AMSTERDAM – Tim Howard was strong in goal as Everton battled city rivals Liverpool to a 1-1 derby draw at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.
The US netminder logged three saves and a cross claim to run his league unbeaten streak to four league games. Howard's first call to duty came after just four minutes, when he had to rush out on the slide to keep James Milner from walking in alone from the left channel.
Howard registered his first stop with a tidy kick save on Milner midway through the opening frame. Eighteen minutes from time, he denied Philippe Coutinho's drive to keep the game tied. The result dropped Everton to sixth place, five points off the top.
One flight down in the Championship, Tim Ream went the distance in the heart of defense as Fulham settled for a 2-2 derby draw at Charlton.
The St. Louis native passed out of the back well while adding five clearances, three interceptions and a doorstep shot block at the defensive end. Fulham led by two with 20 minutes to go, but conceded from a corner kick and then on a deep cross deep into stoppage time to drop points. Despite the collapse, the Cottagers rose to 13th place.
Switching to the German second flight, Bobby Wood came alive after the break, but still came up empty as Union Berlin fell 2-1 at Braunschweig.
Three minutes into the second frame, he shoved a close range effort inches over the bar at the end of a restart sequence. After drawing a yellow card, Wood then buzzed the bar from a bit further out in the 55th minute. Despite plenty of good pressure from the Iron Ones, it was the home side that would find the late decider. Because of that, the capital crew slipped to 13th place.
Over in Sweden's Allsvenskan, Matt Pyzdrowski stopped a first-half spot kick on the way to notching his first Helsingborg victory, a 2-1 home decision over Europa League chasers Elfsborg that snapped the Reds' six-game win drought.
The best of Pyzdrowski's five stops came when he turned away a Viktor Claesson shortly after the 20-minute mark passed. A sorely-needed stoppage time winner pushed Helsingborg up a rung to eighth.
Up in Norway Molde FK netminder Ethan Horvath continued his stingy Aker Stadion form on Sunday night, backstopping the Tippeligaen holders to a 4-0 victory over hapless guests Tromso.
The US Olympic squad candidate notched a pair of saves and four cross captures to post his third shutout in the last four league home games. The win kept Molde in seventh place.
Meanwhile, A.J. Soares and Viking kept pace in the Europa League race by topping guests Lillestrøm 1-0. The Dark Blues started their first win streak since August to stay two points behind third place Stromsgodset, who hold the last ticket to Europe with four rounds to play.