AMSTERDAM – It was a winless Tuesday night for Americans working overseas, but Jonathan Spector made a strong return from injury in Birmingham City's 0-0 Championship share at Sheffield Wednesday.
The handyman, who has been out of action since September with a nagging thigh ailment, entered the fray as a replacement for injured Brums center back Michael Morrison in the 21st minute. Spector helped the visitors fight off repeated Wednesday pressure, ringing up four clearances and three pass picks.
Now unbeaten in four league games, 11th-place Birmingham rose back to break even for the first time since round four.
Elsewhere in the English second flight, Daniel Williams enjoyed a fine all-around outing as 18th-place Reading settled for a 0-0 draw at Millwall.
The US midfielder helped the Royals carry play throughout by completing 39 of 44 passes, including nine forward connections in the attacking half. While committing only one ball-handling turnover himself, Williams notched four tackles on the defensive end.
Tim Ream had a busy night on the left side of a three-man back line in 16th-place Bolton's 4-2 loss at Rotherham.
The tactical shift was unkind to Wanderers, who conceded all four Rotherham goals before the hour had even struck. However, only one of the hosts' 16 shots came out of Ream's zone, with the American tallying a game-high 11 pass interceptions and three tackles. The defender also easily led all players with 63 completed passes, which included a pair of first-half set-ups that deserved better finishes.
Across the North Sea in the Netherlands, Aron Jóhannsson came on for the second half as AZ Alkmaar suffered a 3-0 defeat against KNVB Cup quarterfinal hosts FC Twente.
The US forward squandered a good area chance to halve a two-goal Tukkers lead near the hour mark by firing straight at the 'keeper. In the end, AZ would fall to their fourth straight loss in Enschede.
