Jackson Irvine scored the winner as St Pauli moved into top spot in the German 2.Bundesliga and one win away from promotion to the top flight.
Irvine headed home the decisive goal in the 52nd minute as St Pauli beat Hansa Rostock 1-0 on Friday.
The Socceroo had earlier put through Aljoscha Kemlein in on goal with a smart angled header, but the latter’s shot was saved.
From the resultant corner, delivered by Marcel Hartel, Irvine glanced a header in trademark fashion in at the back post.
Irvine put in a full shift while Connor Metcalfe started and played 85 minutes as St Pauli moved to 63 points with three games to play, ahead of Holstein Kiel (61) and third-placed Fortuna Dusseldorf (56). The top two are automatically promoted.
Kye Rowles and Cameron Devlin both earned 8/10 ratings as Hearts opened the Scottish Championship Phase with a 0-0 draw at Kilmarnock, as they chase a qualifying spot in the Europa League.
Rowles put in a full shift, receiving an 8/10 from Edinburgh Evening News, who wrote: “Strong and composed on the left side of defence. Distributed the ball with intelligence, too.”
Devlin started and played 81 minutes and was also rated 8/10: “Put in a few good tackles and interceptions. Hit the crossbar late in the first half. Got into advanced positions from midfield with a lot of running power. One of Hearts’ best players on the day.”
Martin Boyle received a 7/10 rating for his 90-minute shift in Hibernian’s 3-1 win away to Ryan McGowan’s St Johnstone.
Edinburgh Evening News wrote about Boyle: “Would love to see a goal from the livewire. But his willingness and ability to run at St Johnstone was key to putting Hibs on the offensive.”
McGowan played a full game, while Nectar Triantis was unused for Hibs.
Cameron Burgess put in a full shift and Massimo Luongo started and played 76 minutes as Ipswich Town missed out on a big chance to firm up their grip on automatic promotion after a 3-3 draw with playoffs hopefuls Hull City in the English Championship.
Jordan Bos was back into the Westerlo starting XI for the first time since a knee injury, putting in a full shift in a 3-2 loss away to Gent in the Belgian Pro League.
Mat Ryan kept a clean sheet as AZ Alkmaar secured a European spot for next season with a 3-0 win away to NEC Nijmegen in the Dutch Eredivisie. The victory means fourth-placed AZ are nine points clear of fifth-placed Ajax with three games to play.
Ajdin Hrustic’s Excelsior remain in a relegation battle after losing 3-1 at PEC Zwolle. Hrustic played a full game in the defeat, leaving Excelsior 15th and one point above the bottom three.
Alessandro Circati played a full game as Parma won 4-0 over Serie B bottom club Lecco to take a huge step towards promotion to Italy’s Serie A. Parma lead the league by five points with three games to play, sitting six points ahead of third-placed Venezia.
𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓tastic scenes 🥰💛💙 pic.twitter.com/VCVP8OvmJm
— Parma Calcio 1913 (@ParmaCalcio_en) April 27, 2024
Others
Full games
Tyrese Francois (Vejle), Gethin Jones (Bolton), Aleksandar Popovic (Gwangju), Mitch Langerak (Nagoya Grampus), Harrison Delbridge (Incheon United)
Minutes
Cristian Volpato – ST 46 (Sassuolo), Ryan Strain – ST 84, Keanu Baccus – SB 84 (both St Mirren), Patrick Yazbek – ST 61, Gianni Stensness – SB 60, Nick D’Agostino – ST 60 (all Viking), Sam Silvera – SB 61 (Middlesbrough), Anthony Kalik – SB 77 (Hajduk Split), Tomi Mrcela – ST 46 (Rudes), Callum Elder – SB 72 (Derby County), Caleb Watts – ST 46 (Exeter City), Kusini Yengi – SB 66 (Portsmouth), Mitch Duke – SB 69 (Machida Zelvia), Aaron Calver – SB 68 (Daejeon Citizen), Jonathon Aspropotamitis – SB 56 (Pohang Steelers), Trent Sainsbury – SB 73 (Al Wakrah), Brad Smith – SB 46 (Houston Dynamo)
Unused subs
Nicholas Bilokapic (Peterborough), Jack Iredale (Bolton), Lachlan Jackson (Suwon)
Notable absentees
Denis Genreau (Toulouse), Joe Gauci (Aston Villa), Tom Glover (Middlesbrough), Ryan Edwards (Amorebieta)
