PIM Verbeek will surely be encouraged to consider a little and large strike tandem for the World Cup qualifier against Qatar after Scott McDonald and Josh Kennedy both hit the target on the weekend.

Celtic striker Scott McDonald, Scottish football's leading scorer, hit a brace to take his season's tally to 20, while Kennedy scored on debut for German Bundesliga club Karlsruhe after his transfer from Nurnberg during the mid-season winter break.

While many would expect veteran John Aloisi to claim one of the strikers' spots for Wednesday's game at Telstra Dome, the Central Coast Mariners front man might now be in a battle with the nippy McDonald and lanky Kennedy for a starting role.

Certainly, with Newcastle Jets attacker Joel Griffiths pulling up with a hamstring niggle in the Socceroos' 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory on Saturday, the goalscoring of McDonald and Kennedy is timely as they fly into Melbourne today.

Defender Michael Beauchamp, also in the extended squad for the Qatar game, played the last half-hour for Nurnberg.

Nippy wide midfielder David Carney was also on the scoresheet as he helped Sheffield United to a 2-2 draw away to Colchester United in the English Championship.

That good form by McDonald, Kennedy and Carney was the cream among the European-based Socceroos, who all seemed to get through the weekend with- out incident or injury, although Harry Kewell was not in Liverpool's squad for the 3-0 home win over Sunderland.

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