McDonald netted on 15 minutes after Gary O'Neil teed him up, with the Australian scrambling the ball in despite Palace's appeals for offside.

The Eagles equalised just before the half-time but the Socceroo had chances to win it for Boro looping a header over and seeing a 12-yard strike well saved in the second stanza.

Carle started and played 72 minutes for the Eagles, while Brad Jones and McDonald put in full shifts for Boro, with Rhys Williams also starting before being replaced on 78 minutes.

In the English Premier League, Vince Grella was a 64th minute substitute for Blackburn as they drew 0-0 at Portsmouth. Brett Emerton was an unused sub.

Elsewhere, Richard Garcia started and played 74 minutes in Hull City's 2-0 loss at Stoke City.

In the Italian Serie A, Mark Bresciano remained out of the Palermo as they lost 2-0 to Sicilian rivals Catania. The result puts pressure on Palermo's grip on fourth spot.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Brett Holman was a 90th minute sub for AZ Alkmaar as they won 2-0 against FC Utrecht, the new home to Tommy Oar, Adam Sarota and Michael Zullo. James Holland wasn't involved for AZ.

Elsewhere in the Netherlands, Socceroo David Carney wasn't involved as leaders FC Twente won 2-0 at VVV Venlo.

In the Portuguese Liga Sagres young Aussie defender, Jason Davidson was an unused substitute for Pacos Ferreira as they drew 0-0 at home with Belenenses.

In the Turkish Super Lig, Mile Jedinak put in a full shift, picking up a booking, as Antalyaspor lost 2-1 at leaders Bursaspor.

In the German 2.Bundesliga, Socceroos midfielder Dario Vidosic was an unused substitute for MSV Duisburg as they defeated Rot-Weiss Ahlen 1-0.

In the German 3rd Liga, ex-Adelaide United defender Milan Susak played a full game as battling SpVgg Unterhaching got a much-needed 2-0 win over Jahn Regensburg.

In the Romanian Liga I, Spase Dilevski put in a full 90 minutes for Universitatea Craiova, who lost again 2-1 to FC Timisoara.Elsewhere, Tomislav Arcaba's International Curtea sunk closer to relegation after a 2-1 home loss to Rapid. Arcaba did not play.

In the Scottish Premier League, James Wesolowski was suspended while Trent McClenahan was an unused sub as Hamilton Accies lost 1-0 at Rangers.

Over to the UK's lower divisions, in the English Championship, Adam Federici was in goals for Reading as they lost 2-1 at Ipswich Town.

In the English League One, Shane Lowry and Neil Kilkenny both played full games as Leeds United's automatic promotion hopes took another hit after a 3-0 home loss to Swindon Town.

Meanwhile, Dean Heffernan's Huddersfield Town continue to push for a playoffs berth after a 2-1 win at Wycombe. Heffernan put in a full shift in the victory.

In the English League Two, Dean Bouzanis was on the bench as Accrington Stanley lost 3-1 at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa's Chris Herd played a full game for Lincoln City as they lost 1-0 at Cheltenham, while Oliver Bozanic was a 72nd minute sub as Aldershot drew 1-1 at Macclesfield and Shane Cansdell-Sherriff put in a full shift as Shrewsbury lost 2-1 at Torquay.

In the Scottish First Division, Simon Storey played a full game as Airdrie United got an important three points against his old club Partick Thistle with a 2-0 win.

Elsewhere, young Aussie pair Ryan McGowan and Rocky Visconte both started for Ayr United as they lost 3-0 at Dundee. Visconte was replaced at the break, while McGowan put in a full shift.

In the Setanta Sports Cup, goalkeeper Chris O'Connor's bid for the number one shirt at Bohemians was boosted by a good performance in a 2-1 win over Linfield in the first-leg of their semi-final.

Over to Asia, in the Japanese J.League, Eddy Bosnar put in a full shift as Shimizu S-Pulse went top with a 2-1 victory at Yokohama F. Marinos.

Elsewhere in the J.League, Joshua Kennedy played a full game up front for Nagoya Grampus as they cruised past Vissel Kobe 2-0, while Matthew Spiranovic was an unused sub in Urawa Reds' 2-1 win over Shonan Bellmare.