No one could ever accuse Simeon Jackson of not showing up for the big occasions.
The 24-year-old striker (above) has made a name for himself in England by scoring clutch goals at all levels of the Football League pyramid, and this past Saturday he added another one to the list by notching an 85th-minute winner for Norwich City in the FA Cup’s fourth round.
With the match against fellow Premier League side West Brom knotted at 1-1, Jackson subbed in at the 65th minute as the Canaries looked for the go-ahead goal. Twenty minutes later, his defensive pressure paid off, forcing a West Brom player to cough the ball up just outside the 18-yard box. The Norwich striker walked in alone and calmly slotted the ball inside the far post, sealing a place in the next round vs. Leicester City.
For Jackson, the goal was his fourth in the last seven appearances, further solidifying his spot as “super sub” for the Canaries.
In the nPower Championship, David Edgar played his customary 90 minutes at the back for Burnley in a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, a win that sees the Clarets to within three points of fourth place in the league table.
Burnley have found stability in a consistent roster that includes the big Canadian defender, and a push for promotion is not out of the question.
Up in Scotland’s Premier League, forward Marcus Haber went 68 minutes in a losing effort as his side St. Johnstone fell 3-2 at Motherwell. The Saints are one of two clubs tied for fourth – directly behind Motherwell on the SPL table – so the loss couldn’t have come at a worse time for Haber’s club.
Meanwhile over in Germany, left back Marcel de Jong struck for a rare goal in FC Augsburg’s 2-2 draw with visiting FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday. At the five-minute mark, de Jong opened the scoring off a set piece, smashing home a pass off a free kick from 25 yards out.
The draw prevented Augburg from passing Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga standings, with the sides sitting second and third from the bottom, respectively.
Elsewhere in Germany’s top tier, the walls caved in over the weekend for Kevin McKenna’s FC Cologne, who led Schalke 1-0 until the hour mark, only to allow four unanswered goals in the final 30 minutes of play. McKenna started and played 69 minutes, and after his substitution, Köln allowed three of Schalke’s four goals on the day.
Next door in the Netherlands, Atiba Hutchinson dressed but remained on the bench for PSV Eindhoven’s 3-1 win over Vitesse Arnhem last Friday. Hutchinson is being brought back slowly from knee surgery by PSV, who lead the Eredivisie and can take their time with the Canadian midfielder’s rehab.
In the Dutch second division, midfielder Alex Marello saw action for Veendam, playing the final 21 minutes of a 2-0 loss to FC Eindhoven. Veendam are second-last in the Eerste Divisie after 20 matches played.
Over in Turkey, Mike Klukowski played the full 90 for 10-man Manisaspor, who dropped a 2-1 decision at Karabükspor. The once high-flying Manisaspor have dropped dramatically in recent weeks, and the club could be fighting relegation from the Süper Lig if their form doesn’t improve.
