By FRANCO PANIZO
It may not have been a dream performance, but for the first time in five months Brek Shea can say he played in a competitive game.
Three weeks removed from having made the move from FC Dallas to Stoke City, Shea made his debut for Premiership club in a 1-0 loss to Fulham on Saturday. Shea came off the bench in the 24th minute to replace injured teammate Matthew Etherington and was deployed on the left side of the Potters’ midfield. Shea showed some expected rust during his cameo, but overall it was a decent debut for a player who is still adjusting to his new surroundings and not yet fully fit or in form.
One youngster who fared better than Shea was Terrence Boyd. The 22-year-old forward scored his 10th league goal (14th across all competitions) in Rapid Vienna’s 3-3 draw with Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday. Boyd netted the first of Vienna’s three equalizers in the game by rising up and nodding home a perfect header just inside of the left post.
Boyd may have been the only one to find the back of the net this weekend, but he was not alone in making an impact for his club, as Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Timmy Chandler all delivered crucial assists for their respective teams. Bradley set up the winner in AS Roma’s 3-2 victory over Atalanta, Chandler helped Nurnberg earn a point after initially trailing for the second consecutive week by hitting a perfect pass, and Jones had the helper in Schalke’s opening goal in a 2-1 triumph against Fortuna Dusseldorf
Here’s how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Everton’s 2-1 loss vs. Norwich City on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in Aston Villa’s 2-1 loss vs. Arsenal on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa.
- Brek Shea came off the bench and played 66 minutes in Stoke City’s 1-0 loss vs. Fulham on Saturday.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 51 minutes for Stoke City.
- Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United play Tottenham on Monday.
- Brad Friedel and Tottenham play West Ham United on Monday.
- Clint Dempsey and Tottenham play West Ham United on Monday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 2-0 win vs. Peterborough United on Saturday.
- Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City. He is recovering from a leg injury.
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not played in Derby County’s 2-1 loss vs. Watford on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread dressed but did not play in Leceister City’s 0-0 draw vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
- Tim Ream did not dress in Bolton Wanderers’ 4-1 win vs. Hull City on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United’s 1-1 draw vs. Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday.
- Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Scunthorpe United’s 2-1 loss vs. Hartlepool United on Saturday.
SPAIN
La Liga
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in Malaga CF’s 3-0 loss vs. Real Betis on Sunday.
Segunda Division
- Carlos Bocanega dressed but did not play in Racing Santander’s 2-0 win vs. Mirandes on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in AS Roma’s 3-2 win vs. Atalanta on Sunday.
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GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Timmy Chandler started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and had an ASSIST in FC Nurnberg’s 1-1 draw vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL in Schalke 04’s 2-1 win vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.
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- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 2-1 loss vs. FC Augsburg on Saturday.
- Danny Williams dressed but did not play for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 2-1 win vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen’s 0-0 draw vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Sunday.
- Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96’s 5-1 win vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
2. Bundesliga
- Andrew Wooten started, played 71 minutes and received a yellow card in SV Sandhausen’s 3-1 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood came off the bench and played 37 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich’s 2-1 win vs. TSV Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday.
- Joe Gyau came off the bench and played eight minutes in St Pauli’s 3-0 win vs. FSV Frankfurt on Friday.
- John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin play Kaiserslautern on Monday.
- Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin play Kaiserslautern on Monday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started and played 90 minutes in AZ Alkmaar’s 1-0 loss vs. NAC Breda on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Tony Taylor dressed but did not play in G.D. Estoril Praia’s 3-1 win vs. Sporting Lisbon on Friday.
- Caleb Patterson-Sewell dressed but did not play in Vitoria Setubal’s 1-0 win vs. Beira Mar on Saturday.
TURKEY
- Maurice Edu started, played 90 minutes and received TWO YELLOW CARDS in Bursaspor’s 2-1 loss vs. Gaziantepspor on Friday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 78 minutes n RSC Anderlecht’s 2-2 draw vs. Club Brugge on Sunday.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL in Rapid Vienna’s 3-3 draw vs. Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday.
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MEXICO
- Herculez Gomez started and played 90 minutes in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 win vs. Club America on Friday.
- Hector Joya did not dress for Santos Laguna. He is currently with the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team.
- Ventura Alvarado dressed but did not play in Club America’s 1-0 loss vs. Santos Laguna on Friday.
- Jose Torres started and played 63 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 2-1 win vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal started, played 54 minutes and received a RED CARD in Puebla’s 3-0 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 45 minutes for Puebla.
- Joe Corona came off the bench and played three minutes in Club Tijuana’s 2-0 win vs. Atlante on Saturday.
- Greg Garza dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
- Edgar Castillo did not dress for Club Tijuana. He was serving a suspension for the ejection he received last week.
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What do you think of these performances? Do you see Shea earning a start for Stoke in the near future? How many more goals will Boyd score this season? Whose assist was most impressive?
Share your thoughts below.