Potential strike pair Chris Wood and Shane Smeltz both scored over the weekend and the defensive combination of Winston Reid and Tommy Smith continued their run in England’s Championship. Meanwhile Herbert’s own charges, the Wellington Phoenix, lodged their second away win in consecutive weeks for the first time in history with his Kiwi core all putting in solid shifts.
With national captain Ryan Nelsen seemingly not far from a return to action, all bodes well for the All Whites should the proposed home international with Jamaica be confirmed for February 29.
Europe
West Ham United went top of the Championship with a 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest with Winston Reid again putting in a 90-minute shift. The Hammers will remain on top for at least 24 hours with fellow high-fliers Southampton taking on Leicester City at home.
In only his second appearance for the Robins, Chris Wood netted a close-range header in a 2-1 win for Bristol City over Doncaster Rovers. The powerful former Waikato FC frontman netted from a Cole Skuse cross after muscling in front of his marker on 25 minutes to put City ahead.
The All Whites striker had previously scored nine goals in the Championship while on loan at Birmingham City, with his latest strike taking him to joint third in the golden boot charts and chasing leader Rickie Lambert of Southampton who has 15 goals.
Ipswich Town slipped closer to the relegation zone after a 3-1 loss to Leeds United, although Tommy Smith continued his run in the side with another 90-minute appearance. The Tractor Boys led the match 1-0 until their goalkeeper was sent off after 74 minutes to spark a late revival from Leeds.
In Scotland, Aberdeen were attempting to end a 20-year, 38-game sequence without a win over Rangers at Ibrox in the latest round of Scottish Premier League action.
All Whites striker Rory Fallon returned to the starting line-up for the Dons and played 74 minutes in the 1-1 draw.
The result moved the Dons up to eighth in the ten-team league but put a dent in Rangers’ title aspirations as they now trail arch-rivals Celtic by four points.
Asia/Oceania
Michael McGlinchey’s Central Coast Mariners set a new club record of 15 matches unbeaten and took a big step towards sealing the minor premiership by extending their lead atop the A-League to 11 points with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Adelaide United.
Perth Glory also stretched ed their unbeaten run to six games on the back of a brace from All Whites goal-grabber Shane Smeltz against Melbourne Victory.
Smeltz opened the scoring in open play in the 13th minute and then tucked away a 35th-minute spot kick, the first of two awarded to the Glory in the 4-1 win. Although a hat-trick was in the offering for Smeltz, Mile Sterjovski stepped up to score the second penalty. Glory substitute Andrezinho added the icing on the cake in the 89th minute.
Victory star Harry Kewell had earlier pulled one back for the visitors with his own penalty in the 68th minute, with All White Marco Rojas restored to the starting line-up.
Maltese international Manny Muscat secured a second away win in as many matches for the Phoenix as the New Zealand-based franchise moved up to third in the table.
All Whites custodian Mark Paston made a couple of key saves on the way to keeping a second clean-sheet in a row in the 1-0 win over the Newcastle Jets. Paston was ably supported by Tony Lochhead and Ben Sigmund in a resolute rearguard.
Tim Brown bossed midfield as always and Leo Bertos was introduced as a second-half substitute. At the other end of the pitch, Jeremy Brockie played a full part for Newcastle as a lone striker.
David Mulligan and Ivan Vicelich helped increased Auckland City’s lead in the ASB Premiership despite being held to a goalless draw at home to Waikato FC. On the mainland, Aaron Clapham chimed in with a brace for Canterbury United on their way to a 9-1 demolition of YoungHeart Manawatu.
A little further off the radar, former Junior All White Kayne Vincent enjoyed a return to scoring for Prayag United in the Indian I-League. Vincent scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Chirag Kerala and the opener in the 2-1 win over Mohun Bagan three days later.
In women’s action, Football Fern Emma Kete was the only Kiwi abroad to take the field in coming off the bench for Canberra United to log 30 minutes in the 1-0 semi-final win over Melbourne Victory. Canberra will face Brisbane in the W-League final next weekend.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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