AMSTERDAM – Rubio Rubin went the distance on the left wing as FC Utrecht moved to the brink of clinching Eredivisie safety with a 1-0 home victory over FC Twente on Sunday afternoon.
The US attacker was involved in the home side's few chances during a scoreless first half. Rubin drew a low save from 10 yards in the ninth minute, teed up a blast just wide by Mark van der Maarel midway through the frame and compelled the Twente netminder into a brave cross capture near the break.
Rubin evidently opened the second half in a similar mood, as he curled a 30-yard try a few feet over the far corner four minutes out of intermission. Utrecht striker Sebastian Haller broke the deadlock mere minutes later, lifting the club eight points above the drop zone with but three matches to play. On the day, Rubin also completed 25 of 28 passes and earned a pair of dangerous free kicks.
Over in England's FA Cup semifinals, Aston Villa star Brad Guzan watched from the dugout as deputy Shay Given backstopped a 2-1 rally win over Liverpool at Wembley.
The US national team No. 1 – who was a back-up suddenly bumped in favor of regular starter Brad Friedel after leading the Villans to the 2010 League Cup final – now faces an anxious wait to see if the same dynamic will occur in the May 20 final against Arsenal.
Meanwhile, in the Premier League, both Friedel and DeAndre Yedlin went unused as Tottenham topped hosts Newcastle 2-1. The win boosted Spurs into the last Europa League slot, one point above Southampton.
Switching focus to the German second division, Bobby Wood returned from injury to help Erzgebirge Aue keep pace in the survival race with a 1-0 home triumph over FSV Frankfurt.
Playing up top in a flat 4-4-2 set, Wood's return largely involved him harassing the away defense for 73 minutes.
The Hawaii native twice had penalty gripes against FSV defender Joan Oumari ignored by the referee. On a weekend when each of the bottom four posted wins, Aue's kept them out of the basement and just one point shy of escaping the danger zone.
In Finland's Veikkausliiga, Freddy Adu enjoyed a decent debut as KuPS scored a 1-0 season-opening victory at FC KTP. The right winger came off in the 65th minute with the visitors already ahead through a first-half own goal.
Zarek Valentin remained a bench spectator as Bodø/Glimt remained winless in the cellar after a 4-2 Norwegian Tippeligaen defeat to visiting Odds BK. Next door in Sweden, Heath Pearce also was an unused sub as IFK Göteborg tentatively grabbed the summit with a 2-1 victory at BK Häcken.
