photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
Nearly two and a half years after the accident that almost claimed his life, Charlie Davies made his official return for Sochaux.
Having last played in a Ligue 1 game on Oct. 3, 2009, Davies completed his return to Sochaux by coming off the bench in its 1-0 defeat to Stade Rennes. Davies entered the game in the 78th minute and had an opportunity to pull his relegation-threatened club level, but his effort was off the mark. While coming in a loss, Davies' return is likely to serve as a confidence booster as he aims to solidify his place in the club's rotation.
Two Americans who did help their club earn a result were Landon Donovan and Tim Howard. The U.S. attacker delivered his latest assist in Everton's 2-0 upset win over Chelsea when he played a perfect pass into the path of Denis Stracqualursi for the insurance goal, bringing his assist total to six during his loan spell. Howard made four saves against Chelsea's star-studded offense en route to recording his sixth cleansheet of the season.
Howard and Donovan were not the only American duo to contribute to their club's win this weekend. Maurice Edu and Carlos Bocanegra each went the distance and had an assist in Rangers' 4-1 triumph against Dunfermline Athletic. The win kept Rangers four points behind first-place Celtic.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 4 saves in Everton's 2-0 win vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
- Landon Donovan started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST for Everton.
- Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes and took a shot that resulted in an own goal in Fulham's 2-1 win vs. Stoke City on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 3 saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 5-0 win vs. Newcastle United on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 1-0 loss vs. Manchester City on Sunday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 2-1 loss vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Tim Ream did not dress for Bolton Wanderers.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 3-2 win vs. Swansea City on Saturday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
- Adam Henley came off the bench and played 40 minutes in Blackburn Rovers' 3-2 win vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City's match vs. Barnsley on Saturday was postponed because of a frozen field.
- Conor Doyle came off the bench and played 1 minute in Derby County's 0-0 draw vs. Millwall on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Nottingham Forest's 1-1 draw vs. Watford on Saturday.
- Daniel Potts and West Ham United's match vs. Peterborough United was postponed because of a frozen field.
- George John and West Ham United's match vs. Peterborough United was postponed because of a frozen field.
- Robbie Rogers did not dress in Leeds United's 2-1 loss vs. Brighton on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek and Carlisle United's match vs. Stevenage on Saturday was postponed because of a frozen field.
- Anton Peterlin and Walsall's match vs. Colchester United on Saturday was postponed because of a frozen field.
- Mike Grella and Brentford's match vs. Oldham Athletic on Saturday was postponed because of a frozen field.
SCOTLAND
- Maurice Edu started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Rangers' 4-1 win vs. Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday.
- Carlos Bocanegra started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST for Rangers.
https://dailymotion.com/video/xoji7h_dun-ran-1-2-www-rojadirecta-es_sport
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress for Rangers. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 1-0 win vs. Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona play Napoli on Monday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes Hannover 96's 1-1 draw vs. Mainz 05 on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 3-0 loss vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday. He is currently serving an eight-week suspension.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 0-0 draw vs. FC Augsburg on Friday.
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 1-1 draw vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started and played 90 minutes for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Joe Gyau dressed but did not play for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 win vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales started, played 45 minutes and received a yellow card in Hertha Berlin's 5-0 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen's 1-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
2. BUNDESLIGA
- Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play Fortuna Dusseldorf on Monday.
- Luis Robles did not dress in Karlsruher SC's 0-0 draw vs. Eintracht Braunschweig on Saturday.
- Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich's match vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Friday was postponed because of a frozen field.
- Matt Taylor dressed but did not play in SC Paderborn 07's 5-1 loss vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg and Evian Thonon Gaillard's match vs. Marseille on Saturday was postponed because of freezing temperatures.
- Charlie Davies came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Sochaux's 1-0 loss vs. Stade Rennes on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore came off the bench and played 15 minutes in AZ Alkmaar's 2-0 win vs. Excelsior on Saturday.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Sporting CP's 2-0 loss vs. Maritimo on Saturday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes RSC Anderlecht's 2-1 win vs. Standard Liege on Sunday.
- Mikkel Diskerud dressed but did not play in KAA Gent's 3-1 loss vs. Club Brugge on Sunday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Pachuca's 2-0 win vs. Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G. on Saturday.
- Herculez Gomez dressed but did not play in Santos Laguna's 3-1 loss vs. Morelia on Friday.
- Sonny Guadarrama did not dress Atlante's 2-0 loss vs. Toluca on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL's 2-0 win vs. San Luis on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley came off the bench, played 25 minutes and helped set up a goal in Puebla's 2-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 3-0 win vs. Queretaro on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal started and played 90 minutes in San Luis' 2-0 loss vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana's 0-0 draw vs. Cruz Azul on Sunday.
- Joe Corona started and played 59 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
——-
What do you think of these performances? Think Davies will get more playing time as the season goes forward? How badly do you think Everton wants to keep Donovan? Do you see Edu, Bocanegra and Rangers catching Celtic?
Share your thoughts below.
that’s a winning counter-argument in my book
I’m with you wishing it’d happen, but it just won’t
Demps to all his haters: I’m a fire flame spitter and to me you n****** wack
83
The ball would not have gone in the goal if it had not hit the goalkeeper. Therefore, it’s an own goal. A deflection is counted as a goal if it was already on target. Why so much confusion?
