Aussies Abroad: Brosque on fire

Former Sydney FC striker Alex Brosque is certainly carving a niche for himself in the J-League after he scored his third goal in five games in Shimizu S-Pulse's 2-0 win over Grampus.

Former Sydney FC striker Alex Brosque is certainly carving a niche for himself in the J-League after he scored his third goal in five games in Shimizu S-Pulse's 2-0 win over Grampus.

Brosque, who scored the winner for the Socceroos in their FIFA World Cup qualifier against Thailand last month, is certainly stating his case for more regular work at international level and has now scored eight goals in Japan this season.

It will be interesting to see how Holger Osieck uses him in the double-header against Malaysia and Oman this weekend.

Meanwhile, Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici celebrated his call-up to the Socceroos squad with a man-of-the-match performance in the 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough in the nPower Championship.

The 26-year-old, who wasn't in the squad for last month's games against Thailand and Saudi Arabia, was inspirational in keeping Middlesbrough at bay.

In the same game, striker Scott McDonald played 80 minutes - and missed a golden opportunity - while defender Rhys Williams featured for entire 90 minutes for Middlesbrough, who are now second behind Southampton.

Tim Cahill proved his fitness before by playing a full match for Everton in their controversial 2-0 loss to arch rivals Liverpool.

Cahill shook off a shin injury and made a lively start in the Merseyside derby before the striker was forced to drop back to a midfield position following teammate Jack Rodwell's questionable 23rd minute send-off at Goodison Park.

Mark Schwarzer and Brett Holman are set to return to Australia this week with a spring in their step following big results over the weekend. Schwarzer's Fulham dished out a 6-0 caning of Barclays Premier League new boys QPR with Andy Johnson scoring a hat-trick.

The veteran shot-stopper has been in fine form over the past fortnight, having not conceded a goal in open play for four matches or more than six hours.

Holman's AZ Alkmaar secured a four-point lead at the top of the table in the Eerdivisie after eight matches with a 3-1 victory at Venlo.

Matt McKay had to cool his heels on the sidelines yet again after failing to make the Rangers squad for the 1-0 defeat of Hiberian in the Scottish Premier League.

Tommy Oar played a full game for FC Utrecht against RKC Waalwijk in the Eerdivisie while Nikita Rukavytsya was a second-half substitute for Hertha Berlin in their Bundesliga clash with FC Koln.

Socceroos captain Lucas Neill scored his first goal for United Arab Emirates club Al Jazira, netting the winner in their 1-0 Etisalat Cup win over Dubai FC.