In the English Championship, Scott McDonald marked his return to the Middlesbrough side with the winning goal as Boro beat Watford 2-1. McDonald, making his first appearance in the match-day squad for the season, came on in the 39th minute replacing the injured Justin Hoyte and made the most of his opportunity with a 78th minute winner. McDonald saw his initial shot on goal blocked, before he drilled a low shot into the bottom corner to give Boro their first win at Watford this century.

Elsewhere, Mile Jedinak played 90 minutes as Crystal Palace beat Burnley 4-3. Massimo Luongo was a 73rd minute substitute as Ipswich remained in the relegation zone with a 2-1 loss to Cardiff, while Shane Lowry was missing through suspension as Millwall beat Bolton 2-1.

Meanwhile, Neil Kilkenny was absent through injury as the Bristol City lost 2-0 at Leicester. Also missing was Patrick Kisnorbo, who was out of the Leeds side which beat Barnsley 1-0.

In the English Premier League, birthday boy Mark Schwarzer played the full 90 minutes as Fulham conceded a late goal to draw 2-2 with newly promoted Southampton. Schwarzer - who celebrated his 40th birthday at the weekend - was beaten by two headers from set-pieces but could do nothing to stop either goal.

Fellow ‘keepers Adam Federici and Brad Jones didn’t see any action. Federici was missing through injury in Reading’s 2-2 draw with Swansea while Jones was an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 0-0 stalemate with Stoke City.

Brett Holman started and played 74 minutes as Aston Villa lost 2-0 at Tottenham. Holman had a quiet shift in a side which lacked attacking quality. Chris Herd wasn’t in the match-day squad.

In the English League One, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was sent off in Preston North End’s 3-1 loss to Oldham Athletic. In a fixture that featured 5 Aussies, Cansdell-Sherriff picked up 2 yellow cards within 7 minutes of each-other in the second half. Bailey Wright put in a full shift in defence for Preston.

For Oldham, Dean Bouzanis had a quiet game between the sticks and would be disappointed to be beaten in the final minute of the game when an error from defender Jonathon Grounds left Bouzanis exposed and substitute Akpo Sodje slotted home to rob the Australian of a clean sheet. James Wesolowski put in a full shift in midfield for Oldham, while Alex Cisak was an unused substitute.

In the English League Two, James Meredith put in a full shift as Bradford City lost 4-3 at Dagenham, while ‘keeper Jamie Young played the full 90 minutes in goal for Aldershot as they went down 1-0 to Chesterfield.

Aaron Downes put in a full shift in defence for Torquay as they lost 2-1 to Wycombe.

In Scotland, Ryan McGowan played all game for Hearts at right-back in their 1-0 loss to champions Celtic. Dylan McGowan was an unused substitute for Hearts while Jackson Irvine wasn’t in the Celtic match-day squad.

Alex Baird remained on the bench as Dundee FC were beaten 3-0 by Hibernian.

In the Scottish Second Division, Marc Warren’s good run in the side continued, putting in a full shift as Airdrie United were thumped 4-0 by Hamilton, while in the Third Division, Francesco Stella was absent from the match-day squad as Rangers suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Stirling Albion.

In German Bundesliga, Robbie Kruse put in a full shift as Fortuna Dusseldorf lost their first game of the season, going down 1-0 to Nikita Rukavystya’s FSV Mainz. Kruse provided a golden chance for Dusseldorf to open the scoring on 65 minutes as his cross found Dani Schahin but he couldn’t direct his header on goal. Rukavystya was an unused substitute for Mainz.

Mitch Langerak was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund’s sluggish start to the season continued, drawing 1-1 with Hannover 96.

In the German Second Division, Mathew Leckie returned from injury, coming on as a 59th minute substitute as FSV Frankfurt drew 1-1 with Paderborn.

In the German Third Division, Mustafa Amini was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund II remained on the bottom of the table following a 2-1 loss to Chemnitzer FC.

In Serie A, James Troisi was an unused substitute as Atalanta slipped into the relegation zone following a 2-0 loss to AS Roma.

In Serie B, Carl Valeri remained out with injury, despite his recent Socceroos call-up, as Sassuolo beat Valeri’s former side Grosseto 2-1.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Tommy Oar and Adam Sarota put in a full shift for FC Utrecht and they drew 1-1 away to Ajax. Michael Zullo was an unused substitute in the clash.

