Play-off's for Aussie pair

It’s the play-off’s for Aussie pair Nick Carle and Richard Garcia, following the final round of the Championship on Sunday, which saw them miss out on automatic qualification to the English Premier League.

It-s the play-off-s for Aussie pair Nick Carle and Richard Garcia, following the final round of the Championship on Sunday, which saw them miss out on automatic qualification to the English Premier League.

Carle started for Bristol City in its comprehensive 3-0 win over Preston, which earned them 4th spot and a play-off against Crystal Palace. Meanwhile Garcia remains troubled by a shoulder injury and missed Saturday-s 1-0 loss to Ipswich that saw them finish in 3rd spot. Hull will now play Watford in the semi final play-off for the right to play in the final on May 24. The winner of the final will join West Brom and Stoke City in the Premier League next season.

The news wasn-t so good for several other Aussies in the Championship, with Leicester City relegated from the top-two divisions for the first time in its 124-year history. It-s 0-0 draw with Stoke featured Paul Henderson (full game) and James Wesolowski (remained on the bench), while national team defender Patrick Kisnorbo was out after injuring his knee last week.

Scott McDonald continues to score vital goals for Celtic, as the race for the Scottish Premier League title hots up. McDonald scored his 24th SPL goal and 30th overall for the season, as Celtic won 2-1 at McDonald-s former club Motherwell. The Hoops are now seven points clear of Rangers, who drew on Sunday, but Rangers do have three games in hand of the leaders, with two official rounds remaining.

In the English Premier League, Lucas Neill was at the centre of controversy during West Ham-s 4-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Already 3-1 down, Neill was sensationally head-butted by United-s Nani shortly before half time, after the pair remonstrated in the box. Nani received his marching orders and Neill had to put up with boos from the home fans for the remainder of the game.

Mark Schwarzer made his comeback from injury, by keeping a clean sheet in Middlesbrough-s 2-0 win over Portsmouth; Brett Emerton played a full game, as Blackburn Rovers made light work of Derby County 3-1, for whom Mile Sterjovski came on in the 66th minute, while Josip Skoko came on late in Wigan Athletic-s upset 2-0 win at Aston Villa.

Play-off action in Holland features two Socceroos, with Luke Wilkshire playing a full game in FC Twente-s emphatic 5-1 win against NAC Breda. Twente won 8-1 on aggregate and have advanced to the Champions League play-off final.

Meanwhile Brett Holman was replaced after 76 minutes, however NEC Nijmegen had already booked their place in the UEFA Cup play-off final, with a 3-0 aggregate win over Roda JC.

In the Serie A, Vince Grella came on in the 53rd minute, as Torino grabbed three vital points in their relegation dogfight, with a 2-1 win over Napoli. Torino are now three points clear of the relegation zone in 15th spot and need at least one more win to secure safety from the drop.