By FRANCO PANIZO
Three days after making his Bolton Wanderers debut, Stuart Holden played in his first Premier League game, and he managed to have a positive performance in a match filled with relegation implications.
Holden started and played 90 minutes in a much-needed 1-0 victory that pushed Bolton out of the relegation zone. According to reports, Holden had a solid effort, and delivered dangerous set pieces that Wolves and goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann had trouble defending.
Maurice Edu also had an impact in his match this weekend, and no contribution was bigger than his last-gasp goal which lifted Rangers to a 1-0 win over Celtic. Edu easily slotted home a rebound from close range in the waning moments of the Old Firm derby, and his goal may have assured Rangers a repeat of the Scottish League title by pushing the club 10 points clear of second-place Celtic.
Jemal Johnson and Herculez Gomez also found the back of the net this weekend, extending scoring streaks to two and three games, respectively. Johnson scored the third in Stockport County’s 4-3 win over Wycombe Wanderers, while Gomez hit the equalizer in Puebla’s 3-3 draw with Chiapas with three minutes left to play.
Here is how the Americans Abroad did this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Landon Donovan came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Everton’s 2-1 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made six saves in Everton’s 2-1 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
- Clint Dempsey did not dress in Fulham’s 0-0 draw vs. Sunderland on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made eight saves in Aston Villa’s 2-1 loss vs. Manchester United in the Carling Cup final on Sunday.
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Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa’s 2-1 loss vs. Manchester United in the Carling Cup final on Sunday.
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Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made six saves in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 1-0 loss vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
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Stuart Holden started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 1-0 win vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Jay DeMerit started and played 90 minutes in Watford’s 2-1 loss vs. Newcastle United o
n Saturday.
- Frank Simek dressed but did not play in Sheffield Wednesday’s 5-0 loss vs. Reading on Saturday.
- Kenny Cooper dressed but did not play in Plymouth Argyle’s 4-3 loss vs. Sheffield United on Saturday.
LEAGUE ONE
- Ian Joyce did not dress in Southend United’s 2-1 loss vs. Charlton Athletic on Friday.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City’s 1-0 win vs. Oldham Athletic on Saturday.
- Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Leeds United’s 2-2 draw vs. Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
- Jemal Johnson started, played 77 minutes and scored a GOAL in Stockport County’s 4-3 win vs. Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
- Jon-Paul Pittman started and played 90 minutes in Wycombe Wanderers’ 4-3 loss vs. Stockport County on Saturday.
Scotland
- Maurice Edu came off the bench, played 64 minutes, and scored a GOAL in Rangers’ 1-0 win vs. Celtic on Sunday..
- DaMarcus Beasley dressed but did not play Rangers’ 1-0 win vs. Celtic on Sunday.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic’s 1-0 loss vs. Rangers on Sunday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan’s 3-1 win vs. Atalanta on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 1-1 draw vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96’s 1-0 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. He is recovering from a shoulder injury.
- Sal Zizzo did not dress in Hannover 96’s 1-0 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04’s 2-1 win vs. Borussia Dortmund on Friday. He is recovering from a leg injury.
- Ricardo Clark dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-1 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Daniel Williams did not dress in SC Freiburg’s 1-1 draw vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Kaiserslautern’s 3-1 win vs. Karlsruhe on Sunday.
- Matt Taylor did not dress in FSV Frankfurt’s 0-0 draw vs. Energie Cottbus on Friday.
- David Yeldell dressed but did not play in TUS Koblenz’s 1-0 loss vs. FC Augsburg on Saturday.
France
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Stade Rennes’ 3-1 loss vs. Montpellier on Saturday.
- Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux’s 1-0 loss vs. Lyorient on Saturday. He is recovering from multiple injuries.
Greece
- Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Aris Salonika’s 2-0 win vs. Larissa on Sunday.
- Eddie Johnson dressed but did not play in Aris Salonika’s 2-0 win vs. Larissa on Sunday.
