photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
FC Ingolstadt 04 helped its chances of avoiding relegation this weekend with a blowout win, and Edson Buddle was responsible for one those goals.
Having come off the bench in the 76th minute of Ingolstadt's match against fellow relegation-strugglers Karlsruhe, Buddle capped the scoring in the 4-1 win by heading home a free kick from close range. The goal, which was Buddle's second of the season, came against American goalkeeper Luis Robles.
Jonathan Spector also didn't play much this weekend, but he did make a late cameo in West Ham United's big 3-1 victory over Liverpool. Spector came off the bench and played eight minutes in a game that saw the Hammers move up to 18th place in the Premiership standings.
Another player looking to help his team avoid relegation this season is Mike Grella, who made his Swindon Town debut on Saturday. In desperate need of minutes, Grella started and played 90 minutes in his new club's 4-1 loss to Southampton.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Everton's 2-0 win vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Manchester City on Sunday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made one save in Aston Villa's 4-1 win vs. Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
- Michael Bradley dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Marcus Hahnemann dressed but did not play in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 4-0 win vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
- Jonathan Spector came off the bench and played 8 minutes in West Ham United's 3-1 win vs. Liverpool on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers' 1-1 draw vs. Newcastle United on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Blackburn Rovers' 4-1 loss vs. Aston Villa on Saturday.
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not play in Derby County's 1-0 win vs. Sheffield United on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Norwich City's 2-0 win vs. Barnsley on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Hull City's 2-0 loss vs. Cardiff City on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Leeds United's 3-0 loss vs. Swansea City on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest's 0-0 draw vs. Millwall on Saturday. He is recovering from a thigh injury.
- Eddie Johnson came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Preston North End's 2-1 loss vs. Burnley on Saturday.
LEAGUE ONE
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 1-0 loss vs. Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
- Anton Peterlin did not dress in Plymouth Argyle's 2-1 win vs. Colchester United on Saturday.
- Mike Grella started and played 90 minutes in Swindon Town's 4-1 loss vs. Southampton on Saturday.
Scotland
PREMIER LEAGUE
- Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 4-0 win vs. St Johnstone on Sunday.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 2-0 loss vs. Motherwell on Sunday.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 1-0 win vs. St Pauli on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley did not dress for Hannover 96.
- Ricardo Clark did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-0 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. He is recovering from a fractured cheekbone.
- Daniel Williams did not dress in SC Freiburg's 1-0 loss vs. FC Cologne on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Timothy Chandler started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Nurnberg's 1-1 draw vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- David Yeldell started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in MSV Duisburg's 0-0 draw vs. RW Oberhausen on Friday.
- Luis Robles started, played 90 minutes, made two saves and received a yellow card in Karlsruhe's 4-1 loss vs. FC Ingolstadt 04 on Sunday.
- Edson Buddle came off the bench, played 14 minutes and scored a GOAL in FC Ingolstadt 04's 4-1 win vs. Karlsruhe on Sunday.
- Amaechi Igwe did not dress for FC Ingolstadt 04. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Bobby Wood came off the bench and played 18 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich's 1-0 win vs. FC Union Berlin on Friday.
- Alfredo Morales did not dress in Hertha Berlin's 5-0 win vs. Alemania Aachen on Saturday.
France
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in St Etienne's 2-0 loss vs. Nice on Saturday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 2-0 loss vs. Dijon FCO on Friday.
Netherlands
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Twente Enschede's 2-1 loss vs. AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.
Turkey
SUPER LIG
- Jozy Altidore did not dress in Bursaspor's 2-0 win vs. Bucaspor on Friday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
BANK ASYA 1. LIG
- Freddy Adu started and played 55 minutes in Rizespor's 0-0 draw vs. Gungoren Belediyespor on Sunday.
Belgium
- Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht's game vs. Eupen on Saturday was postponed.
Mexico
- Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 0-0 draw vs. San Luis on Saturday.
- Herculez Gomez dressed but did not play for Pachuca.
- Edgar Castillo did not dress in Puebla's 3-0 loss vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday.
- Sammy Ochoa did not dress in Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G.'s 5-1 loss vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
- Sonny Guadarrama came off the bench and played 36 minutes in Atlante's 2-1 loss vs. Morelia on Sunday.
- Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL's 3-0 win vs. Puebla on Saturday.
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What do you think of Buddle's goal? Think Spector and West Ham will avoid relegation? How do you see Grella's time with Swindon Town going?
Share your thoughts below.