Australia NewsSnubbed Scott At The Double |
EUROROOS WRAP:Socceroo Scott McDonald put a poor week behind him to score twice off the bench as Celtic stumbled to a 3-3 draw at battling Falkirk in the SPL overnight.
McDonald came into this match having scored just once in his last seven outings and after a pair of glaring misses in the midweek Europa League draw in Hamburg, the Aussie started on the bench at Falkirk.
The selection snub came just days after McDonald, who is yet to break his international duck, was overlooked by Australia boss Pim Verbeek for the upcoming clash with Oman.
After a goalless first-half, Celtic opened the scoring through Gary Caldwell on 55 minutes before Falkirk stormed back with quickfire goals from Scott Arfield and Pedro Moutinho.
But McDonald's introduction to the game on 67 minutes signalled the turning point with the Aussie in the mood for goals.
On 72 minutes, Danny Fox whipped in a cross which McDonald met brilliantly with a perfectly placed header to level terms.
Just over five minutes later, the Australian positioned himself brilliantly to meet Georgios Samaras' inviting low cross to give the Bhoys the lead.
But the headlines wouldn't be all McDonald's, when Mark Stewart grabbed a late equaliser for Falkirk although the Aussie did have the ball in the back of the net again later but he was ruled offside.
Despite the draw Celtic boss Tony Mowbray was happy for the Australian, telling BBC Scotland: "It was great for me today to see Scott McDonald come off the bench and score two.
"If that's the reaction for being left on the bench, then that's fantastic and that's what we need from the start every week. He's got a goalscorer's instinct and I'm delighted for Scott today."
Elsewhere in Europe overnight, Brett Holman produced a stunning equaliser for AZ Alkmaar as they salvaged a 1-1 home draw in their clash with Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie.
The visitors had gone ahead early through Sekou Cisse and looked the better side, before Holman's sensational left-foot toe-poked strike from the left which found the corner of the net. Holman went onto play the full 90 minutes.
The result, though, leaves last season's champions way off the pace in the Eredivisie, some 16 points behind leaders FC Twente.
Elsewhere in the Eredivisie, David Carney came off the bench at half-time as Twente claimed a big 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam in the late kick-off in the Netherlands. Nikita Rukavytsya wasn't in the Twente squad.
In England's Premier League, Richard Garcia made his first start for Hull City since his knee injury as they claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Stoke City.
Garcia was lively in the first-half with a few chances, although he might have done better with a header, before providing a nice cross for Jozy Altidore to head just wide.
But the Aussie, who is only just returning to fitness, tired and was replaced just after the break before the Tigers heroics to grab a win which probably has saved manager Phil Brown's job.
Elsewhere in England's top flight, Lucas Neill made his return to old club West Ham United as Everton won 2-1 at Upton Park.
Neill was a 76th minute substitute for the Toffees, who had established the 2-1 lead by that point, courtesy of goals from Louis Saha and Dan Gosling, with makeshift left-midfielder Tim Cahill involved in the build-up for both.
And Mark Schwarzer played a full game for Fulham helping them claim a 1-1 draw at Wigan with the hosts dominating the majority of play and keeping the Aussie busy throughout.
In Turkey's Super Lig, Harry Kewell played another 90 minutes but wasn't on the scoresheet this time round as Galatasaray defeated Diyarbakirspor 2-1 with the Aussie providing a lovely cushioned header for the assist for Arda Turan's second-half winner.
Elsewhere, Michael Petkovic played a full game for Sivasspor as they crashed 4-2 at home to James Troisi's Kayserispor. Troisi was a belated 90th minute sub for the victors.
In Italy's Serie A, Mark Bresciano started and played 63 minutes as Palermo crashed to a 3-1 loss at Bologna.
In Russia's Premier League, Socceroo Luke Wilkshire played a full game for Dinamo Moscow, picking up a booking, as they comfortably defeated Spartak Nalchik away from home 4-2.
In Denmark's Superliga, Aussie goalkeeper Nathan Coe was overlooked again as Randers lost 2-1 at FC Midtjylland.
In Greece's Beta Ethniki, Nathan Burns put in a full shift as AO Kerkyra scored twice late to win 2-1 at Diagoras Rodos. Kerkyra are top of the second tier after 8 games.
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