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U.S. men's schedule, results
Howard will serve as backup to Carroll for rest of Man. U. season.
White returns to U.S. following mob incident in Belgrade.
Lewis' recovery from hernia surgery suffers a setback.
Cherundolo helps Hannover 96 to defeat 1860 München 2-0 and gain safety.
Howard's days as Manchester United starter might be over.
Casey scores twice in Karlsruhe loss, then debuts in style for U.S.
Meeting between trio of U.S. field players produces drab 0-0 draw between Man. City, Fulham.
Mathis assists goal, but Hannover squanders two leads in 2-2 draw with Schalke.
Friedel is sharp in Rovers' 2-0 win over Aston Villa; Howard sits for Man. U.
Reyna, Manchester City romp over defenseless Manchester United 4-1.
Mathis, Cherundolo can't change Hannover fortunes under new coach.
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Americans Abroad Friedel concedes three, but Blackburn picks up needed win 4-3 over Fulham.
and Gary Davidson (in Washington, D.C.) SoccerTimes (Monday, April 12, 2004) -- United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel watched three ball go by him, but Blackburn Rovers still secured a desperately-needed victory by outlasting host Fulham 4-3 to move out of the relegation zone, but certainly not out of danger in England's Premier League. Despite giving up three goals, two to young Liberian sensation Collins John, Friedel actually played quite well. Twice in the first half, he stopped bullet headers from Zat Knight, but it was John who gave Rovers defense fits all day. Jonathan Stead's tally in the 75th minute gave Rovers the 4-3 decision. Blackburn (9-17-7, 34 points) is in a three-way tie for 15th place in the EPL, three points above the relegation zone. U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra went the distance for Fulham and continued his fine run of play. He could easily have had Fulham's first goal in the 26th minute but was just beaten to the ball by John who pushed it into an open net. Three minutes after Andy Cole put Rovers ahead 1-0, Sean Davis' free kick caused mass confusion in Rovers' box. Friedel was blocked by his own defender and Steed Malbranque nodded a pass across goal for John to push over the goal line to even matters at 1-1 John put Fulham ahead 2-1 in the 45th minute, but Jonathan Douglas equalized for Rovers four minutes after intermission. Two minutes later, Lorenzo Amoruso put Blackburn ahead 3-2, but Luis Bopa Morte tied the game again with a goal in the 60th minute. U.S. striker Brian McBride came on in the 84th minute for Fulham, but had little impact as his side tried to tie. Blackburn headed into tonight's encounter losers of three straight, 2-6-2 in its previous 10 outings and winless at home -- 0-6-3 -- at Ewood Park since November 29. That miserable home streak was made worse on Saturday when Rovers surrendered an 89th-minute goal to Leeds United in a 2-1 loss. Friedel was terrific Saturday. In the ninth minute, he saved a bomb from Alan Smith and, in the second half, a drive from James Milner. He almost got to the first Leeds goal, a sharp header from Stephen Caldwell at the far post, but could do little with Mark Viduka's angled shot that went in off the post with a minute remaining in regulation. On Saturday, Bocanegra and the Fulham defense were exemplary in a 2-0 shutout of host Leicester with John scoring both goals after entering in the 60th minute. McBride came on in the 62nd minute and was very active in Fulham's late surge. However, John's four goals in two matches can only serve to keep McBride relegated to being a reserve. After serving as a starter when he was obtained from Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew on January 20, McBride has come off the bench as a substitute in the last six matches. With Tottenham Hotspur fans calling for the sacking of acting manager David Pleat, Spurs came back with a late goal tonight to take a much needed point in a 1-1 draw with visiting Manchester City. City went ahead on a tremendous effort from Nicolas Anelka in the 25th minute. His hard shot was pushed away by American keeper Kasey Keller, but Anelka beat two defenders to the rebound and put it back over the diving Keller. Keller kept the match close with a wonderful save on Robbie Fowler just before the half with Jermain Defoe tying the match at 1-1 in the 52nd minute. On Friday, neither Keller, nor the Spurs defense played particularly well in a 3-1 loss at Everton. Spurs went down by three goals in the first half with Keller giving up a rebound goal to Joseph Yobo after palming away a free kick, sending Everton to a 3-0 lead in the 40th minute.
U.S. midfielder Claudio Reyna did not play in either Manchester City match over the Bank Holiday weekend because of a mild groin strain. On Saturday, City tied Wolverhampton 3-3. U.S, keeper Tim Howard was again on the bench Saturday for Manchester United's 2-1 triumph at Birmingham City, backing up Roy Carroll who continued to do well as the starter. United needed second-half goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha for the come-from-behind win. In England's First Division, U.S. midfielder Eddie Lewis is probably done for the remainder of Preston North End's season. After making good progress recovering from hernia surgery on his right abdomen, he is now being bothered by pain on his left side. Team doctor Andrew Balderson said he suspects a second hernia that also could require surgery. The new problem has not yet been fully evaluated. At Reading, American keeper Marcus Hahnemann is making progress in his rehabilitation from a knee injury, but did not dress for either of Reading's holiday weekend matches. In France, U.S. defender Greg Vanney was not on the traveling squad for Bastia which drew 1-1 with Nantes. Bastia was playing its first match under interim co-coaches after former manager Gerard Gili was fired for public comments critical of club management. In the Netherlands, U.S. defender\midfielder John O'Brien reportedly is back in training, but has not made it back into Ajax Amsterdam's side. Ajax (22-4-3, 69), despite a 1-1 draw with Feyenoord Rotterdam yesterday, leads the Eredivisie by 10 points with five games remaining. In Denmark, American defender Wade Barrett went 90 minutes for AGF Aarhus which was badly beaten by AaB Aalborg 4-1. In Norway, Robbie Russell went the distance for Sogndal in a 1-1 draw with visiting HamKam in the opening match of the 2004 season.
Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman. Gary Davidson is SoccerTimes' managing editor. E-mail Gary Davidson. |
