Americans Abroad

McBride is scoreless, but makes his mark as Fulham drubs West Brom 6-1.

(Tuesday, February 14, 2006) -- United States striker Brian McBride did not score himself, but he was a force in the attack for Fulham which embarrassed West Bromwich 6-1 Saturday at home at Craven Cottage in the English Premier League.

Fulham built a five-goal lead on two first-half goals by Heidar Helguson then, after intermission a goal from Tomasz Radzinski, an own goal by West Brom's Curtis Davies and a strike by substitute Collins John. John added the sixth goal late after West Brom scored in the 85th minute.

Helguson's second goal came off of defender Curtis Davies and may be changed to an own goal after league review.

Helguson's first goal in the fourth minute came off a header from a perfect McBride cross. Late in the first half, McBride nearly found net himself, but his hard shot was well-saved by West Brom goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.

Kuszczak's best save of the day was on a hard header from Fulham's American defender Carlos Bocanegra in the seventh minute. Bocanegra put in a solid 90 minutes in the Fulham back-line which gave West Brom few chances.

Fulham is 9-12-5 with 32 points, having played an extra game, but tied with Newcastle Unied (9-13-5) for 13th place. West Brom (7-14-5, 26 points) is in 17th place.

Another good performance by an American was by goalkeeper Brad Friedel, but the Blackburn Rovers' offense continued to sputter in a 1-0 loss to host Everton, which played shorthanded after keeper Iain Turner received a red card in the ninth minute.

Turner's league debut lasted just nine minutes when he was sent off for handling the ball outside the penalty area. Everton was forced to rely on fourth-string John Ruddy, Rovers generated few chances on the inexperienced keeper.

Friedel ended up with four saves, but could do little when James Beattie rose up and put away a powerful header off a free kick in the 33rd minute. Fiedel went up into the Everton penalty area on a corner and then stayed for almost two minutes as Rovers peppered the Everton goal to no avail at the end.

Blackburn (11-10-4, 37) is tied for ninth place with a game in hand with Manchester City (11-11-4), while Everton (11-12-3, 36) is 11th.

U.S. keeper Tim Howard came off the bench for the second half to replace injured Edwin van der Saar in Manchester United's 3-1 road triumph over Portsmouth.

Coming on with a 3-0 lead after van der Saar strained his groin, Howard made great saves on Lomano Tresor LuaLua and Pedro Mendes, but was helpless to stop Matthew Taylor's header off a drive by Wayne Routledge in the 87th minute.

United (16-4-6, 54) is in second place and still trails Chelsea (21-2-3), which lost 3-0 on the road to Middlesbrough. Portsmouth (4-16-6, 18) is in 19th place and seems destined for relegation.

U.S. defender Jonathan Spector went the distance, but Charlton Athletic fell 3-2 to Manchester City on the road.

Charlton (10-12-3, 33) is in 12th place.

Robert Wagman is SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman. Gary Davidson is SoccerTimes managing editor. E-mail Gary Davidson.

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