Americans Abroad Weekend Recap – Onyewu and Bocanegra score goals, Howard gets another clean sheet
It was a busy weekend for Americans Abroad with Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra scoring goals for their respective clubs. Tim Howard earned another clean sheet while Clint Dempsey and Fulham defeated Brad Friedel and Aston Villa. Maurice Edu played for Rangers in the “Old Firm” as they defeated Celtic, and Zak Whitbread played for Millwall who’s in the English League One promotion playoffs. Here’s a full recap of Americans playing Abroad in the top European Leagues.
Oguchi Onyewu (CB) – Standard Liege – Belgian Jupiler League – 1 goal – Onyewu started and played the full game for Standard Liege as they defeated Club Brugge 2-0 to remain tied with Anderlecht at the top of the Belgian Jupiler League Table. Onyewu scored a goal off a header from a free kick and has been in good form recently. His contract with Standard ends at the end of this season and will likely sign with a team in one of the top leagues during the summer transfer window.
Carlos Bocanegra (LB) – Stade Rennais – Coupe de France (French Cup) – 1 goal – Bocanegra and Rennes looked like they were on their way to winning the Coupe de France only to give up 2 late goals to Ligue 2 side Guingamp on Saturday. The American defender scored Rennes’ only goal to give them the lead in the 70th minute but Guingamp had 2 goals from Eduardo Dos Santos to win 2-1. Bocanegra’s goal came off a free kick where he headed it past the goalkeeper.
Clint Dempsey (LM) – Fulham – English Premier League – Dempsey played 86 minutes for Fulham as the defeated Aston Villa 3-1 and currently in 7th in the league table. He played a solid game and had one shot on goal that forced Friedel to make a good save.
Brad Friedel (GK) – Aston Villa – English Premier League – Friedel and Villa lost 1-3 to Fulham as they were outplayed from the very beginning. He had 6 saves on the game and didn’t make any major mistakes as his team were outclassed for 90 minutes. Aston Villa had clinched a Europa League spot for next season.
Tim Howard (GK) – Everton – English Premier League – It was an uneventful game for Howard who didn’t face any shots on goal and neither team was able to get anything going in a 0-0 draw. With 16 clean sheets in the Premier League this season, Howard has been one of the top goalkeepers.
Maurice Edu (MF) – Rangers – Scottish Premier League – Edu played the full game for Rangers as they defeated rivals Celtic to go top of the league table. The American has gotten significant playing time for the Scottish club recently and has taken advantage of the opportunity.
Zak Whitbread (D) – Millwall – English League One Promotion Play-offs – Whitbread and Millwall played a solid game in the first leg against Leeds United to earn a 1-0 victory.
Marcus Hahnemann (GK) – Reading – English Championship Promotion Play-offs – Burnley took a 1-0 lead on Reading in the first leg of the promotion play-off semifinals. Hahnemann made 5 saves but his defense let him down as Burnley’s goal came from a penalty kick converted by Graham Alexander. The second leg will be at Reading next week.
Michael Bradley (RM) – Borussia Monchengladbach – German Bundesliga – Monchengladbach appeared to not have things going their way when Marko Marin missed a penalty early but a late goal from Roberto Colautti gave the club a crucial 1-0 victory. Bradley started and played the full game at right midfield. With the victory, Monchengladbach are now safe from relegation but only on goal difference.
Sal Zizzo (ST) – Hannover 96 – German Bundesliga – Zizzo has received little playing time for Hannover but was a late substitute on Saturday’s game against Eintracht Frankfurt which ended in a 1-1 draw. He has now played in 5 games for the club in the Bundesliga this season.
Michael Parkhurst – FC Nordsjælland – Danish SAS-Ligaen – Parkhurs played the full game as FC Nordsjælland fell to Copenhagen 1-3 and are only 5 points clear of relegation. With 4 games left, the team should be safe but needs a victory to assure they avoid relegation.
