Saturday, November 29, 2008

Bradley Own Goal Helps Foals To 3-1 Loss

Just a week after scoring his first Bundesliga goal, American Michael Bradley scored another this week, just not for his team. So, when things were looking up for his new stint at Borussia Moenchengladbach, an own goal against Energie Cottbus didn't help. In the early going, a 3rd minute header by Bradley could have put the Foals ahead early if not for a good save by Cottbus keeper Gerhard Tremmel.

Cottbus put 'Gladbach under lots of pressure early and a 17th minute give-and-go put Ivica Iliev parallel to the goal where he lashed in a flat cross which glanced off Bradley and into the home team's goal for a 1-0 lead which the visitors carried into halftime.

"Gladbach got some good chances early in the second half on combinations from Bradley and Alex Baumjohann but could not equalize. In the 51st minute, Cottbus scored again for a 2-0 lead before 59th minute Baumjohann goal got the Foals back in the game, making it 2-1.

Bradley was substituted in the 70th minute by Tony Jantschke and later an 85th minute Cottbus goal sealed the win at 3-1. The loss put 'Gladbach into the relegation zone in 16th place with 11 points and a minus 14 goal differential. The Foals now have 23 matches left to score at least 38 total points, otherwise its a trip back to the Second Bundesliga.

Eleswhere in Europe, Freddy Adu watched from the bench as AS Monaco picked up a 1-0 win over Auxerre. Carlos Bocanegra and fourth place Stade Rennais take on fifth place Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow. A win for either side could mean taking over second place behind Olympique Lyon, provided Nice and Marseille stumble this weekend.

In Serie B, Danny Szetela went the distance in midfield for Brescia in their 2-0 win over Mantova in the Lombardia derby. The win bumped Brescia up to fifth place in Serie B with 26 points, just two behind leaders Sassuolo.

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