Nestory Irankunda made his English Championship debut for Watford off the bench and almost won his side a stoppage-time penalty in a 1-0 loss to Charlton Athletic.
Irankunda, who moved to Watford from Bayern Munich in July, was injected into the game in the 63rd minute with the scores locked 0-0.
The Australian had a few fleeting moments, totaling eight touches in his 30 minutes on the bench, with one successful dribble and three accurate passes.
But his key moment came in stoppage time. The Watford Observer wrote: “The game heated up in injury time as Irankunda was denied a huge penalty shout when he tapped around (goalkeeper) Kaminski and was seemingly fouled.”
Charlton went down the other end and scored the winner after that, to leave the Hornets with a losing start.
Reigning A-League golden boot winner Adrian Segecic marked his Portsmouth debut with the winning goal in a 1-0 victory at Oxford United.
Segecic, who switched to Pompey from Sydney FC in June, started the game and struck the winner in the 38th minute.
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder fired home on his left foot after Colby Bishop’s initial strike was saved following a loose Oxford backpass.
Segecic was replaced in the 93rd minute by fellow Australian Thomas Waddingham. Hayden Matthews was an unused substitute.
Portsmouth News rated Segecic 8/10: “What a stunning debut. Following an eye-catching pre-season, was rewarded with his Pompey competitive debut and what a performance.
“Featuring as the number 10, his energy and work-rate was phenomenal. Capped off with the opener, having followed up after Bishop’s one-on-one was saved.”
Aussie right-back Kealey Adamson made his QPR debut following his transfer from Macarthur FC, coming on in the 67th minute in their 1-1 draw with Preston North End. Daniel Bennie was an unused substitute for QPR.
West London Sport rated Adamson 7/10: “Did well after coming on at left-back in the second half. Had an effort on goal and won several key challenges.”
Cameron Burgess debuted for Swansea City, playing a full game in a 1-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough.
Wales Online rated Burgess 6/10: “Got caught out a little for Boro’s opening goal, but made some solid interventions at times.”
For Boro, Sam Silvera started and put in a full shift while Tom Glover was unused on the bench and Riley McGree was absent injured.
Teesside Live rated Silvera 7/10: “Particularly in the first half, Silvera was once again one of Boro’s brightest attacking players, albeit without the final ball on this occasion. Importantly, he didn’t ever shirk his defensive responsibilities either, against a tricky winger in Ronald.”
Lewis Miller made his debut for Blackburn following his recent move from Hibernian, getting 30 minutes off the bench in a 1-0 loss away to West Bromwich Albion.
Lancashire Telegraph rated Miller 6/10: “Caused problems with his long throw and offered a threat from set-pieces with two heads that were off target.”
🔄 Our third change sees a debut for Lewis Miller! 🇦🇺@UtilinkConsult | #NECvROV 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/MobQj1n1zk
— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) August 9, 2025
Massimo Luongo made his Millwall debut with a fleeting cameo as a 93rd minute substitute in their 2-1 win at Norwich City.
Jordan Bos made his Dutch Eredivisie debut off the bench as Feyenoord eased past Max Balard’s NAC Breda 2-0 on Saturday.
Bos was a 63rd minute substitute, coming on for full-back Jordan Lotomba. Balard played a full game for NAC.
In midweek, Bos made his competitive debut for Feyenoord in style with a game-winning assist in UEFA Champions League qualifying, following his off-season move from Belgian club Westerlo.
Bos put in a full shift as Feyenoord downed Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce 2-1, with the Socceroo setting up the 91st minute winner for Anis Hadj-Moussa with a diagonal cross.
In Austria’s Bundesliga on Saturday, 21-year-old Aussie winger Jed Drew netted the winner for Hartberg in a 1-0 triumph over BW Linz.
Drew, who started and was replaced in the 81st minute, scored the game’s only goal in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
Keanu Baccus made his second debut for St Mirren following his midweek move to return to his former club on a two-year contract.
Baccus put in a full shift in St Mirren’s 0-0 draw with Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.
For ‘Well, Johnny Koutroumbis started and played 42 minutes when he succumbed to injury, while Apostolos Stamatelopoulos was an 71st minute sub.
Returning to midweek European action, in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers, Martin Boyle grabbed a double for Hibernian in a 2-0 victory over Serbian outfit FK Partizan.
Nick D’Agostino returned from four months out with injury in Viking’s 3-1 loss to Istanbul Basaksehir in Conference League qualifying in midweek. D’Agostino was an 80th minute substitute.
