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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

Danny Williams Reading 22

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

It is hard to start a match any better than Danny Williams did on Saturday.

Williams scored a first-minute winner for Reading in their home game against Middlesbrough, capping off a sequence that began with the initial kickoff. Williams tapped the game’s opening pass backwards and made his way up field before making a late run into the 18-yard box that allowed him to push home a cross with a thunderous header. The goal came literally seconds into match that finished 2-0 in the Royals’ favor, was the veteran midfielder’s second this season, and should give him plenty of confidence as he heads to the U.S. Men’s National Team camp ahead of a meeting with Mexico.

Andrew Wooten took a break from scoring goals this weekend, but like Williams still made a major early impact for his club. Wooten delivered set the tone for Sandhausen’s latest victory by dishing out a pair of assists in the opening seven minutes of a 3-1 road win over St Pauli on Saturday. Wooten alertly picked off a pass before slipping in a teammate who finished well at the edge of the penalty area in the fifth minute, but his more impressive helper came shortly after. Marked tightly near the corner flag, Wooten escaped a pair of defenders with a swift move before unleashing a pinpoint left-footed cross that was nodded down and in.

Another notable performance at the start of October came from DeAndre Yedlin, who received his first league start for Sunderland. Yedlin was given the nod at right back in the Black Cats’ showdown with West Ham United on Saturday, and went the distance in the 2-2 home draw. The result left Yedlin, who is off for international duty, and Sunderland in the Premiership’s relegation zone at 19th place.

Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:

ENGLAND

Premiership

  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes, and made three saves in Everton’s 1-1 draw vs. Liverpool on Sunday.
  • Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes, and made four saves in Aston Villa’s 1-0 loss vs. Stoke City on Saturday.
  • Geoff Cameron and Stoke City play Swansea City on Monday.
  • DeAndre Yedlin started and played 90 minutes in Sunderland’s 2-2 draw vs. West Ham United on Saturday.
  • Lynden Gooch did not dress for Sunderland.

Championship

  • Jonathan Spector came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Birmingham City’s 2-0 win vs. Leeds United on Saturday.
  • Eric Lichaj started, played 90 minutes, and received a yellow card in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 loss vs. Hull City on Saturday.
  • Danny Williams started, played 90 minutes, and scored a GOAL in Reading’s 2-0 win vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.
  • Andrija Novakovich did not dress for Reading.
  • Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 2-2 draw vs. Charlton Athletic on Sunday.
  • Emerson Hyndman did not dress for Fulham.
  • Cody Cropper did not dress in Milton Keynes Dons’ 1-1 draw vs. Bristol City on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.

SCOTLAND

  • Gedion Zelalem did not dress in Rangers’ 3-1 win vs. Falkirk on Saturday. He is currently with the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team.

GERMANY

Bundesliga

  • John Brooks did not dress in Hertha Berlin’s 3-0 win vs. Hamburg SV on Sunday. He is recovering from a thigh injury.
  • Fabian Johnson started, played 69 minutes, and received a yellow card in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 2-0 win vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
  • Timmy Chandler did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-0 loss vs. FC Ingolstadt 04 on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Aron Johannsson did not dress in Werder Bremen’s 1-0 loss vs. Hannover 96 on Saturday. He is recovering from an adductor injury.
  • Alfredo Morales came off the bench and played 10 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 2-0 win vs. Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

2. Bundesliga

  • Terrence Boyd did not dress in RB Leipzig’s 3-2 win vs. FC Nuremberg on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Bobby Wood started, played 90 minutes, and received a yellow card in FC Union Berlin’s 2-1 loss vs. TSV Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday.
  • Andrew Wooten started, played 90 minutes, and had TWO ASSISTS in SV Sandhausen’s 3-1 win vs. St Pauli on Friday.
  • Caleb Stanko did not dress SC Freiburg’s 1-1 draw vs. Karlsruhe on Sunday.

FRANCE

  • Alejandro Bedoya started and played 45 minutes in FC Nantes’ suspended 2-2 draw vs. Nice on Saturday.

NETHERLANDS

  • Rubio Rubin came off the bench and played three minutes in FC Utrecht’s 1-0 loss vs. Excelsior on Saturday.
  • Desevio Payne did not dress in FC Groningen’s 5-0 loss vs. Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday.

NORWAY

  • Zarek Valentin started and played 90 minutes FK Bodo/Glimt’s 1-1 draw vs. Valerenga on Friday.
  • Danny Cruz did not dress for FK Bodo/Glimt.
  • Cole Grossman started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek IF’s 4-1 win vs. Mjondalen on Saturday.
  • Ethan Horvath and Molde FK play Tromso on Sunday afternoon.
  • A.J. Soares and Viking FK play Lillestrom on Sunday afternoon
  • Erik Hurtado started, played 90 minutes, and scored a GOAL in Mjondalen IF’s 4-1 loss vs. Stabaek IF on Saturday.
  • Rhett Bernstein did not dress for Mjondalen IF.

