Holman on fire with double strike
Qantas Socceroo midfielder Brett Holman has continued on his recent good goalscoring run, with a double strike for NEC Nijmegen in a 3-1 win over De Graafschap in Holland.
Qantas Socceroo midfielder Brett Holman has continued on his recent good goalscoring run, with a double strike for NEC Nijmegen in a 3-1 win over De Graafschap in Holland.
Holman-s performance with goals in the 33rd and 75th minutes, was the standout in a weekend that was not particular good for our Aussies abroad.
The result lifted NEC further away from the relegation zone, with Holman-s goals in the past few weeks proving invaluable. He has now scored four goals in his past three games.
It was a dark weekend for Mark Schwarzer in their FA Cup quarter final clash with Championship side Cardiff City. After the defeats of heavyweights Manchester United and Chelsea, Middlesbrough never had a better opportunity to win the FA Cup, but was beaten 2-0 at home. Two early goals sealed Boro-s fate, in a disappointing display.
In the English Premier League, only two players were in action as Tim Cahill played the majority of the match, as Everton kept the pressure on Liverpool with a 1-0 win over Sunderland. It wasn-t good for Lucas Neill though, as West Ham suffered its third straight 4-0 defeat, this time going down to London-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Bristol City-s charge to the Championship title was stalled slightly, after they were held to a 0-0 by Leicester City. Paul Henderson played a full game for Leicester, while Nick Carle was replaced shortly after half time for Bristol. Bristol-s lead at the top stays at three points over Stoke City, but Watford and West Brom are lurking close behind with games in hand.
Better news for David Carney, who was restored to the Sheffield United starting line-up, playing 71 minutes in a 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle; Richard Garcia was replaced late in the match, as Hull City-s charge to the promotion play-offs continued with a comfortable 2-0 win over Scunthorpe; while Chris Coyne played a full game, as Colchester lost 2-1 away at Crystal Palace.
Scott McDonald was replaced after 72 minutes, as Celtic narrowly avoided a surprise exit from the Scottish Cup, scoring a last minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen.
In the Serie A, Zeljko Kalac played a full game in AC Milan-s 3-1 win over Empoli; Vince Grella played a full game in Torino-s vital 1-0 win over Atalanta, while Mark Bresciano remained on the bench for Palermo in a 1-1 draw against Udinese.
In Germany, Josh Kennedy was the only Aussie to see action, playing a full game, but unable to get on the score sheet, as Karlsruhe lost 2-0 at Bayern Munich.