Aussies Abroad: Luongo on scoresheet, Langerak stretchered off

Massimo Luongo scored the fourth as Queens Park Rangers stunned Swansea City to surge towards Championship safety.

The struggling West London club welcomed the mid-table Swans to Loftus Road as they fought to preserve their second-tier status following the sacking of coach Steve McClaren on April 1.

Caretaker manager John Eustace saw his side make a dream start, going two goals to the good in five minutes through Darnell Furlong and Tomer Hemed.

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Israeli frontman Hemed doubled his tally on 17 minutes to give the Hoops breathing space and Caltex Socceroo Luongo put the seal on the 4-0 victory with his 54th-minute strike.

Football London rated Luongo’s game as eight out of ten, and described the performance as: ‘Got stuck in high up the field, putting his team-mates in dangerous positions within sight of goal.

‘Got his reward early in the second half when he was on hand to fire home and remove any concerns about a potential Swansea comeback.’

The Swans had won four straight going into the game, but the upset victory rockets Rangers eight points clear of the drop zone with four games remaining.

Elsewhere in the Championship, Jackson Irvine’s Hull City went down 1-0 against playoff-chasing rivals Middlesbrough.

Sitting a point behind Boro before kick-off, Nigel Adkins’ team missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on the top six. 

Britt Assombalonga’s 25th-minute goal puts a huge dent in the Tigers’ playoff chances, with Hull now five points off the pace with four games to play.

Meanwhile, it was a day to forget for the Premier League’s two Caltex Socceroos.

Aaron Mooy appeared from the bench after 82 minutes with Huddersfield Town trailing Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 after goals from Victor Wanyama and Lucas Moura.

Moura added two more strikes in the closing stages at Spurs’ new stadium to wrap up a 4-0 win against the bottom-of-the-table Terriers.

Mat Ryan conceded five as Brighton & Hove Albion were turned over by Bournemouth at the AMEX Stadium.

Goals from Dan Gosling and Ryan Fraser put the Cherries in the ascendancy. Anthony Knockaert’s 68th-minute red card did not help matters, and the visitors knocked in three more in last 16 minutes through David Brooks, Callum Wilson and Junior Stanislas.

In better news for the Seagulls, Cardiff City’s 2-0 loss at Burnley keeps Brighton five points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone.

Langerak carried off after head blow

Goalkeeper Mitch Langerak was stretchered off in the 31st minute of Nagoya Grampus’ J-League match with Yokohama F. Marinos.

Brazilian striker Jo had given Grampus an eighth-minute lead, but that was soon cancelled out by Marinos attacker Marcos Junior.

Langerak suffered a blow to head when he clashed with Keita Endo and spent several minutes down on the pitch. The 30-year-old was replaced by back-up Yohei Takeda, with his manager Yahiro Kazama explaining he suffered a concussion.

“He has a concussion. I haven’t heard anything (from our medical staff) but it doesn’t sound like it was much more serious than that,” Kazama told the Japan Times.

Back home in the Hyundai A-League, Rhyan Grant played 90 minutes as Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers battled to a pulsating 1-1 derby draw at ANZ Stadium.

And Jamie Maclaren could not breach Adelaide United’s stubborn defence as Melbourne City were held to a 0-0 draw at AAMI Park.

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This article was originally published on the Socceroos website.
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