By FRANCO PANIZO
It took Herculez Gomez longer than he probably would have liked, but he scored his first goal of the Clausura campaign this weekend. And his second, too.
Gomez netted a brace in Pachuca's 3-0 victory over Chiapas, scoring the game-winner with a header before firing home a free kick. Gomez's two goal-performance is likely to give him a boost in confidence as he and Pachuca attempt to get out of the basement in Group 2 in the final four games of the season.
Edgar Castillo also found the back of the net, scoring a spectacular equalizer in the dying moments of Puebla's 1-1 draw versus Toluca. Having come off the bench in the 86th minute, Castillo scored his first goal for the club with a left-footed shot from distance that snuck inside the far post.
Benny Feilhaber and Eddie Johnson didn't score, but they did help create goals in their respective club's 1-1 draws. Returning from injury, Feilhaber assisted late in AGF Aarhus match with Vestsjaelland while Johnson delivered his in Preston North End's tie against Portsmouth.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 4 saves in Everton's 3-0 win vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 2-0 loss vs. Manchester United on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 7 saves in Aston Villa's 1-0 win vs. Newcastle United on Sunday.
- Michael Bradley did not dress for Aston Villa.
- Marcus Hahnemann dressed but did not play in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 3-0 loss vs. Everton on Saturday.
- Jonathan Spector came off the bench and played 14 minutes in West Ham United's 3-0 loss vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 3-0 win vs. West Ham United on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Blackburn Rovers' 1-1 draw vs. Birmingham on Saturday.
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County's 2-2 draw vs. Coventry City on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Norwich City's 3-0 loss vs. Swansea City on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj started and played 90 minutes in Leeds United's 3-2 loss vs. Millwall on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest's 4-3 loss vs. Reading on Saturday. He is recovering from a thigh injury.
- Eddie Johnson started, played 76 minutes and got an ASSIST in Preston North End's 1-1 draw vs. Portsmouth on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made 7 saves in Hull City's 2-1 win vs. Watford on Saturday.
LEAGUE ONE
- Frank Simek started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Carlisle United's 3-2 loss vs. Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday.
- Anton Peterlin dressed but did not play in Plymouth Argyle's 2-0 win vs. Walsall on Saturday.
- Mike Grella did not dress in Swindon Town's 1-0 win vs. Brentford on Saturday.
Scotland
PREMIER LEAGUE
- Maurice Edu started, played 70 minutes and received a yellow card in Rangers' 1-0 win vs. Hamilton Academical on Sunday.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 1-0 win vs. St Mirren on Saturday.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Steve Cherundolo started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Hannover 96's 2-0 win vs. Mainz on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley did not dress for Hannover 96.
- Ricardo Clark dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-1 draw vs. Werder Bremen on Friday.
- Daniel Williams did not dress in SC Freiburg's 3-2 win vs. TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in Nurnberg's 1-1 draw vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- David Yelldell started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and made two saves in MSV Duisburg's 3-2 win vs. Alemannia Aachen on Friday.
- Luis Robles started and played 90 minutes in Karlsruhe's 1-1 draw vs. Erzgebirge Aue on Sunday.
- Edson Buddle came off the bench and played 16 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04's 1-1 draw vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday.
- Amaechi Igwe did not dress for FC Ingolstadt 04. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Bobby Wood did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 4-0 win vs. Energie Cottbus on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin play VfL Bochum on Monday.
France
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in St Etienne's 2-2 draw vs. AJ Auxerre on Saturday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 4-1 win vs. Sedan on Friday.
Netherlands
- Oguchi Onyewu dressed but did not play in Twente Enschede's 1-1 draw vs. Roda JC Kerkrade on Saturday.
Turkey
SUPER LIG
- Jozy Altidore started, played 89 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL in Bursaspor's 3-2 loss vs. Antalyaspor on Friday.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhgUnQbgsLM&w=400&h=400]
BANK ASYA 1. LIG
- Freddy Adu started and played 65 minutes in Caykur Rizespor's 1-0 win vs. Kartalspor on Sunday.
Belgium
- Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht's 3-0 loss vs. Club Brugge in the playoffs on Sunday.
Denmark
SUPERLIGA
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Nordsjaelland's 2-0 win vs. Sonderjyske on Sunday.
- Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 0-0 draw vs. Horsens on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Chris Rolfe dressed but did not play for Aalborg BK.
- Clarence Goodson dressed but did not play in Brondby IF's 1-1 draw vs. Odense BK on Sunday.
1ST DIVISION
- Benny Feilhaber came off the bench, played 25 minutes and got an ASSIST in AGF Aarhus' 1-1 draw vs. Vestsjaelland on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqJ3U2XLD5M]
Sweden
- Alejandro Bedoya started, played 89 minutes and scored a GOAL in Orebro SK's 1-0 win vs. Syrianska FC on Friday.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cReJQqW5Tg4&w=400&h=400]
- Ryan Miller and Halmstads BK play Malmo FF on Monday.
- Gale Agbossoumonde and Djurgardens IF play Kalmar on Monday.
Norway
- Mikkel Diskerud started and played 65 minutes in Stabaek IF's 1-0 win vs. Valerenga on Friday.
- Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Viking on Monday.
Mexico
- Jose Torres started, played 62 minutes and received a yellow card in Pachuca's 3-0 win vs. Chiapas on Saturday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench, played 28 minutes and scored TWO GOALS for Pachuca.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf0Cp3YmqJw&w=400&h=400]
- Edgar Castillo came off the bench, played 4 minutes and scored a GOAL in Puebla's 1-1 draw vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Sammy Ochoa did not dress in Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G.'s 0-0 draw vs. Queretaro on Friday.
- Sonny Guadarrama did not dress in Atlante's 3-1 win vs. Atlas on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein came off the bench and played 36 minutes in Tigres UANL's 2-0 loss vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
- Gustavo Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Santos Laguna's 1-1 draw vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
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What do you think of these performances? Which of Gomez's goals were you more impressed by? Expecting Castillo to get more playing time as a result of his goal?
Share your thoughts below.
why do you assume that he would be better off in the MLS? I’m sure he’s making more over there than he would here, and quite frankly he has to do what’s right for him financially. If that means sitting on the bench to get a bigger paycheck, then so be it.
He thought he won the world cup. But, actually he just jumped up and the ball bounced off his head for a goal, finally.
If you want to see real goals, take a look at Bedoya’s beautiful strike or Herculez Gomez’s great free kick goal.