|
U.S. men's schedule, results
Hahnemann, Reading rue early end to season.
Cherundolo, Hannover put distance on relegation zone by blanking Schalke.
Friedel, Blackburn best Keller, Spurs in
battle for Europe.
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.
|
Americans Abroad Casey comes off bench and sends Hannover 96 past Bielefeld 1-0 with late goal.
By Robert Wagman
(Tuesday, May 29, 2003) -- This has certainly been a disappointing season for young American striker Conor Casey. He was loaned across the German Bundesliga by Dortmund to Hannover 96, but spent most of the season on the sidelines with a series of injuries. However, he gained a good measure of redemption Saturday with a reserve performance on the final weekend of the season, scoring the winning goal in the waning moments to give Hannover a 1-0 decision over Arminia Bielefeld, finalizing the loser's demotion to the Bundesliga 2. Heading into its finale at home, Bielefeld trailed Bayer Leverkusen by one point and Borussia Monchengladbach by three, needing to overtake one of the two clubs to escape relegation. As it turned out, Leverkusen prevailed 1-0 at FC Nürnberg and Monchengladbach hammered visiting Werder Breemen 4-1 to assure safety. Casey, who reportedly is still not completely fit, entered in the 74th minute and almost immediately came close to scoring. Collecting the ball, he outran defender Torjus Hansen, went in alone on Mathias Hain, but saw the keeper tip his shot over the crossbar. Casey continued to apply pressure and, in the 85th minute, Jiri Stajner found a completely unmarked Casey who headed the cross home for an easy goal and 1-0 lead. Bielefield fans, realizing their fate, streamed to the Almstadion gates as soon as Casey scored, not waiting for the final whistle. Hannover's other American, defender Steve Cherundolo was his usual steady self in the back in the shutout. Hannover (12-15-7, 43 points), which was not mathematically safe from relegation until the previous weekend, finished 11th in the 18-team league. Both Hannover and Bielefield were promoted to the first division after finishing one-two in Bundesliga 2 a season ago. Bielefield (8-14-12, 36) was demoted with Nürnberg (8-20-6, 30) and Energie Cottbus (7-18-9, 30). Cottbus, with U.S. defender Gregg Berhalter going the distance, closed with a 1-1 draw at Dortmund. Meanwhile, once-powerful Leverkusen (11-16-7, 40) managed to stay in the first division, a fate that could impact whether the team might try to entice attacker Landon Donovan of Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes back to Germany. Under contract to Leverkusen, Donovan is in the first season of a two-year loan to MLS, but the German club needs to rebuild and is expected to spend the money necessary to reclaim former glory. In France, U.S. defender David Regis and already-relegated Troyes (7-21-10, 31) ended their season being thrashed by league runnerup Monaco 6-0. Regis went all the way, but no one on his side played well before a sparse crowd of less than 5,000 at Monaco's Stade Louis II. In the Netherlands, the Eredivisie title and the league's second European Champions League will be decided with a final round of games Thursday. Ajax Amsterdam, in good shape to qualify for the Champions League and with no more than a prayer to capture the league title, will have to do it without U.S. defender John O'Brien whose Achilles heel problem, which kept him out of the lineup for much of the season, has flared up again. The injury is not considered serious, but he has not been able to train with the first team and did not dress Sunday when Ajax defeated host Twente Enschede 2-1. With Feyenoord Rotterdam needing a late goal by Bonaventure Kalou to manage a 1-1 draw with lowly Willem II Tillburg (11-13-9, 42), Ajax (25-3-5, 80) has a virtually insurmountable three-point lead and plus-13 goal differential over Feyenoord (24-4-5, 77) for second place and a spot in next season's Champions League. Ajax trails league-leading PSV Eindhoven (26-2-5) by three points, but Eindhoven leads Ajax by six in goal differential. Ajax hosts Heerenveen (13-12-8, 47), needing to win by a rout while Eindhoven loses improbably at FC Groninger (7-16-10, 31) Thursday for a shot at the title. In Chile, American goalkeeper Jonny Walker played well in what likely was his last league match for Colo Colo which came out on the short side of a 1-0 scoreline against Cobresal. Walker could not handle a point-bank shot by Fernando Rodriguez in the 11th minute. Walker made outstanding saves on Pedro Rivers in the 16th minute, Damian Yanez in the 37th, Rodrigo Vilingron in the 83rd and a point-blank blast from Quemarropa in the 90th. Playoffs start next week.
Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent and can be e-mailed at bob@soccertimes.com. Gary Davidson is a SoccerTimes managing editor and can be e-mailed at gary@soccertimes.com. |
