Aussies Abroad Wrap: McGree nets & Kuol scores hat-trick as pre-season kicks off

A handful of Socceroos and Olyroos kicking off pre-season throughout Europe over the weekend, with a couple finding the back of the net! 

Check out our summary of the recent action in the latest Aussies Abroad Wrap. 

Asia

In Japan, Adam Taggart came off the bench in the 67th minute as Cerezo Osaka ensured they returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday.

The victory means Cerezo are just four points behind Kawasaki who sit in third position on the J1 League table. 

Elsewhere in Japan, Mitchell Duke also played 28 minutes off the bench as his Fagiano Okayama side lost 2-0 to Roasso Kumamoto in the J2 League. The loss leaves Fagiano in fifth position as they chase promotion to J1. 

The United States

To Major League Soccer, where Milos Degenek’s Columbus Crew side drew 0-0 Philadelphia Union on Monday morning (AEST). 

United Kingdom

Starting in England, where Riley McGree’s Middlesbrough have continued their pre-season with a 5-0 win at Bishop Auckland.

The game saw McGree play out the first 45 minutes and score Middlesbrough’s opening goal as Chris Wilder’s men clocked up their first minutes of the summer on Saturday.


Kenny Dougall also featured for 45 minutes in Blackpool's 2-0 pre-season victory over Southport FC on Saturday. 

Elsewhere in England, Olyroos defender Jay Rich-Baghuelou came up against his old club for the first time as Accrington Stanley played out a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Rich-Baghuelou captained Palace’s under-23 team for two seasons before moving to Accrington in January. 

In other Oyroos Abroad news, Lewis Miller made his first appearance in green and white as Hibernian got their pre-season campaign off to a winning start with a comfortable 2-0 win over Hartlepool United in Portugal on Saturday.

Europe

Over to Europe, where Joel King got his first minutes of pre-season as Odense Boldklub played their second warm-up match against AC Horsens. King played the first 45 minutes at left-back as Horsens ran out 3-1 winners. 

Olyroos defender Josh Rawlins also donned his new FC Utrecht colours as they were defeated 4-2 by Scottish Championship side Queen's Park FC on Saturday. Rawlins played the first 45 minutes at right-back before the side was completely changed at half-time. 

In other Olyroos Abroad news, Alou Kuol enjoyed a productive return to VfB Stuttgart after spending the second half of last season on loan at SV Sandhausen. The 20-year-old came on in the second half of Stuttgart’s 7-1 victory over amateur team SV Böblingen and scored three goals. 

Jordan Courtney-Perkins also played his first pre-season minutes for Raków Częstochowa in Poland after being loaned out last season. 

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