Friday 20th April
In the Indian I-League, Tolgar Ozbey had a dramatic day despite East Bengal’s 0-0 draw with Dempo SC. Ozbey missed 2 golden chances to break the deadlock, and then was booked for simulation trying to win his side a penalty.
In Turkey, James Troisi caused a stir by reportedly walking out on his club Kayserispor. Troisi has had a superb season for Kayserispor, scoring 10 goals, but has quit the club with media reports indicating wages haven’t been paid. Kayserispor are set to lodge a complaint with FIFA over the matter.
Saturday 21st April
In the English Premier League, Mark Schwarzer put in a full shift between the sticks as Fulham beat relegation threatened Wigan 2-1. Schwarzer had a relatively comfortable day in goals, with his only blemish coming in the 57th minute thanks to a rocket from Emerson Boyce. Elsewhere, Chris Herd put in a full shift in midfield as Aston Villa failed to ease their relegation fears with a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland.
In the English Championship, Adam Federici played a full game as Reading drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace to be crowned champions of the second division. For Palace, Mile Jedinak missed the clash through injury. Scott McDonald had a quiet game, replaced on 59 minutes as Middlesbrough kept their faint play-off hopes alive with a shock 2-1 win over 2nd placed Southampton. Rhys Williams played the final 30 minutes upon return from injury after spending 7 weeks on the sidelines with an ankle problem.
Shane Lowry put in another full shift for Millwall, playing his part in earning Millwall a clean-sheet in the 3-0 drubbing of Ipswich. Richard Garcia played 90 minutes for Hull City as they beat Nottingham Forest 2-1. Garcia picked up a booking in the first half. Neil Kilkenny was a half time substitute as Bristol City secured their Championship status for another season with a 2-0 win over Barnsley. Kilkenny had a great chance to score in the second half only to be denied by a fantastic save from Barnsley ‘keeper David Button.
In League One, Dean Bouzanis continued in goal for Oldham as Alex Cisak remained on the sidelines through injury as Oldham drew 1-1 with Bailey Wright’s Preston, with Wright played the full 90 minutes.
In League Two, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff put in a full shift as Shrewsbury drew 1-1 at Accrington Stanley. 1 point from the final 2 games should be enough for Shrewbury to secure automatic promotion to League One. Elsewhere in League Two, Aaron Downes was an unused substitute as Bristol Rovers lost 1-0 at Port Vale. Jamie Young kept a clean sheet as Aldershot thumped Burton 4-0.
In the Scottish Premier League, Ryan McGowan put in a full shift as Hearts were thumped 3-0 by Rangers, elsewhere Aaron Mooy remained on the bench as St Mirren threw away a 2-goal lead to draw 4-4 to bottom placed Dunfermline.
In the Scottish Third Division, on loan Celtic ‘keeper Nick Feely played 90 minutes as Clyde drew 1-1 with Peterhead.
In Germany, Nikita Rukavytsya started and played 66 minutes as Hertha Berlin lost 2-1 to bottom placed Kaiserslautern, a result which puts them teetering on the brink of relegation with 2 matches to play. Mitch Langarek was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund stitched up their second successive Bundesliga title with a 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. Mathew Leckie wasn’t in the match-day squad for Monchengladbach as he recovers from a thigh injury.
In the Italian Serie B, Carl Valeri was absent from the match-day squad as Sassuolo suffered a shock 2-0 home loss to relegation threatened Gubbio. Sassuolo are now 2 points from the automatic promotion places.
In the Dutch Eredivisie, Tommy Oar was an 87th minute substitute as FC Utrecht beat RKC Waalwijk 2-0. Left-back Michael Zullo was an unused substitute. Elsewhere, Jason Davidson’s extended run in the Heracles starting side continued, playing 90 minutes as Heracles beat De Graafschap 3-2 despite finishing the game with 9 men.
In the Dutch Second Division, both Andrew & Ryan Marveggio were absent in Telstar’s 2-2 draw with Volendam.
In Russia, Luke Wilkshire started and played 80 minutes, picking up a second half booking as Dinamo Moscow moved into 2nd spot with a 1-0 win over rivals CSKA Moscow.
In the J-League, Jade North was the only Aussie to see some game-time, playing 90 minutes as Consadole Sapparo went down 3-2 to Kawasaki Frontale. Josh Kennedy & Matt Spiranovic were absent for their respective sides, Kennedy with a back injury while Spiranovic is out of favour and is yet to see any game-time so far this season.
In the K-League, Adrian Madaschi returned from a thigh injury, playing 90 minutes as Jeju United drew 1-1 with FC Seoul, while Matt McKay returned to the Busan I’Park starting line-up, playing 90 minutes as they overcame Gangwon 1-0. Defenders Luke Devere & Eddy Bosnar were both missing through injury as Devere’s Gyeongnam drew 0-0 with Bosnar’s Suwon Bluewings.
