Aussies Abroad: Rogic assists put Celtic into Cup Final, Goodwin opens Abha account in style
Craig Goodwin got off the mark for Abha Club with an inch-perfect screamer in the Saudi top flight while Tom Rogic collected another two assists for Celtic as they progressed to the Scottish Cup Final.
Goodwin had a night to remember as he opened his account for Saudi Pro League outfit Abha Club as they held on to register a 3-2 victory against Al-Ettifaq.
Al-Ettifaq went down to 10 men after one of their players was handed a red card after only just 11 minutes.
Abha made the extra man count with fellow import Carlos Strandberg opening the scoring before Goodwin’s curling effort from the top right of the 18-yard area doubled his side’s lead.
Abha also went down to 10 men in the 84th minute but they were still able to hold on for the three points with the Socceroos winger substituted in the final minute of regulation time.
Elsewhere, Mitch Duke’s Al-Taawoun went down 1-0 to Al Qadasiya in their league fixture on Friday morning.
The deciding goal just before the 80th minute mark condemned Duke’s side to their first defeat of the season.
In the Scottish Cup, Tom Rogic produced another two assists for Celtic as they claimed a 2-0 win against Aberdeen in their semi-final showdown.
Rogic teed up Ryan Christie for his side’s opener in the 18th minute before his looping cross picked out Mohamed Elyounoussi at the back post who managed to double their advantage five minutes later.
The Aussie midfielder is now set to feature against Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final.
Martin Boyle put in a full shift for Hibernian as they were knocked out against Hearts in their semi-final affair on Sunday morning.
The score was locked at one-a-piece at full time before a Hearts penalty in the 111th minute sealed Hibs’ fate as they exited the tournament.
In the English Championship, Harry Souttar played the full game in the heart of defence for Stoke City as they secured a 1-0 win at home to Rotherham on Sunday morning.
The Potters have four clean sheets to their name after that encounter and sit in a comfortable 8th position.
Danny Vukovic kept his second cleansheet of the season as his Genk ran out 4-0 winners against Eupen in the Belgian Pro League on Saturday morning.
The three points sees Genk’s rich run of form continue into November with the club unbeaten in their last six fixtures.
Heading to Denmark where Awer Mabil’s Midtjylland suffered a 4-1 defeat at Nordsjaelland in the Superligaen.
The Socceroos winger entered the action in the 56th minute but was unable to help his side as they capped off their UEFA Champions League defeat at Anfield with a below par domestic performance.
In the Bundesliga, Ajdin Hrustic was an unused substitute once again for Eintracht Frankfurt as they posted a 1-1 draw at home to Werder Bremen.
Frankfurt are now winless in their last three matches with their last triumph arriving at the beginning of October.
Daniel Arzani was an unused substitute for FC Utrecht as they were outdone 4-1 against Heracles in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday night.
In the Greek Super League, James Jeggo played the full game for Aris Thessaloniki as they came away with a 1-0 win at home to Asteras Tripolis.
A 55th minute penalty proved decisive as Jeggo’s side extended their unbeaten run to five matches and keep their spot at the top of the table.
Apostolos Giannou started and played 83 minutes for OFI Crete as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at AEK Athens.
His new side are now winless since round two and sit in 10th position in the 14-team competition.
In the Turkish SuperLig, Aziz Behich made his Kayserispor debut on Sunday night however the personal landmark ended on a sour note as his new side lost 1-0 to Rizespor.
Successive defeats for Kayserispor sees them drop to 17th on the table.
In Serbia, Milos Degenek put in a full shift for FK Crvena Zvezda as they registered a 4-1 victory against Radnik Surdulica in their SuperLiga affair.
The three points sees Degenek’s side maintain their six point lead at the top of the table.
Mitch Langerak was in between the sticks for Nagoya Grampus as they triumphed 2-0 at Kashima Antlers on Saturday night.
The Aussie goalkeeper moved into double digits in the cleansheet department as his side jumped to a season-high position of third in the Japanese top flight.
Thomas Deng was an unused substitute for Urawa Red Diamonds as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 stalemate at Oita Trinita on Saturday.
In K League action, Adam Taggart wrapped up his 2020 season with a goal as his Suwon Bluewings overcame Gangwon FC 2-1 on Saturday.
The Aussie striker successfully converted his penalty on 19 minutes as his side held on to record all three points in their final fixture of the campaign.
The win sees the Bluewings finish in eighth position with 31 points collected from their 27 matches.
Bailey Wright’s Sunderland returned to winning ways as they saw off Gillingham 2-0 in their English League One clash on Sunday morning.
Two goals in the final 10 minutes of the match ensured a happy return to the north-east for the Black Cats as they recorded their sixth league shut-out and move up into 6th on the ladder in the process.
Elsewhere, Kenny Dougall made his Blackpool debut, putting in a full shift in the heart of midfield as his side won 2-1 away to Burton Albion.
The three points sees his new side rise to 16th on the table ahead of their midweek fixture against struggling Wigan.
It was welcome relief for Brandon Borrello and his Fortuna Dusseldorf as they secured their first league win in three attempts when they beat Heidenheim 1-0 in the 2. Bundesliga on Saturday morning.
The Aussie winger entered the action in the 62nd minute as his side registered their second win of the campaign which helped them rise to 10th on the league table.