Apostolos Stamatelopoulos grabbed a double with an assist to lead Motherwell past Dundee United 4-3 and up to fourth in the Scottish Premiership.
Stamatelopoulos opened the scoring with a close-range tap-in after 46 seconds from Marvin Kaleta’s cross.
Leading 2-1 on the stroke of half-time, Stamatelopoulos rose well to divert home Tawanda Maswanhise cross.
The Aussie turned provider to reinstate their two-goal lead after United pulled one back, laying off for Tom Sparrow to finish nicely.
He was replaced after 82 minutes, while Ryan Strain put in a full shift for United.
Stamatelopoulos has only managed four goals since his off-season move to Scotland from Newcastle Jets, but three have been scored this month, showing he’s finding his feet.
In Belgium’s Pro League on Sunday, Jordan Bos returned to the starting line-up for Westerlo and scored their lone goal in a 3-1 loss away to Union SG.
Bos netted in the 54th minute with his side trailing 3-0 at the time. The Socceroo put in a full shift at left-back.
In Italy’s Serie A on Sunday, Mat Ryan was an unused substitute in AS Roma’s 2-0 defeat away to Como.
⏱️ 54´ ⚽️ DOELPUNT ⚽️
Jordan Bos zorgt voor de aansluitingstreffer voor onze Kemphanen. #USGWES 3️⃣-1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/XvCxeXD1un— KVC Westerlo (@KVCWesterlo) December 15, 2024
In Serie B on Sunday, Ajdin Hrustic was a 63rd minute substitute for Salernitana in their 2-1 home loss to Juve Stabia.
In the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday, Max Balard played a full game in NAC Breda’s 2-1 home loss to AZ.
In Germany’s Bundesliga on Saturday, Jackson Irvine played a full game in St Pauli’s 2-0 home loss to Werder Bremen.
Irvine pushed wide a first-half header, with the result leaving St Pauli in 15th, just above the bottom three.
In France’s Ligue 1 on Friday, Denis Genreau made a brief cameo as a 90th minute substitute in Toulouse’s 2-1 home win over Saint-Etienne.
In England’s Premier League on Saturday, Cameron Burgess played another full 90-minute shift for Ipswich Town as they produced a 2-1 win at Wolverhampton to boost their survival bid.
Burgess was rated 8/10 by the East Anglian Daily Times, who wrote: “Really impressive once again. Sharp on the ball, chased absolutely everything and defended bravely.”
In England’s Championship on Saturday, Harry Souttar put in a full shift in Sheffield United’s 2-0 home triumph over Plymouth to re-claim top spot.
The Star rated Souttar 6/10 and wrote: “Had a strange running battle with Al Hajj in the first half, the pair grappling with each other while play continued around them before ref Hallam had a word with both.
“Superb late challenge on Obafemi after he looked to have got past the towering defender, who then won ball and man.”
In Croatia’s Prva HNL, Fran Karacic scored Lokomotiva’s second goal in their 3-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
Karacic, who put in a full shift at right-back, put Lokomotiva up 2-1 in the 36th minute with a header from a corner.
On Sunday, Aussie midfielder Anthony Kalik scored a double for Hajduk Split in a 2-2 draw with Rijeka.
Kalik scored both goals in the first half, starting and playing 91 minutes in the draw.
Others
Full games
Kye Rowles (Hearts), Cammy Devlin (Hearts), Aiden O’Neill (Standard Liege), Nectar Triantis (Hibernian), Gethin Jones (Bolton), Ash Maynard-Brewer (Charlton), Jacob Chapman (Huddersfield), Nicholas Bilokapic (Peterborough)
Minutes
Cristian Volpato – SB 87 (Sassuolo), Josh Nisbet – ST 75 (Ross County), Jack Iredale – ST 65 (Hibernian), Martin Boyle – SB 80 (Hibernian), Callum Elder – SB 66 (Derby County), Keanu Baccus – ST 55 (Mansfield), Caleb Watts – ST 46 (Exeter City)
Unused subs
Milos Degenek (Red Star)
Notable absentees
Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), Awer Mabil (Grasshoppers)
