Yanks in Europe: Weekend Recap

As you know by now, I wasn't in a position to post much this weekend, so I couldn't put up my usual Yanks in Europe posts on Saturday and Sunday.  Instead, I'm just going to make up for lost time now and hit you with one mega edition of Yanks in Europe, encompassing all of the games that took place over the past three days that featured USMNT players.
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The highlight of the weekend was a performance from Jozy Altidore in Hull City's 2-0 victory over Fulham that earned him Man of the Match plaudits in several English publications.  Altidore caused a lot of problems for the Fulham back line, drawing several fouls in the final third, including this one which led to Jimmy Bullard's opening PK goal:




Altidore showed good strength to muscle off his defender as well as a soft touch to receive and turn with the ball in close.  Altogether, Jozy drew three yellow cards on the day, constantly pestering the Cottagers' defense and creating dangerous opportunities with aggressive dribbling and good passing.  It was a very strong 79 minutes for Altidore that should only earn him another start in the immediate future.  The win pushes the Tigers to the brink of safety, trailing West Ham only on goal differential with a game in hand.

In the same game, Clint Dempsey went the distance for Fulham, turning in a fairly quiet game at striker.  With Fulham's focus clearly geared towards the Europa League at this point, the Cottagers just didn't have much bite to their attack, so Dempsey didn't get much in the way of quality service or support throughout.  He had a couple of nice moments early on, but overall it was a rather unremarkable game for Deuce.

In France, Carlos Bocanegra turned in a solid 90 minute performance for Stade Rennes in their 3-1 victory over Le Mans.  Boca took a pretty bad knock early in the second half and appeared to be in some serious pain, but he continued on for the full match, eventually picking up an assist on the final Rennes goal with a perfectly weighted ball over the top to a teammate just inside the box:




In Germany, Steve Cherundolo got on the score sheet for the first time this season by bending in a nice free kick (see below) from the edge of the box.  The goal, however, mattered little in what was a very lopsided 4-1 defeat at the hands of FC Koln.  Cherundolo wasn't at fault for any of the goals allowed (three of which were scored within the opening 28 minutes), but his side now sits in 17th place in the Bundesliga standings.  With their next four games against the top three in the current table (Schalke, Bayern Munich, and Bayer Leverkusen) and sixth place Hamburg, the free fall will likely continue for weeks to come, as Hannover look doomed to relegation this season.



Marcus Hahnemann and Tim Howard squared off, as Wolves and Everton met at Molineux Stadium.  Both managed to keep a clean sheet, with Hahnemann being credited with 10 saves in the match.  The former Reading keeper got a little help from his defense as well, with center back Jody Craddock clearing a Tim Cahill attempt off the line in the final minutes of the match.  Howard, meanwhile, did not have too much to do on the day, earning a fairly comfortable shutout at a pretty good time, considering he was still dealing with the thigh injury he suffered last time out.  All in all, a good showing by the American keepers.

Jonathan Spector, meanwhile, was on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision, as West Ham lost to Stoke City.  He played 90 minutes at LB and was solid defensively, and he nearly set up the equalizer with a nice cross to the head of Carlton Cole, but the ensuing header went just over the net.  The Hammers are now even on points with 18th place Hull City, but they've played a game more than the Tigers, so they are in a pretty precarious spot as the EPL season draws to a close.  

In Scotland, Maurice Edu came off the bench in the  for Rangers in their 4-1 thrashing of Hearts, contributing some defensive work in the midfield to secure the three points.  DaMarcus Beasley, meanwhile, did not get off the bench for this one, as Rangers looked to preserve their lead in the second half.

Jay DeMerit went 90 minutes for Watford in their 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough.  The point is just the fourth that the Hornets have earned from their last eight matches, but it keeps them four points clear of the final relegation spot with a game in hand over Crystal Palace.  Because of some financial issues, there is speculation that Watford won't be able to keep DeMerit at the end of this campaign regardless of if they get sent down, so worrying about all of this might prove to be a moot point in the end.

In Greece, both Freddy Adu and Eddie Johnson got the start for Aris in their 1-0 win over Levadiakos.  It was a tale of two halves for Adu, who went the full 90.  In the first half, he squandered numerous opportunities with some very poor crosses, while in the second half he put in some improved defensive effort, got involved in the final third, and drew a few fouls (including the one off which Aris scored their goal).  Johnson, meanwhile, played 63 minutes, with some nice moments of hold up and dribbling mixed in with uninspired moments of poor execution.  

Last, US U-20 player Mikkel Diskerud scored a goal for Norwegian side Stabaek in their 2-2 draw with Alesund.  You can see the goal here (Diskerud's is the second goal in the video); a cool finish with the outside of his right inside the box to knot up the score.  Not bad at all for a 19 year old.


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Another week, another game without Ricardo Clark, who is still looking to make his debut with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.  Elsewhere in Germany, Michael Bradley was out of action this week due to suspension, though he likely wouldn't have featured anyway thanks to a broken nose suffered in training last week.  Have no fear, though; Bradley is expected to be available for the next round of games.

Don't get too alarmed by the number of names on the following list; it's usually spread out over a couple of days, but this time it's just all lumped together.  Either way, I'd still like to see fewer names on here, and it's just a matter of time before we can finally stop talking about all of the same injuries.

Injured/Did Not Play

Michael Bradley (nose/suspension)
Oguchi Onyewu (knee)
Stuart Holden (leg)
Charlie Davies (multiple injuries)
Brad Guzan (unused substitute)
Ricardo Clark (unused substitute)
Benny Feilhaber (ankle)
Frank Simek (unused substitute)
DaMarcus Beasley (unused substitute)

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