Connor Metcalfe opened the scoring as St Pauli routed Holstien Kiel 5-1 in the German 2.Bundesliga on Sunday, while Jackson Irvine was absent due to an ankle injury sustained on Socceroos duty.
Making his fourth start from six league games this season, Metcalfe got the ball rolling for the promotion hopefuls with a fourth-minute strike, while he got the assist for St Pauli’s fourth goal to make it 4-1 in the 69th minute.
Metcalfe rifled in the opener with an opportunistic left-foot long-range strike that caught Kiel goalkeeper unsuspecting.
Meanwhile, St Pauli have confirmed Irvine will not be available “until further notice” due to a confirmed a lateral ligament rupture and an ATFL joint sprain, likely sidelining him for an extended period.
St Pauli director of sport Andreas Bornemann said: “Even if our worst fears haven’t materialised, it’s still a serious injury because the joint as a whole has been heavily impacted. It’s now a question of easing Jackson back into the squad as quickly and, above all, sustainably as possible.”
Jackson #Irvine sustained a twisted ankle and an ATFL sprain in his right foot while playing for the Socceroos against Mexico. The injury will leave our skipper sidelined until further notice. Get well soon, Jacko!🤞#fcsp pic.twitter.com/rdqp8oLeXi
— FC St. Pauli English (@fcstpauli_EN) September 14, 2023
Garang Kuol netted his maiden goal for FC Volendam in their 3-1 loss to Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Eredivisie on Saturday.
Kuol, who is on a season-long loan from Newcastle United, put Volendam ahead with his fine curling shot into the top corner from the edge of the penalty box in the 40th minute.
The Socceroo was replaced in the 79th minute as Fortuna rallied back with three second-half goals to win.
We could watch this angle of Garang Kuol's first @fcvolendam goal all day 🤤
The Socceroo became the youngest foreigner to score for Volendam in the Eredivisie 🇳🇱
📰: https://t.co/EWBYkrsboD
🤳: timoooootje14 on Instagram pic.twitter.com/xmINIrVXSd
— KEEPUP (@keepupau) September 17, 2023
Mat Ryan kept a clean sheet as AZ Alkmaar maintained their perfect start to the Eredivisie season with a 2-0 home victory over Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday.
Ryan didn’t have much to do, with Sparta failing to hit the target with their best chances. The Socceroos goalkeeper has kept four clean sheets from eight games in all competitions this season.
Alessandro Circati put in a full shift at centre-back as Parma triumphed 5-0 away to Catanzaro in Italy’s Serie B on Sunday to hold a two-point league lead after five games.
Denis Genreau started and played 72 minutes in an attacking midfield role as Toulouse claimed a commendable 0-0 draw away to Olympique Marseille in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Aiden O’Neill came off the bench in the 73rd minute as Standard Liege ended their six-game winless start to the season with a 3-1 win away to Jason Davidson’s KAS Eupen in the Belgian Pro League. Davidson put in a full shift.
Awer Mabil made his starting debut for Grasshoppers, playing 58 minutes on Friday, as they were knocked out of the Swiss Schweizer Pokal with a 3-0 defeat to Sion.
Ryan Strain got the assist for the winning goal as St Mirren edged Motherwell 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday. The result means the Saints are second.
Strain’s inviting cross was fired home by Scott Tanser with a fine volley in the 55th minute. Strain started and played 83 minutes, while Keanu Baccus came on at half-time.
Kye Rowles earned an 8.5/10 rating as Hearts eased past struggling Aberdeen 2-0. Rowles along with Cammy Devlin (7.5/10) put in a full shift, while Nathaniel Atkinson (7/10) started and played 66 minutes. Calum Nieuwenhof was a 50th minute sub too.
On Rowles, Edinburgh Evening News wrote: “A fantastic performance alongside Kingsley on the left side of the defence which was put under a lot of pressure but dealt with it superbly.”
Alex Robertson started and played 90 minutes in a deep midfield role, earning a 7/10 rating from the Portsmouth News in a 0-0 draw at Derby County in League One.
The Portsmouth News wrote: “Came in to replace the suspended Morrell and asked to operate a little deeper than he usually would, yet it worked. Some driving runs centrally, usually brought down with a foul, and always seems to have a bit of time on the ball. Needs to stop picking up these silly bookings, though.”
Elsewhere in League One, Southampton loanee Caleb Watts scored the winner for Exeter City in a 1-0 triumph over Cameron Peupion’s Cheltenham.
Watts was used as a substitute in the 59th minute and netted 10 minutes later with an angled shot after swooping on a rebound.
Peupion, who was loaned by Brighton to Cheltenham late in the transfer window, was an 87th minute substitute.
Harry Souttar was absent again for Leicester City in their 4-1 win at Southampton on Friday in the English Championship.
Craig Goodwin scored on his debut for Al Wehda following his transfer from Adelaide United to Saudi Arabia.
Goodwin came on at half-time and netted Al Wehda’s fourth goal in the 62nd minute of a 4-2 win over Damak.
Others
Full games
Martin Boyle, Jimmy Jeggo (both Hibernian), Cameron Burgess, Massimo Luongo (both Ipswich Town), Nicholas Bilokapic (Peterborough), Thomas Deng (Albirex Niigata), Mitchell Langerak (Nagoya Grampus), Harrison Delbridge (Incheon United), Alex Grant (Pohang Steelers)
Minutes
James Holland – ST 83 (Austria Vienna), Sam Silvera – SB 69, Riley McGree – SB 77 (both Middlesbrough), Nick D’Agostino – SB 72, Patrick Yazbek – SB 62 (both Viking), John Iredale – SB 86 (Wehen Wiesbaden), Callum Elder – ST 57 (Derby County), Jack Iredale – SB 75 (Bolton), Kenny Dougall – SB 57 (Blackpool), Stefan Mauk – SB 61 (Fagiano Okayama), Peter Makrillos – ST 69 (Chungbuk Cheongju), Brad Smith – SB 74 (Houston Dynamo), Mitch Duke – ST 69 (Machida Zelvia)
Unused subs
Tom Glover (Middlesbrough), Nectarios Triantis (Sunderland), Ash Maynard-Brewer (Charlton), Patrick Flottmann (Seongnam), Anthony Kalik (Hajduk Split)
