AMSTERDAM – Tim Howard's star came back down to Earth on Sunday, with a pair of errors from the Everton netminder spelling doom in a galling 3-2 Premier League loss to previously winless Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.
Fresh off tying a Europa League record for saves in a match on Thursday, Howard failed to log a single stop against the Eagles. His first mistake came on the half hour, as the American tripped up James McCarthur in the box, allowing Palace skipper Mile Jedinak to cancel an early Romelu Lukaku opener from the spot.
The second Howard transgression occurred nine minutes after the break, as Fraizer Campbell capitalized on the netminder's misplay of a cross to put the visitors ahead to stay. Now winless in four EPL games at home, the Toffees dropped to 14th place.
Turning to the Bundesliga, Fabian Johnson worked the left side of midfield as Borussia Mönchengladbach battled main derby rivals FC Cologne to a 0-0 away draw. The US handyman put in a decent if unspectacular shift to help the ninth-place Foals stay unbeaten through four rounds.
A border hop away in the Eredivisie, Rubio Rubin watched from the home dugout as FC Utrecht continued their strong start to the season with a 1-0 home defeat of FC Groningen. The Red and White Army charged into seventh place thanks to their third victory in five.
