By FRANCO PANIZO
Juan Agudelo came off the bench for FC Utrecht late in the first half on Sunday, and he did not take very long to make an impact.
After entering Utrecht’s clash with SC Heracles Almelo in the 36th minute, Agudelo waited just four minutes before scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory with a well-placed and powerful header. The goal broke Agudelo out of a two-month scoreless slump and was his second since joining Utrecht on loan from Stoke City in late January. The tally also helped the club secure another season in the Eredivisie and boosted Agudelo’s chances of receiving an invite to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s preliminary World Cup camp next month.
Two other players from the Americans Abroad contingent found the back of the net this weekend. Michael Farfan came off the bench late to rescue a point for Cruz Azul by scoring a stoppage-time equalizer on a rebound in a 2-2 draw with Pachuca on Saturday. Alfredo Morales opened his scoring account for FC Ingolstadt 04 with an early strike in an eventual 2-1 loss to SC Paderborn 07 on Friday.
More good news came out of Turkey, as Jermaine Jones and Besiktas moved into the UEFA Champions League qualifiers spot in the Super Lig. Besiktas tied Konyaspor, 1-1, on Friday and that, combined with Galatasaray suffering a 2-1 defeat to Sivasspor, moved the Black Eagles into the coveted second-place position. Jones started and went the distance for his club.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made six saves in Everton’s 1-0 win vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
- Jozy Altidore did not dress for Sunderland’s 1-0 loss vs. Everton on Saturday. He is recovering from an injury.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 1-0 win vs. Newcastle United on Saturday.
- Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Aston Villa’s 1-0 loss vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-3 draw vs. West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
- Cody Cropper dressed but did not play in Southampton’s 1-0 loss vs. Cardiff City on Saturday.
- Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United did not play this weekend.
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Sheffield Wednesday’s 3-3 draw vs. Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
- Danny Williams and Reading play Leicester City on Monday.
- Duane Holmes dressed but did not play in Huddersfield Town’s 3-1 loss vs. Derby County on Saturday.
- Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City did not play this weekend.
- Will Packwood and Birmingham City did not play this weekend.
- Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 1-0 win vs. Barnsley on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress in Nottingham Forest’s 5-2 loss vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. He is recovering from a groin injury.
- Zak Whitbread dressed but did not play in Derby County’s 3-1 win vs. Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
League One
- Gboly Ariyibi did not dress in Tranmere Rovers’ 2-1 win vs. Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 2-0 win vs. FC Augsburg on Sunday.
- Joe Gyau dressed but did not play for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- John Brooks did not dress in Hertha Berlin’s 2-1 loss vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
- Timmy Chandler did not dress in FC Nurberg’s 4-1 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-1 win vs. Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
Bundesliga 2
- Alfredo Morales started, played 59 minutes and scored a GOAL in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 2-1 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Friday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV8Trjy13bM?feature=player_embedded]
- Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play Dynamo Dresden on Monday.
- Andrew Wooten came off the bench and played 27 minutes in FSV Frankfurt’s 3-0 win vs. FSV Frankfurt on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Alejandro Bedoya started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in FC Nantes’ 1-0 win vs. Guingamp on Sunday.
NETHERLANDS
- Aron Johannsson started and played 68 minutes in AZ Alkmaar’s 1-1 draw vs. NEC Nijmegen on Sunday.
- Juan Agudelo came off the bench, played 54 minutes and scored a GOAL in FC Utrecht’s 2-1 win vs. SC Heracles Alemlo on Sunday.
TURKEY
- Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Besiktas’ 1-1 draw vs. Konyaspor on Friday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 2-1 win vs. KSC Lokeren in the Pro League playoff on Friday.
DENMARK
- Conor O’Brien came off the bench in stoppage time and played one minute in Odense BK’s 2-0 win vs. FC Midtjylland on Saturday.
- Babajide Ogunbiyi came off the bench and played seven minutes in Viborg FF’s 3-1 loss vs. Randers FC on Sunday.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud came off the bench and played 40 minutes in Rosenborg BK’s 2-0 win vs. Odd on Sunday.
- Ethan Horvath dressed but did not play in Molde FK’s 2-0 win vs. Stabaek IF on Sunday.
- Josh Gatt did not dress for Molde FK. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zarek Valentin did not dress in FK Bodo/Glimt’s 4-2 win vs. Sogndal on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Michael Stephens started and played 83 minutes in Stabaek IF’s 2-0 loss vs. Molde FK on Sunday.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 0-0 draw vs. FC Trenkwalder Admira on Saturday.
MEXICO
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Puebla’s 1-0 loss vs. Club America on Sunday.
- Michael Orozco did not dress for Puebla. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
- Jose Torres did not dress in Tigres UANL’s 1-1 draw vs. Club Tijuana on Saturday. He was suspended due to the red card he received last week.
- Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Atlante’s 4-3 loss vs. Santos Laguna on Sunday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 1-1 draw vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday.
- Joe Corona started and played 65 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Paul Arriola came off the bench and played seven minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
- Alejandro Guido dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
- Herculez Gomez did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Fernando Arce Jr did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Joaquin Alonso Hernandez did not dress in Monterrey’s 1-1 draw vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
- Gabriel Farfan did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 1-1 draw vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- Michael Farfan came off the bench, played 11 minutes and scored a GOAL in Cruz Azul’s 2-2 draw vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBnAzHA0uAc?feature=player_detailpage]
- Dennis Flores started and played 70 minutes in Club Leon’s 2-1 loss vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Miguel Palafox started and played 45 minutes for Club Leon.
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What do you think of these performances? Can you see Agudelo being one of the forwards that Jurgen Klinsmann takes to Brazil this summer? Impressed that Jones is potentially heading to Champions League with another club?
Share your thoughts below.