Thursday 3rd May
In the J-League, Alex Brosque was absent through suspension as Shimizu S-Pulse consolidated 2nd spot on the table with a 3-0 win over Kashima Antlers. Another player missing was Matt Spiranovic, who wasn’t selected as Urawa Red Diamonds lost 2-1 at home to Yokohama Marinos. It was better news for Jade North, who played in his part in Consadole Sapporo’s first win of the season, a 1-0 win over Cerezo Osaka.
In the Japanese Second Division, Mark Milligan played 90 minutes as JEF United’s good form continued, beating Thespa Kusatsu 2-0.
Friday 4th May
In the Danish Superliga, goalkeeper Nathan Coe had a game to forget as Sonderjyske were thumped 5-0 away to Horsens. Elsewhere, Brent McGrath was absent from the match-day squad as Brondby lost 1-0 to AaB.
Saturday 5th May
In the Bundesliga, Nikita Rukavytsya come off the bench on 79 minutes as Hertha Berlin earned a relegation reprieve, beating Hoffenheim 3-1 to set up a play-off against the 3rd placed 2.Bundesliga side, Robbie Kruse’s Fortuna Dusseldorf. The winner will play in the Bundesliga next season. Elsewhere Mitch Langarek returned to the bench after his rare appearance last week and watched on as Borussia Dortmund thumped Freiburg 4-0. Mathew Leckie was again absent from the Borussia Monchengladbach squad as they won 4-0 FSV Mainz.
In the German Second Division, Robbie Kruse was an unused substitute as Fortuna Dusseldorf drew 2-2 with MSV Duisburg to book their play-off place with Hertha Berlin.
In England, Brad Jones was not in the Liverpool squad as they went down to Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup Final.
In League One, Dean Bouzanis continued in goal for Oldham who finished their season on a high, beating Carlisle 2-1. James Wesolowski & Alex Cisak missed the clash as they continue to recover from shoulder injuries. Elsewhere, Bailey Wright played 90 minutes as Preston lost 1-0 at Bournemouth. Preston finished the season in 15th position, 1 position ahead of Oldham.
In League Two, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff celebrated promotion to League One with a goal, however it was in vain as Shrewsbury lost 3-1 to Wimbledon. Cansdell-Sherriff played 90 minutes and made a remarkable goal-line clearance in the first half after misplacing a pass before scoring in the second half, poking home from close range after a goal-mouth scramble.
Elsewhere Aaron Downes played 90 minutes as Bristol Rovers were thumped 4-0 by Dagenham & Redbridge to finish the season in 13th. Jamie Young continued in goals for Aldershot as they drew 2-2 away to promotion chasing Crewe. Aldershot finished the season in 11th position.
In the Italian Serie B, Carl Valeri played 90 minutes as Sassuolo’s bid for promotion stayed on track with a 2-0 win over Crotone.
In the Scottish Premier League, Aaron Mooy was an unused substitute as St Mirren lost 1-0 to Inverness.
In the Scottish Third Division, Nick Feely continued in goal but his loan spell at Clyde finished on a sour note following a 5-0 drubbing from Montrose. Feely will return to Celtic next season.
In the Czech Republic, Kerem Bulut, on loan from Turkish side Eskisehirspor, played 90 minutes for Mlada Boleslav as they went down 1-0 to Viktoria Plzen. Bulut picked up a booking in the 64th minute.
In the K-League, Matt McKay played 90 minutes and provided the assist for the game’s only goal, as Busan I’Park beat Luke Devere’s Gyeongnam 1-0. Devere missed the clash with a knee injury. Sasa Ognenovski played the full 90 minutes as Seongnam drew 1-1 with Jeju United. Adrian Madaschi put in a full shift for Jeju. Eddy Bosnar played the full 90 minutes as Suwon lost top spot following a disappointing 2-1 loss to bottom club Daejeon Citizen. It was further bad news for Nathan Burns, who again was missing as Incheon United drew 3-3 with Jeonbuk Motors.
In the Chinese Super League, Jonas Salley scored his second goal of the season, opening the scoring as Shanghai Shenxin beat Guangzhou R&F 4-2. For Guangzhou, Rostyn Griffiths played the full 90 minutes and picked up a first half booking. Also on the scoresheet was former Gold Coast United defender Dino Djulbic who opened the scoring as Guizhou Renhe beat second placed Jiangsu Shuntian 3-1.
