By FRANCO PANIZO
Timmy Chandler may have scored a goal on Saturday, but he wasn't the only U.S. men's national team defender to make an impact with his left foot.
Jonathan Spector helped rescue Birmingham City from defeat, assisting on an 87th-minute equalizer in the club's 2-2 draw with Blackpool. Spector's assist came when he whipped in a left-footed cross from the left flank to teammate Nikola Zigic. Spector started, went the distance and was given a yellow card in the game.
Fabian Johnson also had an assist this weekend. Johnson created TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's lone goal in a 1-1 draw versus SC Freiburg when he played in a ball over the top. Johnson and fellow U.S. international Danny Williams played 90 minutes in the game for Hoffenheim.
Some more good news came out of Germany, as Steve Cherundolo temporarily ended his spell on the bench by starting in Hannover 96's 1-1 tie against Hamburg SV. Cherundolo's 90-minute outing saw him earn his first league appearance for Hannover in over a month.
Another American defender with a noteworthy performance this weekend was Michael Parkhurst, who delivered a game-winning assist in the 89th minute of FC Nordsjaelland's 2-1 victory over Silkeborg. Parkhurst played all 90 minutes for Nordsjaelland, which still sits in second place in the Superliga standings.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 3 saves in Everton's 2-0 win vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Arsenal on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 4 saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-1 win vs. West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 0-0 draw vs. Swansea City on Sunday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 2-0 loss vs. Everton on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 2-1 win vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started, played 90 minutes, was given a yellow card and had an ASSIST in Birmingham City's 2-2 draw vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykQiWPtqE2c?feature=player_embedded]
- Conor Doyle came off the bench and playd 11 minutes in Derby County's 3-1 loss vs. West Ham United on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley started and played 78 minutes in Nottingham Forest's 1-0 loss vs. Cardiff City on Saturday.
- Daniel Potts did not dress in West Ham United's 3-1 win vs. Derby County on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek did not dress in Carlisle United's 1-0 win vs. Colchester United on Saturday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Anton Peterlin dressed but did not play in Walsall's 0-0 draw vs. Stevenage on Saturday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench, played 20 minutes and had an ASSIST in Brentford's 2-1 win vs. Rochdale on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
Premier League
- Maurice Edu started and played 70 minutes in Rangers' 1-0 loss vs. Kilmarnock on Sunday.
- Carlos Bocanegra did not dress for Rangers. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
- Alejandro Bedoya came off the bench and played 20 minutes for Rangers.
First Division
- Dominic Cervi started and played 90 minutes in Greenock Morton's 2-2 draw vs. Queen of the South on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Chievo Verona's 4-0 loss vs. AC Milan on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Schalke 04's 2-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 1-1 draw vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday.
- Timmy Chandler started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in FC Nurnberg's 1-0 win vs. Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen's 3-3 draw vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales did not dress in Hertha Berlin's 3-3 draw vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 1-1 draw vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started, played 90 minutes and was given a yellow card for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 2-0 win vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
Bundesliga 2
- Ricardo Clark did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-1 loss vs. TSV 1860 Munich on Saturday.
- Luis Robles started and played 90 minutes in Karlsruher SC's 2-0 loss vs. Alemannia Aachen on Saturday.
- Edson Buddle started, played 74 minutes and was given a yellow card in FC Ingolstadt 04's 0-0 draw vs. Energie Cottbus on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 2-1 win vs. Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Matt Taylor started and played 65 minutes in SC Paderborn 07's 2-2 draw vs. FSV Frankfurt on Friday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg did not dress in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 3-2 loss vs. Stade Rennes on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started and played 80 minutes in AZ Alkmaar's 2-0 win vs. FC Utrecht on Friday.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Sporting CP's 1-0 loss vs. Benfica on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov did not dress in FC Tom' Tomsk's 0-0 draw vs. Krasnodar on Sunday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 3-2 win vs. Zulte-Waregem on Saturday.
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started, played 90 minutes and got an ASSIST in FC Nordsjaelland's 2-1 win vs. Silkeborg on Sunday.
- Chris Rolfe started and played 90 minutes in Aalborg BK's 2-0 loss vs. AGF Aarhus on Sunday.
- Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play AC Horsens on Monday.
- Brad Rusin came off the bench and played 9 minutes in HB Koge's 2-1 loss vs. FC Copenhagen on Sunday.
- Conor O'Brien dressed but did not play in SonderjyskE's 3-1 win vs. Lyngby on Sunday.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek IF's 2-0 loss vs. Valerenga on Sunday.
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK's 2-1 loss vs. Sogndal on Sunday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
- Sean Cunningham did not dress for Molde FK.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres did not dress in Pachuca's 3-0 loss (4-0 loss on aggregate) vs. Tigres UANL in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Mexico Apertura Liguilla on Sunday evening. He is recovering from a foot injury.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL's 3-0 win (4-0 win on aggregate) vs. Pachuca in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Mexico Apertura Liguilla on Sunday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas's 2-1 loss (4-3 loss on aggregate) vs. Santos Laguna in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Mexico Apertura Liguilla on Sunday.
COLOMBIA
- Diego Restrepo dressed but did not play in America de Cali's 4-1 win vs. Deportes Tolima on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? More impressed by Spector's assist or Johnson's? Do you see Cherundolo becoming a starter again for Hannover? Is Parkhurst worthy of a U.S. men's national team call-up for the January camp?
Share your thoughts below.