Jason Davidson remained out with an ankle problem as Heracles beat PEC Zwolle 3-0, while Travis Cooper was absent from the match-day squad as VVV Venlo remained on the bottom of the table with a 3-0 loss to Roda Kerkrade.

In the Dutch Second Division, Corey Gameiro was a 64th minute substitute as FC Eindhoven beat FC Oss 4-1.

In Austria, James Holland played the full 90 minutes for Austria Wien as they drew 1-1 with Sturm Graz.

In Denmark, Brent McGrath was absent from the match-day squad as Brondby lost 3-1 to Aalborg BK.

In the Czech Republic, Kerem Bulut was a 66th minute substitute as Mlada Boleslav lost 1-0 at home to Sigma Olomouc.

In Croatia, Tomi Juric came on in the 89th minute as Inter Zapresic drew 1-1 with HNK Zagreb, while Steven Lustica was absent from the match-day squad as Hadjuk Split hammered Cibalia Vinkovci 4-0.

In Russia, Luke Wilkshire was absent from the Dinamo Moscow squad as fell to a 2-0 loss to FK Anzhi.

In Serbia, Matthew Byrne played the full 90 minutes as Donji Srem drew 1-1 with Radicki Nis, while Eli Babalj played the final 20 minutes as Red Star Belgrade were thumped 3-0 by Zlatibor Voda.

In the K-League, Matt McKay returned from suspension to play a full game in midfield for Busan I’Park in their 1-0 loss to Eddy Bosnar’s Suwon Bluewings. Bosnar missed the clash through suspension.

Former Melbourne Heart defender Brendan Hamill started and played 80 minutes for Seongnam as they drew 0-0 with Incheon United, who were again without Nathan Burns.

Alex Wilkinson played the final 30 minutes of Jeonbuk’s 3-0 home loss to the Pohang Steelers, while Robert Cornthwaite was a 52nd minute substitute as Chunnam Dragons drew 2-2 with Daegu. Fellow Aussie Matt Simon wasn’t a part of the Chunnam match-day squad.

Luke Devere put in a full shift for Gyeongnam as their slow start to the K-League Championship group continued with a 1-0 loss to FC Seoul.

In the J-League, Josh Kennedy was missing for Nagoya Grampus with a back problem as they played out a 0-0 draw with Omiya Adiya.

Elsewhere, Jade North was missing for Consadole Sapporo as the J-League’s bottom club secured a shock 2-1 win over third placed Urawa Red Diamonds. Sapporo are 17 points from relegation with 6 games remaining.

In China, Joel Griffiths and Dino Djulbic both found the back of the net as Djulbic’s Guizhou Renhe beat Shanghai Shenhua 4-2. Djulbic, occupying an unfamiliar role as striker, provided a cool finish late in the first half, while Griffiths struck just after the hour mark with a diving header.

Elsewhere, Milan Susak put in a full shift in defence as Tianjin Teda beat Shanghai Shenxin 1-0. Daniel Mullen played the full 90 minutes as Dalian Aerbin beat Beijing Guoan 3-1, while Rostyn Griffiths was absent from the match-day squad as Guangzhou R&F lost 2-1 to Changchun Yatai.

On Thursday, Richard Porta did his Socceroo hopes no harm at all, finding the net in Dubai’s 3-2 loss to Nick Carle’s Baniyas. Porta struck on 77 minutes to give his side a 2-1 lead, latching onto a through ball before lifting a neat finish into the top corner. However, the lead was short lived as Baniyas scored twice in the final five minutes to steal a 3-2 win. Carle was a 60th minute substitute in the clash.

Elsewhere, Alex Brosque scored his first goal for Al Ain as they trounced newly promoted Al Dhafra 7-0. Brosque came on in the 60th minute and scored just eight minutes later, firing home from close range after a clever flick from Mohamed Abdulrahman. Brosque then returned the favour in stoppage time as he provided the pass for Abdulrahman to finish.

Lucas Neill played 90 minutes as Al Wasl drew 2-2 with Al Ahli.

Finally in the MLS, Tim Cahill played the full 90 minutes as New York Red Bulls dropped to fourth following a 2-0 loss to the Chicago Fire.