Yanks in Europe: Sunday Through Wednesday

Falling in the "better late than never" category, here's a look at how Yanks in Europe have fared since Sunday:

Clint Dempsey has logged 176 minutes in the past four days, going 86 minutes in Fulham's 3-2 win against West Ham on Sunday and playing the full 90 in the Cottagers' 1-0 loss to Stoke today.  Deuce had a solid game on Sunday, the highlight of which was his 45th minute goal that opened the scoring.  The goal, which can be seen below, is Clint's seventh of the season, good for the second highest total on the team despite the fact that he missed a couple of months due to injury.  Jonathan Spector, meanwhile, continued his poor run of form, turning in another shaky performance at LB.  He was directly involved in Fulham's third goal, the eventual game-winner, turning the ball over just outside of his own box.  Overall, this match just further reinforces the point that Spector is not the same player on the left side, something that Bob Bradley surely realizes after the last couple of months. 



Today's match, meanwhile, was rather unremarkable, but Dempsey stood out as one of the best players on the field.  He came close to adding to his goalscoring total on a couple of occasions, but to no avail.  Overall, though, the match was meaningless, and everyone at Craven Cottage has eyes on the Europa League final that is now just a little over a week away, so the result won't bother too many folks.  From a USMNT perspective, meanwhile, Dempsey's recent performances indicate that he's healthy and sharp with national team duty drawing near.

In Scotland yesterday, Maurice Edu once again got the start for Rangers as they took on Celtic at Parkhead.  Though his team lost by a score of 2-1, Mo turned in a solid showing, playing in a more advanced midfield position than USMNT fans are accustomed to seeing him in.  Edu continues to show good form, looking like a likely starter for South Africa at this point.

DaMarcus Beasley, however, did not play a part in the match, as he was not in Walter Smith's match day squad.  Rangers have just one match remaining this year, and Beasley remains one appearance short of earning a league winner's medal.  Say what you will about where he stands in the World Cup conversation, but it'd be a shame if Beasley doesn't get rewarded for his contributions at the club level.  Barring some kind of injury, I expect him to get the tenth and final appearance this weekend against Motherwell. 

Carlos Bocanegra started and went 90 minutes against Sochaux on Sunday, whose squad did not include Charlie Davies.  Today, Bocanegra was not in the match day 18 for Rennes against first place Marseille; I have not heard anything about an injury, so this may have been just a day off.  If it does happen to be something a little more serious, I'll update this.

In Greece, Freddy Adu and Eddie Johnson got the start in Aris' playoff match against PAOK.  After bagging a brace against Olympiakos, EJ couldn't muster much in the final third in what ended up being a 2-0 loss.  To his defense, however, he had little in the way of support in what was a very ugly match filled with a lot of physicality and little actual soccer.  Adu, meanwhile, had some bright moments in the attacking third, particularly on set pieces, as two of his free kicks created a couple of Aris' best opportunities.  Needing a win to stay in the Champions League race, Aris will take on AEK tomorrow afternoon.

Last, Clarence Goodson started and went the distance for IK Start in their 2-0 road loss against Aalesunds.

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If I missed someone, just let me know and I'll update this.  I wasn't able to pay much attention to the footy world over the past couple of days, so it wouldn't surprise me if someone slipped my mind.

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Did Not Play/Injured

Jay DeMerit (abdomen)
Charlie Davies (not in match day squad)
DaMarcus Beasley (not in match day squad)
Frank Simek (not in match day squad)
Jozy Altidore (suspension)