So Copa and the Euro's are at their height and league games are few and far between, so I combined the 3 days of the weekend in hope that their was going to be enough action to write about - there was. 2 Goals, one in Iceland's 2nd Division and 1 (see note*) in the Philippines, where we have a few Americans (mostly dual's) playing. Joseph Jackson (West Virginia) started his first game in Ireland, and USYNT Romain Gall was on the right-side of a 0 - 7 dismantling of the opposition. Here's the list...... FRIDAY
GK Ciaran Nugent was in 18 / DNP as his team, Sligo Rovers played Bray to a goalless draw in Ireland Premier League Young American defender Joseph Jackson made his first start, picked up a yellow card in 90 minutes as Drogheda lost 1 -2 on an 85th minute goal by UC Dublin in Ireland Division 1 In Iceland Inkasso-deildin, Selfoss and JC Mack (90) met Grindavik and Will Daniels (in 18/DNP) in a 1 - 1 draw GK Will Dieterich was in the 18 / DNP for Haukar as they won 4 - 3 over Keflavik Johnatan Lama joined the action in the 68th minute as Huginn fell at home to Leiknir F. Huginn still looking to break out of their slump Daniel Acoff started went 69 as Throttur met their match at home and lost big 0 - 5 to Fjolnir in Iceland Pepsidelid Miguel Tanton (Dual Philippines/USA) from Santa Clara Scored Kaya's first goal in a 0 - 6 away win at Pasargad in the Philippines UFL (Premier League) *NOTE: This will probably be the first and last mention of Miguel who was chosen for a recent WC Qualifier for the Philippines - where he scored - Incidentally, Philippines coach is ex-USMNT Thomas Dooley SATURDAY Iceland Division 2, Vestri with GK Cyrus Mohseni and Matt Nigro visited Magni Cyrus went the full 90 in goal and Matt also went 90, and Scored for Vestri as they fell 5 - 2 Hottur and Jordan Tyler visited Volsungor in Division 2 as both struggling teams look for points. Jordan went the full 90 as Hottur fall 2 - 1 SUNDAY GK Daniel Schmidt allowed a late goal as Yamaga visited Kyoto in Japan's J-League 2, but they had the game well in hand and notched another win 1 - 2 and maintained their 3rd place spot In Sweden Division 2, Eddy Prugh started and went the full 90 as Bodens BK visited Sodehamns and lost 3 - 1. Bodens BK have now lost 2 in a row, and dropped to 3rd place in the league. USYNT Romain Gall, started and went 74 minutes, picking up a yellow, as Nykopings went to Carlstad and totally dismantled them in a 0 - 7 victory in Sweden Division 1 (Norra) GK Josh Wicks, started and went 90 as AFC United visited Dalkurd and came away with a point, in Sweden Superettan. With a draw and a loss in consecutive games AFC has fallen from the top spot to 3rd as points seem to be hard to come by for them right now. Next up league leaders Halmstad
The final game this weekend (for our US players) In Sweden Superettan, #1 Sirius with Patrick Hopkins (90) and Paul Torres (3 mins) hosted last place Angelholms and Ryan Finley (90) in a top v bottom game, with an expected outcome. 1 - 0. Sirius jumps over three teams and is now in 2nd place just 1 point below the leaders in Superettan.
An eventful Sunday Match Day. with the EPL coming to a close (almost - Manchester United-Bournemouth game was postponed due to a bomb scare) Reports are out that Sunderland will offer Spurs $2million for DeAndre Yedlin (that's what Spurs paid Seattle) Tim Howard finished his EPL/Everton career (Video Below) with his 132nd shut-out. In the lower leagues, Jon-Paul Pittman and Grimsby gained promotion to League 2. In Germany, promotion/relegation became clear, and the big news of the day Bobby Wood has signed a 4 year deal with Hamburg SV, and will play in Bundesliga next season. European spots are also getting clearer as teams play out in a handful of European leagues Yes we had goals today, 1 in the Philippines, 1 in Finland and 1 in Belgium, Goalkeepers provide 2 shut-outs
Lets get to the list for today;
GK Daniel Schmidt started, went 90, in a goalless draw as Yamaga faced Kamatamare in Japan's J-League (another shut-out for Daniel)
Kevin Skinker, a 24 year old mid-fielder from Holt, Michigan, started for JP Voltes in the Philippines UFL (top tier) as they hosted Forza. The JP Voltes team ran rampant in the first half scoring 7 goals. Kevin Scored number 6. The game ended with a 7 - 1 JP Voltes win as they move into 2nd place.
