Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson has another bullet point on his résumé after a successful week with his Dutch club side PSV Eindhoven, the highlight of a busy weekend for Canadians abroad.
PSV beat Heracles Almelo 3-0 to claim the KNVB Cup. Hutchinson, Canada’s player of the year for 2010, last won a trophy with a club team when he was a member of the FC Copenhagen side that won the Danish Superliga in the 2009-10 season.
Hutchinson, a midfielder by trade, played the full 90 minutes for PSV on the right side of defense. It’s been the norm lately for the Brampton, Ontario, native to feature on the club’s backline as he gets his match fitness back from a long-term knee injury.
Last Thursday in Germany, forward Olivier Occean was at it again. Occean, who plays with 2.Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth, scored his 18th goal of the season as his table-topping team beat Energie Cottbus 3-0, giving them a two-point cushion on Eintracht Frankfurt.
Occean’s goal came in the second half after missing a first half penalty. The Montreal native also put in a 90 minute performance on Tuesday in Fürth’s 0-0 draw with Eintracht Braunschweig. Randy Edwini-Bonsu got the start and played the whole game for Braunschweig in that game.
Also in Germany, veteran Canadian defender Kevin McKenna was a second-half stoppage-time substitute for FC Cologne in their 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen.
McKenna wasn’t involved in Cologne’s 4-0 loss at the hands of Mainz on Tuesday.
Over in the English Premier League, David "Junior" Hoilett started and played two full games in a matter of days. Hoilett’s Blackburn side lost 3-0 to West Bromwich Albion this past Saturday, then followed that up with an eventful 3-2 loss to Liverpool on Tuesday.
After not playing for Norwich in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Everton, Simeon Jackson was a late substitute for his team in their 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Down in the League Championship, David Edgar continues to be a fixture on the Burnley backline, playing two full games as his team picked up a pair of wins over the weekend.
Last Friday, Burnley beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 and then followed that up Monday with a 2-1 win over Doncaster Rovers. Burnley, currently 12th, are six points back of Cardiff City in sixth – the last of the promotion playoff spots.
Down a division in League One, Iain Hume salvaged a point for Preston North End as a second-half substitute, scoring as Preston tied Stevenage 1-1. Hume also played the entire game on Saturday in another 1-1 draw, this time against MK Dons. Preston are 16th in the third-flight standings.
Marcus Haber, fresh from appearing for Canada at the 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament, was a second-half substitute for St. Johnstone of the Scottish Premier League as they played to a 0-0 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Canada’s trio plying their trade in Germany’s third flight all saw action over the weekend.
Defender Adam Straith, on loan from Energie Cottbus, played the whole game in FC Saarbruken’s 0-0 draw with Wacker Burghausen. Nik Ledgerwood played all 90 minutes in Wehen Wiesbaden’s 2-0 over Kickers Offenbach and Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault also played the entire game in Pressen Münster’s 3-2 win over Rot-Weiss Erfurt.
In Switzerland, Josh Simpson’s Young Boys are in third place after their 3-1 loss to Lausanne Sports on Monday. Simpson started and played 71 minutes in a losing effort for Young Boys.
In Romania, goalkeeper Milan Borjan was in goal for Vaslui’s 3-0 loss to Vointa Sibiu. And in the Romanian Liga 2, Tosaint Ricketts started and played 58 minutes in a 0-0 draw with Unirea Alba Lulia.
Goalkeeper Haidar Al-Shaibani looks to be backstopping Nîmes back to the French Ligue 2. Currently in third the Championnat National, Nîmes beat Quevily 3-0 last Friday, with Al-Shaibani in goal. The win keeps Nîmes in the promotion spots and just two points out of first.
Lars Hirschfeld also kept a clean sheet for his club team in Norway. Hirschfeld was in goal for Valerenga's 1-0 win over Viking Stavanger.
In Portugal, midfielder Pedro Pacheco played the whole game for Santa Clara in a 2-0 loss to União Madeira in the Liga de Honra. Santa Clara are 11th in Portugal’s second tier.
