WINNERS:
Relegation-threatened German First Division club MAINZ 05 ended a 433-minute scoring drought and ended a nine-game winless streak (8 losses and one tie) with a 5-0 win over Freiburg. American striker CONOR CASEY missed a chance to increase the rout but set up the last goal. Mainz is in 14th place, seven points above the relegation zone.
TIM HOWARD made his second straight start for Manchester United and was hardly called upon in a 0-0 tie with Crystal Palace. Man U faces AC Milan on Tuesday in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 series. "Sound handling was all that was needed," wrote the Manchester Evening News of Howard's performance.
BLACKBURN, with BRAD FRIEDEL in goal, downed Everton, 1-0, to move seven points above the drop zone in the English Premier League.
With American KASEY KELLER in goal, BORUSSIA MOENCHENGLADBACH (13th place) downed Wolfsburg, 1-0, for its second straight shutout.
EDDIE LEWIS went the full 90 as PRESTON NORTH END downed QPR, 2-1. Preston is in fifth place of the English second-tier.
Twenty-year-old Texas product KENNY COOPER scored twice for Oldham in two minutes during a 3-0 win over Port Vale in the English Football League One (third tier) play. Oldham is in 19th place in the 24-team league. Cooper is on loan from Manchester United.
LOSERS:
BAYER LEVERKUSEN dropped two spots, to seventh place, after a 1-0 loss to Hamburg SV. Landon Donovan entered as a 78th minute sub with Bayer already behind.
In the English second-tier, READING, with American Marcus Hahnemann in goal and Bobby Convey on the bench, tied Queens Park Rangers to extend its league winless streak 11 games (seven ties, four losses). Still, Reading is in sixth-place, which would be good enough to qualify for the promotion playoffs. Convey has not seen action since January.