Reading’s climb to safety from relegation continued this weekend courtesy of a 2-0 win against Manchester City on Sunday. American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann posted another shutout to pull the Royals three points clear of the drop zone into 14th place in the EPL.
It was a good weekend for Americans in Europe. Along with Reading’s triumph you had Michael Bradley scoring another goal in a Heerenveen win (at least initially, the goal is being ruled an own goal now), you had Oguchi Onyewu’s Standard Liege winning and putting a stranglehold on first place in the Jupiler League and you had Heath Pearce playing in his second straight game since finally being released from the Hansa Rostock doghouse.
Not all was good news. Fulham squeezed a draw out against Blackburn when it sorely needed a win. Now the Cottagers sit six points away from relegation safety with time running out. Kasey Keller earned the start against Blackburn and could hold onto the starting job the rest of the way. Eddie Johnson earned a start and played 90 minutes of less than memorable soccer.
Here is how all the Americans in Europe’s top flight did this weekend:
ENGLAND
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Tim Howard and Everton started, played 90 minutes and made seven saves in Everton’s 1-0 win vs. Sunderland on Sunday.
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Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made six saves in Reading’s 2-0 win vs. Manchester City on Sunday.
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Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made zero saves in Blackburn’s 1-1 tie vs. Fulham on Saturday.
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Eddie Johnson started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 1-1 tie vs. Blackburn on Saturday.
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Kasey Keller started and played 90 minutes for Fulham.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 66 minutes for Fulham.
- Brian McBride came off the bench and played 24 minutes for Fulham.
- Carlos Bocanegra dressed but did not play for Fulham.
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Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in West Ham United’s 4-0 loss to Tottenham on Saturday.
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Matt Pickens dressed but did not play in Queens Park Rangers’ 2-1 loss to Sheffield United on Saturday.
GERMANY
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96’s 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
- Sal Zizzo did not dress for Hannover 96. He is in U.S. Under-23 national team camp.
- Heath Pearce came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Hansa Rostock’s 1-1 tie vs. Duisburg on Saturday.
- Bryan Arguez dressed but did not play in Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 tie vs. Borussia Dortmund on Friday.
- Gregg Berhalter did not play in 1860 Munich’s 0-0 tie vs. FC St. Pauli on Monday.
- Josh Wolff came off the bench and played 45 minutes for 1860 Munich.
- Neven Subotic started and played 90 minutes in Mainz 05’s 1-0 win vs. Offenbach on Saturday.
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Kaiserslautern’s 0-0 tie vs. Freiburg on Sunday.
- Josh Grenier dressed but did not play in TUS Koblenz’s 1-0 loss to FC Koln on Sunday.
HOLLAND
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Heerenveen’s 3-0 win vs. NAC Breda on Saturday. He had an apparent goal ruled as an own goal.
ITALY
- Gabriel Ferrari dressed but did not play in Sampdoria’s 2-1 win vs. Parma on Sunday
- Danny Szetela did not dress in Brescia’s 3-0 win vs. Cesena on Saturday.
SPAIN
- Giuseppe Rossi dressed but did not play in Villarreal’s 2-1 win vs. Barcelona on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Andrew Jacobson did not dress in Lorient’s 0-0 tie with Caen on Saturday.
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in FC Troyes 2-1 win against Clermont Foot on Friday.
PORTUGAL
- Freddy Adu missed Benfica’s 2-2 tie against Uniao Leiria on Sunday, He is with the U.S. Under-23 national team.
BELGIUM
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Standard Liege’s 2-1 win vs. St. Truiden on Friday.
GREECE
- Clint Mathis came off the bench and played 29 minutes in Ergotelis’ 1-1 tie vs. Asteras Tripoli on Sunday.
Share your thoughts on this weekend’s performances below.
Why isn’t DeMeritt seeing time? Is he injured?
Pat – I’d bet Subotic is too important to his club to be released. He’s started practically every game this season in central defense and they are in a promotion race for the Bundesliga. Considering what that means for his club, he’s probably less likely to be released than Michael Bradley would be.
