photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
A trio of Americans saw the field for one team this weekend, but it is not the trio you might first think of.
Mexican-Americans Edgar Castillo, Joe Corona and Greg Garza received minutes for Club Tijuana in its Clausura opener, a 1-1 draw with Morelia. Castillo started and went the distance in his debut for Xolos, while Corona and Garza came off the bench to play 45 and 16 minutes, respectively.
Landon Donovan went the distance in his second game for Everton, and he helped setup the game-winning goal in the Toffees' 2-0 victory over Tamworth. Donovan whipped in a corner kick in the fifth minute that John Heitinga nodded home. The U.S. international almost scored later on in the game, but his shot smacked off the post.
Perhaps the biggest story of the weekend was that of Clint Dempsey, who scored his first-ever hat-trick in Fulham's 4-0 triumph over Charlton Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup. Dempsey, who is currently on a run of good form, now has 12 goals this season across all competitions with just over four months left to play.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 2 saves in Everton's 2-0 win vs. Tamworth in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Landon Donovan started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST for Everton.
- Marcus Hahnemann dressed but did not play for Everton.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes and scored THREE GOALS in Fulham's 4-0 win vs. Charlton Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel did not dress in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-0 win vs. Cheltenham Town in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made 6 saves, including one on a penalty-kick, in Aston Villa's 3-1 win vs. Bristol Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 2-2 draw vs. Macclesfield Town in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Norwich City's 4-1 win vs. Burnley in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Adam Henley started and played 90 minutes in Blackburn Rovers' 2-1 loss vs. Newcastle United in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City's 0-0 draw vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not play in Derby County's 1-0 win vs. Crystal Palace in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest's 0-0 draw vs. Leicester City in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. He is recovering from a shoulder injury.
- Daniel Potts started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in West Ham United's 1-0 loss vs. Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 4-1 win vs. Leyton Orient on Saturday.
- Anton Peterlin started and played 90 minutes in Walsall's 2-2 draw vs. AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench and played 2 minutes in Brentford's 2-2 draw vs. Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
Premier League
- Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 4-0 win vs. Arbroath in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
- Carlos Bocanegra started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card for Rangers.
- Alejandro Bedoya dressed but did not play for Rangers.
First Division
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Greenock Morton's 2-1 win vs. Raith Rovers on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Chievo Verona's 2-0 loss vs. AS Roma on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 5-3 penalty kick win (after a 2-2 draw) vs. Metz in the round of 64 in the Coupe de France on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Sporting CP's 0-0 draw vs. FC Porto on Saturday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 0-0 draw vs. Santos Laguna on Saturday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Santos Laguna's 0-0 draw vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
- Sonny Guadarrama dressed but did not play in Atlante's 1-0 win vs. Chivas de Guadalajara on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL's 1-1 draw vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 55 minutes in Puebla's 0-0 draw vs. Atlas on Sunday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 2-1 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco started and played 90 minutes in San Luis' 1-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana's 1-1 draw vs. Morelia on Friday.
- Joe Corona came off the bench and played 45 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza came off the bench and played 16 minutes for Club Tijuana.
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What do you think of these performances? Expecting Castillo, Corona and Garza to be vital parts for Tijuana this season? What did you think of Donovan's performance? How impressed are you by Dempsey's hat-trick and run of form?
Share your thoughts below.