McDonald on the double for Motherwell

Qantas Socceroo striker Scott McDonald continued his recent good form with a brace of goals, as Motherwell trounced Kilmarnock 5-0 in the Scottish Premier League. McDonald will not be back in Australia for the upcoming double-header against Paraguay and Bahrain, but has given coach Graham Arnold plenty to think with his form of late.

Qantas Socceroo striker Scott McDonald continued his recent good form with a brace of goals, as Motherwell trounced Kilmarnock 5-0 in the Scottish Premier League. McDonald will not be back in Australia for the upcoming double-header against Paraguay and Bahrain, but has given coach Graham Arnold plenty to think with his form of late.

McDonald was a handful for the Killie defence all night and got his reward in the final ten minutes by rounding off the scoring in the 82nd and 86th minutes, before getting an early rest. For Kilmarnock, Danny Invincibile played a full game and cleared one McDonald goal bound shot off the line in the second half.

In Italy, Marco Bresciano helped his Palermo team back to the top of the Serie A standings, after a 1-0 win at Chievo Verona, playing almost a full game. Meanwhile his good mate and fellow Qantas Socceroo Vince Grella played a full game, as Parma wretchered start to the season continued, beaten 3-2 away at Sampdoria.

There was little joy for our boys in the English Premier League, with Craig Moore forced to work overtime in combating a rampant Manchester United at Old Trafford. Moore played a full game for Newcastle, as they lost 2-0.

There was heartache for Middlesbrough pair Mark Schwarzer and Mark Viduka, who both played full games, as they conceded an injury time goal to lose 2-1 away at Sheffield United.

The same thing happened to Tim Cahill and his Everton side against Manchester City, but they at least managed a draw.

The only winners for the weekend among the Aussies in England-s top flight were Lucas Neill and Brett Emerton, whom both played full games in the 2-1 win over near neighbours Wigan Athletic.

In the Netherlands, Jason Culina made a return from injury, coming on as a late substitute in PSV-s 0-0 draw away at Heerenveen, while Luke Wilkshire was replaced in the 90th minute, as he helped FC Twente stage a fightback that saw them beat RKC Waalwijk 4-3. Brett Holman played 72 minutes as NEC Nijmegen recorded a handy 2-0 win against Heracles Almelo.

Meanwhile John Aloisi played a full game for CD Alaves, as they lost 1-0 at Murcia.