Ryan Strain leads the Scottish Premiership assist chart but faces an injury wait after Falkirk’s landmark win; Oscar Priestman returned as Motherwell ended a winless run.
Ryan Strain’s remarkable start runs into an injury scare
Falkirk’s 2-0 defeat of Celtic was a landmark result: the club’s first win over the defending champions in 19 years. For Ryan Strain, it also brought a worrying interruption to a season in which he’d become Scotland’s leading assist maker.
The fourth-placed Bairns struck in the third minute. Strain’s cross caused trouble in the Celtic box, and Ethan Ross finished after the defence failed to clear. Strain went down as his teammates celebrated and was helped off with an apparent foot injury two minutes later. The 29-year-old, a four-time Socceroo, now faces an anxious wait to learn how serious it is.
Five assists have put the Australian full-back top of the Scottish Premiership charts. He also leads Falkirk for chances created (25), big chances created (2), line-breaking passes per 90 minutes (10.3), expected assists (2.4) and FotMob rating (7.62). That’s a striking return from a defender—and makes the injury’s timing harder to ignore.
Falkirk head coach John McGlynn has described Strain as one of the team’s top players, praising his assists and calling him “different class” since he arrived. The club hadn’t wanted to carry three right-backs, McGlynn said, but Strain has “made the jersey his.”
His route to Falkirk was less straightforward than his current form suggests. After his Dundee United contract expired, the former Adelaide United, Maccabi Haifa and St Mirren defender joined the PFA Scotland’s first free-agent training camp in Kirkintilloch, ahead of the 2026-27 season. Strain hasn’t played for the Socceroos since a World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh in June 2024.
“They put on a training camp and it was brilliant, like coming back to a club,” Strain recalled in September. He said being around players in the same situation helped with the mental strain of being without a club; training alone, he explained, meant repeating the same runs every day. After two weeks at camp, Falkirk’s manager called. Strain wanted to make the move happen as soon as he heard of the club’s interest.
He called the previous season probably his worst in Scotland: an early injury kept him out, and he couldn’t get back into the team. Now he’s played every minute of Falkirk’s league campaign so far. “I’ve loved every minute,” he said, adding that he was trying to repay the chance the club had given him.
Priestman returns as Motherwell end their winless run
Oscar Priestman’s return gave Motherwell a timely lift. The Australian midfielder had been out since August with a calf problem, after the club opened the season with six unbeaten matches. He came on in the 64th minute of a 1-0 win over St Mirren, a result that ended Motherwell’s seven-game winless streak.
Before the match, head coach Alfred Johansson pointed to Priestman’s record of more wins than losses that season and called him an important player. Afterward, Johansson said the midfielder had a “huge influence,” alongside Eythor Bjorgolfsson and Callum Hendry. The win mattered emotionally as well: Johansson said the dressing room’s joy contrasted with the anger and frustration after a midweek draw at St Johnstone.
Johansson credited the team’s defensive solidity and pressing, and said the players had shown determination over their last two games, taking four points. He also identified work ahead: Motherwell need to create more from their advantages, and avoid going too direct and turning matches into more even contests.
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Kalik wins another title in Lithuania
Anthony Kalik has won the Lithuanian Toplyga title with Kauno Zalgiris for a second consecutive season. The uncapped Australian midfielder played 79 minutes as the defending champions came from behind to beat Hegelmann 4-1 away and clinch the trophy.
Kauno Zalgiris had missed an earlier chance to secure the title, drawing 0-0 with Vilnius Zalgiris in a derby. Kalik joined the Lithuanian side from Croatian club Hajduk Split; this victory completed the job on their next opportunity.
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A treble gives Kalik a landmark finish
The win capped a domestic treble for Kauno Žalgiris, adding the league title to the Lithuanian Super Cup and Lithuanian Cup already in Kalik’s collection. That puts the club among six Lithuanian sides to complete a domestic treble. Only two others have won all three trophies in a season with a separate Super Cup final: Vilnius Žalgiris in 2016 and FK Sūduva in 2019. Kalik’s own contribution has been modest by the numbers: one goal and two assists in 19 appearances since joining, including two outings in the UEFA Conference League. The silverware is the bigger marker here. For a former Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC attacker, this season has brought a title-winning role at a club now in rare company.View this post on Instagram
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