Chipperfield on fire with hat-trick for FC Basel

Qantas Socceroo coach Pim Verbeek may have to re-think where he plays Scott Chipperfield for the national team, after Australian left fullback blasted a hat-trick for FC Basel overnight.

Qantas Socceroo coach Pim Verbeek may have to re-think where he plays Scott Chipperfield for the national team, after the Australian left fullback blasted a hat-trick for FC Basel overnight.

Chipperfield, plays predominantly at left full back for the national team, but plays in a more advanced role for FC Basel, scored two first half goals, before adding a third early in the second half in the 5-0 rout of FC Vaduz.

The former Wollongong Wolves star, has been a consistent goalscorer for Basel this season, but has found a niche at left full back for the national team, although with David Carney an option at left fullback, Chipperfield goalscoring exploits has given Verbeek the option of considing pushing the inform Chipperfield up in a more advanced role.

Chipperfield wasn-t the only player to star for his team overnight, as the national team comes into camp during the week for the World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan, with Mark Schwarzer receiving special praise in Fulham-s shock 2-0 win over Manchester United at Craven Cottage.

Fulham took advantage of Manchester going down a man early with Paul Scholes send off, but Schwarzer came to the fore in the second half, producing a string of terrific saves to keep Manchester out.

His manager Roy Hodgson praised Schwarzer after the match, saying: "I thought in the second half United came out very well. They took the game to us even though they had a man less. They pressurised us so much better in the second half and we have got goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to thank.

"He made three good saves, one from a Cristiano Ronaldo header and a fantastic double save. We've got him to thank because had they equalised at that time then who knows what would have happened?

"They had us against the ropes.”

Good news for Verbeek was that Carney played a full game for Norwich, as they continue to battle to get out of the relegation zone. Norwich drew 1-1 away at Birmingham City. Elsewhere in The Championship, Mile Sterjovski came on after 82 minutes, as Derby County struggled to a 0-0 draw at home against Barnsley, while Adam Federici and Nick Carle both stayed on the bench for Reading and Crystal Palace respectively, when they clashed at Selhurst Park.

Lucas Neill played a full game for West Ham in a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers, while Jason Culina and Luke Wilkshire also played full games in PSV and Dinamo Moscow-s respective wins. Michael Petkovic also played a full game, as Sivasspor drew 1-1 with Besiktas in Turkey.

The major concerns for Verbeek, are the non-appearance of Tim Cahill in Everton-s 2-1 loss at Portsmouth, while Josh Kennedy still remains on the outer at Karlsruhe, despite the team remaining bottom of the table after a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich.

Six more of the national team squad play on Sunday, while Carl Valeri and Michael Beauchamp are both not playing till Monday.

The Qantas Socceroo squad will come together on Wednesday, with the match against Uzbekistan a week later at Stadium Australia* in Sydney.

Tickets are still available for the important clash, with a win taking Australia to almost inevitable qualification for its second successive World Cup finals appearance.

To purchase your tickets, go to www.ticketek.com.au or phone on 132 849 or they can be purchased from all Ticketek outlets.