Midfielder Cole Grossman worked another strong midfield shift as Bob Bradley's Stabæk moved up to second place in the Norwegian Tippeligaen courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Rhett Bernstein and guests Mjøndalen.
Bernstein also enjoyed a solid outing, which included a saving interception of a Grossman slip pass to the area in the 57th minute. The Blue Ones have now won four straight league matches by shutout, and five in a row when counting NM Cupen play. Mjøndalen, however, slipped into the bottom three as their winless slide stretched to five games in league play.
Around the horn, Zarek Valentin went all 90, but teammate Danny Cruz was forced off after taking a kick to the face early in Bodø/Glimt's 2-0 defeat at Aalesund FK.
The on-loan Philadelphia Union winger – who was making his first start in Norway – was stretchered off just after 15 minutes, but wasn’t officially subbed off until the 23rd. That removal came mere seconds after a bad Valentin giveaway in the Glimt end allowed Aalesund to start the scoring.
The former US Under-20 right back would eventually deliver a handful of dangerous second half crosses, but none were met with the right finish as the visitors remained in the league cellar with just a single point through six matches.
Alex DeJohn made a late cameo to help IK Start close out a 3-1 home win over Tromsø. The win moved the Kristiansand club to 2-2-2, pushing them to seventh in the league.
In nearby Finland, former New England Revolution defender Stephen McCarthy made his first KuPS start and new teammate Freddy Adu played 62 fairly quiet minutes on left wing as the visitors rallied late for a respectable 1-1 away draw against Brian Span and IFK Mariehamn.
While Adu was largely starved for touches in the KuPS attack, his opposite Span went the distance for the home side. The former FC Dallas player helped set up a golden chance that would’ve been a late insurance tally. The missed sitter came back to cost Mariehamn, which allowed KuPS to equalize in the 88th. The result kept both sides unbeaten and in the top-five on the young Veikkausliiga season.
