Macarthur FC has started life in the A-League with a 1-nill win against cross-town rivals Western Sydney Wanderers.
A superb free kick from the edge of the box from Beñat in the in the 72nd minute that took a deflection from Captain Mark Milligan found the back of the Wanderers net proved to be the deciding factor after the 90 minutes.
An even first 45 minutes, both teams had plenty of threatening chances in a match that played at an extremely high level for an opening round fixture.
Bulls midfielder Loic Puyo controlled the tempo for most of the opening stanza, while debutant Lachlan Rose made an impressive start to his A-League career, looking dangerous with threatening runs and crosses into the box for attackers Derbyshire and Najjar.
Bulls custodian Adam Federici showed every bit of his experience and class, making several top-shelf saves and ensuring the Bulls kept a clean sheet in the campaign opener.
Macarthur FC Head Coach Ante Milicic said after the match
“I’m delighted for the players, coaches and staff. Today was an important day in the clubs history but also an important one for the game.”
“It’s good to win the first game especially against a strong team with plenty of class like the Wanderers.”
Speaking on Adam Federici’s performance: – In the opening 15 minutes of the second half we endured plenty of set piece pressure and Fedders was outstanding.”
“He is still hungry and wants to win. He drives the standard across the squad. The whole team defensively was strong, but it was a good night for him.”
On Beñat – “They have a lot of quality and I was tempted to play them from the opening minute but I’m going with the approach of looking after their bodies. It’s a long season and it’s only round one.”
“It’s first game you don’t know how it’s going to play out. We have our own expectations and talk of making the top three is just coffee shop talk and let’s not get carried away.” Milicic said.
Macarthur FC now look forward to a short turn around, in preparation for their first home match of the season against Central coast Mariners at Campbelltown Stadium this Sunday 3rd January.
Next Match details
Sunday 3rd January 2021
Kick-off: 4pm AEDT
Venue: Campbelltown Stadium
Broadcast: FOX Sports 505
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports
