 Sunday, 27th May 2012 09:57 Town defender Tommy Smith skippered his New Zealand side to a 1-0 friendly victory over Honduras in Dallas overnight. Perth Glory’s Shane Smeltz netted the only goal just before half-time. Smith, winning his 11th cap and captaining the side in the absence of regular skipper Ryan Nelsen for the second time, says the win is the perfect way to go into this week’s Oceania Nations Cup matches, which double as World Cup qualifiers: “It’s a great result really. “The draw against El Salvador was a positive result and to build on that looks positive coming into the Solomons.” Coach Ricki Herbert, who will decide whether to officially name Smith, West Ham’s Winston Reid or someone else as Nelsen’s vice-captain before the tournament, has been impressed with the way the 22-year-old All Whites’ youngest-ever captain has acquitted himself: “Tommy Smith has done a great job leading that side.” The New Zealand squad will arrive in the Solomon Islands for the Oceania Nations Cup on Wednesday where they take on Fiji (June 2nd), Papua New Guinea (June 4th) and the hosts (June 6th) with all the matches played in the capital Honiara. Elsewhere, five former Blues were in the Huddersfield squad which overcame Sheffield United on penalties in the League One play-off final at Wembley yesterday, the match having ended 0-0 after extra-time. Jordan Rhodes and Gary Roberts netted their spotkicks in a remarkable shoot-out which involved all 22 players with Alan Lee and, astonishingly, Tommy Miller missing theirs. Ex-Blues keeper Nick Colgan was an unused substitute. Blades keeper Steve Simonsen missed the last kick to see the Terriers through 8-7 on penalties, their number one Alex Smithies having netted his spotkick. The deal which took Rhodes to Huddersfield from Town is understood to have included a promotion clause. Premier League Fulham continue to be linked with the 22-year-old, the Cottagers said to be ready to offer the Terriers a fee of £5 million. If that happens, Town's sell-on of around 12% would take the overall figure received for Rhodes since his controversial summer of 2009 transfer to over £1 million.
Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 295 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
