game against Wolves, he only had the two shots, with one of them on target. That effort came midway through the second, Carl Ikeme tipping it over the bar as CW slammed it from the edge of the area. The other was a late shot from a cross that he probably should have buried to seal the game.

Wood was less involved here, overshadowed somewhat by winger Kemar Roofe who had one of his best games for the club after copping some criticism for his games recently. Still, it wasn’t a bad game from Wood either. He held the ball up well, always a threat in the air, and that stuff tends to create room for other players.

Frankly, both teams had great chances. Wolves haven’t been in the best form but they still pack a punch at home and Rob Green had to make a couple important stops. Equally, a few chances were wasted and that goes at both ends. Eventually it was a single moment that decided a game that could’ve ended in any of the three results. Hadi Sacko beat his man down the right, he squared it across the six yard box… and Silvio went and turned it into his own net. 1-0 and that was all she wrote.

YEP Player Ratings: “Chris Wood - Played as well as he could have done given the amount of service he had and very nearly claimed a second goal. 7/10”

Up Next: Leeds vs Burton, 3.00am Sunday (NZT)

Bill Tuiloma – Olympique de Marseille (French Ligue 1)

Once again, times are changing at Marseille and once again nobody has any idea what that might mean for Billy T. The club has finally been sold and the manager has been replaced with the old regime. A new captain has been named. All the while Tui remains injured and hoping he still has a role to play at the club.

You’ll have to bear with this for a second coz it’s very weird. So… Frank McCourt has completed his takeover of the club, buying out Margarita Louis-Dreyfus for roughly €45m. Which is actually not that expensive as far as football clubs with the history of Marseille goes. But then they’ve not been so great recently, they don’t make much money and rely way too much on player sales (which means inconsistencies on the field from year to year) and the owner didn’t want them anyway. MLD has been trying to sell them for a while now, having initially inherited them from her husband Robert Louis-Dreyfus when he passed away in 2009. She’s been… disinterested, to say the least.

Meaning in comes 63 year old American McCourt who is promising a bright future and general stability. McCourt is famous Stateside because he once owned the LA Dodgers in Major League Baseball, though he’d preferred to buy the Boston Red Sox. McCourt financed his takeover of the Dodgers using some immense debt that he accrued and part of the buy included significant real estate assets of the clubs, FM being a handy development tycoon himself. Ticket prices increased basically every year and so did the pressure on the team to succeed, with a few managers getting the flick. And then he went and got divorced which led to a big drama over how much of the team his wife owned. The MLB got pissed and they intervened and eventually they helped facilitate a sale, with Magic Johnson (yes, the basketballer) heading a consortium which purchased the Dodgers for US$2b. Then a record for a sports team. He also made another $150m for selling off some of the real estate. The American dollar and European euro are pretty close in valuation so fair to say he’s got cash to spare after buying OM (though he does also own a 50% stake in show-jumping’s Global Champions Tour and the operating rights to the Los Angeles Marathon).

McCourt is talking up the team now, saying he’ll invest hundreds of millions of euros into the team. Here he is speaking to L’Equipe:

“I pledge to invest €200m over four years, which is more than has been put in in the last 20 years. The goal is to win the league. My number one goal is to win Ligue 1. The second is to win the title more often than we don't and the third is to win the Champions League. We have to manage to do that in that order.”

Cool, bro.

He started by firing manager Franck Passi, who had been an assistant for several years at OM and had been in charge since the summer after Michel was sacked. But Passi was still technically an interim, and in came Rudi Garcia to replace him. As well as that Jacques-Henri Eyraud was brought in as the new club president and McCourt is introducing his son Drew and a favoured advisor of his Barry Cohen into the club infrastructure. Things are happening fast. Garcia also went and took the captaincy away from Lassana Diarra, who continues to be linked away from the club, and gave it to Bafetimbi Gomis, who has been really good this season on loan from Swansea. And, ah, Abou Diaby is out for months with an ankle injury. That poor dude.

First game up in the new era and OM drew 0-0 with Paris Saint Germain. That ain’t half bad, that. Enough to squeeze them up to eleventh on the table.

Ahhh but what does it all mean for Bill Tuiloma? That’s hard to say, when he hasn’t played a game since the start of September. In fact this is all sadly reminiscent of Marco Rojas at Stuttgart where he found himself on the fringes of the team, got injured, then the manager was sacked and things got odd from there. Since Marcelo Bielsa gave Tui his first team debut, there have now been three bosses at OM and who can say where he’s left in the ranks – especially when he isn’t even fit. At the start of the season, Diarra’s injury would have seemed to push him up the ladder, especially with William Vainqueur recovering as well. It’s all a blur at the mo’.

Up Next: OM vs Bordeaux, 5.00am Monday, for what it’s worth (NZT)

Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie)

It’s always a good week when Thommo makes another one of his comebacks from injury. Such was the case this time around as he made his way onto the park in the 67th minute of a 2-0 win over Excelsior. Not only that but he went on ahead and set up the second goal too, helping the PECers to just their second win of the season and giving them some breathing room on the table.

