Americans Abroad

New coach could mean new chance for Moore who helps Everton surprise Fulham 2-1.

(Sunday, March 17, 2002) -- American Joe-Max Moore logged a solid half for new coach David Moyes as Everton recorded two early goals to defeat Fulham 2-1 in England’s Premier League yesterday.

Everton, which was ahead 2-0 after 13 minutes, was reduced to 10 men in the 27th minute when Thomas Gravesen was sent off for his second yellow card. Moore came in at halftime and played solidly, dropping back deep into midfield to help with a defensive effort that allowed Steed Malbranque to score in the 53rd minute but did not concede the lead.

It was Everton’s first victory in eight matches and their first under Moyes who replaced Walter Smith last week.

Blackburn Rovers, like Everton battling to stay out of the relegation zone, fell 3-1 to Leeds United tonight. Robbie Fowler scored twice in the first eight minutes despite the efforts of United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

In the fifth minute, Tugay's sloppy pass was intercepted by the Leeds attacker who promptly drilled it under an advancing Friedel. Three minutes later, Tugay lost the ball to Fowler again. This time, Friedel managed to get a hand on the shot, but could not keep it from his net.

Friedel made several good saves to keep the score at 2-0 and Rovers pulled to within 2-1 on a goal by Matt Jansen in the 49th minute. However, another defense lapse allowed Australian Harry Kewell to get free at the top of the box and he easily beat Friedel to make it 3-1 in the 71st minute.

Friedel made two diving saves on Kewell in the next three minutes to keep the margin respectable.

Earlier in the week, Friedel had a better night, making a half dozen good saves when Rovers beat Ipswich Town, 2-1.

Having won two in a row before the Leeds setback, Rovers (8-14-8, 32 points) climbed to 16th place, one point behind Everton (8-13-9) and two points above the relegation zone.

American keeper Kasey Keller, who watched Neil Sullivan allow 12 goals in Tottenham Hotspur’s last three outings, was reserve action Friday night for Spurs who lost 3-1 to Charlton Athletic.

Keller probably could not be faulted for any of the three goals because of repeated defensive lapses after Spurs had taken a 1-0 advantage into the final 30 minutes.

Jonathan Johansson tied the match at 1-1 just a minute after Spurs had scored when he ran through the entire Tottenham defense and slotted the ball under Keller. Keller then made three fine saves in the next 15 minutes, but could only get a hand on a sharp header in the 85th minute by South African international Shaun Bartlett. Bartlett scored again deep into injury time, pushing the ball into an open net after Keller had made a save on Kevin Lisbie.

Keller could be in net for Tottenham's senior home match against Charlton tomorrow night.

U.S. midfielder Claudio Reyna remained sidelined with a groin strain for Sunderland which was routed by Chelsea 4-0.

In England’s First Division, American Jovan Kirovski played the second half for Crystal Palace which lost 1-0 to Manchester City. U.S. defender Gregg Berhalter was on the Palace bench, but did not play.

In England’s Second Division, American midfielder John Thorrington produced his strongest match since a long injury layoff in Huddersfield Town’s 1-0 decision over Cambridge. Town was on the defensive most of the match and Thorrington made several key stops, seeming to run without pain for the first time in months.

In France, U.S. defender Greg Vanney, fresh from signing a long-term contract with Bastia, chipped in with a strong effort in a 0-0 draw with Lorient in the first division. Vanney’s aggressive effort earned him an early yellow card.

Metz, with U.S. defender David Régis serving a red-card suspension, went down 3-2 to Auxerre after taking a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute. The match turned around when Metz had a player ejected in the 62nd minute

Metz told the French media it has signed Clemson University defender Oguchi Onyewu to a four-year contract and the veteran of U.S. national youth teams will report in the summer in preparation for next season. The team has reported Onyewu’s signing before, only to have it be denied by the player and his college.

In Germany’s Bundesliga, FC Nürnberg figured to defeat Borussia Moenchengladbach yesterday, but instead lost 1-0 on an own goal charged to American defender Tony Sanneh. Sanneh tried to knock down a hard shot from Ghanaian striker Lawrence Aidoo in the 29th minute only to see the ball carom off his left knee and into the net.

It was also not much of a day for St. Pauli and American defender Cory Gibbs which was easily dismissed 4-0 by Cottbus. The St. Pauli defense was woeful all day and Gibbs put in one of his poorer performances of the season.

In 2 Bundesliga action, U.S. forward Conor Casey and defender Steve Cherundolo went the distance for Hannover 96, the runaway league leader, easily defeated Reutlingen 4-0. Casey scored for Hannover (18-1-7, 61) in the 36th minute, his fourth goal in 11 appearances this season. He is looking more comfortable and might have nailed down a starting position.

American midfielder Joe Enochs also went the full 90 for Osnabruck in a draw 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen Amateurs in Regionalliga Nord. With a string of draws since the winter break, Osnabruck (8-7-10, 34) has now crept into a tie for eighth place but still has a way to go to contend for promotion from the third division.

Austin, Tex., native Jacob Thomas' Eintracht Braunschweig is second in Regionalliga Nord with a 14-5-6 record. Yesterday, he played a strong 90 minutes in a 2-0 Eintracht win over Cheminitz.

VFR Aalen lost 4-2 to the Kaiserslautern Amateurs with former U.S. national Michael Mason starting at forward for Aalen.

In the Netherlands, U.S. midfielder John O’Brien excelled for Ajax for 90 minutes, assisting on the second goal in the 67th minute in a 2-0 triumph over Heerenveen in a tightly-played match to solidify its lead in the KPN Eredivisie. Ajax (17-4-6, 57) now holds a five-point margin.

U.S. attacker Earnie Stewart, needing a sub in the 85th minute, and NAC Breda got a hard fought 1-1 draw with Roda JC.

In Chile, American keeper Jonny Walker and Universidad Católica got back in the win column in Copa Libertadores group play by defeating Flamengo of Brazil 2-1.

It was a relatively easy evening for Walker in goal after Flamengo went on top 1-0 in the fifth minute on a 20-yard shot from a wide-open Felipe Melo.

Católica pulled even at 1-1 in the 20th minute and dominated the action the rest of the way. Walker’s best save of the evening came on a strong shot by Leandro in the 36th minute.

Additional reporting by Chris Courtney (in Germany)

Senior correspondent Robert Wagman compiled this column and can be e-mailed at bobwagman@soccertimes.com.