Mexico
- Jose Francisco Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca’s 3-0 loss vs. Pumas UNAM on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 3-0 loss&
nbsp;vs. Morelia on Saturday.
- Marco Vidal started and played 90 minutes in Indios de Ciudad Juarez’s 3-0 loss vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench, played 64 minutes, scored a GOAL and received a yellow card in Puebla’s 3-3 draw vs. Chiapas on Sunday.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmtzrSabNZ4&w=425&h=344]
Argentina
- Michael Hoyos did not dress in Estudiantes La Plata’s 1-1 draw vs. Boca Juniors on Friday.
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What do you think of these performances? Impressed by Holden’s performance? Do you think Edu’s goal has basically gift wrapped the SPL title for Rangers? How long do you see Gomez and Johnson’s scoring streaks lasting?
Share your thoughts below.
Watch the replay. He was moving right, and the ball went to his left. Think about it – kind of hard to plant your feet and jump back in the direction you came from, especially when it’s high and arcing downward. Everything he did on that goal was fine; not his fault that AV’s defenders can’t mark up.
I feel sorry for Landon who started well but now looks like he’s got his bags packed. It wasn’t the miss that was so disappointing but the body language of the miss. He was very casual and leaning away, when he should have had his whole body driving forward across goal. Yes that would have created a collision with the sliding defender, but it would have insured a score. Has he packed it in? Moyes can’t afford to put him back on the pitch if so.
It was going to happen…I was surprised Moyes even played him in that match. He needs to put it behind him and focus on the Holland friendly. You can tell he was really, really disappointed. That just shows the pressure players are under in Europe.
“This is just a really disappointing moment for me personally.” Does he sound ecstatic??
I agree Lester, that’s what we all should be worried about. I hope I’m wrong, but with all these injuries, I can’t believe everyone is going to be healthy come world cup time. Look at Jermain Jones – he was supposed to be back in October. The good news is Edu looks like he’s back, Holden is doing well, and Dempsey looks like he is close to recovery…
Another reason why the MLS only squad games were important; it’d be a miracle if our full squad was healthy come June…
Reading a newspaper does not equal registering on a team’s forum and talking about my player every five minutes. C’mon guys.
Well, I saw video of him right after the miss and right after the game, and he looked like a zombie, swearing at himself. What’s wrong with distraught?
Back to being primadonovan.
I love comparing Donovan to one of the top 2 best players in the world or even just putting the 2 in the same sentence. I hope Donovan can play like Ronaldo did after his miss or just regain his confidence like he did. Are you kidding? Donovan has always sulked far too long about dumb stuff. He is a mama’s boy….primadonnavan.
I am sure he was crushed….I mean he only scored 40+ goals in a season for United. Geez what an embarrassment.
Heh, that poor Jaguares defender… he made a great slide tackle and somehow the ball just popped over his leg to set up Hercules’ goal.
bradley, edu, clark, holden, torres, will be the center midfielders if Feilhaber is not recovered…if he is recovered, one of the 5 may not make it. Also Adu is on the fringe for a spot, though he is left wing. so is beasley. lots to figure out in the midfield.
Great feature on Holden in the London Times:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/bolton/article7044479.ece
by far that is…
Best post by fat…touche
I don’t buy the conspiracy theory. The English press will frenzy over any anybody’s blood in the water.
Unless your tons of examples involve Donovan, nor sure they’re applicable. The consensus has been that the most disappointing stretches in his career were down to his mentality. It would be a revelation if he’s reached a point where he can self-talk himself out of a negative turn in form. Hope so!
Or maybe a miss in penalty kicks to win it all and not getting it on net ?
Good job, Hush. Especially your words to Vaughn!
And I love how they are all forgetting: Landon was not responsible for them going down by two goals to begin with.
Distraught? For real? I actually think he sounds pretty good. He realizes how he messed up, owned up to it and now is going to press on. We really need to calm down here.
I meant to say it’s NOT the worst miss ever.
