Strikers on target again

Socceroos strike pairing of Scott McDonald and Joshua Kennedy continued on their scoring ways with their club sides Celtic and Karlsruhe respectively, to earn important results for their sides.

Socceroos strike pairing of Scott McDonald and Joshua Kennedy continued on their scoring ways with their club sides Celtic and Karlsruhe respectively, to earn important results for their sides.

McDonald took his Scottish Premier League total of goals to 17 (22 overall) with a double in Celtic-s 5-1 thrashing of Aberdeen, while Kennedy made it two in a row for his new club Karlsruhe, as they drew 2-2 away at Hannover 96.

The first of McDonald-s double, came after he was fouled in the penalty box just before half time and the former Motherwell striker made no mistake from the spot to put his side 3-0 ahead. His second came three minutes after the break to make it 4-0 and he was replaced midway through the half with his work done.

Kennedy-s tall frame was again used to perfection by Karlsruhe, as he scored the first equalizing goal in the 61st minute, with a perfectly placed header and then had the chance to put his side ahead shortly after but didn-t connect properly with his shot from right in front. He was replaced soon after as his team earned a valuable point away from home.

Brett Holman was another to find the back of the net for his Dutch side on the weekend, netting NEC Nijmegen second goal from a 20-yard strike in the 13th minute. NEC went onto beat AZ Alkmaar 5-2 and eases their relegation worries.

Mile Sterjovski made his debut for Derby County, although it wasn-t a memorable one. Coming on in the 74th minute, Sterjovski-s new team conceded two late goals at home, to lose 3-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.

Tim Cahill played a full game for Everton and had a few chances to score, as they eventually won 1-0 against Reading, who had Adam Federici on the bench. Mark Schwarzer also had a full game, as Middlesbrough won 1-0 at home against Fulham; Lucas Neill gave away a penalty, as West Ham drew 1-1 at home against Birmingham City, while both Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka had to make do with spots on the bench for Liverpool and Newcastle United respectively.

In the Championship, Nick Carle was denied by a superb save from the Sheffield Wednesday keeper to get his Bristol City goal tally off the ground, but his team maintained its high-placing on the table with a 2-1 win; Chris Coyne enjoyed a full game, as Colchester earned a valuable point away at Burnley and Patrick Kisnorbo played a full game for Leicester City in a 1-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle. Qantas Socceroo defender David Carney was not included in the Sheffield United side, while Richard Garcia had to return to Australia on compassionate grounds and missed Hull City-s 2-2 draw with Blackpool.

In Italy, best mates Vince Grella and Mark Bresciano came face to face on the field, albeit for just a few minutes, with Bresciano coming on as a late substitute in Palermo-s 3-1 loss to Torino, for whom Grella played a full game.

Michael Beauchamp put the disappointment of missing the Socceroos match, with a full game for Nurnberg, in a 1-1 draw with Hansa Rostock; Scott Chipperfield was replaced at half time in FC Basel-s 3-0 win over Neuchatel Xamax, while Jason Culina (PSV) and Luke Wilkshire (FC Twente) did not play for their respective clubs in Holland.