Pat, Subotic did not score the goal for Mainz. Tim Hoogland did.
I think Subotic actually scored that goal for Mainz. I also think Subotic is still free to play for Croatia if he chooses. Should his non-appearance in Olympic camp be a sign he isn’t interested or that he wasn’t released?
Gabe Ferrari made the bench for Sampdoria.
Beckster, I have listed Convey before and I will list him when he returns to the Reading bench.
Ives, if you can mention Rossi, why can’t you mention Convey. At least acknowledge that he plays in England. This is at least 3 or 4 straight weeks that you have been silent on him.
Ives,
Jacobson’s out for the season – broke metatarsal in left foot
How come no update on how Nate Jaqua did??
Also does anyone know the story on Bradley’s goal? I haven’t seen the highlights so I was wondering what the circumstances were and whether or not ruling it an own goal was the right decision. Thanks.
EJ was just as you guys say, so-so. at times he showed a serious lack of confidence when he found himself one on one with Samba. But he also made some great runs, i remember one distinctly where mcbride didnt pass to him and i have no clue why. and the run he made to create the chance where he hit the post was well done. If he had found net on that shot, it would have been goal of the month, we’d be singing a different tone, and the british press would be singing his praises. He got one on one with the defender, had him backpeddling, threw him off with a couple snakes and then unleashed a rocket against the joint of bar and post.
It was almost a carbon copy of the Mancini goal for Roma in last year’s Champions League, except no goal, but sooo close.
I’ve criticised EJ to no end, but he played alot better than i expected him to. I expect he’ll see alot of time down the stretch. And who knows, he could bag a few goals, Fulham may stay up, and he could be to Fulham what Tevez was to West Ham.
Re: Eddie Johnson, I thought he had a forgettable first half, looking very tentative. He improved in the second, and showed why he could become a useful player for them.
I agree with the characterization of his game as ‘less than memorable.’ How other people played is irrelevant. It just means that their games were less than memorable too.
Ives, thanks for responding.
mcbabz, I’m sure your assessment is correct. I’ve only seen the highlights, and his shot on goal was better than decent. My question is why does Ives pick out EJ’s game as “less than memorable” when he played at least as well, if not better, than CD and BMB?
Subotic has been a part of US youth teams
Metzeng, I wrote less then memorable because that’s what I felt it was. It was worth noting because Johnson has yet to make an impact since he started playing for Fulham. That is why he gets a closer look and if/when he does start to play well I will note that as well. Dempsey had a bad game but has already established himself in the EPL.
*fall = foul
Metzeng, if you watched EJs first half, he was pretty poor…for One-Nil fans, he was dire….the 7 ranking seems pretty favorable to me…i would have given him a 5/6 honestly…he showed FLASHES in the 2nd half w/ one decent shot on goal that hit the post & drew the fall.
a ‘4’ for his 1st half, a 6/7 for the 2nd half….so a 5/6 would seem more in line.
so glad HE didnt start . . . . you figure it out.
btw, Clints backup minutes are increasing! Good for you Cletus!
Howard’s save at the end of the match to preserve the win on Sunday was fantastic.
Ives, EJ had a nervous first half and a decent second half. He earned a “7” from Sky Sports (also a 7 in the fan ratings). Sky called his game “promising.” By comparison, Clint Dempsey had a terrible game, and earned a “5,” and BMB didn’t do anything either. So, why do you pick out EJ’s game as “less than memorable”?
Eddie Johnson had no confidence against Samba
Why hasn’t Nevan Subotic ever been called in with any of the US National teams (or Olympic team)? He definitely seems deserving.
Don’t forget that Tim Howard stood on his head against Fiorentina on Thursday last week in the UEFA Cup. His teammates got run off of the pitch in Florence and Everton is trailing 2-0 heading into the return leg at Goodison Park tomorrow. But he made at least 4 tremendous saves in that game.
Reading beat Man City, not Man U.
A win at Old Trafford certainly is impressive don’t you think? Much more so than beating City.
Bradley wasn’t given the goal in the Dutch press, it was listed as an OG.