In China, Joel Griffiths was absent from the match-day squad as Shanghai Shenhua beat Dalian Shide 1-0. Griffiths, a regular starter for Shanghai, hasn’t started a match since fellow striker Nicolas Anelka joined the coaching ranks at Shenhua. Despite scoring the winner last week, Rostyn Griffiths was an unused substitute as Guangzhou R&F lost 2-1 to Shandong Luneng.
In the Chinese second division, Adam Hughes played 90 minutes as Harbin Yiteng drew 2-2 with bottom placed Chongqing Lifan.
Sunday 22nd April
In the English Premier League, Tim Cahill was an 84th minute substitute as Everton scored twice in the final 10 minutes to secure a stunning 4-4 with Manchester United. Elsewhere, goalkeeper Brad Jones was left out of the Liverpool match-day squad as regular ‘keepers Pepe Reina & Doni returned from suspension in their shock 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion at Anfield.
In the Dutch Eredivisie, Brett Holman played 80 minutes and scored a stunning goal as AZ Alkmaar beat VVV Venlo 2-1 to move into 2nd place on the table. Holman struck the games opening goal, hammering home a low drive from outside the box after being teed up by Adam Maher.
In Austria, James Holland was an unused substitute as Austria Wien lost 1-0 to Kapfenberger.
In Denmark, Nathan Coe played a full game between the sticks as Sonderjyske beat bottom placed HB Koge 2-1 to continue their bright finish to the Superliga season.
In the German Second Division, Robbie Kruse missed Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 2-1 win over Union Berlin with a calf problem.
In the Swiss League, Scott Chipperfield long absence from the FC Basel side continued, missing the 3-0 win over Sion with a groin injury.
In the Greek Super League, Apostilos Giannou was an unused substitute as PAOK lost 4-3 to Levadiakos.
In China, Milan Susak’s good form continued, putting in a full shift and playing a part in the clean sheet as Tianjin Teda beat Hangzhou 2-0. Susak picked up a booking in the 65th minute. Jonas Salley played 90 minutes as Shanghai Shenxin lost 1-0 to Jiangsu Shuntian. Dino Djulbic & Mile Sterjovski both started as Guizhou Renhe & Dalian Aerbin played out a 2-2 draw. Djulbic played 90 minutes in the centre of defence while Sterjovski was withdrawn after 68 minutes.
In Japan, Alex Brosque continued his good form for Shimizu S-Pulse, playing 90 minutes and scoring his sides only goal in their disappointing 3-1 loss to Gamba Osaka. Brosque fired home a volley in the final seconds to make it 4 goals for the season.
In the Japanese Second Division, Mark Milligan was absent from the JEF United side that were defeated 1-0 by Matsumoto Yamaga.
In the K-League, Robbie Cornthwaite & Matt Simon were both absent in Chunnam Dragons 3-1 win over Daejeon Citizen. Cornthwaite missed the clash through suspension, while Simon had a groin complaint. Also missing in action was former Adelaide United winger Nathan Burns, he was left out of the match-day squad as Incheon United lost 1-0 at home to Ulsan Hyundai. Socceroos defender Sasa Ognenovski was also missing, he sat out Seongnam’s 4-2 win over Gwangju with a hamstring strain.
Monday 23rd April
In the UAE, Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill played a key role in Al Jazira’s 3-1 win over Bani Yas to lift the President’s Cup. Neill tapped home the opener from the 6-yard box after just 6 minutes, despite appearing to be offside.
In Denmark, Brent McGrath missed Brondby’s 2-0 loss to Midtjylland with a broken hand. That result saw Brondby drop to 9th, but they are still 10 points clear of the relegation zone with 6 games to play.
Tuesday 24th April
Former Gold Coast United striker Andrew Barisic played a hand in the first goal as Indonesian side Arema FC beat Ayeyawady United 3-0 in the AFC Cup.
Wednesday 25th April
In the English Premier League, Chris Herd started and played 88 minutes as Aston Villa slipped closer to the relegation zone following a 2-1 home loss to lowly Bolton. Herd had a golden chance to score in the opening minute and he rose unmarked from a corner but headed over.
In the AFC Cup, Tolgay Ozbey played 90 minutes as East Bengal were thumped 4-1 by Al Arouba. East Bengal are bottom of their group after 5 matches and are yet to collect a single point.
In the Serie C, Adelaide born striker Christian Esposito scored on 21 minutes as Catanzaro tightened their grip on the 2nd automatic promotion place with a 3-1 win over Arzanese.
Thursday 26th April
In the Danish Cup, Nathan Coe played 90 minutes as Sonderjyske beat Kobenhavn 4-3 in the 2nd leg of semi-finals, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Kobenhavn went through on away goals after the tie finished 4-4.
In Turkey, Kerem Bulut was absent from the match-day squad as Eskisehirspor were thumped 3-0 by Bursaspor.
