There were some clutch goals from some Socceroos over the weekend as John Iredale and James Holland were on the scoresheet in the first legs of their respective finals.
There was also a debut in Major League Soccer for Olyroo Giuseppe Bovalina, as well as some standout defensive performances elsewhere.
Here is how it all played out.
Subway Socceroos
John Iredale (cap #640) came off the bench in the 70th minute to score in Wehen Wiesbaden’s 2-2 draw with Jahn Regensburg on Saturday morning in the 2. Bundesliga Qualification Final first leg. Iredale’s, just seconds after coming on, put the side into the lead, but Regensburg quickly equalised.
Iredale is likely to be involved again when Wiesbaden play the home leg of the final on Wednesday.
In the Austrian Bundesliga ECL final, James Holland (cap #508) proved the difference for Austria Wien, scoring the opening goal in their 2-1 first-leg win over Hartberg on Saturday morning. The midfielder put in an all-round performance, contributing eight passes into the final third and making 14 recoveries.
Holland’s Austria Wien will look to finish the job and lift the trophy when they face Hartberg in the second leg next Wednesday.
In Norway’s Eliteseien, Nick D’Agostino (cap #621) and Gianni Stesness (cap #671) started Viking’s 3-0 win over HamKam on Monday morning. D’Agostino played 73 minutes, while Stesness earned a clean sheet, playing a full game in defence. Stesness completed 82 passes and won four of his five duels.
In the final match of the Belgium First Division A season, Jordan Bos (cap #632) played a full match for Westerlo in their 2-1 win over OH Leuven on Sunday. The team finishes the season in last place in the playoff ECL Group, and Sunday’s win was their first since mid-February.
Alex Gersbach (cap #587) came on in the 35th minute of Kalmar FF’s 5-0 loss to Malmo FF in Sweden’s Allsvenskan on Saturday morning.
Also in Europe, Awer Mabil (cap #597) played 75 minutes for Grasshopper in their Swiss Super League Qualification first-leg 1-1 draw with Thun on Monday morning. Mabil’s Grasshopper will need to prevail in the second leg this weekend to keep their place in the Swiss top flight.
Over to the J1 League, where Thomas Deng (cap #598) played a full game on Saturday night as Alibrex Niigata lost 2-1 to Avispa Fukuoka. Deng played well, winning all of his aerial duels and completing 122 passes.
Elsewhere in Japan’s top flight, Mitch Duke (cap #559) played from the 59th minute for Machida Zelvia in their stoppage-time 2-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds on Sunday.
Also, Mitch Langerak (cap #566) was the goalkeeper for Nagoya Grampus' 1-1 draw with Kyoto Sanga on Sunday afternoon.
In K-League 1, Harrison Delbridge (cap #623) played all of Incheon United’s 1-1 draw with Gwangju on Saturday night.
In Thai League, Kenny Dougall (cap #608) played all of Buriram United’s 8-2 win over Khonkaen United on Sunday night in their final league game of the season.
Brad Smith (cap #575) came on at halftime in Houston Dynamo’s 2-1 loss to LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer on Sunday afternoon.
Subway Olyroos
Tyrese Francois played a full game for Vejle Boldklub on Saturday night, but they lost 1-0 to Randers in the final round of the Danish Superligaen Relegation Group. The team have avoided relegation, finishing five points behind group leaders five points.
In MLS, Giuseppe Bovalina came on in the 58th minute of Vancouver Whitecaps' 2-1 loss to Inter Miami on Sunday afternoon. It was the 19-year-old’s debut in the competition as he continues to get minutes for his new team.
Louis D’Arrigo played just over an hour of Lechia G’dansk’s 4-1 loss to Miedz Legnica on Sunday in the final round of this season’s Polish Iliga.
On Saturday night, Alexandar Popovic remained an unused substitute for Gwangju as they drew 1-1 with Incheon United in K-League 1.