In the English Premier League, 20-year-old Aussie midfielder Cameron Peupion was an unused substitute on Sunday as Brighton & Hove Albion won 3-1 over Southampton.
However, Peupion made his Premier League debut for the Seagulls on Thursday as an 84th minute substitute in their 4-1 loss at Newcastle.
Peupion made his first-team debut in the League Cup in August, but has worked his way into the league side following a strong campaign in the Premier League 2, winning the Player of the Month for April after six goals and three assists.
Meanwhile, Harry Souttar’s Leicester City will take on Newcastle on Tuesday morning (5am AEST) in a crucial clash for their hopes of avoiding relegation. The Foxes are currently 19th, three points behind 17th-placed Everton in safety.
Denis Genreau started and played 65 minutes as Toulouse drew 0-0 at Nice in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday. Toulouse are 13th and safe from relegation with two games to play.
Mohamed Toure was an 80th minute substitute for Reims in their 2-2 draw with Angers. That marked Toure’s third appearance off the bench this month, having netted six times for Reims II since February.
Mat Ryan kept a clean sheet as AZ Alkmaar won 3-0 at NEC Nijmegen in the Dutch Eredivisie, coming only days after AZ’s UEFA Conference League exit following a 3-1 aggregate loss to West Ham United in the semi-finals.
Jackson Irvine got an assist as St Pauli’s faint promotion hopes were officially ended despite a 4-3 win over Holstein Kiel in the German 2.Bundesliga on Saturday.
Irvine, who put in a full shift, provided the pass for Oladapo Afolayan’s 39th minute equalizer to make it 1-1, with the tenacious midfielder getting a handy touch inside the box. Connor Metcalfe was a 78th minute substitute.
Fourth-placed St Pauli needed third-placed rivals Hamburg SV to lose in their later kick-off against Greuther Furth but they won 2-1, ending any hope for Irvine and Metcalfe’s side to secure the promotion playoff spot with one game to play.
Aussie 23-year-old forward John Iredale came off the bench to grab an 81st minute equalizer for promotion hopefuls Wehen Wiesbaden in their 1-1 draw at leaders Elversberg in the German 3.Liga.
Iredale entered the game in the 78th minute and scored three minutes later for 10-man Wehen, who slip to fourth on goal difference behind third-placed VfL Osnabruck in the second automatic promotion spot with one game to play. Freiburg II are second but cannot be promoted.
Ajdin Hrustic was back on the Hellas Verona bench for the first time since January due to injury but remained an unused substitute as they lost 3-1 at Atalanta in Italy’s Serie Aon Saturday. The result leaves Verona in 18th, in the drop zone, with two games to play.
Fran Karacic played a full game as Brescia rescued a 2-2 draw at Palermo but it wasn’t enough to avoid a relegation playout date with Cosenza in Italy’s Serie B. The two sides, who ended the regular season in 16th and 17th, will meet in a two-legged playout with the loser relegated.
Awer Mabil was a 77th minute substitute for Sparta Prague as they rallied from a goal down to win 2-1 over Bohemians and move a step closer to winning the Czech 1.Liga title. With two games to play, Sparta are top by five points from second-placed Slavia Prague.
A frustrated Aziz Behich was sent off for a second yellow card for dissent deep in stoppage-time as Dundee United moved to the brink of relegation from the Scottish Premiership after a 2-1 loss at Livingston. Mark Birighitti played a full game, while Behich had also started.
The loss means United remain last with two games to play, sitting three points behind 10th-placed Kilmarnock in safety and two points behind 11th-placed Ross County in the relegation playoff spot.
Behich’s red will mean he’ll be suspended for the midweek clash with Kilmarnock. United boss Jim Goodwin said: “I’ll need to see the referee’s report but, if that’s the case, then it’s extremely disappointing. Aziz is an experienced player and very important. We can’t afford to lose anyone at this critical stage.”
Stefan Mauk came off the bench to score the winner as Fagiano Okayama beat Kusatsu 2-1 in the Japanese J2 League on Sunday. Mauk was an 80th minute substitute before scoring five minutes later.
Mitch Duke started and played 83 minutes as Machida Zelvia maintained their seven-point league lead with a 2-1 victory over Shimizu S-Pulse.
Others
Full games
Nathaniel Atkinson, Kye Rowles & Cam Devlin (all Hearts), Keanu Baccus (St Mirren), Ryan McGowan (St Johnstone), James Holland (Austria Vienna), Peter Makrillos (Cheongju), Alex Grant (Pohang Steelers), Lachlan Jackson (Suwon FC), Harrison Delbridge (Incheon United), Patrick Flottmann (Seongnam), Mitch Langerak (Nagoya Grampus)
Minutes
Jimmy Jeggo – SB 59 (Hibernian), Lewis Miller – SB 81 (Hibernian), Ryan Strain – ST 83 (St Mirren), Nikita Rukavytsya – SB 65 (Maccabi Haifa), Aaron Calver – SB 74 (Gwangju FC), Brad Smith – SB 74 (Houston Dynamo), Thomas Deng – SB 81 (Albirex Niigata)
Unused subs
Garang Kuol (Hearts), Doni Grdic (Sibenik)
Notable absentees
Aaron Mooy – minor injury (Celtic), Milos Degenek – ankle injury (Columbus Crew), Alex Gersbach (Colorado Rapids)
