Keepers highlight quiet week for foreign legion

• by Soccer America , Sep 21, 2009

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Midfielder Michael Bradley was left out of Borussia Moenchengladbach's lineup for the third straight game. Among the few highlights for Americans abroad last weekend came from goalkeepers in England.

ENGLAND. Brad Friedel helped Aston Villa down Portsmouth, 2-0, in Villa's third straight game without conceding a goal. Villa is in fifth place. Fellow keeper Tim Howard helped Everton to a 3-0 win over Blackburn in the Toffees' second win of the season and first shutout in five games. Everton is 13th place.

Striker Jozy Altidore made his first start of the season for Hull and played 64 minutes as it fell 1-0 to Birmingham. Hull is in second-to-last place. Fulham, whose Clint Dempsey played 62 minutes, lost, 2-1, to Birmingham and fell to 14th place.

GERMANY. With Michael Bradley on the bench, Borussia M'Gladbach fell, 4-2, to Hoffenheim, giving up two goals after equalizing in the 86th minute. Right back Steve Cherundolo went the full 90 and was yellow-carded in Hannover's 1-1 tie with Borussia Dortmund. Gladbach and Hannover are in 10th and 12th place, respectively.

In the second division, Kenny Cooper played 81 minutes and was cautioned in 1860 Munich's 2-0 loss to Alemania Aachen. Matt Taylor played the final 18 minutes for FSV Frankfurt's 2-0 in loss to Karlsruhe. Keeper David Yeldell played 90 minutes for TUS Koblenz in a 1-1 tie with FC Union Berlin.

SCOTLAND. Neither Maurice Edu nor DaMarcus Beasley dressed for Rangers' 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock.

ITALY. Oguchi Onyewu stayed on AC Milan's bench for a 1-0 win over Bologna.

FRANCE. Carlos Bocanegra went the distance for Rennes in a 4-0 win over Grenoble. Charlie Davies also went the distance, for Sochaux, which lost, 5-2, to Valenciennes .

MEXICO. Midfielder Jose Francisco Torres played 73 minutes in Pachuca's 3-1 loss loss to Monterrey. San Luis defender Michael Orozco went the distance in San Luis' 4-2 loss to Cruz Azul. Also seeing a full 90 was Tigres' Edgar Castillo, in a scoreless tie with Indios, whose Marco Vidal played the final two minutes.

NORWAY. Keeper Troy Perkins helped Valerenga beat Lyn, 4-1.

SWEDEN. Midfield Alejandro Bedoya played 90 for Orebro SK in a 3-1 win over Kalmar FF.