By FRANCO PANIZO
Sacha Kljestan has quietly put together a solid season for RSC Anderlecht, but he made some noise in the club's latest win on Sunday.
Kljestan scored his third goal of the season (fourth across all competitions) in Anderlecht's 4-2 win over Racing Genk when he fired home a free kick from 30 yards out. After a teammate dummied a kick, Kljestan hit a shot to the far post that swerved slightly before beating Genk's wrong-footed goalkeeper.
Two others Americans also contributed this weekend, though they did so against one another. Edgar Castillo helped Club Tijuana get off to a dream start by delivering an assist early in its match against Puebla. Unfortunately for Castillo and Xolos, DaMarcus Beasley helped Puebla earn a 1-1 draw when he drew a penalty kick that was converted, a contribution that came a week after he scored a winning goal.
On the wrong end of a penalty kick call was Oguchi Onyewu, who endured arguably the toughest outing of any American this weekend. Playing against Gil Vicente in the Taca da Liga (Portuguese League Cup), Onyewu was sent off after picking up a second yellow card on an early second-half foul. The spot kick was converted and Sporting CP was unable to respond, getting knocked out of the tournament with the 1-0 result.
Here is how the Americans Abroad did this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 2 saves in Everton's 1-1 draw vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
- Landon Donovan started and played 90 minutes for Everton.
- Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Fulham's 3-0 loss vs. Manchester City on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Liverpool on Monday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 2-1 loss vs. Newcastle United on Sunday.
- Eric Lichaj dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 2-0 loss vs. Norwich City on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Tim Ream did not dress for Bolton Wanderers.
- Zak Whitbread started and played 40 minutes before being subbed off with an injury in Norwich City's 2-0 win vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Adam Henley did not dress in Blackburn Rovers' 7-1 loss vs. Arsenal on Saturday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City's 0-0 draw vs. Southampton on Saturday.
- Conor Doyle and Derby County's match vs. Nottingham Forest on Sunday was postponed because of a frozen playing surface.
- Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest's match vs. Derby County on Sunday was postponed because of a frozen playing surface.
- Daniel Potts did not dress in West Ham United's 2-1 win vs. Millwall on Saturday.
- George John did not dress for West Ham United.
- Robbie Rogers dressed but did not play in Leeds United's 3-0 win vs. Bristol City on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 2-1 win vs. Chesterfield on Saturday.
- Anton Peterlin and Walsal's match vs. Scunthorpe United on Saturday was postponed because of a frozen playing surface.
- Mike Grella and Brentford's match vs. Preston North End on Saturday was postponed because of a frozen playing surface.
SCOTLAND
Premier League
- Maurice Edu started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Rangers' 2-0 loss vs. Dundee United in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes for Rangers.
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress for Rangers.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 1-0 win vs. Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the fifth round of Scottish Cup on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Chievo Verona's 2-1 loss vs. Parma on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Steve Cherundolo started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Hannover 96's 1-0 win vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 1-1 draw vs. Mainz 05 on Saturday. He is currently serving an eight-week suspension.
- Timmy Chandler came off the bench and played 30 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 2-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Friday.
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 2-2 draw vs. FC Augsburg on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Joe Gyau did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 2-0 win vs. FC Nurnberg on Friday.
- Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes in Hertha Berlin's 1-0 loss vs. Hannover 96 on Saturday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-2 draw vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
2. BUNDESLIGA
- Ricardo Clark did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-1 loss vs. Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday.
- Luis Robles did not dress in Karlsruher SC's 2-1 loss vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play Energie Cottbus on Monday.
- Matt Taylor dressed but did not play in SC Paderborn 07's 3-2 win vs. FC Union Berlin on Friday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 3-1 loss vs. Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday.
- Charlie Davies and Sochaux's match vs. Lille on Sunday was postponed because of a frozen playing surface.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar's match vs. ADO Den Haag on Saturday was postponed because of a frozen playing surface.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu started, played 54 minutes, received two yellow cards and committed a foul for a penalty kick in Sporting CP's 1-0 loss vs. Gil Vicente in the Portuguese League Cup on Saturday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in RSC Anderlecht's 4-2 win vs. Racing Genk on Sunday.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MppMVu1KTYA&w=440&h=272]
- Mikkel Diskerud dressed but did not play in KAA Gent's 3-2 win vs. OH Leuven on Saturday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 4-3 win vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Santos Laguna's 2-1 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Saturday.
- Sonny Guadarrama did not dress Atlante's 3-2 win vs. Queretaro on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play America on Sunday evening.
- DaMarcus Beasley started, and played 55 minutes and drew a penalty kick in Puebla's 1-1 draw vs. Club Tijuana on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KWKreNIcu0?feature=player_embedded]
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 2-0 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal started and played 62 minutes in San Luis' 3-0 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Club Tijuana's 1-1 draw vs. Puebla on Sunday.
- Joe Corona started and played 69 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
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What do you think of these performances? Do you want to see Kljestan back in the U.S. national team fold? Would you like to see Beasley and Castillo starting on the left side against Italy later this month? Surprised by Onyewu's rough outing?
Share your thoughts below.