WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 27, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Fulham were the story in England, coming from two goals down to beat Manchester City. Meanwhile, in Germany Heath Pearce's Hansa Rostock gave up a late goal and are now second from bottom in the Bundesliga, while Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege lose for the first time this season a week after winning the championship.
ENGLAND
Premier League
Portsmouth 0 - Blackburn Rovers 1
Brad Friedel pitches the shutout and likely ends Portsmouth's shot at 5th-place with a 74th minute goal the difference on Sunday. "In fairness I don't think Portsmouth created too many opportunities against us, Brad had very little to do," said manager Mark Hughes. Though Blackburn have no shot at 5th, they could finish as high as 6th. The result puts them 8th on goal differential over Manchester City, two behind Portsmouth in 7th.
Everton 2 - Aston Villa 2
Given the opportunity to all but close out 5th place against sixth-place Villa, the clubs traded goals late to end with a draw. Tim Howard's Everton now leads by three points with two games left, and can't finish any higher than their current 5th and any lower than 7th. Everton manager David Moyes: "I think that it was probably a fair result. There were two teams going for it and Villa are a very good side. Being three points ahead of Villa with two games to go is a great position for us to be in."
Manchester City 2 - Fulham 3
2-0 down and with their season likely ending in relegation, Fulham left it late but grabbed three goals and the win. Kasey Keller, Clint Dempsey, and Brian McBride started, with McBride subbed out in the 71st. "It looked bleak at half-time, and we had a mountain to climb," manager Roy Hodgson said…. "At 0-2 I honestly thought we weren't out of it. I never lost hope, but to win it was extraordinary. We've given ourselves a chance now."
Unfortunately for Fulham, this ended up being about keeping pace, with the three teams in front of them drawing their games including Birmingham City getting a point against Liverpool. That leaves Fulham second from bottom, three points from safety. Carlos Bocanegra was on the bench for Fulham. Eddie Johnson wasn't in the squad.
Wigan 0 - Reading 0
With two games to play, Reading are a point out of the relegation zone in 17th, and relied on Marcus Hahnemann to keep them there with a game changing save. "I'm happy to have got a point and I would have taken that before kick-off," said manager Steve Coppell. "We didn't play for a point because we are not good enough to adjust our game to the circumstances." Bobby Convey wasn't in the squad for Reading.
Jonathan Spector wasn't in the squad for West Ham's 2-2 draw with Newcastle. Johann Smith missed Bolton's 1-1 draw with Spurs, a result that kept them 16th on goal differential over Reading.
The Championship
Watford 0 - Scunthorpe 1
Jay DeMerit returned to the starting eleven, with Watford's slide still leaving them 5th with a game left to play. A draw next week could potentially cost them two slots and leave them out of the playoffs.
Matt Pickens missed QPR's 3-0 loss to Norwich, and Cory Gibbs remains unavailable for Charlton, 3-0 losers to Barnsley. Frankie Simek is also unavailable for Sheffield Wednesday, winning 3-1 over Leicester City to go two points clear of the relegation zone.
Zak Whitbread remains unavailable for Millwall, 3-0 winners against Carlisle. The result means another season of League One soccer with a game left in the season.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
Hannover 96 2 - Hertha Berlin 2
Steve Cherundolo got the start in a game that Hannover dominated early with goals in the 19th and 26th minutes. Hertha got a goal back from the penalty spot in the 55th and ended the scoring eleven minutes later. The draw puts Hannover 9th and Hertha Berlin 12th, with seven points separating them. For Hertha, that means a likely mid-table finish with four games left to play, while Hannover still has a chance to make a late run for a European place. Brian Arguez wasn't in the squad for Hertha Berlin.
Energie Cottbus 2 - Hansa Rostock 1
Heath Pearce was a 39th minute substitute in a game Hansa Rostock led from the 16th minute until Energie Cottbus got a late equalizer in the 81st. Rostock was not able to hold on, giving up the winner in injury time. The loss leaves Hansa Rostock second from bottom on goal differential, two points from safety.
Preston Zimmerman wasn't in the squad for Hamburg's 1-0 loss to Schalke. Kamani Hill missed VfL Wolfsburg's 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.
Bundesliga 2
Vfl Osnabruck 1 - FSV Mainz 2
Neven Subotnic got the start with the win putting third-place Mainz within a point of second-place Hoffenheim and four points back from Borussia Moenchengladbach at the top of the table with four games to go. Joey Enochs was not in the squad for Osnabruck.
Borussia Moenchengladbach 2 - TSV 1860 Munich 2
Josh Wolff got the start and played 58 minutes as league leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach got a 48th minute equalizer to split the points. Gregg Berhalter was on the bench for 1860 Munich.
Josh Grenier missed Koblenz's 3-2 loss to last place SC Paderborn.
AUSTRIA
Bundesliga
SCR Altach 1 - Red Bull Salzburg 1
Nate Jaqua got the start with SCR Altach ending the season here they've been for weeks, 8th place in the Austrian T-Mobile Bundesliga. Rapid Vienna are champions. FC Wacker Innsbruck are relegated.
BELGIUM
Jupiler League
Charleroi 2 - Standard Liege 1
A week after winning the Jupiler League, Standard Liege's undefeated season came to an end. Oguchi Onyewu played the full 90.
Did Not Play: Freddy Adu missed Benfica's 2-0 win over Belenense. Andrew Jacobson remains unavailable due to injury for FC Lorient, missing their 1-1 draw with Sochaux. Danny Szetela missed Brescia's 0-0 draw with Treviso.
