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Americans abroad

Ream & Fulham win, Sabbi scores, in bleak weekend for Americans abroad

It was a tough Easter Weeekend for Americans abroad who struggled across the board. ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks down why the weekend was one to forget.
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
April 02, 2018
1:00 PM
THE RECENT INTERNATIONAL break was good for the United States but the following weekend was rough for Americans abroad.

There have been worse weekends for Americans abroad but this was certainly one to forget

First, the Bad News


A big reason why Christian Pulisic did not play for the U.S. team last weekend was Borussia Dortmund’s upcoming game against German leaders Bayern Munich. Pulisic earned the start on Saturday but the game was no-contest as Bayern scored five first half goals en route to a 6-0 victory.

Pulisic was probably Dortmund’s best player but that is not saying much. The gap between Bayern and everyone else in Germany is just enormous.

But Pulisic was far from the notable Americans in Europe to drop losses over the weekend. Matt Miazga and Vitesse lost at home to relegation battlers Roda JC Kerkrade by a score of 3-0.

In the Championship, Ipswich Town lost to Birmingham City 1-0 and the lone goal came from a penalty which was conceded by Cameron Carter-Vickers. The English-American central defender did not play for Ipswich Town in Monday’s 2-2 draw against Millwall.

Elsewhere in the Championship, Antonee Robinson did not play for Bolton in a 2-1 loss to Leeds.

In the Bundesliga, Fabian Johnson, John Brooks, Weston McKennie and Bobby Wood all did not play due to injury. Wood was not able to play despite playing for the U.S. team last week.

In Belgium, Kenny Saief and Anderlecht lost at home 2-0 to Gent on Easter Sunday. The U.S. international went the distance in the loss.

While they are tough lineups to break into, Keaton Parks did not make the 18 for Benfica and neither did Tim Weah for Paris St.Germain.

South of the border, Landon Donovan made his first start for Club Leon which was routed by Tigres 4-1. Meanwhile, Jorge Villafana and Santos Laguna fell out of first place with a bad 3-2 loss against second to last-placed Atlas.

All of that makes for mostly bad weekend for Americans abroad.

But what went right?

Ream & Fulham continue to surge


It’s a bit like a broken record but Fulham came up with another big win to maintain its grip on the third place in the Championship. This time it downed Norwich City away 2-0.Trailing second place Cardiff City by eight points, automatic promotion is attainable but unlikely. Instead, the London-based club will return to the playoffs for a second straight year.

Tim Ream, 30, had yet another very strong game and his ability to play the ball out of the back and into the midfield is a huge asset. Defensively, he has helped Fulham regularly keep its opponents off the board.

Sabbi scores first pro goal


2017 United States U-20 World Cup forward Emmanuel Sabbi earned the start for Hobro in the Danish Superliga and performed well. In the 45th minute, Sabbi scored his first professional goal with a nice left footed shot from outside the box to give Hobro a 1-0 lead on AGF Aarhus.

Unfortunately for Sabbi, AGF battled back and won 3-1 but both teams sit four points clear of having to play in a relegation playoffs.



Yedlin steady as Newcastle downs Huddersfield


DeAndre Yedlin returned from the international break and put in nice showing for Newcastle which defeated Huddersfield 1-0.

Defensively, Yedlin put in strong performance and helped Newcastle move into 12th place.

On the flip side, Huddersfield has drifted back towards the relegation line and is now only three points clear. David Wagner’s team will desperately need points from its next two games against Brighton & Hove and Watford.

Palmer-Brown gets minutes in Kortrijk win


On Saturday, Kortrijk defeated Waasland-Beveren 4-1 in the playoffs in Belgium. While it wasn’t much, Erik Palmer-Brown came into the game in the 81st minute to help see the game out.

The U.S. international was in a tough spot joining the club midway through the season but hopefully this made a case for more minutes in the games ahead. He remains an immensely talented defender but he needs games and hopefully next year he will get a full preseason to make his case.

Gooch playing for Sunderland


Lynden Gooch, 22, has found playing time tough to come by this season but with Sunderland now in a rough spot in its relegation fight, manager Elliot Dickman is turning to the Santa Cruz native.

On Friday, Gooch started and earned a penalty in a surprising 4-1 win over promotion-contending Derby County. On Monday, he started again in a 3-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday.

Playing time is good for Gooch but the club sits in 23rd place in the 24 team Championship. It trails 21st place Birmingham City by five points for the final safe spot.

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