Desevio Payne, was not in the18 today for Groningen as they took a first leg lead into Heracles in the Netherlands Play-off for a Europa League spot. Unfortunately Groningen was unable to hold their lead after the game went into ET, where they folded quickly giving up 3 unanswered goals, losing 5 - 1 on the day 6 - 3(agg) - no European adventure for Groningen.
Patrick Hopkins started, went 71, Paul Torres was in 18 (DNP) as Sirius visited Orgryte in Sweden's Superettan, and came away with a 1 - 2 win, which moves them up to 3rd place.
Perry Kitchen started, went 90 as Hearts fought to a 2 - 2 against visitors St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League (European) Play-offs. Perry and Hearts are qualified for Europa League play next season along with Aberdeen. Celtic will represent Scotland in the Champions League.
In Denmark, Babajide Ogunbiyi started and went 90 as Hobro visited Odense and left with all three points in a 0 - 1 win, a rare win for the Superliga cellar dwellers
In the other Netherlands European Play-off, Rubio Rubin came off the bench at the 69th minute in a game that Utrecht took control of early, and never let up. After a first leg goalless draw with Zwolle, Utrecht were on fire and scored 5 goals as they won the game 5 -2. Utrecht will now face Heracles in the final for the remaining (Netherlands) Europa League spot.
Masami Okada started went 90 in Schonberg 95 loss at Babelsberg in Regionalliga Nordost
GK Adam Hobbs, started went 90 as Optik Rathenow fell 3 - 1 to Neustralitz in Regionalliga Nordost
Devann Yao came off the bench in the 58th minute as BAK 07 beat Meuselwitz 3 - 1 also in Regionalliga Nordost
Brendan Hines-Ike was in the 18 (DNP) as Orebro beat Elfsborg 1 - 0 in Sweden Allsvenskan. Orebro are now tied for 2nd place.
Jochen Graf came off the bench at the 68th minute, picked up a yellow card as Oskarshamns beat Oddevold 2 - 1 in Sweden Division 1.
Justin Kinjo was in the 18 (DNP) as Dusseldorf visited Braunschweig in Germany 2Liga, and came away with a 0 - 2 win - The win took Dusseldorf out of the relegation zone, thay will remain in 2Liga for next season
Shawn Barry was in the 18 (DNP) as FSV Frankfurt beat 1860 Munich in 2Liga. The win did not help Frankfurt who are relegated to 3Liga next season.
Andrew Wooten, started went 90, in Sandhausen's finale at Furth, where they lost today's game 3 - 1
Fafa Picault made it on to the pitch in the 80th minute as St. Pauli scored at will and handily beat Kaiserslautern 5 - 2
Bobby Wood, who has signed a 4 year deal with Hamburg, only got 5 minutes on the pitch as Union Berlin hosted Freiburg and won the duel 2 - 1. Freiburg won 2Liga and are promoted to Bundesliga. Bobby had 17 goals this season - pretty good Bobby
Brad Guzan, was in the 18 (DNP) as the relegated Aston Villa had the unenviable task of visiting Arsenal on the EPL final day. The result was predictable 4 - 0 Arsenal. Was this the last time that Brad dresses for Aston Villa ?
Tim Howard's final game for Everton was as it should be, with Everton winning 3 - 0 over Norwich, and Tim getting another shut-out. (his 132nd EPL shutout, tying Brad Friedel for most by an American) A fantastic career with Everton ends, as Tim returns home.
Geoff Cameron started and went 80 (Injury) as Stoke beat West Ham 2 - 1 denying the Hammers an opportunity in Europe next season
DeAndre Yedlin started and went 76 as Sunderland visited Watford and played to a 2 - 2 draw, Sunderland had previously reached safety from relegation. Report's out of England (Daily Mirror) have Sunderland planning a $2million offer for DeAndre prying him away from Tottenham
In Sweden Superettan, GK Josh Wicks (90) and Tristan Bowen (8) faced off against Varbergs. On what was an off-day for AFC who fell behind early and had to wait till the 60th minute for the equalizer. The game finished 1 - 1
Romain Gall, started, went 90 and picked up a late yellow card as Nykopings were held to a 1 - 1 draw at home by TG FF in Sweden Division 1
Jon-Paul Pittman came off the bench, at Wembley Stadium, for Grimsby as they battled for promotion to League 2. Winning 1 - 3 over Forest Green - Jon-Paul ended the season with 5 goals, down a little from last season. Congrats to Grimsby who are promoted to League 2
Brian Span took no time to put Mariehamn on the scoreboard when he Scored the opening goal in their 3 - 0 win over Lahti in the Finland Veikkausliga, and that put Mariehamn at the top of the table.
