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Movsisyan and Pittman continue torrid goal-scoring runs

Jon-Paul Pittman 1 (Getty Images)

By FRANCO PANIZO

While most players are in the midst of trying to shake off the pre-season cobwebs, forwards Jon-Paul Pittman and Yura Movsisyan have been busy scoring goals. Lots of them.

Pittman continued his scoring ways for Wycombe Wanderers by netting a hat-trick earlier in a friendly match against a young Chelsea reserve team on Thursday. The opponents may not have been of the utmost caliber, but Pittman's three goal-performance was impressive due to it happening in his first four minutes on the field after he entered in the 74th. 

Pittman's last goal, a lofted shot with his left foot, sealed him winning man of the match honors. The hat-trick brings Pittman's goal-scoring total to seven so far in the pre-season.

Yura Movsisyan also scored on Thursday, but his goals came in a Europa League qualifier. The former Real Salt Lake player, who is believed to be in the process of acquiring American citizenship, bagged a brace in Rander FC's 3-2 first leg loss to Swiss club FC Lausanne

Movsisyan scored in both halves, cooly finishing a cross in the first and then heading home another in the second. The former Real Salt Lake player's brace came a week and a half after he scored his first goal of the Danish season in a 3-2 victory over Brondby. He also scored another Europa League brace earlier this month.

If you want to see Pittman's four-minute hat-trick or Movsisyan's Europa League brace, you can see them after the jump:

Pittman's hat-trick

Movsisyan's brace

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What do you think of Pittman's four-minute hattrick? More impressed by Movsisyan's two goals in Europa League play? Do you see either player possibly having a future with the USMNT?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I think Movsisyan is trying really hard to play for the US. I’m certain he’s been getting calls from the Armenian federation and probably could have been playing for 3-4 years ago. Looking at their roster, Armenia only has 1 guy (their goalie) playing consistantly in a good league. There are 4 other guys on the roster for teams that play at a level equal to or slightly above MLS and the rest of the team consists of domestic and Iranian League players. Movsisyan would be an automatic starter for Armenia, the fact that he isn’t doing so now tells us all we need to know about his intentions.

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  2. Anyone whose name ends in “ian” or “yan” is almost certainly ethnically Armenian. Likewise, anyone with a name ending in “dzhe” or “vili” is almost certainly ethnically Georgian.

    Azeris tend to have generically Islamic (sometimes Russified since they used to be part of the Soviet Union) names.

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  3. wouldn’t it be great to have both of these guys breathing down Jozy’s neck in camp. Plus and in-form Herc Gomez and a healthy Davies? I have visions of a 3-4-3 dancing in my head…. that would be great for everyone involved….

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  4. “More realistically lets hope that Charlie is back to his old ways and Jozy brings his game up to what we all know he can do so our forward situation isn’t the random flavor of the week from somewhere around the world. ”

    Realistically?

    First of all, Davies ,at his best, was hardly a proven top flight commodity.

    Look back over it and you’ll see he basically had a good ten game run for the USMNT. Had that continued, it’s nice to think he might have gone from strength to strength but there is no way to tell and now we’ll never know whether he would have gone on to better things had the accident not happened. It’s foolish to think he’ll just pick up from where he left off. In fact, his place in Sochaux, who are relegation bait and maybe can’t afford to wait around for Charlie, is very probably in danger. All the positive spin Twitters in the world can’t disguise the fact that Charlie faces a long and uncertain road back, if he can even get back.

    As for Jozy, he didn’t get into an accident so he has no excuse. He does a credible job for the US but his club form is inconsistent and hardly worth his salary. It’s possible he may already have peaked. What is saving him from being labeled Adu-esque is he is physically still an imposing specimen and he apparently isn’t quite the prima donna Mr. Freddy is.

    Bradley or his successor had best keep looking for strikers.

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  5. As an RSL fan, it still just seems wrong to have Yura wearing the same color jersey as the Rapids’ away. It’s great so see him scoring though, and he definitely could be a presence for the USA.

    And just to clear it up about his birth, he was born in Azerbaijan but grew up in Armenia. However, he moved to the USA to seek asylum from the wars going on there, I think when he was 13 (I’d have to check though).

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  6. its too bad that the england schedule does not work with the January camp as this would be a better time to bring Pittman in. That is an impressive run of goals but i don’t think a forward would get those kind of chances at the international level.

