The focus of Canadians overseas continues it's ups and downs as a weekend goes by where some of the names we hope to see on the gamesheet are absent, however, a handful of players made positive impacts for their domestic clubs. A year ago, England and Germany had almost a dozen Canadians competing each week, now is is roughly half as many with few locked in for starting minutes each week.
Simeon Jackson has been on the fringe for several weeks as he watched from the bench as Norwich City defeated Manchester United 1-0 at Carrow Road. Olivier Occean was a last minute sub as Eintracht Frankfurt regain their winning ways over Marcel De Jong's struggling Augsburg in a 4-2 result.
In Norway
One of the unfortunate stories from 2011 into 2012 was following the tribulations of Tosaint Ricketts' domestic career. After a solid run in Finland with MyPa, he moved on to top contender in Romania, Politechna Timisoara. The Timisoara side was relegated due to their license being denied for the first division and Ricketts' spent the 2011/12 season in the second tier. Not getting paid was the final straw as he left the team in the spring and unable to land with a handful of sides through the summer, most notably 2.Bundesliga's Dynamo Dresden.
However, Lars Hirschfeld's role with Valerenga was able to land Ricketts' on his feet and he signed on with the Oslo-based club just over a month ago. Just recently getting first team appearances, in the last game of the season he finally got a good look and finished with his first goal for the team. Unfortunately it was in a 2-1 loss to Viking.
It was the final week in Norway's Tippeligaen and Valerenga finished in eighth. For two years now they have been unable to follow up on their impressive 2010 campaign that saw them finish second and qualify for the Europa League. It was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Molde who took the title in back to back seasons as he is emerging as one of the managers to look out for in Europe.
In Netherlands
PSV's high flying attack was once again in full force this past weekend as the gap between the top sides and the rest continued as the Eindoven side wiped out Ado Den Haag 6-1. Atiba Hutchinson continues to start at right back and had a hand in setting up the opening goal.
With the win, PSV established a one game advantage over FC Twente, who slipped for the second week in a row as they drew 1-1 with FC Utrecht. The last two years have seen PSV establish leads at the top of the table, but have been unable to hold on down the stretch. In both of those seasons, it was during the Europa League knockout round that their domestic form dipped, and the likes of Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord and Twente were able to surpass them.
However, this year, PSV are sitting last in their group and with a midweek game against DD, a poor result would all but eliminate them from the competition. As noted last week, this could be a blessing in disguise as a strong finish in the Eredivisie means a Champions League appearance, something that has eluded the club for five years.
Hutchinson sets up the opening goal for PSV in a 6-1 route of Ado Den Haag:
Ricketts opens the scoring for Valerenga in a 2-1 loss to end the season in Norway:
Milan Borjan makes a fine save (2:10) but can't keep a clean sheet as Sivasspor concedes a late penalty in a 1-1 draw.
Here's how the rest of Canada's Internationals did Across the Pond:
Issey Nakajima-Farran – AEK Larnaca (CPR – D1):
Sunday, November 18, subbed in at the 68th minute in a 2-1 victory over APOEL.
Mike Klukowski – APOEL (CPR – D1):
Sunday, November 18, did not play in a 2-1 loss to AEK Larnaca.
Simeon Jackson – Norwich City (ENG - D1):
Saturday, November 17, did not play in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
David Edgar – Burnley (ENG - D2):
Saturday, November 17, subbed in at the 77th minute in a 1-0 loss to Charlton Athletic.
Iain Hume – Doncaster Rovers (ENG – D3):
Saturday, November 17, played 87 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth.
Marcus Haber – Stevenage (ENG – D3):
Saturday, November 17, played 72 minutes in a 4-1 loss to Sheffield United.
Haidar Al-Shaibani – Nimes (FRA - D2):
Friday, September 16, did not play in a 2-1 loss to Dijon.
Olivier Occean – Eintracht Frankfurt (GER - D1):
Saturday, November 17, subbed in at the 89th minute in a 4-2 victory over Augsburg.
Rob Friend – Eintracht Frankfurt (GER - D1):
Saturday, November 17, did not play in a 4-2 victory over Augsburg.
Marcel De Jong – FC Augsburg (GER - D1):
Saturday, November 17, did not play in a 4-2 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Kevin McKenna – FC Koln (GER – B2):
Friday, September 16, played all 90 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 2-0 victory over 1860 Munich.
Randy Edwini-Bonsu – Eintracht Braunschweiger (GER - D2):
Saturday, November 17, subbed in at the 84th minute in a 3-0 victory over Ingolstadt.
Adam Straith – Saarbrucken (GER - D3):
Friday, November 16, did not play in a 3-0 loss to Heidenheim.
Atiba Hutchinson – PSV Eindoven (NED - D1):
Saturday, November 17, played all 90 minutes in a 6-1 victory over Ado Den Haag.
Lars Hirschfeld – Valerenga (NOR – D1):
Sunday, November 18, did not play in a 2-1 loss to Viking.
Tosaint Ricketts – Valerenga (NOR – D1):
Sunday, November 18, played all 90 minutes and scored A GOAL in a 2-1 loss to Viking.
Pedro Pacheco – Santa Clara (POR – D2):
Sunday, November 18, played in a 1-0 loss to Tourizense in the Taca de Portugal.
Milan Borjan – Sivasspor (TUR – D1):
Sunday, November 17, played all 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Genclerbirligi.
ACROSS THE BORDER
Dwayne De Rosario – DC United:
Sunday, November 18, subbed in at the 62nd minute in a 1-1 draw with Houston Dynamo.
Dejan Jakovic – DC United:
Sunday, November 18, played all 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Houston Dynamo.
Andre Hainault – Houston Dynamo:
Sunday, November 18, did not play in a 1-1 draw with DC United.
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