Aussies Abroad: Disappointing night for Socceroos in Europa League

It was a night to forget for goalkeeper Danny Vukovic as his Genk side went down 3-1 to Sarpsborg 08, while Alex Gersbach’s Rosenborg failed to impress in their defeat to Red Bull Leipzig.

Danny Vukovic collects the ball against Sarpsborg Source: Getty Images

Genk started slow in the game and it cost them dearly, with Vukovic beaten for the opening goal by Patrick Mortensen in just the fifth minute of play.

There was hope when Leandro Trossard equalised for Genk in the 49th minute, but two more strikes from Sarpsborg in the 54th and 63rd minute assured defeat for the Belgian side.

Elsewhere, Gersbach played the full 90 minutes in his side’s lacklustre performance against RB Leipzig, as they conceded three unanswered goals until a consolation effort from Issam Jebali in the 79th minute.

Rosenborg now sit bottom of their UEFA Europa League group, having lost 1-0 to Celtic on the previous matchday.

It was another unfortunate result for Apostolos Giannou’s AEK Larnaca, with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen proving too strong as they prevailed 4-2.

Despite the score, Giannou was a standout for his side, providing an assist for the opening goal of the game in the 25th minute.

The Aussie attacker connected with a threatening cross in the air, heading the ball down to the feet of midfielder Ivan Trichkovski, who slotted the ball home.

Outside of the Europa League, defender Matt Jurman was given a yellow card in the 53rd minute of Al-Ittihad’s 2-0 loss to Al-Fateh in the Saudi Pro League.

Jurman’s side continues to struggle in the domestic competition, currently sitting 16th on the ladder with just one point from five games.

Finally, young midfielder Antonee Burke-Gilroy made a brief appearance in Seattle 2’s 2-2 draw with LA Galaxy 2 in the United Soccer League, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute.