The English Championship heated up over the weekend, with Simeon Jackson’s Norwich City moving into second place on the table by virtue of a 3-1 win over Bristol City. Jackson started and played 80 minutes for the Canaries.
At the bottom of the table, struggling Preston North End dropped a 2-1 decision to Leeds United, with Iain Hume providing the only goal for PNE in the 63rd minute.
Atiba Hutchinson and PSV Eindhoven are clinging to the top spot in the Netherlands as a disappointing 2-2 draw to NEC allowed second-place FC Twente to gain ground over the weekend.
Hutchinson logged his usual 90 minutes in the midfield for PSV, who now sport a one-point lead in the Eredivisie. It doesn’t get any easier this week, though, as the side travels to Glasgow, Scotland, to take on Rangers in a do-or-die Europa League Round of 16 match on Thursday. The teams drew 0-0 in the first leg last week.
Down in Turkey, Josh Simpson returned to Manisaspor’s starting lineup on Friday after serving a suspension the previous week. Simpson and Manisaspor held visiting Besiktas to a 0-0 draw, missing the chance to leap frog their opponents in the standings.
The other Canadian in Turkey, Mike Klukowski, also saw 90 minutes of action for his club MKE Ankaragucu in a 3-2 victory over visiting Galatasaray.
Over in Germany, Kevin McKenna continues to rehab an injury and missed 1. FC Köln’s 4-0 drubbing of Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga.
Down a division, Marcel de Jong started and picked up a late yellow card as his club FC Augsburg drew 0-0 at Union Berlin.
Rob Friend got into the game in the 87th minute for Hertha BSC’s 2-0 victory over Greuther Fürth. Hertha BSC and FC Augsburg sit first and second in the 2. Bundesliga, with four points separating the two teams.
In Serbian SuperLiga play, goalkeeper Milan Borjan earned a shutout for FK Rad in a 0-0 draw with FK Sloboda Point Sevojno. It was Borjan and FK Rad’s third consecutive clean sheet.
Further northwest, Tomasz Radzinski went the distance and picked up an 87th minute yellow card as his team Lierse managed a 1-1 draw versus Lokeren in the Belgian league.
In Switzerland, Daniel Imhof and FC St. Gallen fell 2-0 to Young Boys. Imhof went 90 minutes.
In Denmark, Issey Nakajima-Farran put in an hour of work for AC Horsens in a 2-1 loss to Silkeborg.
Riley O’Neill played the full match for MyPa in a 3-0 victory over Haka in the Finnish League Cup.
Finally, Tosaint Ricketts played the final 15 minutes for Politehnica Timosoara in a 4-0 rout of Universitatea Craiova in the Romanian Liga 1.
