Danny Vukovic has played an important role in Genk’s win in the Belgian Cup on Thursday morning (AEDT), while his Caltex Socceroos teammate Martin Boyle was integral in Hibernian avoiding defeat in the Scottish Premier League.
Up against Sporting Charleroi, it wasn’t looking good for Genk at the break as they trailed 1-0, with only a couple of vital interventions from Vukovic keeping them in the contest.
And it gave the league-leaders the impetus to fight back in the second half, scoring three times to emerge 3-1 winners.
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Goals from Sebastien Dewaest, Joakim Maelhle and Zinho Gano completed a stunning fightback from the visitors to book their spot in the Belgian Cup quarter-finals.
Vukovic’s Genk, who are four points clear at the top of the league, host Kortrijk this weekend.
In Scotland, all three Caltex Socceroos were involved for Hibernian as they came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with St Mirren.
Boyle played from the start for Neil Lennon’s men and set-up their first equaliser, after a quick throw-in caught out the visitors, with the Aussie winger pulling the ball back for Oli Shaw to tap in.
Fellow Aussies Mark Milligan and Jamie Maclaren were second-half substitutes for Hibs, whose winless run has now stretched to seven games in all competitions.
Tom Rogic was also left on the bench for Celtic, coming on for the last nine minutes as the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Motherwell.
Elsewhere, Andrew Nabbout’s Urawa Reds won through to the final of the Emperor’s Cup in Japan after a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers in the semi-final on Wednesday night.
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Nabbout wasn’t involved for Urawa but will hope to feature in the final after Mauricio Antonio netted the only goal of the game for the Reds on 27 minutes.
Urawa will take on Vegalta Sendai in the decider later this month, with the winner to earn a spot in next year’s AFC Champions League.
Meanwhile, Caltex Socceroos defender Milos Degenek started again as his Red Star Belgrade beat Spartak Subotica 3-1 to maintain their nine-point lead at the top in Serbia.
