Martin Boyle hit a late equaliser for Hibernian 12 minutes after making his comeback from three months on the sidelines.
The three-cap Caltex Socceroos international came on as a substitute and pounced in stoppage time to secure Hibs a 2-2 Scottish Premier League draw against Livingston early on Thursday AEDT.
Featured image courtesy of Hibernian FC on Twitter
The 26-year-old, who scored twice on his first start for Australia in a 3-0 win against Lebanon in November 2018, had not played since suffering a knee injury against Elgin City in July.
Two goals in three minutes from Steven Lawless an Craig Sibbald had put the Lions in a comfortable position before half-time at Easter Road.
Scott Allan’s 62nd-minute penalty brought the home team within touching distance before manager Paul Heckingbottom sent Boyle on for Sweden international Melker Hallberg on 80 minutes.
Boyle used his electric pace to collected Lewis Stevenson’s pass, darting in behind the Livington defence to strike and clinch a share of the points for the ninth-placed side.
Elsewhere in Scotland, Tom Rogic was an unused sub as ladder-leaders Celtic strolled to a 2-0 win against basement dwellers St Mirren with Mohamed Elyounoussi and James Forrest scoring in the space of five minutes after half-time.
Leckie and Hertha in shootout glory
Matthew Leckie came on at half-time in extra-time and helped Hertha Berlin to a dramatic penalty shootout win following a 3-3 draw against Dynamo Dresden DFB Pokal Cup Second Round.
Hertha were denied victory in the last minute of regulation time when Patrick Ebert’s last-minute penalty cancelled out Ondrej Duda’s spot-kick five minutes earlier to make it 2-2.
Luka Stor put Dynamo 3-2 ahead two minutes after Caltex Socceroo Leckie had been introduced, but the home side kept themselves in contention thanks to Jordan Torunarigha’s goal deep into stoppage time of the 30 additional minutes.
With the scores locked at 3-3 after four penalties each, Marko Grujic hit the winning shot to send the Olympiastadion crowd into raptures after Kevin Ehlers could not convert for the visitors.
There was also good news for Berlin’s other side but not so much for Brandon Borrello, as Freiburg SC went down 3-1 at home against Union Berlin with the Aussie midfielder remaining on the bench.
Hrustic’s Groningen celebrate Dutch cup win
Ajdin Hrustic played through 90 minutes as FC Groningen advanced in the KNVB Cup with a 2-1 win on the road against Harkemase Boys.
Samir Memišević scored a penalty to put the Melbourne-born attacker’s side into a first-half lead and the Bosnia international doubled his tally two minutes after half-time.
Robert Stelpstra hit back shortly afterwards for the Derde Divisie side, who play in the second tier in the Netherlands, but the Green-White Army marched on into the second round.
Degenek’s Red Star keep riding high
Milos Degenek and Red Star Belgrade made it six Serbian SuperLiga wins in a row with a 3-1 triumph against FK TSC Backa Topola.
The table-toppers made the perfect start when Portuguese striker Tomane put Degenek’s side into a 12th-minute lead, and Srdjan Grabez’s own goal on the stroke of half-time made it two.
Degenek’s defence were breached when Jander put through his own net on 63 minutes but Veljko Simic’s 78th-minute effort wrapped up the result.
Crvena Zvedza’s 12th victory from 13 league matches keeps them four points clear of closest challengers FK Čukarički.