It was Queensy Menig that gave them the lead soon after half time. Forget the first 45 mins, nothing happened between two desperate teams that each were scared to lose another one of these things. Menig scored last time he played against these guys too. Thomas came on and that was cool. Then the home team realised they had to do something and they threw the kitchen sink trying to find an equaliser. Instead Zwolle doubled the lead right towards the end. Thommo with the assist, the wonderfully named Django Warmerdam finished it off. Just a cheeky sideways pass from Thomas but whatever. Take the stat, bro. They all count.

Up Next: PEC Zwolle vs VVV-Venlo in the KNVB Cup, Friday 5.30am (NZT)

Jeremy Brockie & Michael Boxall – SuperSport United (South African Premier Soccer League)

No league game this week, but that doesn’t mean a week off or nothing. Nope, SSU had themselves a tricky tie in the Telcom Cup against Ajax Cape Town. Boxall started and Brockie started, though the game was far from regular. Hell, the damn thing went all the way to extra time before Thuso Phala’s deflected effort found its way into the goal. That proved to be the only goal, the one that put SSU into the round of 16… but it took them awhile to get there as the match was postponed due to some wild weather.

Brockie had himself more than a couple of chances but it was one of those days where it was always going to be difficult to split them. Funny thing is they play again in the league in a few days.

Kickoff.com: “After a couple of stoppages in play due to the incoming storm, the match had to be called off temporarily after strong winds unhinged advertising boards before also tipping over the SuperSport dugout as players had to scamper from the area to avoid injuries.”

Meanwhile since we’re here, an extra shout out to Mike’s brother Nikko, who plays for VPS in Finland and who, thanks to that same fair play quirk that got Winston Reid his first action in European footy, will make their way into the Europa League qualifying stages next season.

Nikko has played youth level for NZ but doesn’t have a senior cap to his name. he’s primarily a midfielder and made 28 starts this season for VPS, scoring once, as his team finished fourth in Finland. Good on ya, lad.

Up Next: Ajax CT vs SuperSport Utd, 7.15am Sunday (NZT)

Jake Gleeson – Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)

The task was this for the Timbers: win and make the playoffs. Draw and maybe make the playoffs. Lose and you’re out, ending the title defence a little too quick for the fans’ liking. As it turns out, that draw option wasn’t gonna work as the San Jose Earthquakes lost to Sporting Kansas City. They left Kip Colvey on the bench, so that’s probably why that happened.

Problem for the Timbers, as discussed last week, was that damn near half their team was unavailable because of injuries or suspension and they’d played midweek in a Champions League game. Which they drew, by the way. Gleeson played that one, at home against Saprissa of Costa Rica but the point wasn’t enough to overtake them and Portland tumbles out just shy of the quarters. A tough result given what was on offer, they never quite got settled after Rolando Blackburn put them behind in the first half. Lots of fouls, lots of yellows. Bummer, dude.

Oh and there was another problem as far as that last game went: the Timbers hadn’t won an away game all season in the MLS. And they were away to Vancouver.

When they conceded a dumb goal only 13 minutes into the game, you got the feeling that it maybe wasn’t gonna happen for them this time. There was almost a red card to one of the Vancouver fellas that the ref let slide. Misses like this one from Lucas Melano certainly didn’t help either. Needless to say, this dude was subbed off at half time:

Fast forward some time and 55 minutes into the game they were 4-0 down and all hope had been abandoned. A Diego Valeri penalty saved some face but not a whole lot of it as they crashed to a 4-1 defeat. When you don’t win a single one of your 17 away games and you lose the last seven in a row, you can’t be too shocked when you miss the playoffs. Gleeson still made three saves but… yeah.

What’s more is that Portland, Seattle and Vancouver have this Cascadia Cup thing for the best team across the matches between the trio and Portland woulda had it but for the last goal. Like, 4-2 would still have given them that consolation and they blew that too. What a dump of a finish.

Hey but as far as Jake is concerned, he started this season on the bench and he ended it as the undisputed number one. There’s something in that for sure.

UPDATE: Haha so the end of season party must've gone down a treat coz both Gleeson and teammate Liam Ridgewell were done for DUI on Monday night in America - each booked by the coppers and dropped into the Clackamas County Jail where they put up a $7500 bail for the opportunity to sleep in their own beds. 

What happened was Gleeson crashed his car and called Ridgewell for help:

"Gleeson's BMW sustained front-end damage with its airbag deployed after what appeared to be a crash into the rear of another car."

Both face DUI charges and Gleeson additional reckless driving and reckless endangerment tags. It's a bit of a difficult situation as both guys are in the USA on green cards and a criminal record could thus put their careers in a bit of jeopardy. Ridgewell is older and with Premier League experience so he can do what he wants but this was the season Gleeson finally found himself a starter. Better hope this doesn't have any run offs. There is a history of a few other international players getting DUIs and those ones have been allowed to play on after undergoing a few classes and such. So it should be okay. Fingers crossed.

These, umm... these mugshots are worth a buck though.

Up Next: Nada