Martin Boyle marked his re-signing with Hibernian with a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser in Sunday’s 1-1 Edinburgh derby draw against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.
Boyle, whose return to Hibs after seven months with Saudi Arabian club Al Faisaly was confirmed on Saturday, came off the bench in the 62nd minute before his late decisive moment.
The Socceroo buzzed around and was his lively self, before getting on the end of Elie Youan’s low ball to guide home the leveler from close range.
Boyle was rated 8/10 by Edinburgh Live, who wrote: “Obviously short on sharpness but what a huge moment for the Australian cap. His addition will be a huge boost once up to speed.”
Boyle’s signing was only ratified on Saturday, becoming eligible to play at 9pm Saturday evening, with Hibs unsure on whether to use him given he hadn’t played for six weeks.
“There was a bit of deliberation about whether I should play him, from one particular key figure at the club who didn’t think I should, but I will remind him gently, very, very gently that that’s my role,” Hibs boss Lee Johnson said.
Johnson added: “It’s Roy of the Rovers stuff, isn’t it? If you wrote a comic book strip and he was the star of the show, I’m not sure you could write it better than that. He’s buzzing, but the boys were buzzing as well when we told them yesterday (that he had signed).”
Former Central Coast right-back Lewis Miller was an unused sub for Hibs, while Hearts used all three of their Aussies.
Kye Rowles put in a full shift in the heart of defence, with Nathaniel Atkinson brought on in the 63rd minute and Cameron Devlin getting 15 minutes off the bench.
Rowles got a 7/10 rating from Edinburgh Live who wrote: “Cool, calm and collected. Didn’t look bothered by his first derby experience and was a solid partner to Halkett.”
Atkinson got a 4/10: “Came on with Sibbick. Assisted him with defending on the right with few issues.” Devlin was rated 3/10: “Late sub for Grant. Helped shore up the midfield.”
Aziz Behich was absent again due to not yet being granted a work permit while Mark Birighitti put in a full shift as Dundee United lost 1-0 at home to Livingston on Sunday. Phillip Cancar was an unused sub for Livi.
United boss Jack Ross said: “Aziz still doesn’t have his work permit — it’s frustrating for him and for me. I’m desperate to have him involved. He’s trained really well, is a good player and we just need the documents to come through. I don’t know what the hold up is. It is becoming an irritation because we had hoped the permit would be here long before now.
“Hopefully, it will arrive in time for Thursday and he will be able to be involved. It’s something with the Home Office, I think. But it’s out of our hands. We have done as much as we can. We just have to hope it arrives in the next few days.”
Aaron Mooy was an 85th minute substitute for Celtic in their 3-1 victory away to Ross County.
Ryan McGowan came up with a 94th-minute assist for St Johnstone’s late winner in their 2-1 win at Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
McGowan, who played a full game, nodded the ball into Stevie May’s path to slide home from a recycled corner.
Denis Genreau made his Ligue 1 debut as a 65th minute substitute as newly promoted Toulouse drew 1-1 with Nice on Sunday.
Jackson Irvine played a full game an Connor Metcalfe was an unused substitute as St Pauli lost 2-1 at Kaiserslautern in the German 2.Bundesliga on Sunday.
Ajdin Hrustic, who has been linked with Serie A club Salernitana, wasn’t in the Eintracht Frankfurt matchday squad on Friday night for their 6-1 home loss to Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga season opener.
On Saturday, Tyrese Francois was an unused substitute for Fulham in their English Premier League return as they drew 2-2 with Fulham.
Fran Karacic started and played 64 minutes as Brescia won 4-1 over Pisa in the Coppa Italia.
Olyroo Jay Rich-Baghuelou was substituted off after 21 minutes due to an ankle injury in Accrington Stanley’s 1-0 win at Shrewsbury Town in League One. No further info has yet been provided on the injury.
Adam Taggart scored the opening goal as Cerezo Osaka triumphed 3-0 over Vissel Kobe in the Japanese J.League. The goal was Taggart’s third in his past four league games.
Taggart opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, sliding home after a turnover from the Vissel goalkeeper.
Mitch Duke also got on the scoresheet in the J2.League in Fagiano Okayama’s 3-1 victory away to Iwate Grulla Morioka.
Duke diverted in a low pass from Tiago Alves in the 35th minute for his fifth goal of the season.
Harrison Delbridge put in a full shift but scored an own goal as Incheon United won 3-2 at Daegu in the Korean K League on Sunday.
In midweek, Trent Sainsbury marked confirmation of his move to Qatari club Al Wakrah with a goal in their 4-2 win over Al Duhail.
Others
Full games
Alex Gersbach, Riley McGree, Cameron Burgess, Ryan Edwards, Milos Degenek, Mitch Langerak, Alex Grant
Minutes
Joel King – ST 90, James Holland – ST 59, Jason Davidson – ST 78, Ryan Strain – ST 90, Keanu Baccus – ST 73, Callum Elder – SB 59, Kenny Dougall – SB 46, Jack Iredale – ST 89, Caleb Watts – SB 69
Unused subs
Zach Duncan, Bailey Wright, Dean Bouzanis, Jacob Chapman
