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U.S. men's schedule, results
Friedel, Rovers fail to capitalize on Everton loss, tie West Brom 1-1.
Friedel named to English Premier League "Best 11."
Keller provides heroics, but Spurs still suffer fatal 2-0 loss to Manchester City.
Lewis shines again, leading North End past Sheffield United 2-0.
Friedel leads Rovers to 1-0 decision over Charlton in more ways than one.
Keller boots Tottenham to past Birmingham City 2-1; Friedel has easy time.
Lewis continues strong play, assists late goal to give Preston a 1-1 draw with Portsmouth.
On separate continents in disparate leagues, American goalkeepers shine in shutouts.
Walker returns to Chile and quickly minds Colo Colo net.
O'Brien returns to Ajax lineup; Friedel logs another strong effort.
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Friedel, Blackburn best Keller, Spurs in
battle for Europe.
Americans Abroad Cherundolo, Hannover put distance on relegation zone by blanking Schalke.
By Robert Wagman
(Monday, May 12, 2003) -- United States defender Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 eased their relegation worries yesterday, producing an unexpected road victory 2-0 over Schalke 04. Schalke applied a great deal of pressure all afternoon, but Cherundolo helped lead the Hannover defensive effort which was up to the challenge. Cherundolo drew a yellow card in the 79th minute for a hard tackle as he dueled with Sergio Pinto. Hannover (11-15-6, 39 points) is tied for 11th place, five points clear of the relegation zone, in the crowded bottom half of the Bundesliga table. With a home match with Borussia Moenchengladbach (10-14-8, 38) and a trip to Arminia Bielefeld (8-12-12, 36) remaining, Hannover looks safe. Conversely, it was not much of a day for relegation-bound, last-place Energie Cottbus (6-18-8, 26) which gave up an early goal and went down meekly 3-0 to 1860 Munich. American Gregg Berhalter played well, at times, in the center of defense, but generally the effort was not there for the cellar dwellers. According to media reports, American striker Conor Casey may be loaned next season to VfB Lübeck of the 2 Bundesliga side. Casey's contract is owned by Dortmund and Hannover says it will return him, leading to the likelihood he will likely be loaned out again. Dortmund already has permitted defender Florian Thorwarth to go to Lübeck. In 2 Bundesliga action, American Cory Gibbs went the distance in the midfield rather than his normal position in central defense for relegation-threatened St. Pauli which drew 1-1 with Karlsruher. With two matches left, St. Pauli (6-16-10, 28), sitting 17th among 18 teams, is six points below the relegation line. The bottom four teams are demoted. In the third division, American midfielder Joe Enochs and VFL Osnabrück (17-6-7, 58), enjoying strong fan support, leads Regionalliga Nord by two points and appears to be heading back to the 2 Bundesliga. Enochs has played every minute of every league match, something quite unusual in Germany. American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and visiting Reading were struck by bad luck in a 2-1 loss Saturday to Wolverhampton in the first leg of the semifinal of the First Division's promotion playoff. The return leg is at Reading Wednesday. Hahnemann strong effort went for naught when an own goal by Reading defender Graeme Murty tied the match and Wolves defender Lee Naylor drilled the winner on a free kick from just above the penalty area that went under the leaping wall and then deflected past Hahnemann in the 84th minute. Hahnemann had kept the match tied with good saves on Colin Cameron and George Ndah. In the Netherlands, U.S. defender John O'Brien, still recovering from a foot injury, was dressed and sat on the bench for Ajax Amsterdam (23-3-5, 74) which used late goals by won at NEC Nijmegen 2-1 on late goals by Jari Litmanen and Scherer Andrade Maxwell. Feyenoord Rotterdam (23-4-4) defeated RKC Waalwijk 2-1 and remained one point behind Ajax with three matches remaining and the Eredivisie's second berth in the Champions League next season at stake. PSV Eindhoven has all but clinched the league title at 25-1-5 with 80 points. In France, Troyes (6-20-10, 28) secured relegation from Ligue 1 with two games to play after losing in Lens 1-0. Last-place Troyes, which has not won a game since February, received a good effort from U.S. defender David Regis who is in negotiations to immediately join Major League Soccer. Regis played especially well after Troyes defender Mehdi Meniri departed with an injury after 29 minutes. The match was level until Jacek Bak's goal in the 82nd minute secured the result. American keeper Joe Cannon occupied his usual spot on the bench for Lens while Charles Itandje recorded another shutout. U.S. defender Greg Vanney did not dress for Bastia which drew with Sedan 2-2. In Chile, American keeper Jonny Walker, recovered from his shoulder injury which kept him out of two matches, was in the Colo Colo net for a 2-1 triumph over Huachipato. Walker did not have much work, but could do little with Mancilla's goal in the 66th minute. In Denmark, American defender Wade Barrett came off the bench in the final minutes of AGF's 1-1 draw with Brondby. Media reports said his error in the third minute of stoppage time nearly resulted in a winning goal for Brondby. Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent and can be e-mailed at bobwagman@soccertimes.com. Gary Davidson is a SoccerTimes managing editor and can be e-mailed at editor@soccertimes.com. |