Sunday 6th May
In the English Premier League, Mark Schwarzer played 90 minutes and made a number of crucial saves as Fulham beat Sunderland 2-1 at Craven Cottage. Schwarzer saved an effort from Frazier Campbell in stoppage time to secure the 3 points for Fulham. Tim Cahill started and played 68 minutes as Everton drew 0-0 with relegated Wolverhampton. Cahill had a great chance after just 4 minutes but he struck his effort straight at Wolves ‘keeper Dorus De Vries. Elsewhere, Chris Herd, fresh from a nightclub brawl controversy, played 90 minutes as Aston Villa secured their top flight status with a 1-1 draw with 10-man Tottenham.
In the Dutch Eredivisie, Brett Holman bid farewell to AZ Alkmaar after 4 seasons, playing 73 minutes as Alkmaar beat Groningen 1-0. Michael Zullo earned a rare start and made the most of it, playing 90 minutes and providing an assist for Yoshiaki Takagi as Utrecht beat Roda JC 1-0. Adam Sarota also saw some game-time, playing the final 20 minutes while Tommy Oar was an unused substitute. Elsewhere, Jason Davidson missed Heracles’ 2-1 loss at home to NAC Nijmegen through injury.
In Russia, Luke Wilkshire started and was replaced after 52 minutes as Dinamo Moscow’s Champions League hopes suffered a severe blow, drawing 2-2 with Lokomotiv Moscow.
In the Scottish Premier League, Ryan McGowan’s good season continued, playing 90 minutes and providing the assist for Rudi Skacel’s first half goal as Hearts beat St Johnstone 2-0.
In Austria, James Holland started for Austria Wien but was replaced at half time as Wien lost 3-2 to Admira.
In Switzerland, Scott Chipperfield was again absent as champions FC Basel were smashed 5-1 by Zurich.
In the Italian Serie C, Christian Esposito played 90 minutes as Catanzaro secured automatic promotion to the Serie B, drawing 2-2 with Guilianova. Esposito, on loan from Serie A side Novaro, scored 5 goals for the season.
In the J-League, Josh Kennedy returned from injury and scored after 9 minutes, but was forced off at half-time with a reoccurrence of his niggling back injury as Nagoya Grampus slipped to 10th on the table following a 3-2 loss to Kawasaki Frontale. Alex Brosque returned from suspension, playing 90 minutes in Shimizu S-Pulse’s 1-0 win over Vegalta Sendai. Jade North played 90 minutes as Consadole Sapporo lost 2-1 to Yokohama F.Marinos, while Matt Spiranovic wasn’t selected as Urawa Red Diamonds drew 2-2 with Jubilo Iwata.
In the Japanese Second Division, Mark Milligan started but was replaced at half time as JEF United beat Ehime 1-0.
In the K-League, Robbie Cornthwaite started and played 77 minutes as Chunnam Dragons lost 1-0 to league leaders Ulsan Hyundai, Matt Simon missed the clash with a groin injury.
In the Chinese Super League, Joel Griffiths returned from injury to play the full 90 minutes as Shanghai Shenhua drew 1-1 with Liaoning Whowin. Milan Susak started but was replaced at the break with his side 3-0 down, as Tianjin Teda were thumped 4-1 by Dalian Shide. Mile Sterjovski started and was replaced after 77 minutes as Dalian Aerbin lost 2-1 to league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande.
In the Chinese Second Division, Adam Hughes played 90 minutes as Harbin Yiteng lost 2-0 to Shenyang Shenbai.
Monday 7th May
In the UAE, Mark Bresciano was the big winner as his side Al Nasr trounced Lucas Neill’s Al Jazira 5-1 to move into 2nd position on the table, while Jazira drops to 4th. Bresciano was replaced after 72 minutes but had a superb shift, scoring one and providing the assist for another. With the score at 1-1, Bresciano struck on the stroke of half time with a sublime finish from outside the box. Neill put in a full shift for Al Jazira.
Tuesday 8th May
In Denmark, Nathan Coe put in a full shift between the sticks as Sonderjyske drew 1-1 with Midtjylland.
In Uzbekistan, David Carney was absent as Bunyodkor hammered Buxoro 4-0 to go top of the league table.
Wednesday 9th May
In the English Premier League, Brad Jones was absent from the match-day squad as Liverpool thumped Champions League finalists Chelsea 4-1.
In Russia, Luke Wilkshire missed the Russian Cup final through suspension after a culmination of yellow cards in the group stages. Wilkshire’s Dinamo Moscow lost the final 1-0 to Rubin Kazan.
