Conor O’Brien’s brace was the highlight of an otherwise lamentable Sunday for Yanks plying their trade in Europe.
O’Brien paced SønderjyskE in their 4-0 thumping of struggling Lyngby, scoring the opener on 41 minutes and the third in the 73rd. The 23-year-old attacker notched his first multi-goal game for the Light Blues, who leapfrogged Brøndby and moved to eighth in the table, 12 points clear of the drop.
It wasn’t so pretty elsewhere. Fabian Johnson and Daniel Williams each went 90 – Johnson at left back, Williams at defensive midfield – in TSG Hoffenheim’s scoreless draw at SC Freiburg. The draw leaves Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga’s mid-table no-man’s land, four points and three spots out of a Europa league berth with three games to play.
Johnson had a decent look late, but saw his cutback effort blocked out for a corner.
In Belgium, Mix Diskerud watched from the bench as Gent lost 1-0 to surging Club Brugge. The Buffalos sit fourth in the playoff table, eight points behind leaders Anderlecht.
It was on the other side of the English Channel where the real pain was felt, however. Brad Friedel had a front-row seat as he watched Tottenham Hotspur crash out of the FA Cup semis in ignominious fashion, suffering a 5-1 throttling by London neighbors Chelsea.
Brad Guzan was also a spectator on the day, watching his Aston Villa side get outclassed front-to-back at Old Trafford in a 4-0 loss to Manchester United. Eric Lichaj went the full 90 for the Villans, and had a share of responsibility on Danny Welbeck’s 43rd minute icer. The loss leaves the Birmingham side six points above the drop with five to play.
