Aussies Abroad: Sapsford scores twice in a week as Melburnian defeats Reds in ACL

There was plenty of midweek football in Europe this week with knockout cups taking place across most of the major European leagues, whilst Asian Champions League football also involved plenty of Socceroos squad members and hopefuls. 

Heavy defeats for Reds and Jets – but one Aussie went home happy

Adelaide United suffered a surprise AFC Champions League 2 defeat to Singapore’s Lion City Sailors, whose back five kept a clean sheet despite the Reds accumulating 59% possession and even 1.59 expected goals in a 2-0 defeat. 

34-year-old Melbourne-born centre back Bailey Wright was one of Lion City’s star performers, making a goal saving clearance off the line and as well as three interceptions as he rated 7.6 out of 10 on Flashscore’s in-house player rating system. 

Wright has spent three years in Singapore after playing almost 400 games across the English Championship, League One, EFL Cup and FA Cups combined with Preston North End, Bristol City and Sunderland.

It followed an 8.3 writing in Lion City’s previous Champions League 2 game, and with the team on a five-game winning streak across all competitions and having scored 17 goals to just one conceded during that time, Wright continues to make a very positive impact on his side. 

It can’t be guaranteed that new Newcastle Jets recruit Pat Wood flew home from Japan in a good mood after his team were thrashed 5-2 by Kyoto, but he can at least be somewhat pleased with his own efforts after he converted both first half penalties handed to the Jets before they collapsed like a bad souffle. 

Still, even with Wood the best rated Newcastle player of the night with 7.1 out of 10, his performance still left a lot to be desired, with his penalty kicks being the only two of his five shots to go down as on target.

Wood also lost seven of his nine individual duels, having been dominated by Japanese centre back Hisashi Tawiah throughout the evening, which is why he rated in the low 7s despite being on the scoresheet twice. 

The Jets are at the bottom of the Champions League standings with three consecutive defeats and a GD of -11, whilst Adelaide are second in their four-team group with six points from three matches.

Sapsford puts another goal past Celtic

Former Western Sydney Wanderer forward Zachary Sapsford recorded his second career goal against Scottish superpowers Celtic, this time a 28th minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park with his Dundee United enormous underdogs. 

Dundee caught Celtic napping and pounced twice in five minutes to take a first-half lead before the hosts were able to salvage something in the 65th minute. 

It came four days after a match-winning strike at home to Aberdeen that was the fifth of United’s six consecutive games without a defeat, a run that has them sitting pretty in the top half of the standings. 

Sapsford moved ahead of former Auckland FC forward Jesse Randall to become Dundee United’s first player to three Premiership goals this season, in addition to three Scottish League Cup goals earlier in the season. 

The 24-year-old has now scored twice against Celtic and twice against Rangers, proving that he belongs at this level. 

Two in a row? How about three… 

Not goals, but assists. 

Former Adelaide United right back Ryan Strain unwillingly left his teammate Sapsford behind at Dundee last season after the expiration of his contract before he was offered a lineline as a free agent by Falkirk, where in just 11 matches he has already matched his best output for most assists in any of his five Scottish Premiership campaigns. 

Strain has contributed to Falkirk goals in five of their last seven matches and the club collected 13 of a possible 15 points from those five matches and they joined Dundee United in the top-six after the midweek matchday as a result. 

He also recorded two match-best player ratings in that stretch, this time a brilliant 8.7 out of 10 having also made a goal-saving clearance in a 1-0 victory and topping the match counts for both ball touches (87) and progressive passes (11/19). 

Strain described 2025/26 as “probably my worst season in Scotland” and had joined an off-season training camp for unattached players, at times wondering if his time in the Premiership had come to an end. 

Instead, he has grabbed his second chance with both hands and is producing his best form since his inaugural season in the competition. 

In other news…

• Goalkeeper Ashley-Maynard Brewer saved two big chances for five saves total in Sheffield Wednesday’s 1-1 League One draw at home to Cambridge United, rating 7.6 as a result. 

• Harry Souttar won the penalty that teammate Bobby De Cordova-Reid converted to ice Leicester City’s 3-0 League One win over Wigan, with the Foxes now in 11th place but just three points off the top-six. Souttar also won six of his eight individual duels and recorded a game-high seven clearances to rate 7.5 out of 10.

• Marcus Younis rated 7.4 for Brondby in a cup win away to second-tier AB Kobenhavn, though he was well off the mark with his attacking passing, missing the target with eight of nine progressive passes including all six into the box. 

• 35-year-old Mitch Duke again started for Machida Zelvia in the Champions League, a role he has taken on proudly whilst deputising for Koki Ogawa in the J1 League. Both of his shots were either blocked or off-target, but the veteran made two successful dribbles and passed with 64% accuracy in the front third, which isn’t bad for that level of football.  

• Jake Girdwood-Reich recorded his first assist at new club Motherwell, setting up young Zimbabwean striker Tawanda Maswanhise to take the lead in a 2-2 draw away to St Johnstone. 

Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.