AZ were down two goals and a man within the first 22 minutes which prompted Gertjan Verbeek into replacing Holman with Dutch defender Nick Vergever after 24 minutes.

The home side added a third just before the break to end AZ Alkmaar’s run of four successive wins in all competitions.

Adam Sarota did not feature off the bench while Michael Zullo and Tommy Oar were both absent due to injury.

Sir Alex Ferguson was in attendance as Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough enjoyed a 3-0 win over Neil Kilkenny’s Bristol City. Kilkenny played 75 minutes before being replaced.

Adam Federici kept his 14th clean sheet of the season in Reading’s 1-0 triumph at home to Burnley. The Royals join Hull City in leading the league in clean sheets.

Mile Jedinak’s Crystal Palace enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win over Watford at Selhurst Park. The Socceroo midfielder played the entire match for Dougie Freedman’s side.

Shane Lowry’s Millwall were knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 2-0 against Premier League outfit Bolton Wonderers.

Elsewhere, Tim Cahill was not in the Everton side that beat Blackpool 2-0 to earn a quarter-final clash with Sunderland.

In the Bundesliga, Matthew Leckie replaced the injured Patrick Herrmann on 38 minutes but he then made way after eighty-two minutes as Borussia Monchengladbach moved to ensure all three points away to Kaiserslautern. Lucien Favre’s side eventually prevailed 2-1 in front of 45,661 fans at the Fritz-Walter Stadion.

Nikita Rukavytsya started for Hertha Berlin against Borussia Dortmund before being substituted in the 63rd minute. Dortmund secured a narrow 1-0 win and maintained their three-point advantage at the summit. Mitchell Langerak watched from the bench.

Aaron Mooy entered the fray with 26 minutes remaining in St.Mirren’s 0-0 draw at seventh placed Dundee United.

At Fir Park, Ryan McGowan put in a full shift but couldn’t prevent Hearts losing 3-0 to Motherwell. The west Edinburgh side have only won once in their last six matches in all competitions.

Matthew McKay was not involved as Rangers miserable week continued, beaten 1-0 at home to Kilmarnock. Embedded in turmoil, Rangers now trail Celtic by a mammoth 17 points.

James Holland continues to enjoy full game time in Austria, completing a full 90 minutes in Austria Vienna’s goalless draw with league leaders Rapid Vienna. 29,400 spectators packed the Ernst-Happel Stadion to see Rapid maintain their two-point lead at the top.

In Italy’s Serie B, Carl Valeri picked up a 33rd minute yellow card in Sassuolo’s goalless draw at home to Varese.

In Turkey, James Troisi put in a full shift for Kayserispor in their entertaining 3-3 draw with Trabzonspor while Kerem Bulut did not feature in Eskisehirspor’s 2-1 loss at home to Karabukspor.

In Greece, Apostolis Giannou played the entire match for PAOK in their 0-0 draw at home to Aris.

In League One, Alex Cisak was left helpless as Oldham Athletic suffered a demoralising 5-0 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons. The second half saw MK Dons hit the back of net four times to move within three points of fourth placed Huddersfield Town. Dean Bouzanis continued on the bench for Paul Dickov’s men while James Wesolowski was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

In League Two, Shrewsbury defeated Barnet 2-1 at the Underhill Stadium. Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was an absentee but the away side managed to close the gap on Southend and Cheltenham to two points.