Jamaican Leon Bailey struck twice and set up another goal as Bayer Leverkusen beat Cologne 3-0 on Saturday to boost their slim hopes of a top-four finish in the German Bundesliga.
In England, Bailey’s Reggae Boyz team-mate Jamal Lowe scored a penalty to help promotion-chasing Swansea salvage a point in a 2-2 draw at home to bottom club Wycombe Wanderers.
Donovan Wilson, 24, who is of Jamaican descent, scored twice – in the 31st and 64th minutes – as Sutton United maintained their push for promotion from the fifth-tier National League in a 4-0 win at Altrincham.
And in the Premier League, substitute Joe Willock, a 21-year-old midfielder who is eligible to represent Montserrat, claimed a dramatic late winner as Newcastle United beat 10-man West Ham United 3-2.
Man-of-the-Match Bailey, a 23-year-old winger, headed Leverkusen into a fifth-minute lead, set up Moussa Diaby to make it 2-0 in the 51st minute and then rounded out the scoring in the 76th minute when he slotted home after racing into the box and shaking off two markers.
Leverkusen move up to fifth place on 47 points, six behind fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
Borussia Dortmund, on 46, take on Werder Bremen on Sunday. The top four finishers automatically qualify for the Champions League group stage.
Lowe launched Swansea’s late fightback to claim a point and maintain their slim automatic promotion hopes with an 80th-minute penalty after Admiral Muskwe and Garath McCleary struck early in the second half for Wycombe.
But Lowe’s penalty and a Liam Cullen header saw Steve Cooper’s side snatch a draw.
Swansea were handed a lifeline as Jason McCarthy handled in the box, allowing 26-year-old Lowe to drive home his fourth goal in three matches from the spot.
In all, he has netted 13 times this season in addition to his debut goal for Jamaica in a recent 4-1 defeat in a friendly against the United States.
Swansea are six points behind second-placed Watford, while Wycombe are nine points adrift of safety at the bottom.
Willock’s 82nd-minute header saw Newcastle take a big step towards securing their Premier League status with a win that lifted them to 15th in the table, with a nine-point cushion to the bottom three.
Issa Diop’s own goal and a Joelinton tap-in had put the hosts in a commanding position at the break.
However, West Ham, who had Craig Dawson sent off for two first-half bookings, drew level from a Diop header and a Jesse Lingard penalty awarded after a VAR review.
But with the visitors seemingly on top, Newcastle had the final say through Willock.
In League One, Grenada international Omar Beckles, a 29-year-old centre-back, was sent off in the 70th minute as Crewe Alexandra went down 2-0 at Wigan Athletic whose win saw them take another huge step towards safety.
North of the border, 30-year-old forward Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who is of St Lucian and Dominican descent, scored twice for Livingston in the Scottish Cup, but hosts Aberdeen advanced to the quarter-finals after a tense 5-3 penalty shootout.
Emmanuel-Thomas, who gave the visitors a first-half lead with a fine individual effort in the 37th minute, put them ahead again in extra time with a 93rd-minute penalty before Aberdeen took it to penalties.
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