By FRANCO PANIZO
Herculez Gomez could not have asked for a much better start to 2013.
Gomez began the new year by scoring a goal for Santos Laguna in their season-opening 1-1 draw against San Luis on Saturday. The U.S. Men’s National Team striker netted with a textbook header in the first half, leaping up to meet a cross from the left flank and nodding it over San Luis goalkeeper Oscar Perez. Unfortunately for Santos, Gomez’s opener would not stand as the winner as they surrendered an equalizer in the 66th minute of the match.
Dempsey also found the net, doing twice while setting up another goal in a Man of the Match performance in Tottenham’s 3-0 victory over Coventry City in the FA Cup on Saturday. Dempsey continued his strong run of form by scoring the opener, assisting on a Gareth Bale goal and capping the win and his dominant outing with a headed goal. Dempsey now has found the back of the net six times across all competitions for Spurs.
Edgar Castillo started off the Mexican Clausura campaign in style, registering an assist in Club Tijuana’s 2-1 win vs. Puebla on Sunday. Castillo set up the the opening goal in the 30th minute, a score that set the tone for Xolos to oust a Puebla side that featured both DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco Fiscal.
Here’s how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
- Tim Howard and Everton play Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup on Monday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Tottenham’s 3-0 win vs. Coventry City in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes, scored TWO GOALS and had an ASSIST for Tottenham.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xca2orohHo?feature=player_detailpage]
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa’s 2-1 win vs. Ipswich Town in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj started and played 90 minutes for Aston Villa.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 0-0 draw vs. Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City.
- Sebastian Lletget did not dress in West Ham United’s 2-2 draw vs. Manchester United in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Tim Ream dressed but did not play in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-2 draw vs. Sunderland in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers.
- Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City’s 1-1 draw vs. Leeds United in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Will Packwood started and played 66 minutes for Birmingham City. (He left the match with a broken leg)
- Conor Doyle came off the bench and played 11 minutes in Derby County’s 5-0 win vs. Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Leicester City’s 2-0 win vs. Burton Albion in the FA Cup on Saturday. He is recovering from an injury.
- Robbie Findley did not dress in Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 loss vs. Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United’s 4-0 loss vs. Swindon Town on Saturday.
- Robbie Rogers did not dress in Stevenage’s 2-1 win vs. Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Scunthorpe United’s 0-0 draw vs. Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
La Liga
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in Malaga CF’s 1-0 loss vs. Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Segunda Division
- Carlos Bocanega did not dress in Racing Santander’s 2-1 win vs. Ponferradina on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in AS Roma’s 4-1 loss vs. Napoli on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Tony Taylor did not dress in G.D. Estoril Praia’s 3-1 loss vs. Benfica on Sunday.
- Caleb Patterson-Sewell started and played 90 minutes in Vitoria Setubal’s 4-2 loss vs. Academica de Coimbra on Saturday.
MEXICO
- Herculez Gomez started, played 74 minutes and scored a GOAL in Santos Laguna’s 1-1 draw vs. San Luis on Saturday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz-A3Z7YIGQ?feature=player_detailpage]
- Hector Joya did not dress for Santos Laguna.
- Jose Torres did not dress in Tigres UANL’s 3-0 win vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday. He is recovering from an injury.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.
- Edgar Castillo started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and had an ASSIST in Club Tijuana’s 2-1 win vs. Puebla on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzyKZXQhrwk?feature=player_detailpage]
- Joe Corona started and played 61 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 72 minutes for Puebla.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal started and played 90 minutes for Puebla.
- Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 2-1 win vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
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What do you think of these performances? How many goals do you see Gomez scoring during the Clausura campaign? Expect Dempsey to continue this strong run of form?
Share your thoughts below.