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Americans Abroad: Midweek Rewind

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

It might not have been a flashy performance, but Michael Parkhurst may have enjoyed the best outing among the Americans Abroad who played this week, as he went the distance in FC Nordsjaelland’s 1-1 draw with Juventus in UEFA Champions League play on Tuesday.

Parkhurst was part of a Nordsjaelland defense that held Juventus in check for much of the match at Farum Park, with the Serie A giants scoring a late equalizer to prevent a surprise loss. Parkhurst also fared well offensively, connecting on most of his passes in a game that gave Nordsjaelland their first point in three games in the group stage.

In Europe’s other prestigious tournament, the Europa League, Steve Cherundolo and Alejandro Bedoya faced off in Hannover’s dramatic 2-1 win over Helsingborgs IF on Thursday. Both Americans went the distance in a game that saw Hannover concede an equalizer a minute into stoppage time before responding by scoring a winner at the death.

The lone goal came from Herculez Gomez, who netted the decisive strike in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 win against Toronto FC in CONCACAF Champions League action on Wednesday night. Gomez blasted a shot from just outside the penalty area in the second half of the game, giving the U.S. Men’s National Team forward his first goal in the competition and fourth across all competitions this season. The result eliminated Toronto FC.

Here’s how the Americans Abroad fared during the midweek action:

UEFA Champions League

  • Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 1-0 loss vs. Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday.
  • Jermaine Jones came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Schalke 04’s 2-0 win vs. Arsenal on Wednesday.
  • Oguchi Onyewu came off the bench and played one minute in Malaga’s 1-0 win vs. AC Milan on Wednesday.
  • Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland’s 1-1 draw vs. Juventus on Tuesday.

UEFA Europa League

  • Clint Dempsey came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw vs. NK Maribor on Thursday.
  • Brad Friedel did not dress for Tottenham Hotspur.
  • David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen’s 0-0 draw vs. FC Metalist Kharkiv on Thursday.
  • Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96’s 2-1 win vs. Helsingborgs IF on Thursday.
  • Alejandro Bedoya started and played 90 minutes in Helsingborgs IF’s 2-1 loss vs. Hannover 96 on Thursday.
  • Terrence Boyd came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 4-0 loss vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.
  • Mix Diskerud started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Rosenborg BK’s 2-1 loss vs. FC Metalist Kharkiv on Thursday.
  • Josh Gatt started and played 69 minutes in Molde FK’s 2-0 loss vs. Steaua Bucuresti on Thursday.

CONCACAF Champions League

  • Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL’s 5-0 win vs. Alajuelense on Wednesday.
  • Herculez Gomez started, played 90 minutes and scored aGOAL in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 win vs. Toronto FC on Wednesday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXKeVvBxxls?feature=player_detailpage]
  • Benji Joya started and played 45 minutes for Santos Laguna.

Championship

  • Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City’s 3-3 draw vs. Millwall on Tuesday. He was serving a one-game suspension due to the ejection he received last game.
  • Will Packwood dressed but did not play for Birmingham City.
  • Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-2 draw vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.
  • Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County’s 2-1 win vs. Ipswich Town on Tuesday.
  • Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Leicester City’s 1-0 win vs. Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday.

League One

  • Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United’s 3-1 win vs. Oldham Athletic on Tuesday.
  • Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Scunthorpe United’s 3-2 loss vs. Preston North End on Tuesday.
  • Robbie Rogers came off the bench and played one minute in Stevenage’s 2-1 win vs. Portsmouth on Tuesday.
Liga MX
  • DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Puebla’s 1-0 loss vs. Club America on Thursday.
  • Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 1-0 win vs. Puebla on Thursday.

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What do you think of these performances? Impressed with Parkhurst’s outing? Do you see Gomez’s latest goal helping him to go on another tear?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. How have Ream’s recent performances been?

    The new manager seems to think he belongs on the pitch, even though Coyle had benched him for some poor showings. Typically I would say that conceding 2 or 3 goals per match is not a great stat for a defender to boast about.

    Anyone have info?

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  2. Clint did not look confident at all yesterday on the field, but nonetheless had a solid performance except for one bad touch where he lost the ball. But a lot of Tottenham players were losing the ball and the whole Tottenham offense was meek as a kitten and the guys without exception are so fricking selfish. There was one instance where Clint was in a great position at the top of the box with his back to the net and Huddlestone five yards in front with the ball and Clint open for a pass. Clint was begging for it and Huddlestone instead ignored Clint and passed into a black hole on the left wing. Clint in this game and against Chelsea was not getting much service.

    As for Sigurdsson, yes, he got the goal, a tap-in that somehow dropped to his feet one yard from goal after a Defoe shot was blocked. Otherwise he did not impress in his 75 minutes. But Sigurdsson is a player AVB stole from Brendan Rodgers last summer and AVB is definitely infatuated with him.

    It all boils down to I am starting to worry about AVB again now that the glow from great the Man. U win is weakening. It appears a feud is developing between AVB and Adebeyor and I do not understand why a coach would not better utilize Dempsey, the fourth leading scorer in the PL last year and who has proved time and time again he can get the job done. AVB should make Clint a focus of attack. I hope things pick up again when Bale and Dembele return to the team. But just something about AVB is unsettling and I will admit: I wish Clint would have ended up at Liverpool or Schalke, but am hoping, as MemRook above says, Dempsey will eventually start lighting it up at Tottenham.

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  3. Bale wasn’t there and Adebayor, Dembele, Parker, Assou-Ekotto and Kaboul all injured. The best of Spurs won’t be for a while. Guessing AVB was trying not to use him at all.

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  4. Siggurdson played okay today as opposed to his typical bad showing. Hope it doesn’t cut into Clint’s time on the field. The more he’s out there the more he can adjust to his new teammates.

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  5. It seems that in Deuce’s career, whenever there is a new manager involved (either at his current club, or by transferring to another club), there is always a “settling in” period. Maybe settling in isn’t exactly right. Proving himself? Adjusting to the new roles asked of him? Whatever you want to call it, how many times did Clint have to seemingly start all over with a new manager and basically claim his starting as his own? Not that I’m complaining. It’s been wonderful for his development. I’m just saying we’ll eventually see Dempsey lighting it up at Tottenham. Hopefully sooner than later.

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  6. Let’s not forget that Spurs have many more offensive options than Fulham did. Even the goal against Man U shows it. At Fulham the winger would have squared to Dempsey for the shot, but not at Spurs when that winger is Gareth Bale. Clint isn’t going to be the focal point of their attack, but he can still be a valuable member of the squad and I am sure he will be.

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  7. Clint isn’t looking all that dangerous for Spurs. Its not that he is playing poorly necessarily, but I really thought with better players surrounding him we would see more of what we did the last two seasons at Fulham.

    Reply
  8. huh? No mention of US U20 Benji Joya who started for Santos Laguna against TFC? He’s starting to break into the Santos lineup and…that’s kind of a big deal.

    Reply

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