Aussies abroad: Sainsbury’s starting debut in Switzerland

In a huge boost for the Caltex Socceroos, defender Trent Sainsbury started his first game since November to help his new club to a hard-fought draw in Switzerland overnight.

The 26-year-old got through 86 minutes for Grasshopper as they played out a 1-1 draw away to Zurich.

It follows on from his brief substitute appearance in last week’s 2-0 loss to Thun.

The former Mariners defender has struggled with injury in recent times and missed Australia’s recent friendlies against Norway and Colombia as he looks to regain fitness.

Elsewhere, Tomi Juric was introduced in the 80^th minute but couldn’t prevent FC Luzern from falling to a 1-0 loss away to Thun.

In Belgium, Danny Vukovic started and kept a clean sheet as Genk secured a gritty 1-0 win at home to Standard Liege.

In the Scottish Premiership, Jamie Maclaren got through 56 minutes for Hibernian in a 1-1 draw away to Ross County.

In the J-League, former Newcastle Jets attacker Andrew Nabbout played the final 30 minutes as Urawa Reds secured a 1-0 win against Vegalta Sendai.

It was an unhappy night for Mitch Langerak between the posts as Nagoya Grampus were thumped 3-0 by Consadole Sapporo.