It’s the worst miss ever, not by a mile. Just cue up C. Ronaldo’s miss while with Man U. He is standing in the middle of an open goal mouth, about 3 feet out and Rooney sends him a nice soft pass, and he skies it at least 10 yards over the net. Now that is embarrassing. Nowhere near as hard a shot to make as Donovan’s. And yes, LD should have scored.
I think we are projecting our own insecurities on Landon. I don’t see this as eroding his confidence. He’s learned to take loads of criticism before and bounced back strong.
Donovan has really played well until yesterday. He’ll be fine.
For that miss however, there are no excuses. It was like missing a PK in the 85th to tie it. And not even getting it on net.
Edu had a great game overall. One of my fav USMNT players
Holden: Had also a decent game. His D was good and his free kicks were great.
Donovan: Good game on the Defensive side. One miss and all of a sudden Donovan isn’t good anymore for the EPL!HAHAHAHA That’s hilarious. If it weren’t for Donovan Everton wouldn’t of beaten Chelsea,Man u,Man city, PURE FACT! I’ll take the Tottenham goal miss anyday over 3 wins against powerhouse teams!! People get to carried away. I understand the Brits getting all Donovan hating about it, but that’s natural of them to hate on an American who was involved in the Cole incident. Donovan has been the best player for Everton for a reason.
ST.Addi: You said Donovan took a scroring
chance from Vaughan and then gopt chewed out by this moron?BUUAHH! You ever think that maybe Vaughan got in Donovan’s way from scoring?! Who the hell cares about a player like Vaughan, what the hell has this kid done for anyone in the soccer world? If I were Donovan I would of said to him gently,.. shut your ass up, when you have played in important games in your career than you come back and talk to me son.:)
this
Exactly on Donovan.
I did see the complete Bolton v Wolves game and Stu, in my opinion. was their best player. He brings them a badly needed play maker, energy +….the guy never stops running on attack or defending. His passing, free kicks and corners were all solid and he had a couple of scoring opportunties to boot. He has a bright future with who ever he plays for. And no he is not prefect and will have those strange days all footballers have on occassion.
Like you just did below? Nice…take your own advice….:)
Why is he distraught? A bit dramatic are we not? Just said simply he was disappointed for not scoring. It happens to best of them. I can give you tons of examples….like I said in my othe rpost need to stop the over anyalyization of Donovan and other players. He had a bad moment….so what? It won’t be the first or last…on the flip side his time in England has been very, very solid. One moment doesn’t take the bloom of of that.
If you haven’t figured out what the English press is doing here is they are trying to demonaize Donovan. He is a very good player who frankly they are afraid of, who up until now has knocked their socks off and given them nothing to go after him for. Wanna know why? Because England plays the United States on June 12. Noticed the trened lately when you watch other Americans play on the TV? Getting little digs in here and there when they can. I lived in England and my mom is English, it is par for the course for their print press and TV. Even my realtives and friends don’t like their press and will tell you to just ignore them and no one takes them serious in England anyway. Makes Sports Center look tame and I ignore them too.
This is the same press and pundits who have England as a final four team in the World Cup. They will tell you everything that is wrong will the other 31 teams while failing to admit they have serious issues on defense, goal keeping to name a couple and are one bad injury to Rooney from being in huge trouble.
I wouldn’t read a whole lot into what they are saying. Just go read their tabloid papers like the Mirror and Mail. Donovan’s “miss’ looks tame in comparison.
The over anyalyization of Donovan (and other Americans) by American fans has to stop too. He has been solid and then some in England. He is not perfect, then again tell me what player is?
Thank you.
It was one miss out of hours of fantastic play from Donovan.
Everyone needs to calm down. The British media sensationalism is rubbing off on us. Let’s read less .co.uk’s and more Ives.
Believe its in 2-3 weeks. The MLS season starts in 4, so it has to be at least 2 weeks before then.
