With one week left in the German season, Gregg Berhalter's club, Energie Cottbus, and Tony Sanneh's club, Nuremberg, are set to drop to the Second Division next season. On Saturday, Cottbus defeated Nuremberg, with Berhalter playing the whole match and Sanneh out with a back injury.
Cory Gibbs is experiencing relegation for the second time in two seasons. His FC St. Pauli, which dropped to the Second Division after the 2001-02 season, is headed to the Third Division (Regionalliga).
ENGLAND
* Marcus Hahnemann (Reading, D1) vs. Wolverhampton, 0-1. Started: 90 minutes. This loss Wednesday left the playoff semifinal aggregate 3-1 in favor of Wolverhampton, ending Reading's Premier League dreams.
Wolverhampton will face Sheffield United for a Premier League berth.
GERMANY
* Gregg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus, D1) vs. Nuremberg, 2-1. Started: 90 minutes. Both Cottbus and Nuremberg will be relegated to the Second Division next season.
Kicker Magazine rating (1=best; 6=worst): 3.5.
* Conor Casey (Hannover 96, D1) vs. Borussia Monchengladbach, 2-2. DNP.
* Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96, D1) vs. Borussia Monchengladbach, 2-2. Started: 90 minutes. Hannover, in 13th place, is safely in the Bundesliga again next season.
Kicker Magazine rating (1=best; 6=worst): 4.5.
* Tony Sanneh (Nuremberg, D1) at Energie Cottbus, 1-2. DNP – back injury. Both Cottbus and Nuremberg will be relegated to the Second Division next season.
* Mike Duhaney (Mainz, D2) vs. Luebeck, 5-1. DNP.
* Cory Gibbs (St. Pauli, D2) vs. Duisberg, 4-0. Started: 90 minutes.
With one game left, St. Pauli has no chance of pulling out of the relegation and will be dropping to the Third Division. Last season — Gibbs' first — St. Pauli fell from the First Division to the Second Division.
Kicker Magazine rating (1=best; 6=worst): 3.5.
* Grover Gibson (Mainz, D2) vs. Luebeck, 5-1. DNP.
* Jacob Thomas (Braunschweig, D2) at Union Berlin, 0-1. DNP.
FRANCE
Oguchi Onyewu (Metz, D2) at Amiens, 0-1. DNP.
NETHERLANDS
* John O'Brien (Ajax, D1) vs. De Graafschap, 7-1. DNP. This win pulled Ajax within three points of first-place PSV Eindhoven, which lost to Feyenoord Saturday. Feyenoord sits just one point behind Ajax. Two games remain for each team (opponents' current standing in parentheses):
Sunday, May 25
PSV vs. Utrecht (9th)
Ajax at Twente Enschede (11th)
Feyenoord at Willem II (10th)
Thursday, May 29
PSV at FC Groningen (14th)
Ajax vs. Heerenveen (8th)
Feyenoord vs. Roda JC (4th)
BELGIUM
* Alex Yi (Antwerp, D1) vs. FC Malines, 2-0. DNP.
CHILE
* Jonny Walker (Colo Colo, D1) vs. San Felipe, 4-2. Started: 90 minutes. This victory moved Colo Colo into a tie for first place in Group 4 behind Walker's former club, Universidad Catolica, which holds a slight edge in goal differential. The win did not come easy, as Colo Colo defender Miguel Riffo received a red card in the 67th minute with the score tied, 2-2. Juan Pablo Ubeda and Marcelo Espina, however, tallied late goals to lift Colo Colo. The Apertura regular season concludes this weekend as Colo Colo hosts Cobresal. The playoffs begin next Wednesday.
DENMARK
* Wade Barrett (Aarhus, D1) vs. Silkeborg IF, 2-1. Entered as a substitute: 86th minute.
NORWAY
* Robbie Russell (Sogndal, D1) at Rosenborg, 1-3. Started: 90 minutes.