Sunday, January 30, 2011

Americans Abroad: Clint Dempsey, Jonathan Spector Keep Scoring Goals

clint dempsey jonathan spector u.s. soccerSeveral Americans abroad found net this weekend, a few settled in with new clubs, and one even did both. But amid it all, Clint Dempsey continued to set the gold standard for Yanks abroad.

The Fulham midfielder scored both goals in the Cottagers' 2-0 home win over Stoke City on Saturday, bringing his English Premier League total to eight on the season -- five more than Fulham's second-leading scorer.

The crafty Texan scored the opener in the 33rd minute when, in vintage Dempsey fashion, he launched a goal-crashing run to beat his man to the ball and slide Andy Johnson's cross into the roof of the net (photo).

Dempsey then buried Stoke shortly after halftime, using a deceptively deft touch at the top of the penalty area to evade Ryan Shawcross, who responded by wrestling the American to the turf. The referee pointed to the spot and showed Shawcross red, and Dempsey subsequently buried the 56th-minute penalty kick.

It was a crucial win that improved Fulham to 5-7-11 and pushed the London outfit four points free of the relegation zone.

Here are the highlights:

NOTABLE OUTINGS

While Dempsey is unsurprisingly pacing Americans abroad in the goal column, it would be hard to imagine a more unlikely runner-up in that category.

Two months ago, Jonathan Spector had never notched a professional goal. After scoring against compatriot Tim Howard in West Ham's 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, he now has four tallies to his name.

In the 26th minute, Howard charged from goal to challenge Luis Boa Morte, who laid the ball back for Spector to fire into the gaping net. It was Spector's first EPL goal after he notched two in the League Cup and one in FA Cup play.

Although West Ham remains in the EPL cellar at 4-11-9, the club is just two points away from escaping the bottom three. Everton is now 5-6-12.

Here's Spector's strike:

It was the newest member of the Americans abroad club, former Los Angeles Galaxy striker Edson Buddle, who set the goal-scoring mood Friday.

Playing his first match with FC Ingolstadt of the German second tier, Buddle volleyed a point-blank shot home in the 76th minute of his goal-starved side's 1-1 draw with visiting Duisburg. Ingolstadt has scored 20 goals in 19 games en route to a 3-12-4 mark, so the relegation-threatened club is surely hoping there is more where that came from with Buddle.

A level up, Ricardo Clark fared better during his second match at center back for Eintracht Frankfurt, avoiding the poor positioning that cost him last week while providing 90 steady minutes during his side's 1-0 loss at Hamburg. Frankfurt still sits comfortably in the middle of the Bundesliga at 8-9-2.

One player no longer roaming the pitches of Germany is Jermaine Jones, who enjoyed a fine start to his loan from Schalke 04 to Blackburn Rovers, going the distance in a 2-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion.

He was lucky to avoid conceding a penalty, however, when he took down Peter Odemwingie in the second half. Although replays showed the foul occurring inside the penalty area, Jones and Blackburn (8-11-4) got off the hook with a free kick just outside.

News that Brad Friedel has declared bankruptcy due to debt amassed by his nonprofit soccer academy in Ohio didn't seem to faze the veteran goalkeeper, who picked up his fifth clean sheet of the season for Aston Villa (and first since October) during a crucial 1-0 win over Manchester City at Villa Park. At 6-10-7, the Villans are now thee points clear of the relegation zone.

In the Netherlands, Oguchi Onyewu's 0-to-60 ascent from no playing time with AC Milan to minutes galore with FC Twente continued as he made his third start in eight days (including a friendly) in a 2-1 win at FC Groningen. Twente (13-3-4) is one point back of league leader PSV Eindhoven.

And an American remarkably won at Estadio Azteca, the impenetrable fortress of Mexican soccer, as Jonathan Bornstein played 55 minutes of Tigres UANL's 2-1 triumph over Club Am�rica. Tigres is 2-0-1 in the young Clausura campaign.

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Maurice Edu reassumed his place in the starting 11 for Rangers after coming off the bench in his last two appearances, which were his first since suffering a November leg injury. It wasn't all good news, though, as Rangers fell, 1-0, on the road to Hearts.

Edu went 75 minutes in the defeat, which dropped Rangers to 15-3-2, five points behind leader Celtic, but with two games in hand.

In Bundesliga action, Steve Cherundolo played the full 90 as Hannover 96 lost, 1-0, at home to Schalke. Hannover is 11-7-1, currently in line for a Champions League qualifying berth.

Brad Guzan made his fourth start for Hull City in the English second tier as the Tigers and Reading played to a 1-1 stalemate. Although he did make four saves, Guzan was also called for a penalty kick that led to Reading's late equalizer.

DISAPPOINTING DEVELOPMENTS

Despite being a fixture of Borussia M�nchengladbach's starting lineup all fall, Michael Bradley has apparently fallen out of favor for the struggling Bundesliga club. He came off the bench for the second straight match, this time entering as an 86th minute substitute as M�nchengladbach dropped a 3-1 result at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

With M�nchengladbach seemingly destined for relegation at 3-12-4, Bradley's demotion may further fuel transfer rumors, even though the January window is nearing its end.

Bradley is not the only U.S. central midfielder who has lost his grasp on a starting job. Jos� Torres, who started alongside Bradley against Slovenia in the World Cup, continues to struggle for playing time in Mexico with Pachuca.

He was an unused substitute during Los Tuzos' 1-1 draw with Santos. U.S. striker Herculez Gomez, meanwhile, came on in the 86th minute for Pachuca.

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