AMSTERDAM – A handful of Americans clocked in for Friday night league action overseas, with FC Utrecht rookie Rubio Rubin working a solid shift in their seesaw 2-2 draw at Excelsior.
The 18-year-old (pictured above) failed to notch an assist for the first time in three starts as the Utrecht No. 10, but he did play a supporting role in both of their goals. Though Rubin's final-ball delivery was a shade off on the night, he did compensate with the physical work needed to win five free kicks and three tackles.
Utrecht rallied from an early deficit to take the lead on 84 minutes but leaked an Excelsior equalizer in stoppage time to settle for the share. With just one loss in four, the Red & White Army tentatively marched into seventh place in the Eredivisie.
Across the border in the Bundesliga, John Anthony Brooks was a second-half injury sub in Hertha Berlin's 2-0 home defeat against Hannover 96.
Having entered play with the hosts already down one, Brooks picked up a yellow card in his 35 minutes of work. Thirteenth-place Hertha have now dropped three of their last four league matches.
One league below, Andrew Wooten set up the equalizer and then bagged his fourth game-winning goal of the season 13 minutes from time in a 2-1 Sandhausen win over visiting FC Nürnberg.
Stationed on the right wing for this contest, the 25-year-old helped cancel an early deficit by centering for Alexander Bieler to level the score on 26 minutes. After being denied by the away netminder three times during the game, Wooten finally got revenge in the late going.
The attacker chested down a Marco Thiede cross to blast his fifth goal of the season, moving into the top 10 of the 2.Bundesliga scoring chart in the process. Most importantly, Sandhausen's first victory in six catapulted them from the danger zone to 12th place.
Over in England's Championship, Tim Ream ably worked left back as suddenly warming Bolton vaulted out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 home victory over Wigan.
The US defender often slid inside to help with the aerial game, notching eight clearances. Ream also delivered as customary in the passing game, helping his team work up the field on several occasions.
Thanks to three wins in the last four games, Bolton jumped six rungs to 18th place. However, they do remain vulnerable to being passed by six clubs competing on Saturday.