Daniel Stevens started and went 64 minutes as GrIFK beat TPS Turku in Finland Ykkonen. For GrIFK a much needed win following 3 poor performances
Andrew Stadler came off the bench at minute 60, to help his team Ostersunds win 2 - 0 over Goteborg in Sweden's Allsvenskan. Ostersunds have now won 2 in a row following a poor start to the season
Kenny Saief went 90 and Scored a PK as Gent faced off with Waregem in Belgium's play-off for European places next season. On the day, bottom placed Waregem were the better team, beating Gent 4 - 2 . Gent remain in 3rd spot, but following 3 straight loses there position is tenuous, just 2 points ahead of Genk.
Busy, Busy, day that saw 7 goals by 4 players, 1 in Philippines, 1 in Germany, 3 in Israel (video) 1 in Poland and 1 in France (video). There was an assist in England (video) and we had a couple of shut-outs by our goalkeepers 1 in Japan and 1 in Germany. In all (I covered) 54 US players played in 14 countries today - pretty impressive numbers
Lets go to the list;
GK Daniel Schmidt and Yamaga visited Verdy in Japan's J-League 2 and came away with a 0 - 4 win, another Shut-out for Daniel
NYC born Mark Winhoffer, who is a dual USA/Philippines, Scored Global's 7th goal, in an 8 - 0 demolition of FC Laos in the Philippines UFL (1st tier)
Devante ParkerScored Mainz II's 3rd goal as they welcomed Rostock in their Germany 3Liga match and beat them 4 - 0 pulling themselves out of the relegation zone with one game left in the season.
No reports just yet, but Joel Sonora left the game for Stuttgart II in the 34th minute, which generally indicates an injury. Ryan Malone was in 18 (DNP) soe Magdeburg as they played to a 1 - 1 draw in 3Liga. Stuttgart II are relegated, Magdeburg cannot reach the lone promotion playoff spot, with just one game remaining.
Royal Fennel (90) and Wurzburger hosted Marc Heider (80) and Kiel as they played to a 1 - 1 draw. Wurzburger has secured the promotional play-off spot for 3Liga.
In England's Championship, Blackburn (Adam Henley in 18 DNP) beat Reading and Danny Williams (90) 3 - 1 . Blackburn end the season at 15th, and Reading 17th.
Johnathan Spector got the start for Birmingham as they visited Cardiff. Johnathan went 90 picked up a yellow in a 1 - 1 draw. Birmingham end up in 10th place in Championship.
Fulham started Tim Ream (74) and brought Emerson Hyndman off the bench (33) as they hosted relegated Bolton and (GK Paul Rachubka in 18 DNP) and came away with a closing day 1 - 0 win.
Eric Lichaj went 90 for Nottingham as they beat MK Dons (Cody Cropper did not dress) 1 - 2. MK Dons are relegated along with Bolton and will play in League One next season.
Haji Wright played the first half for Schalke U19 as they lost 4 - 1 at Bochum U19 in Junior Bundesliga West. Schalke end up finishing the season in 2nd place. Dortmund (who also lost today) take the top spot in the league.
Christian Eissele started, went 67 minutes as 10 man Kemi beat Ilves 1 - 0 in Finland's Veikkausliiga
GK Craig Hill signed yesterday with KuPS, today he found himself in 18 (DNP) as KuPS beat VPS 1 - 0, also in Finland's Veikkausliiga
In Bundesliga, Alfredo Morales came off the bench for Ingolstadt at minute 63, as they fell to Bayern 1 - 2 as Ingolstadt's run of poor form continues.
AJ Soares started, goes 90, as Viking beat Tromso 2 - 0 in Norway's Tippeligaen. Good result for Viking now just 3 points off the top spot (in 4th)
Tim Chandler came off the bench at minute 58, picked up a yellow as Frankfurt beat Christian Pulisic (off bench at 65) and Dortmund 1 - 0.The win lifts Frankfurt 1 point above Bremen and relegation.
