Aussies Abroad: Rukavytsya and Williams score, Ryan keeps clean sheet

There were mixed results for Australian footballers overnight, with Mat Ryan's clean sheet and goals for Nikita Rukavytsya and Ryan Williams the highlights.

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Ryan's Brighton and Hove Albion secured a vital 1-0 win over Aaron Mooy's Huddersfield Town in the Premier League to move five points clear of the relegation zone. 

The Socceroos goalkeeper made four saves as Brighton kept their first clean sheet in a month. 

Mooy came off the bench for Huddersfield in the 41st minute after Jonathan Hogg departed the field due to injury.

It was the second match in a row that the Aussie midfielder started on the bench for the Terriers as they continue to head towards almost-certain relegation. 

Lower down in the Championship, Jackson Irvine and Massimo Luongo both played 90 minutes for Hull and QPR respectively, while James Meredith started for Millwall in their 3-1 loss to Norwich City but was substituted in the 74th minute. 

Irvine was at the heart of the action as Hull beat Birmingham 2-0 to move into 10th, while Luongo's QPR were hammered 3-0 away to Brentford. QPR sit in 18th spot, nine points clear of the relegation zone. 

It was happier times for Ryan Williams who scored after coming off the bench in Rotherham United's 3-2 win over  Blackburn Rovers.

Elsewhere, Mile Jedinak, Adam Federici and Bailey Wright all remained on the bench for Aston Villa, Stoke City and Bristol City respectively. 

Mathew Leckie came off the bench in the 77th minute as his side Hertha Berlin recorded a 2-1 win over Mainz in the Bundesliga. 

Aziz Behich and Trent Sainsbury didn't see any game time as PSV won 2-0 at Excelsior. 

Danny Vukovic was in goals in Genk recorded a 1-1 draw at Sporting Charleroi, the result means Genk stays at the top of the table, six points clear of second. 

Fran Karacic played the full 90 minutes in Lokomtiva Zagreb's 1-1 draw with Dinamo Zagreb. 

Apostolis Giannou also played a full match as his side AEK Larnaca won 1-0 over AEL in Cyprus. 

In Israel, Nikita Rukavytsya scored Maccabi Haifa's second goal in a 2-0 win over Bnei Sakhnin. 

Mitch Langerak played the full 90 as his Nagoya Grampus won 2-0 over Cerezo Osaka in Japan, while nearby Andrew Nabbout came off the bench in the 46th minute as his Uwara Reds went down 2-0 to Consadole Sapporo. 

Finally, Mark Milligan was on the losing side as Hibernian went 2-0 down to Celtic in the Scottish FA Cup. 

Milligan came off in the 64th minute in what was a happy return for former Hibs coach Neil Lennon who has recently replaced Brendan Rodgers at Celtic.