AMSTERDAM – It was a particularly rough Sunday for Americans playing in Europe, with Timothy Chandler and FC Nürnberg on the sad end of a 5-0 drubbing from rude guests Hamburg.
The match started brightly enough for the US international (above), whose industry created a golden 11th-minute chance that Tomas Pekhart fumbled with before skying a shot over. Chandler was not culpable on any of the leaked goals, four of which came after the hour mark.
The loss not only kept Nürnberg winless through eight league rounds, it pushed them back into the danger zone.
Next door in the Eredivisie, Aron Jóhannsson had an unusually quiet outing in ninth place AZ Alkmaar's 2-1 defeat at Groningen. The forward departed a tie game in the 66th minute as the Kaasboeren dropped their third straight road decision in league play.
In nearby Belgium, Sacha Kljestan went 70 minutes as Jupiler League holders Anderlecht suffered a galling 1-0 home loss to Kortrijk.
The former Chivas USA ace performed a line clearance just before the half hour and then nearly opened the scoring on 42 minutes, only to watch his header bounce off the post. The result left Anderlecht nine points off title pace in fourth.
To the north in Denmark, Conor O'Brien was a disruptive force in midfield for 74 minutes as Odense BK posted a 3-1 victory at Esbjerg. By earning their first road win in nearly a year, OB rose two rungs to sixth.
However, the table climb of Babjide Ogunbiyi and fourth place Viborg was halted by a 3-1 loss at Aalborg BK. Despite a decent outing from the American center back, the Greens suffered their first Superliga away defeat in over two months.
Also, Brad Friedel was a bench spectator as Tottenham fell 3-0 to English Premier League derby visitors West Ham United.
Turning focus to Norway, Mikkel Diskerud and home side Rosenborg were knocked off the Tippeligaen perch because they simply could not find a way past Hønefoss netminder Steve Clark in a 0-0 stalemate.
The away 'keeper starred with nine saves, as well as a shrewd patrol of his area on potential break-ins and crosses. Clark was at his best to keep the game scoreless early, with top-shelf stops on Pål André Helland, Tobias Mikkelsen and Mikael Dorsin inside the opening 23 minutes.
The Michigan native also survived a Diskerud header off the woodwork in the opening frame. The RBK midfielder came off the field on 66 minutes.
With four games remaining on the season, the draw left Rosenborg second in the table on goal differential and Hønefoss short of the safety zone by the same factor.
Over in Austria's top division, Terrence Boyd and Rapid Vienna were forced to settle for a disappointing 0-0 share at Wiener Neustadt. The USMNT prospect had a rare off night as the visitors held firm in fourth place.