John Brooks, back in action at Hertha, went 90, in their 1 - 2 loss to Darmstadt. Hertha are now in a 3-way tie with Mainz and Schalke in the Europa League spots, and 3 points behind M'Gladbach for a UCL spot. Hertha play Mainz next. Darmstadt have given themselves a 3 point cushion in the relegation battle
Kevin Dzierzawski (56 minutes, yellow card) and Peterhead won't be playing in the Scottish Championship next season after losing 2 - 1 (6 - 2 agg) to their nemesis this season Ayr United in the semi-finals of the promotion play-off.
Defender BabaJide Ogunbiyi (90) and Hobro visited Randers in Denmark Superliga and lost 0 - 2. Hobro look to 2nd division football next season
GK Brad Guzan, in 18 (DNP) in a goalless draw at home with Newcastle.
Geoff Cameron went 90 for Stoke as they fell 2 - 1 at Crystal Palace
DeAndre Yedlin went 90 for Sunderland as they try to escape relegation and play in the EPL next season. In an exciting game Sunderland came from behind to beat Chelsea 3 - 2, and keep hope alive, with Yedlin providing an excellent cross/Assist to Defoe's winning goal. Shane O'Neill was in 18 (DNP) as Cambridge visited Mansfield, in England League Two, and played to a goalless draw.
In Scotland's Premier League (European) Play-offs, Perry Kitchen(90) and Heart's played Ross County (GK Chris Konopa not in 18) to a 1 - 1 draw. Hearts are already qualified for the Europa League.
Andrew Stadler came off the bench for Ostersunds at minute 70, as they beat Kalmar 1 - 0 in Sweden's Allsvenskan.
GK Josh Wicks (90) and Tristan Bowen (in 18, DNP) and their team AFC faced off with Angelholms and Ryan Finley (90) in Sweden's Superettan in an tense affair that ended with a 3 - 2 AFC victory
Patrick Hopkins went 76 minutes, Paul Torres (in 18, DNP) as Sirius fought back from a 2 - 0 defecit to draw IK Frej 2 - 2 also in Superettan
Miserable day for Jochen Graf and Oskarshamns as they visited Osters in Sweden's Division One, and were dismantled 3 - 0
Ex Columbus Crew, Aaron SchoenfeldSCORES A HAT-TRICK as H Tel Aviv beat Yehuda in Israel Ligat ha'Al 2 - 4 Make that 8 goals in 10 games since joining H Tel Aviv. You can see all the goals (6) from this game
Hunter GorskieScores his first goal for Legnica as the ex NY Cosmos player gives his side a 0 - 1 win over Belchatow in Poland's Division 1
Devann Yao went 90 in BAK 07's 1 - 3 win over Victoria Berlin in Regionaliga Nordost
Fabian Hurzeler started for 1860 II, picked up 2 yellows (Red)and left the game at 79th minute as 1860 II lost 2 - 4 aginst Unterhaching in Regionaliga Bayern
Mario Rodriguez went 72, in M'Gladbach II's 0 - 3 loss to Lotte in Regionaliga West
GK Zak Steffen started, went 90 (Shut-Out) Caleb Stanko went 90 as Freiburg II pummeled Neckaretz 6 - 0 in Regionalliga Sudwest
Irvin Parra started and went 90 for Kaiserslautern II visited Hessen Kassel and came away with a 1 - 3 win in Regionalliga Sudwest
Bryan Gaul started and went 90 as Bahlinger beat Saarbrucken 1 - 2 also in Regionalliga Sudwest
Charlie Rugg came off the bench for Trier at minute 63, as thay fall to Steinbach 2 - 1 in Regionalliga Sudwest
In Iceland's Division One, JC Mack started and went 90 for his new club as Selfoss beat Leiknir 3 - 2 in their opening game of the season
Yes GK Tim Howard was present at Evertons 3 - 1 loss to Premiership Champs Leicester City, in 18 (DNP)
In Norway's Tippeligaen, Brann and Alex Horwath (in 18, DNP) welcomed Start and Alex De John (73) to town. Brann came out on top 1 - 0 and moved into a 4-way tie for 2nd place in the league. Start, are well, still waiting to start, with no wins this season
In Ireland, GK Ciaran Nugent sat this one out on the bench (DNP) as Drogheda beat Wexford 4 - 1 in the Irish Premier League
An early goal and a PK put Nantes and Alejandro Bedoya in a hole as they hosted Caen in French Ligue 1. Alejandro led the fight back and Scored, but it was not enough as Nantes fall 1 - 2 to Caen.
