AMSTERDAM – It was quite the profitable Thursday night for American Exports, with Brøndby defender Clarence Goodson netting his first SAS Liga goal to spark a 3-0 victory over Esbjerg.
Wearing the captain's armband in just his third game for the club, the former FC Dallas man opened the scoring with a corner kick header just before intermission. The win gained three points of ground on second-place Odense BK and a Champions League berth, leaving them just two shy with seven games remaining.
Next door in the Bundesliga, Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 fired the opening salvo of round 31 by tentatively reclaiming third place with a 3-1 triumph at Freiburg. The Reds are currently two points ahead of Bayern Munich, who visit Ricardo Clark's Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, in the race for the league's last Champions League invite.
Meanwhile, the home side saw German-born US hopeful defender Daniel Williams return from a long injury lay-off to work the final quarter hour.
In the Allsvenskan, Örebro ace Alejandro Bedoya continued his early season heroics with a dazzling game-winning assist in a 2-1 win at BK Häcken. Despite filling in at defensive midfield, the playmaker made the key play on 68 minutes with a spectacular right channel run-and-cross for Marcus Astvald to convert.
In England's Championship, Zak Whitbread went into the book during his full shift as Norwich City grabbed tentative hold of the second automatic promotion place with a 5-1 cruise at Ipswich Town. The Canaries are now two points ahead of Cardiff City and six behind leaders Queens Park Rangers, with those two set to play on Saturday.
