photo by ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
Clint Dempsey did not have to wait very long to make his Tottenham Hotspur debut and he repaid the faith head coach Andre Villas-Boas showed in him by putting in a solid shift in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Four days after making his Tottenham debut by coming off the bench against Reading, Dempsey started and played 74 minutes in the Spurs’ scoreless draw with Lazio. Dempsey played centrally and looked a good fit with his new teammates, even scoring a goal that was questionably called back for offside in a match that gave Tottenham a point in their Europa League opener.
Dempsey was not the only American involved in midweek action. More than a dozen players saw time for their respective clubs, including Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein. Kljestan went the distance in Anderlecht’s UEFA Champions League tie with AC Milan while Bornstein ended his long spell on the sidelines by starting and playing 55 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 1-1 draw with Real Esteli in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.
Here’s how the Americans Abroad did during the midweek action:
UEFA Champions League
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in RSC Anderlecht’s 0-0 draw vs. AC Milan on Tuesday.
- Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes before being subbed off and received a yellow card in Schalke 04’s 2-1 win vs. Olympiakos on Tuesday.
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in Malaga’s 3-0 win vs. Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday.
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland’s 2-0 loss vs. Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
UEFA Europa League
- Clint Dempsey started and played 76 minutes in Tottenham Hotspur’s 0-0 draw vs. Lazio on Thursday.
- Brad Friedel did not dress for Tottenham Hotspur.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen’s 0-0 draw vs. FC Metalist Kharkiv on Thursday.
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96’s 2-2 draw vs. Twente Enschede on Thursday.
- Alejandro Bedoya started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Helsingborgs IF’s 1-0 loss vs. Levante on Thursday.
- Terrence Boyd started and played 90 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 2-1 loss vs. Rosenborg BK on Thursday.
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes before being subbed off in Rosenborg BK’s 2-1 win vs. Rapid Vienna on Thursday.
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK’s 2-1 loss vs. FC Copenhagen on Thursday. He is recovering from an injury.
CONCACAF Champions League
- Jonathan Bornstein started and played 55 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 1-1 draw vs. Real Esteli on Tuesday.
- Herculez Gomez started and played 72 minutes in Santos Laguna’s 4-0 win vs. Aguila on Tuesday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 2-1 win vs. Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday.
- Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City.
- Tim Ream did not dress in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-1 loss vs. Birmingham City on Tuesday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not play in Derby County’s 3-2 win vs. Charlton Athletic on Tuesday.
- Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw vs. Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
- Zak Whitbread dressed but did not play in Leicester City’s 2-1 win vs. Burnley on Wednesday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United’s 0-0 draw vs. Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench and played two minutes in Scunthorpe United’s 1-1 draw vs. Oldham Athletic on Tuesday.
- Robbie Rogers did not dress in Stevenage’s 3-1 win vs. Walsall on Tuesday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
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What did you think of Dempsey’s first start for the Spurs? Impressed with Kljestan and Anderlecht’s draw against AC Milan? Do you see Bornstein stringing together some appearances now?
Share your thoughts below.