Gladbach surge ends; Friedel shelled, ejected

• by Mike Woitalla  @MikeWoitalla, Mar 23, 2009

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Just when it looked like Borussia Moenchengladbach, with some inspired play from Michael Bradley, was climbing out of the Bundesliga relegation zone, it lost, 1-0, to lowly VfL Bochum. In England, Brad Friedel had a nightmarish outing against Liverpool, which scored against two American keepers in one game.

ENGLAND. After conceding four goals against Liverpool, Aston Villa keeper Brad Friedel was red-carded for taking down striker Reds striker Fernando Torres. Steven Gerrard, who had already scored on Friedel from a free kick and the penalty shot, scored the resulting PK against Friedel's backup, Brad Guzan, for the final goal of the 5-0 rout.

Friedel, was red-carded although it looked like Torres charged into him, will see his record of consecutive Premier League appearances end at 182 games as he will be suspended for Aston Villa's next game, at Manchester United.

Also ...

-- Clint Dempsey played 82 minutes for Fulham as it upset Manchester United, 2-0. Man U had Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney ejected in the 17th and 88th minute, respectively. Dempsey shot just wide in the 2nd minute.

-- Everton keeper Tim Howard was beaten twice by Peter Crouch in a 2-1 loss to Portsmouth as Everton's six-game undefeated streak came to an end.

-- Defender Jonathan Spector went the distance for West Ham in 1-1 tie at Blackburn.

-- In the second division, keeper Marcus Hahnemann was hailed for "master class goalkeeping" by The Mirror for his performance in Reading's scoreless tie with Crystal Palace. Reading, which finished the game with 10 men, is in the thick of the promotion race.

GERMANY. Gladbach's home match against VfL Bochum set up a chance for it to move out of the relegation zone. But Bochum, which was in 15th place, ahead of Gladbach on goal difference, won, 1-0, on a 25th minute Dennis Grote goal. Gladbach remains in 16th place, two points inside the relegation zone. Bradley, who received his fourth yellow card of the season, did draw praise from Gladbach's official Web site, which pointed out that 87 percent of his passes found a teammate.

Also ...

-- Injured Steve Cherundolo sat out Hannover 96's 2-2 tie with Hoffenheim. He was also left out of the USA's roster for next week's World Cup qualifying games.

-- In the second division, national team left back Heath Pearce started in midfield for Hansa Rostock as it tied, 1-1, at Koblenz, which had German-American David Yelldell in goal.

FRANCE. Carlos Bocanegra played the full 90 for seventh-place Rennes in a scoreless tie with Valenciennes.

MEXICO. Midfielder Jose Francisco Torres - the 21-year-old who was called into the USA's roster for the next two World Cup qualifiers, helped Pachuca down Necaxa, 3-0. The win put Pachuca in a first-place tie in the overall standings. In a 4-1 win over Indios, defender Michael Orozco went the distance for San Luis, which needed the victory to keep its playoff hopes alive. Edgar Castillo went the full 90 for Club America in its scoreless tie with Pumas.

SCOTLAND. DaMarcus Beasley played 74 minutes and got an assist in Glasgow Rangers 2-2 tie with Heart of Midlothian while Maurice Edu stayed on Rangers' bench.

BELGIUM. Oguchi Onyewu's Standard Liege fell, 1-0, at Charleroi and gave up the league lead to Anderlecht. Onyewu played the full 90.