By FRANCO PANIZO
There is no stopping Aron Johannsson these days. Just ask Sparta Rotterdam.
Johannsson enjoyed quite the day at the office on Thursday, scoring a hat-trick in AZ Alkmaar’s 4-1 extra-time win over Sparta Rotterdam in KNVB Cup action. Johannsson netted a fifth-minute opener and also came up big after the match ended, 1-1, in regulation, scoring the next two goals in the added 30 minutes to assure that AZ would move on in the tournament. Johannsson now has an impressive nine goals in all competitions at this early juncture in season.
The young U.S. Men’s National Team forward was not the only one to find the back of the net. Jose Torres scored his first goal for Tigres UANL on Tuesday night with a beautiful strike in the club’s 3-2 Copa MX loss to Santos Laguna. Jonathan Bornstein also made a rare cameo for Tigres in the match, coming off the bench in second-half stoppage time.
Mix Diskerud did not get on the scoresheet for Rosenborg BK, but he did help the club move on to the NM Cupen final. Diskerud started and went the distance on Wednesday as Rosenborg dispatched Haugesund, 2-1.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed during the midweek action:
ENGLAND
Capital One Cup
- Tim Howard dressed but did not play in Everton’s 2-1 loss vs. Fulham on Tuesday.
- Jozy Altidore started and played 85 minutes in Sunderland’s 2-0 win vs. Peterborough United on Tuesday.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 2-0 win vs. Tranmere Rovers on Wednesday.
- Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City. He is recovering from a sports hernia.
- Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa’s 4-0 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
- Brad Friedel started and played 90 minutes in Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 win vs. Aston Villa on Tuesday.
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 3-1 win vs. Swansea City on Wednesday.
- Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City. He is recovering from a leg injury.
- Zak Whitbread dressed but did not play in Leicester City’s 2-1 win vs. Derby County on Tuesday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress in Nottingham Forest’s 2-1 loss vs. Burnley on Tuesday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley did not dress in AS Roma’s 2-0 win vs. Sampdoria on Wednesday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
GERMANY
DFB Pokal
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 3-0 win vs. Energie Cottbus on Tuesday.
- Joe Gyau did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 3-0 win vs. Prussia Munster on Tuesday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Schalke 04’s 3-1 win vs. SV Darmstadt 98 on Wednesday.
- Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96′s 4-1 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Wednesday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- John Brooks did not dress in Hertha Berlin’s 3-1 loss vs. Kaiserslautern on Wednesday. He is recovering from an elbow injury.
- Alfredo Morales came off the bench and played 26 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 2-0 win vs. FSV Frankfurt on Wednesday.
- Andrew Wooten did not dress in Kaiserslautern’s 3-1 win vs. Hertha Berlin on Wednesday.
- Bobby Wood dressed but did not play in TSV 1860 Munich’s 2-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
FRANCE
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress in FC Nantes’ 2-0 win vs. Nice on Wednesday. He is recovering from a toe injury.
NETHERLANDS
KNVB Cup
- Aron Johannsson started, played 120 minutes and scored THREE GOALS in AZ Alkmaar’s 4-1 extra-time win vs. Sparta Rotterdam on Wednesday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov dod not dress in FK Tom’ Tomsk’s 1-0 win vs. Volga Nizhny Novgorod on Thursday.
BELGIUM
Cofidis Cup
- Sacha Kljestan did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 7-0 win vs. AS Eupen on Sunday. ??
DENMARK
- Conor O’Brien started and play 63 minutes in Odense BK’s 2-0 win vs. Svendborg on Wednesday.
SWEDEN
- Brian Span did not dress in Djurgarden IF’s 2-2 draw vs. AIK on Thursday.
NORWAY
NM Cupen
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Rosenborg BK’s 2-1 win vs. Haugesund in the semifinals on Wednesday.
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK’s 5-4 penalty kick win after a 2-2 draw vs. Lillestrom in the semifinals on Thursday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Ben Spencer did not dress for Molde FK.
- Ethan Horvath did not dress for Molde FK.
MEXICO
Copa MX
- Michael Orozco did not dress in Puebla’s 1-1 draw vs. Monterrey on Tuesday.
- DaMarcus Beasley did not dress for Puebla.
- Jose Torres started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Tigres UANL’s 3-2 loss vs. Santos Laguna on Tuesday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tJhp3tvw9k?feature=player_embedded]
- Jonathan Bornstein came off the bench in second-half stoppage time and played one minute for Tigres UANL.
- Benji Joya came off the bench and played three minutes in Santos Laguna’s 3-2 win vs. Tigres UANL on Tuesday.
- Joaquin Alonso Hernandez started and played 90 minutes in Monterrey’s 1-1 draw vs. Puebla on Tuesday.
CONCACAF Champions League
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench, played 45 minutes and scored THREE GOALS in Club Tijuana’s 6-0 win vs. CD Victoria on Thursday.
- Paul Arriola started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL for Club Tijuana.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6M4JfhE2a0?feature=player_embedded]
- Greg Garza started and played 90 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Joe Corona started and played 45 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Edgar Castillo did not dress for Club Tijuana.
BRAZIL
- Freddy Adu did not dress in Bahia’s 1-0 loss vs. Atletico Nacional in Copa Sudamericana on Thursday.
—–
What do you think of these performance? How impressed are you by Johannsson’s hat-trick performance and his overall red-hot start to the season? Think Diskerud and Rosenborg can win the NM Cupen final?
Share your thoughts below.