MEXICO

  • Michael Orozco started and played 60 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 2-1 loss vs. Queretaro on Friday.
  • Alejandro Guido dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
  • Paul Arriola did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Joe Corona and Veracruz did not play this weekend.
  • Greg Garza did not dress in Atlas’ 1-0 loss vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
  • Jose Torres dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL’s 1-0 win vs. Atlas on Saturday.
  • Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Monterrey’s 4-0 win vs. Club Leon on Saturday.
  • Ventura Alvarado dressed but did not play in Club America’s 2-1 win vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Bornstein started and played 90 minutes in Queretaro’s 2-1 win vs. Club Tijuana on Friday.
  • Gabriel Farfan came off the bench and played f45 minutes in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 2-1 loss vs. Club America on Saturday.
  • William Yarbrough dressed but did not play in Club Leon’s 4-0 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
  • Miguel Ibarra dressed but did not play for Club Leon.

—–

What do you think of these performances? Should Williams start vs. Mexico? How impressed are you with the season Wooten has had so far?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Poor Shawn Barry. Has one good game and gets added to the list. Keeps playing and then he disappears.

    Also, I think Eugene Starikov should be added now that he seems to be healthy and playing again (Choronomorets, Ukraine).

    Reply
  2. Sbi, consider making a USMNT in MLS wrap up like this around international dates. I would like to know how DMB, Altidore or Dempsey’s recent form but don’t have the time to watch every mls game.

    Reply
    • If you watch/record one of the games on Sunday and watch the halftime report you’ll see how the majority of the MLS stars (Dempsey, Bradley, Jozy, etc…) performed.
      DMB – Performed well, but there were some concerns about a potential injury.
      Dempsey – Lively in attack, creating some chances out of bad angled shots.
      Jozy – Fair performance, but nothing spectacular.
      Bradley – SSDD

      Reply
      • the 10 sec highlights don’t really provide enough info .. nor do the “started played 90” lineup here.

        I like this feature but I would like to see it expanded into a second write-up listing the 23 in the team telling where they played, how they did, etc. — really tell me what their form is. – just an idea for SBI.

    • Bryan,

      Go down the rosters of, for example, EPL teams and while you will find established right backs you will also find a lot of guys who play right back on a “part time basis” like Antonio Valencia who has always been a right winger.

      I don’t know why everyone gets their panties all twisted up whenever a midfielder or a centerback plays as a right or left back,

      It happens all the time in the top leagues in Europe and even with teams like Germany who started three nominal centerbacks in Hummels,Boateng and Howedes in the World Cup final. Boateng and Howedes often play on the flank.

      Reply
      • Right, some guys play more than one position so there’d be nothing odd about JK playing Cameron, for example, at CB or at RB or Ream at either CB or LB. Playing Bedoya out of position at DM for the first time in his life against Brazil is the type of move people have in mind when they criticize JK. Like the Williams as right-winger move a few years back.

        The president of the JK fan club already has the excuses ready for his hero. At least wait to see if they lose first!

      • I think JK was just trying to find Bedoya a spot. He probably isn’t a starter for that much longer. He has a great work rate but just doesn’t produce enough in the final third.

      • slowleftarm,

        JK does not need me to makes excuses for his moves. They work out for the most part especially playing Williams in midfield vs. Italy. After all the US won that game in part because of that move.

        Besides, this upcoming game is now pretty straight forward.

        Even if they win most of the probable starters will probably not play in Copa America, the Confed Cup, or Russia, if they make it, not even Mikey,Deuce or Jones.

        This will probably be the last gasp of the bulk of the 2014 WC team and their last chance to win something as a group.

        They have enough talent, skill, ability and experience to win this game.

        Now all they have to do it actually win it.

      • Yes you’ve been trying to spin the Williams as winger move as a stroke of genius for some time but it was an abject failure. If it was such a great idea why doesn’t he play there any longer for the USMNT?

      • slowleftarm.

        Don’t take my word for it.

        http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2012/02/29/soccer-live-blog-u-s-vs-italy/

        Anyone who doesn’t agree with my viewpoint of Williams role in the Italy game can view a replay of the game.

        Highlights if not the entire game are available online.

        I never called it a stroke of genius. That is your attempt at sarcasm.

        It was a move that any manager who was familiar with the Italians would have done.

        JK played in Italy. He has also managed Germany against them. Italy knocked Germany out of the 2006 World Cup. So I’m pretty sure JK knows the Italians pretty well.

        As for why it hasn’t been repeated, well the US hasn’t played Italy in Italy since then have they? In fact as far as I know, they haven’t played Italy anywhere since then.

        The game was in February of 2012 and was one of JK’s first in Europe ( it was his 10th game in charge) after he took the job. It was probably his first chance to play Williams.

        Since then William’s role with the US has become more defined as a #6. And since then, my guess would be that other players, such as Mix, more suitable for that role have emerged.

      • I wasn’t aware there was a President of the JK fan club.
        Does that make you the President of:
        The Anti-JK club?
        The Anti-Green club?
        The Anti-Chandler club?
        The Anti-Brooks club?
        The Anti-Jones club?
        The Anti-Fabian club?
        The Anti-AJ club?
        The Anti-Boyd club?
        The Anti-Mixx club?
        The Anti-Williams club?
        The Anti-Zelalem club?
        The Anti-Alvarado club?
        The Anti- Yarborough club?
        The Anti-Future-Wooten club?
        The Anti-Future (fill in the blank) club?
        The Anti-Dooley club?
        The Anti-Donovan club?
        The Anti-Bora club?
        Must be a lot of responsibility

  3. Williams is too good for the championship yet he remains because he is payed more in 2nd division england than 1st division Germany. Weird

    Reply

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