Americans Abroad: Midweek Rewind

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

It might not have been a flashy performance, but Michael Parkhurst may have enjoyed the best outing among the Americans Abroad who played this week, as he went the distance in FC Nordsjaelland’s 1-1 draw with Juventus in UEFA Champions League play on Tuesday.

Parkhurst was part of a Nordsjaelland defense that held Juventus in check for much of the match at Farum Park, with the Serie A giants scoring a late equalizer to prevent a surprise loss. Parkhurst also fared well offensively, connecting on most of his passes in a game that gave Nordsjaelland their first point in three games in the group stage.

In Europe’s other prestigious tournament, the Europa League, Steve Cherundolo and Alejandro Bedoya faced off in Hannover’s dramatic 2-1 win over Helsingborgs IF on Thursday. Both Americans went the distance in a game that saw Hannover concede an equalizer a minute into stoppage time before responding by scoring a winner at the death.

The lone goal came from Herculez Gomez, who netted the decisive strike in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 win against Toronto FC in CONCACAF Champions League action on Wednesday night. Gomez blasted a shot from just outside the penalty area in the second half of the game, giving the U.S. Men’s National Team forward his first goal in the competition and fourth across all competitions this season. The result eliminated Toronto FC.

Here’s how the Americans Abroad fared during the midweek action:

UEFA Champions League

• Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 1-0 loss vs. Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday.

• Jermaine Jones came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Schalke 04’s 2-0 win vs. Arsenal on Wednesday.

• Oguchi Onyewu came off the bench and played one minute in Malaga’s 1-0 win vs. AC Milan on Wednesday.

• Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland’s 1-1 draw vs. Juventus on Tuesday.

UEFA Europa League

• Clint Dempsey came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw vs. NK Maribor 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 2-1 win vs. Helsingborgs IF on Thursday.

• Alejandro Bedoya started and played 90 minutes in Helsingborgs IF’s 2-1 loss vs. Hannover 96 on Thursday.

• Terrence Boyd came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 4-0 loss vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.

• Mix Diskerud started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Rosenborg BK’s 2-1 loss vs. FC Metalist Kharkiv on Thursday.

CONCACAF Champions League

• Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL’s 5-0 win vs. Alajuelense on Wednesday.

• Herculez Gomez started, played 90 minutes and scored aGOAL in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 win vs. Toronto FC on Wednesday.

Championship

• Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City’s 3-3 draw vs. Millwall on Tuesday. He was serving a one-game suspension due to the ejection he received last game.

• Will Packwood dressed but did not play for Birmingham City.

• Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-2 draw vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.

• Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.

• Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County’s 2-1 win vs. Ipswich Town on Tuesday.

• Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Leicester City’s 1-0 win vs. Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday.

League One

• Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United’s 3-1 win vs. Oldham Athletic on Tuesday.

• Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Scunthorpe United’s 3-2 loss vs. Preston North End on Tuesday.

• Robbie Rogers came off the bench and played one minute in Stevenage’s 2-1 win vs. Portsmouth on Tuesday.

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What do you think of these performances? Impressed with Parkhurst’s outing? Do you see Gomez’s latest goal helping him to go on another tear?

Share your thoughts below.