A look at how the African boys performed in separate leagues on the weekend

South African Steven Pienaar and Ivorian Cheick Tiote were red carded and Senegalese Demba Ba conceded an own goal in the English Premier League at the weekend.

Malian Modibo Maiga partly atoned for the African disappointments by scoring his first league goal as West Ham stung Southampton 4-1 in a clash of promoted clubs.

Cameroonians were on target in the French Ligue 1 with Vincent Aboubakar bagging a brace as Valenciennes hit Lorient for six and Jean Makoun struck the opener in a 2-1 win over defending champions Montpellier.

ENGLAND

DEMBA BA (Newcastle)

The Senegal striker scored an own goal that cost his side a victory over bitter rivals Sunderland as the Tyne-Wear derby ended 1-1 at the Stadium of Light. Ba had earlier set up Yohan Cabaye's third-minute opener for Newcastle but, with just four minutes left, he deflected John O'Shea's header into his own net.

CHEICK TIOTE (Newcastle)

The Ivory Coast midfielder was sent off in the first half at Sunderland. Tiote had just been awarded a free-kick for a foul by Jack Colback in the 25th minute, but instead of stopping he carried on running and crunched into Steven Fletcher with his foot high, prompting referee Martin Atkinson to show him the red card.

STEVEN PIENAAR (Everton)

The former South Africa midfielder was dismissed for two bookings in the second half of a 1-1 draw at QPR. Pienaar had already been shown a yellow card for a late lunge on Junior Hoilett and just nine minutes later he saw red after referee Jon Moss ruled his trip on Jose Bosingwa was worthy of another booking. Everton boss David Moyes described the dismissal as "ludicrous".

MODIBO MAIGA (West Ham)

The Mali striker scored his first Premier League goal to cap the Hammers' 4-1 thrashing of Southampton at Upton Park. Former Sochaux star Maiga, whose two other goals since his pre-season transfer came in the League Cup, had only been on the pitch five minutes when he beat three Southampton defenders with a fine run before curling his shot past Artur Boruc.

JOHN OBI MIKEL (Chelsea)

The Nigeria midfielder produced a typically powerful display as Chelsea maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 4-2 win at Tottenham. Mikel provided the solid base for Chelsea playmakers Juan Mata and Eden Hazard to shine and Chelsea were able to come from 2-1 down to win for the seventh time in eight league games this season.

FRANCE

VINCENT ABOUBAKAR (Valenciennes)

Cameroon international Aboubakar blasted two goals in a 6-1 swatting of Lorient. The 20-year-old former Coton Sport striker nabbed his brace in the final nine minutes and the win took the northern side into the top five in Ligue 1.

JEAN MAKOUN (Rennes)

The Cameroon defensive midfielder on loan from Aston Villa scored the opener to help Rennes plot a 2-1 win over defending champions Montpellier. Makoun headed in from a corner and was generally impressive as his side maintained their top-half Ligue 1 position.

GERMANY

ARISTIDE BANCE (Augsburg)

The Burkina Faso striker had a header cleared off the line as Augsburg were denied a second consecutive Bundesliga win after being held 0-0 at Nuremberg. Having earned their first victory of the season with a 3-1 win at home to Werder Bremen two weeks ago, Augsburg were denied three more points by some desperate Nuremberg defending from Bance's 67th-minute header.

KARIM MATMOUR (Eintracht Frankfurt)

The Algeria midfielder scored a fifth-minute header as second-place Frankfurt enjoyed their sixth win in eight games with a 3-1 victory at home to Hanover. Defender Sebastian Jung doubled Frankfurt's lead after 18 minutes before Hanover pulled a goal back through Mohammed Abdellaoue on 43 minutes. Eintracht netted their third on 82 minutes thanks to a header from Alexander Meier.

ITALY

KWADWO ASAMOAH (Juventus)

Asamoah started for Juve in the top of the table clash with Napoli and his running with the ball gave Napoli's defence food for thought all night. The Ghanaian was eventually replaced by Juan Caceres after a solid all-round performance as Juve stand-in coach Angelo Alessio sought to break the deadlock and within minutes the Uruguayan had given Juve the lead before the hosts ran out 2-0 winners.

KEVIN PRINCE BOATENG (AC Milan)

Boateng has been blowing hot and cold in recent weeks but was one of the most disappointing players on the field in Milan's 3-2 defeat at Lazio. He was eventually replaced at half-time by Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato, who made his season debut having been sidelined since the start of the campaign with a torn muscle. Milan are at Malaga in the Champions League Wednesday, and Boateng must be worried about his place.

SPAIN

WAKASO MUBARAK (Espanyol)

The Ghanaian midfielder played 70 minutes of his side's 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano -- their first of the season. The 22-year-old former Villarreal player had an important role in keeping his side in a game they won with an injury-time header from Christian Stuani.

MOHAMMED ABU (Rayo Vallecano)

Another Ghanaian, Abu, played 59 minutes on his debut for the opposition. On loan from Manchester City, he operates as a defensive midfielder for Rayo.

MICHAEL ESSIEN (Real Madrid)

The former Chelsea midfielder played in an unaccustomed left-back position and was one of the better performers as Real Madrid won 2-0 over Celta Vigo. The versatile Essien filled in as the reigning La Liga champions had three full-backs injured on international duty last week.