AMSTERDAM – Tim Howard and Everton lost ground in the race for Champions League invites on Sunday, posting a tough 1-0 loss at Tottenham.
While the US star made just one save in the Toffees net, Hugo Lloris stayed busy fending off the visitors at the other end. A 65th minute strike by Emmanuel Adebayor settled matters, dropping Everton to sixth place with a second straight road defeat.
Howard was the only American in action in the Premier League on Sunday, given that Clint Dempsey missed out on making the matchday 18 for Fulham on their trip to Manchester United. After leading for most of the game, the Cottagers appeared to be headed for defeat after conceding twice in the space of three minutes, but a Darren Bent goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time gave them their first league points at Old Trafford since 2003.
Across the North Sea in the Eredivisie, Juan Agudelo put in a strong 90-minute shift as slumping FC Utrecht fell 5-2 at RKC Waalwijk in disheartening fashion.
The American was very active on the day, ringing up seven shots. Several were blocked well by defenders, but Agudelo did draw terrific saves from the RKC netminder with a volley before the break and a header just after.
Utrecht skipper Jens Toornstra squandered a chance to level from the spot three minutes before time and the hosts bagged another pair to blow the game out. The 14th-place visitors were sent away with their fifth loss in a six-game league winless slide.
