Yanks in Europe: Cup Runs End

Some midweek Yanks in Europe to tide you over until the weekend:

Clint Dempsey and Fulham looked to continue their FA Cup run less than a week after extending their Europa League campaign with a memorable win over Juventus.  This time around, however, the outcome was a lot different, as Tottenham ended their hopes of a date at Wembley.  Dempsey came on in the 69th minute, but by then a couple of mistakes had already put Fulham in a 3-1 whole.  They were unable to climb their way back, with Tottenham winning by that same score.  With safety in the league essentially secured, Deuce and company can now shift their primary focus to Wolfsburg in the Europa League quarterfinals.  USMNT fans uninterested in the fortunes of the Cottagers can at least be happy that Deuce is getting a good chunk of minutes each game and looks to be on his way back to top form and fitness.

In Scotland, DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu had to deal with similar cup disappoint, as Rangers crashed out of the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 loss to Dundee United.  Beasley and Edu went the full 90 in the loss, which spoils the chances of a domestic treble for the Glasgow club.  Both players looked comfortable on the ball, with Beasley serving in a couple of dangerous balls in the final third, but on the whole the Rangers attack just wasn't clicking well, allowing Dundee United to pull off the upset.  Once again, though, American fans will be pleased that both of these guys (who now look likely to be headed to South Africa) logged a lot of minutes on the day.

A bright spot on the day was Tim Howard, who kept a clean sheet in a road victory over Manchester City today.  The Toffees pulled off a 2-0 win against the Champions League hopefuls, with Howard picking up four saves along the way.  Worth mentioning is that Howard landed pretty hard on his hip at one point, looking like he was going to need a substitution before eventually just playing on.  He finished the match, but looked to be laboring a little.  At this point I haven't heard anything, so hopefully it's nothing more than a bruise.

Last, but not least, Jay DeMerit went the full 90 in Watford's 2-1 road loss to Sheffield Wednesday.  American fans can breath easy now knowing that the back injury that kept DeMerit out of weekend play wasn't too serious.  DeMerit, however, will be worrying about his team's position in the table; the Hornets have plummeted in the standings, sitting just three points clear of the drop zone now.
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Injured/Did Not Play

Frank Simek (unused substitute)
Brad Guzan (unused substitute)
Oguchi Onyewu (knee injury)
Charlie Davies (multiple injuries)

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