By FRANCO PANIZO
Pachuca's season may not have gone as well as expected, but for Jose Torres, Herculez Gomez and Marco Vidal, that doesn't matter anymore as the club reached the Apertura playoffs.
Facing a must-win situation, Pachuca reached the Apertura Liguilla with a 2-1 road victory over Necaxa in the clubs' season finale. Torres started and went the distance in the match while Vidal came off the bench to help preserve the lead with a 35-minute performance. Gomez did not play.
Another trio of Americans also enjoyed success this week in the form of goals. Stuart Holden (who also added an assist) netted his first Premier League goal, the winner in Bolton Wanderers' 3-2 victory over Wolves. Michael Bradley scored the second in Borrussia Moenchengladbach's 4-0 rout of FC Cologne. Benny Feilhaber hit a game-winning penalty kick in stoppage time in AGF Aarhus' 1-0 win against Viborg.
Here is how the Americans Abroad did this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and and made three saves in Everton's 2-1 loss vs. Arsenal on Sunday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 0-0 draw vs. Newcastle United on Saturday.
- Eddie Johnson came off the bench and played 1 minute for Fulham.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Aston Villa's 2-2 draw vs. Manchester United on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Eric Lichaj came off the bench and played 2 minutes for Aston Villa.
- Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 3-2 loss vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Jonathan Spector dressed but did not play in West Ham United's 0-0 draw vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden started, played 90 minutes, had an ASSIST and scored a GOAL in Bolton Wanderers' 3-2 win vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Conor Doyle came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Derby County's 2-0 loss vs. Leicester City on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 3-3 draw vs. Reading on Saturday. He is recovering from a calf injury.
LEAGUE ONE
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 3-2 win vs. Southampton on Saturday.
- Mike Grella started and played 90 minutes for Carlisle United.
- Anton Peterlin did not dress in Plymouth Argyle's 1-0 loss vs. Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.
- Jemal Johnson dressed but did not play in Milton Keynes Dons' 2-0 win vs. Brentford on Saturday.
Scotland
- Maurice Edu did not dress in Rangers' 2-0 win vs. Aberdeen on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 1-0 win vs. St Mirren on Sunday.
Spain
- Jozy Altidore dressed but did not play in Villarreal's 3-1 loss vs. Barcelona on Saturday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 1-0 win vs. Inter Milan on Sunday.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Steve Cherundolo started, played 68 minutes and received two yellow cards in Hannover 96's 1-0 win vs. Mainz on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley dressed but did not play for Hannover 96.
- Michael Bradley started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 4-0 win vs. FC Cologne on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 63 minutes in Schalke 04's 2-2 draw vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
- Ricardo Clark dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt's 0-0 draw vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday.
- Daniel Williams dressed but did not play in SC Freiburg's 1-0 win vs. TSG Hoffenheim on Sunday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Kenny Cooper did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 0-0 draw vs. Energie Cottbus on Sunday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- David Yeldell started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in MSV Duisburg's 2-2 draw vs. Alemania Aachen on Sunday.
- Luis Robles started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Karlsruhe's 1-1 draw vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Friday.
- Amaechi Igwe did not dress in FC Ingolstadt 04's 2-1 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
France
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra and St Etienne's match vs. Valenciennes on Saturday was postponed.
- Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 1-1 draw vs. Brest on Saturday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 3-1 win vs. Le Mans on Friday.
Greece
- Freddy Adu and Aris Salonika play Iraklis on Monday.
Belgium
- Sacha Kljestan came off the bench, played 1 minute and received a yellow card in RSC Anderlecht's 2-1 win vs. Gent on Sunday.
Denmark
SUPERLIGA
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 2-1 win vs. Lyngby on Sunday.
- Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 2-2 draw vs. Midtjylland on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Chris Rolfe did not dress for Aalborg BK. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
VIASAT DIVISION
- Benny Feilhaber started, played 90 minutes and scored a penalty kick GOAL in AGF Aarhus's 1-0 win vs. Viborg on Sunday. You can see the goal here.
Norway
- Steve Clark dressed but did not play Honefoss BK's 2-1 extra time win vs. Ranheim in the promotion/relegation playoff on Sunday.
Mexico
- Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 2-1 win vs. Necaxa on Friday.
- Herculez Gomez dressed but did not play for Pachuca.
- Marco Vidal came off the bench, played 35 minutes and received a yellow card for Pachuca.
- Edgar Castillo dressed but did not play in San Luis' 1-0 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Sammy Ochoa came off the bench and played 7 minutes in Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G.'s 1-0 loss vs. Santos on Saturday.
- Sonny Guadarrama started and played 72 minutes in Atlante's 1-1 draw vs. Toluca on Sunday.
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How do you see Torres, Vidal, Gomez and Pachuca faring in the LIguilla? How much confidence do you think Holden is playing with right now? Do you think Bradley should get a new goal celebration? Impressed by Feilhaber's clutch goal?
Share your thoughts below.