It was an incredible shot. Just appreciate it for what it is.
How is a GOAL a little stat?
My counter argument would be that if he had placed it “better”, i.e. not directly over the keeper, but rather to either side, then it wouldn’t have gone in at all, just off the crossbar. So if a better placed shot would have resulted in no goal, i have a hard time saying that you definitely deserve a goal.
Who cares? It’s great regardless of whether or not it is official. Dempsey is a badass and prob doesn’t care anyway.
Dempsey’s shot was pure fire. Mind boggling that didn’t go on his stat sheet… anytime someone fires a shot like that with some crazy movement, odds are, that pelota is going in. Should have been on Demps stat.
WHAT???, he´s american,actually he played only friendlies for Mexico before choosing the USA for good.
Still think his shot was one of beauty. Give him the goal.
+1
I’m guessing the boss needs to see a little more and needs to get fit. Ream had passport issues after the transfer so he probably didn’t report till after 1 Feb. He probably lost it, who knows but he’s probably gonna need some training since he last played a game almost three months ago.
They aren’t playing well enough in practice to make the manager feel comfortable playing them.
Any real intel (vs speculation) on why Ream and Rogers weren’t dressed? I thought the assumption was they would both see playing time, if not starting.
I didnt say anything regarding whether he was an american abroad or not. Ofcourse he is. Giuseppe & Neven are technically even Americans abroad in my eyes (not in Ives perspective since he writes for USsoccer fans like myself who dont give a damn about traitors)
From what I’ve heard / read is that the goalie deflected the ball causing it to hit the post …
Because of the deflection there is merit for it being counted
Just wondering. What’s his current FIFA 12 rating for those who have live ratings?
Everton keep Donovan !!!!!!!!!!! LA please sell him to them. !!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t think Clint Dempsey or Fulham care about a little stat. Clint made an incredible strike had a great game and they won.
Saw the pass. Looks like an assist to me. How is that different than a through ball that the scorer takes 3 touches before shooting?
So what if after the ball came off the crossbar it hit another Stoke player in the back or leg or whatever and then went in the net would you still not consider that an own goal? I think you would so why would it be ruled any different when it bounced in off the keeper?
No, because it was headed towards the frame of the goal prior to the defender touching it. Dempsey’s shot was not.
So Jermaine Jones goal was Jamaica was not a own goal since it bounced off a defender ? Right ?
*bounce off
FIFA says “Shots that… rebound from the goalframe and bounce of a defender or goalkeeper are not considered as own goals”:
http://tinyurl.com/83nwkas
Same thing came up in MLS and after originally marking it as a Mondragon own-goal it was changed to a Richards goal for the above reason.
http://tinyurl.com/6wlr8ka
Beasley had a nice cross about 3 minutes after coming on that led to the 2nd goal. Not an assist because the goalscorer dribbled to set up his shot, but a good pass from DMB.
Deuce is on freaking fire!!! Dude is video game playing in real life!
Ummm, no.
the difference is that Dempsey’s shot was clearly heading back away from goal when it hit the goalkeeper and rebounded back in.
shot’s that goalkeepers get their hands on in a save attempt are generally already heading into goal. Once Dempsey’s shot hit the crossbar, it was no longer heading towards the goal.
In essence what you do is imagine there is no goalkeeper there at all.
Let’s say Dempsey hit a shot off the crossbar and it rebounded out to the penalty spot where a defender clumsily put it into his own net. Do you give Dempsey the credit for that one to?
No, you don’t.
Congrats to Charlie Davies!
I have Deuce on my fantasy team, so I am 2x as pissed as everyone here that this was called an own goal.
No,Edgar Castillo is a real American.
If Deuce doesn’t get credit for a goal on this shot then virtually every shot taken that a goalkeeper gets his hand on that still go in should be considered an own goal as well.
The ball went behind the line and into the net which was created by Clint Dempsey’s shot. He deserves the goal!
He didn’t miss, the keeper got a hand on it to push it on to the bar, which then bounced in.
If that’s not a direct result of his shot than, every ball that takes a deflection should then be considered an own goal.
Missed how? His shot hit the bar, bounced off the keeper and in.
Spot on.
Dempsey missed his shot. Why should he get credit for something that happened after his shot?
I’ve never been a big fan of own goals unless it’s blatantly obvious so I think the FA should give Dempsey the goal. I mean it was obviously a little lucky that it bounced off of the keepers back, but it isn’t a goal unless Dempsey takes that shot.
Ignore the Corona comment. He hasn’t made any final decisions yet either.
Still can only play for US, so he is an American abroad no matter what way you look at it.
Not sure what the exact rules are but it’s a shame that doesn’t get counted as a gol for Deuce.
Regardless, if homey hasn’t impressed this season, he never will.
Actually, I think Castillo is tied to the US. He appeared in 3 non-competitive matches for Mexico before making his one-time switch the United States. Are you thinking of Joe Corona?
You both are wrong. He chose Mexico to begin with. Then before he was officially cap-tied by Mexico he switched to the USNT.
lol. moron.
Being serious?
Uhm wrong Castillo has been called up twice by Klinsmann, adn actually chose to play for the USA instead of Mexico. Where have you been in a box.
General reflection: It’s awesome to see how long this list has gotten over the past few year.
Edgar Castillo isn’t American. He chose Mexico.
Edgar Castillo is putting on a show against Cruz Azul right now.