Mitchell Langerak kept his 18th clean sheet of the season in Nagoya Grampus’ win in the J-League to surpass his own record for a season that he set in 2020.
The form of the ex-Borussia Dortmund ‘keeper has helped Nagoya Grampus climb to 4th in the J-League, with the second best defensive record, behind league leaders Kawasaki Frontale.
This week it was Tokushima Vortis who failed to find a way past Langerak, with Nagoya going on to win 3-0.
Two centre-backs plying their trade in South Korea hand stand out moments in the K-League this week.
Harrison Delbridge scored his first goal for Incheon United with a deft header across the Jeju United goalkeeper and into the far corner, while a perfectly-weighted ball over the top from Lachlan Jackson helped set up Suwon FC’s only goal in their win over Gangwon FC.
The arrival of September also means the return of the Thai League 1, which this year will feature three Australian players and even Aurelio Vidmar as head coach of BG Pathum United.
The former Adelaide United boss returns for a second spell at last season’s champions, and lead his team to a 2-0 win in their second match of the season, against Ratchaburi FC.
One of those three Australian’s on the field in Thailand is Jesse Curran, who helped spark a remarkable turn around after coming on as a substitute for Muanthong United.
After finding his team 3-0 down with just over 20 minutes to play, Curran played a major part in pulling a first goal back for the Kirins by nutmegging the full-back he was facing and cutting the ball back to the edge of the six yard box.
The ball was bundled home at the far post by Willian Topp, and Muanthong went on to draw 3-3.
Over in continental Europe, several young Australians played influential roles for their clubs.
In Germany, John Iredale scored his first goal for for SV Wehen Wiesbaden after joining the 3. Liga club on loan from SC Paderborn in a 3-1 defeat in the country’s captial against Viktoria Berlin.
Furthermore, Gabriel Cleur and Ryan Teague both got their first starts of the season in Italy and Portugal respectively. Cleur helped Virtus Entella to a 2-0 win in Serie C against Lucchese, whilst Teague played the full 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw for loan club S.C Covilhã against Benfica B in the Portuguese second division.
Milos Degenek kept a clean sheet for Red Star Belgrade and even provided the assist for the Red-Whites’ first goal in their 3-0 win against Proleter Novi Sad with a header back across goal that was tapped home by Sekou Sanogo.
In the English Championship, Kenny Dougall helped close out the final 10 minutes of Blackpool’s fantastic 1-0 win against Fulham, and after making his Socceroos debut earlier this week, Callum Elder returned to Hull City and continued his good form, helping the Tigers to a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Swansea City.
Finally, Cameron Peupion continued his eye-catching displays with Brighton & Hove Albion’s under-23s outfit, providing an assist in their 4-1 win against Blackburn Rovers U23s.