Landon sounds distraught. This is from the Liverpool Echo today: “This is just a really disappointing moment for me personally. I’ve put a lot into my time here and another goal would have been a nice reward. I got myself in a good position at the back post and was hoping Jack was going to put the ball across goal. He did that and it came perfectly for me. It’s hard to understand what went wrong. I felt like everything was right but then I looked up to see the ball had hit the side netting. It’s so frustrating because if we had scored then it’s possible we might have gone on to win the game. It’s tough but we’ve got to put this behind us now and move on. There are still a lot of points to play for.”
I say wait until he suits up for a senior team.
Dear US soccer fans: Please don’t register on every forum for Premiership teams that sign American players and constantly chime in on your guy’s performance, history, future, etc.
Some serious Donovan stans here. It was a sitter and he blew it, he knows it, Moyes knows it, and the team knows it. That’s why he apologized for it after the match. It’s all about how he responds after and from the initial look, he seemed dejected and crushed.
I don’t even care for the US team. I mainly come here to give my opinion on players like Davies, Bocanegra, and Westberg (who doesn’t get that much mention btw) who are plying their trade in France, my home country, and to read about MLS. But it seems like, from reading comments over time, anybody who gives a negative or not-so-good comment about Donovan is quickly labeled a Donovan hater or gets a response from someone who quickly defends him like he needs a babysitter.
Absolutely agree. He should have scored, but the way the press is focusing on this is odd. I watched the BBC afterward, and the interviewer kept bringing it up to all the players and managers. I mean, I’ve seen horrible misses before…..they don’t do that. But Landon’s “exotic” status as the best American player has brought with it an intense scrutiny. It’s strange.
A typical English attempt to undermine the confidence of a player who will face them in their opening game of the WC. They had to eat crow for most of his time at Everton, but when he makes a mistake common to all, he is held up to public ridicule. “The miss of the Season” they proclaim when Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and others make similar errors. Welcome to the Big Leagues America. Time to declare our independence once more.
The question was, when does his loan officially end?
While I have said it was a bad miss, I do not get the worrying about Donovan. The guy has had a great run and shown that he is a top player in the EPL.
As for Holden, I did not see the game but anytime a player goes 90 minutes in back to back games after 1) just joining an EPL team and 2) not immediately playing is good news. The saga of Holden signing for Bolton, after Coyle switched clubs, and then working his way into the starting 11 after recovering from injury shows how highly rated Holden is. Also, they let him take free kicks right away -another good sign. I predict a bright future for Holden. If Bolton stay up, which I think they will, Coyle will revamp that team into a much more passing team. Holden appears to be at the center of Coyle’s revamped Bolton.
way to put it in perspective.
you are an amazing mind reader..you remind me of this fortune teller i went to once. she had 3 nipples.
I’m sure…
that is just the sensationalistic media… I really think it has to be a bigger game, like a rivalry game, with a cup or championship on the line, with possibly older or bigger teams……i doubt this will stand the rest of the season, though it does seem they are out to get him a bit. Then again, look at Terry and Bridge and Cole…The british media are effing scary! They called princess diana!!!
did anyone else notice how tired gomez was after his goal?
also, i don’t think Holden played that well. He was definitely solid and this was a positive sign, but people are getting ahead of themselves.
maybe he was talking about the sporting game…but last weeks man u game was awesome!! So i don’t think you can say fading from 1 week with the flu. but people will.
One pass does not make a complete game. He just seems a little more timid then when he started.
He has the flu. I think that is all it is. seriously i do.
that sounds awful!!!
Jesus…listen to you people. One bad game and you guys think that Donovan has lost his confidence and will lose his starting job. You guys all sound like single mothers whose only child has gone off to college. He’s a grown ass man. He’ll be fine.
For being one of the best US players ever, we sure do worry about his confidence and mental toughness … like he’s fragile or something. Even more reason he needs to be in Europe to play with the best and learn mental toughness. We don’t seem to worry about Dempsey’s mental toughness. He just puts his head down and works hard, even when he was unfairly on the bench those first two years at Fulham.