The first leg of the playoff round for the various levels of European competition saw several Americans in action across the continent, with long-shot USMNT hopeful Erik Palmer-Brown netting to give Panathinaikos an edge, and former Hermann Trophy winner Dante Polvara’s goal triggering come-back by Aberdeen.
Champions League
Celtic 0 – 0 Kairat Almaty
Cameron Carter-Vickers earned the start for Celtic, while Auston Trusty helped to close out the game as a late sub, with the Hoops settling for a disappointing scoreless home draw in their first leg against Kazakhstan team Kairat Almaty.
In a game which has added to the already vocal expressions of consternation amongst the fan base, Celtic showed little impetus in their home stadium against a team against which they were considered heavy favorites. While utterly dominating the stat sheet with 75% of possession, they only put three shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.
With fans already frustrated with a seeming lack of back-room ambition in the summer transfer window despite having funds to blow, the disappointing result led to chants against the team’s board – perhaps justified if they are forced to miss out on the lucrative League Phase, and instead drop down to the Europa League.
For his part, Carter-Vickers was one of the game’s top performers, with a gaudy 110 passes completed in 115 attempts, seven clearances, six recoveries and eight out 13 duels won. The team will hope for a similarly strong defensive performance from their stalwart and the rest of the backline on Thursday in Kazakhstan’s former capital city, albeit with a bit help from their attack.
In the meantime, they face league rivals Livingston on Saturday, as they try to maintain a perfect record in Scottish Premiership play.
Europa League
Panathinaikos 2 – 1 Samsunspor
Erik Palmer-Brown was the hero for Panathinaikos on Thursday evening, netting the winning goal for his team to help them take a narrow advantage over Samsunspor heading into next week’s away leg in Turkey.
In addition to his score, the American performed well in central defense, completing 87% of his 68 passing attempts, making two clearances, intercepting once, recovering the ball seven times and winning two out of his five duels.
Logi Tomasson put the guests ahead six minutes into the second half, rising high in front of the near post on a corner from Emre Kilinc, to send a glancing header into the near side of goal.
Giorgos Kyriakopoulos pulled the hosts even in the 66th minute to cap off a period of sustained pressure; Tete headed on a corner to the left side of the area, where Giorgos Kyriakopoulos ran onto the ball with no nearby opposition, sending his half-volley into the far side.
With 16 minutes remaining in regulation, the American edged his team ahead with the third goal of the game to come from a corner situation. Tete was once again the instigator, delivering an outswinging corner from the left towards the far side of goal, which the Palmer-Brown sent back to the other side of the keeper with a looping header.
He was forced into a yellow card several minutes later, however this will have no impact on his ability to play in Thursday’s decisive away leg in the coastal city of Samsun.
Aberdeen 2 – 2 FCSB
Dante Polvara continued his return to Aberdeen’s spotlight, triggering a late come-back from a two-goal deficit on Thursday to give his team hope off reaching the League Phase.
By the time the American entered the field just before the hour, his team was already down by a pair, thanks to a 31st-minute breakaway goal by Daniel Birligea, and another by Darius Olaru against the run of play in the 47th.
In between their two scores, FCSB did leave themselves vulnerable when Juri Cisotti was shown a straight red for a blatantly reckless tackle from behind on Aberdeen midfielder Nicolas Milanovic. Polvara eventually replaced the Australian just before the hour, and almost immediately had the desired impact.
Receiving a short lay-off from Topi Keskinen just to the left of the spot with his back to goal, the American made a nice spin to his right to create space around his marking defender, and blasted a shot which ricocheted off the left upright and took a nearly lateral path across goal, barely crossing the line before rattling the netting on the far side.
Then on the stroke of full-time, Ester Sikler completed the come-back, rising above the fray to head in a corner to the center of goal.
Aberdeen were given the weekend off by their FA, as their visit to Dundee United was postponed. They will rest up for the away leg on Thursday night in Bucharest.
Europa Conference League
Leon Flach played the full 90 minutes for Polish team Jagiellonia Białystok on Thursday on the left side of midfield, as a 3-0 win in the home leg against Albanians Dinamo City put the team in pole position to reach the League Phase. Fellow American Aziel Jackson was a late sub for the hosts. They visit Elbasan, Albania for the second leg on Thursday.
Gavin Beavers was on Brøndby’s bench as backup keeper on Thursday night for their scoreless draw at Strasbourg. Justin Che was not in uniform, amidst reports that he is leaving the team for a destination in either the Netherlands or Austria. Any outright win for Brøndby in the home leg on Thursday will see them through to the League Phase
Chris Richards was rested for the duration of Crystal Palace’s narrow 1-0 home draw over Fredrikstad FK on Thursday. The team will try to clinch a spot in the League Phase on Thursday in the return leg in Norway, although the American is likely to be kept out of the starting XI once again to stay fresh for their Premier League campaign.
Konrad de la Fuente was one again left off of Lausanne’s gameday roster on Thursday night for their 1-1 home draw against Beşiktaş. Swiss-American defender Bryan Okoh scored Lausanne’s lone goal of the game and was also the top rated player. The team will visit the Turkish team on Thursday as they try earn their spot in the League Phase.
With an eye towards their Bundesliga opener against Cologne on Sunday, Mainz head coach Bo Henriksen gave midfielder Lennard Maloney a rest on Thursday for the team’s 2-1 road loss at Rosenborg. They will attempt to overcome the deficit at home in next week’s second leg.