    More realistically lets hope that Charlie is back to his old ways and Jozy brings his game up to what we all know he can do so our forward situation isn’t the random flavor of the week from somewhere around the world.

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  7. He’s only 23 so he still has time to prove himself. Lee Nguyen got caps for nothing nothing at Randers and has now faded into YA obscurity in Vietnam.

    I’ve watched Pittman for many years and he is a good player. He is still young and I believe he could become a nice player in the future.

    Findley and EJ have gotten caps, why not someone like Pittman? I’m not saying call him in for World Cup stuff but at least a camp or a friendly to see what he brings. People were knocking Bedoya, you know you where, before people saw him in action.

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  8. Yura and JP can be the next version of Buddle and Gomez but even better since they are young and playing in Europe. Most likely if CD9 can get back to his form him and Jozy will be our main striker and who knows Yura and JP can be the subs that back up CD9 and Jozy in 2014 in Brazil

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  9. Pittman’s had a nice run in England, but unless he lands a transfer to the Championship and has success there do people really think he’s Nat material? 10 goals in 60 matches for a team just relegated to the 4th division isn’t that great. I wouldn’t call him up any sooner than I’d call up Ryan Guy (one of the best mids in Ireland) or Ryan Pore (leading scorer in USSF D2 right now).

    Just because it’s England doesn’t mean 32 goals in 119 matches in the 5th and 3rd divisions isn’t Nat material yet. Maybe if Sheffield buys him and he does well there.

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  10. Actually, his US physical presence is started to be counted on the day he becomes a US permanent resident, not necessarily when he gets the green card. And in most cases, you are approved to be a US resident 4-6 weeks before you actually get your green card. Based on the interview, he’d get his green card in Sept/Oct 2009.

    In 2005, he could’ve been here on a student visa or some other non-immigrant visa.

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  11. Well according to Wiki he’s been here since at least 2005 when he played soccer at a community college. He left RSL to join Randers in Jan 2010.

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  12. I’ve just gone thru a citizenship process. One of the main requirements is to be physically presence in the US for 30 months out of 5 years without a break of 6 months or longer.

    So, it’ll be tough. Now, if you know people who know people, maybe…just maybe it can be processed faster.

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  13. Yura is someone we have to push hard for but I think he will get his citizenship eventually. Yes moving out of the country hurts but I believe as long as he comes back to visit every so often it helps.

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  14. Movsisyan, I have liked. He seems real hungry, which is what you need as a forward. Push through his citizenship!

    Pittman is another guy that we should get capped tied. I thought he should have already been brought in for the last World Cup cycle.

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  15. In a July 2009 interview, he said he’ll get his green card in 2-3 months. If he’s married to a US citizen, then he can be a citizen in 3 years; otherwise, it’ll be 5 years.

    Now that he’s not actually living in the US, it will make the process longer. So, don’t get your hopes too high for him to wear the red, white, and blue.

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  16. If you believe rumors he could be a target for Sheffield United. He has certainly done well in pre-season. Yes its pre-season but 8 goals in 7 games is good considering only one of those games he played a full 90 minutes.

    At 23, turns 24 in November, he still has time but I wouldn’t mind a friendly call up or something. I mean we called up guys like Nguyen and White for these things. It can’t hurt anything.

    He can’t be any worse than Findley.

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  17. I badly want to see Pittman in the Championship. I think he could play for us in the Gold Cup next year!

    Yura just needs to get his citizenship, which is a slower process now since he is in Denmark.

    I love the 4 year WC cycle, who would have thought in 2006 we would have Jozy and Gomez as strikers..anything can happen in the next four years!

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  18. Pittman very much wants to play for the USA. He has said so in interviews. England C is not a sanctioned national team, its just for non-league players. He is not cap tied. Many England C players have played for other national teams.

    Pittman is still young but he’s been doing well. 7 goals in 6 pre-season games is good. He scored one against a very strong Reading side. He was also Wycombe’s top scorer in League One and they were very bad last season.

    Sheffield United are interested in him. Preston, Charlton and Leeds as well last season.

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  19. Bradley, or his replacement, should give these young guys a look in some meaningless friendlies. Why not? Does Pittman wanna play for the US? He made one appearance for an Englan C Team.

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