AMSTERDAM – Cole Grossman put on another fine midfield display as Bob Bradley's Stabæk regained second place in the Tippeligaen with a confident 2-0 victory over derby visitors Vålerenga.
Grossman picked up where he left off in last weekend's Man of the Match showing, controlling midfield throughout to help the Blue Ones horde 58 percent of possession and out-shoot their guests by a 19-4 margin. The former Real Salt Lake man nearly doubled an early Stabæk lead on a 34th minute counterattack, but had his low drive cruelly denied by the Vålerenga ‘keeper.
The win over their suburban Oslo rivals snapped a three-game winless run for Bradley's boys, who tentatively pulled to within four points of league leaders Rosenborg.
Over in Germany's second flight, Freiburg midfielder Caleb Stanko dressed for the senior side for the first time in nearly 18 months as the visitors grabbed first place with a 1-0 triumph at 1860 Munich. However, the former US Under-20 skipper did not see the field in his return from a serious knee injury.
