Aussies Abroad: Socceroos star in Europe, start seasons in Middle East

Craig Goodwin and Mitch Duke returned to action as the Saudi Pro League season commenced while plenty other of our Socceroos took to the pitch around the globe over the weekend.

In the English Premier League, Maty Ryan’s Brighton & Hove Albion salvaged a point against Crystal Palace on Monday morning.

A 90th minute equaliser saw the Seagulls escape with a point from their travels after Wilfried Zaha’s penalty evaded Ryan in the 19th minute.

A point for the south coast club sees them drop one place on the ladder into 16th position.

Craig Goodwin debuted for Abha Club on Sunday morning as they began their Saudi Pro League campaign with a 1-0 defeat away to Al Shabab.

Goodwin played the full match for his new club after only joining them last week on loan from fellow Pro League side, Al-Wehda.

Mitch Duke put in a full shift for Al-Taawoun as they registered a 1-1 draw against Al-Faisaly on Sunday morning.

In the English Championship, Harry Souttar played a full game in the heart of defence for Stoke City as they claimed a 2-0 win away to Luton on Sunday morning.

The Socceroos defender put in another eye-catching performance as his side recorded their sixth cleansheet of the season which has seen them climb into 8th position on the league table.

Massimo Luongo lasted the full match for Sheffield Wednesday as they edged out Birmingham City 1-0 on Sunday morning.

Heading to Germany where Mathew Leckie started and played 46 minutes for Hertha Berlin as they were outdone 2-0 by Stuttgart on Sunday morning.

That’s now three defeats in three for the men from the capital who languish in the lower reaches of the table.

Ajdin Hrustic was an unused substitute for Eintracht Frankfurt as they drew 1-1 against Koln on Monday morning.

Aaron Mooy played the full game in the engine room for Shanghai SIPG as they registered a 0-0 draw against Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League on Sunday night.

In the Scottish Premiership, Martin Boyle put in a full shift for Hibernian in a 0-0 stalemate against Ross County on Sunday morning.

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A red card left County a man down for the final quarter of an hour however Hibs were unable to exploit their advantage as the affair ended all square.

Awer Mabil featured for 72 minutes for Midtjylland as they ran out 3-1 winners against Odense in their Danish Superligaen encounter on Sunday morning.

That victory extends his side’s unbeaten run to seven matches and puts them in good stead for their history-making tie this Thursday morning as they prepare for their inaugural UEFA Champions League fixture against Atalanta.

Daniel Arzani came on for the final six minutes as his FC Utrecht drew 0-0 against FC Groningen in their Dutch Eredivisie fixture on Monday morning.

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In the Greek Super League, James Jeggo started and played 58 minutes for Aris Thessaloniki as they overcame promoted outfit Apollon Smirnis 1-0 at home on Sunday morning.

Aris stay top of the table for the time being however Olympiacos have a match in hand and are hot on their heels.

Apostolos Giannou featured for the final 10 minutes for OFI Crete as they were held to a 2-2 stalemate against Panathinaikos on Monday morning.

A 90th minute equaliser from former Manchester United junior Federico Macheda gave Panathinaikos a share of the spoils.

Trent Sainsbury played a full game in the heart of defence for Kortrijk as they came away with a 2-1 win against KV Mechelen in the Belgian Pro League on Sunday morning.

Elsewhere, Danny Vukovic was in between the sticks for the first time in weeks after recovering from COVID-19 as Genk sealed a 2-1 victory against high-flyers Sporting Charleroi on Monday morning.

Vukovic’s side have been able to string together a number of positive performances and are undefeated since mid-September.

In Turkey, Aziz Behich will have to wait until the next match to make his Kayserispor debut after he was an unused substitute as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Sivasspor on Sunday morning.

In J League action, Mitch Langerak’s Nagoya Grampus were dished out a 3-0 defeat against league leaders Kawasaki Frontale on Sunday night.

The competition’s frontrunners proved to be too strong for the Aussie’s side as they succumbed to their first defeat in three fixtures.

Adam Taggart put in a full shift upfront for Suwon Bluewings as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Busan I’Park in the K League on Sunday afternoon.

The point was enough to see Suwon retain their top flight status with two league matches remaining this campaign.

In the English League One, Bailey Wright was a rock at the back for Sunderland as they saw off Swindon 2-0 on Sunday morning.

The Black Cats have the league’s meanest defence with one goal conceded from their five fixtures and have four shut-outs to show for what has been a stellar start to their season.

In the 2 Bundesliga, Brandon Borrello started and played 46 minutes for Fortuna Dusseldorf as they came from behind to rescue a point against Jahn Regensburg on Sunday night.

Two goals in the final 10 minutes of the encounter saw Fortuna snatch a point from the fixture as they added to their points tally for the first time since the end of September.