Macarthur FC fought hard with 10-men against a determined Perth Glory side from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at Campbelltown Stadium.
The Bulls had a nightmare start after The Glory scored an excellent free-kick through Giordano Colli within 44 seconds of the opening. Perth then doubled their lead through Trent Ostler before Davila converted a penalty to get The Bulls back into the game.
The second half had its ups and downs, with Craig Noone scoring the equaliser from the spot before Charles M’Mombwa got sent off. However, two of Macarthur’s substitutes stepped up – Al Hassan Toure and Moudi Najjar – and scored the two goals to secure the three points.
Key Moments
1′ | Goal for Perth Glory. Giordano Colli scores a fantastic free-kick to give the away side an early lead
5’| Golden opportunity is presented to Lachie Rose with a header in front of goal after a cross from Craig Noone. However, the ball went over the bar.
11’| Jake Hollman wanted to try his luck with a shot from outside the box, but it went wide.
14’| The Bulls has another chance gone begging after Ulises Davila provides a cutback pass in the box, which Hollman then misses the target.
18’| Goal for Perth Glory. Trent Ostler runs into the box with a couple of touches that went in his favour before scoring a brilliant goal into the top right corner.
25’| Hollman has his second strike on goal, which is tamely taken, making it easy for Liam Reddy to save.
26’| Rose decides to have a volley from outside the box, but it goes well wide from the target.
36’| PENALTY FOR THE BULLS! The referee awards the home side a penalty after the ball hits the hand of Darryl Lachman inside the box.
38’| GOAL FOR THE BULLS! Davila converts the penalty by striking the ball right down the middle to send Reddy the wrong way.
45+2’| Macarthur with a big chance to equalise after Hollman comes close to scoring, but the shot went out for a corner.
47’| The Bulls could have had a great start to the second half after Jordan Mutch’s header from a corner came close to going in the net.
53’| PENALTY FOR THE BULLS! The referee awards Macarthur another penalty after a VAR check shows that the ball structs the arm of Jonathan Aspropotamitis in the box.
54’| GOAL FOR THE BULLS! Noone converts the penalty with a brilliant strike into the top right corner.
59’| Apostolos Giannou came close to giving The Bulls the lead after a shot on the edge of the box, which Reddy made a great diving save.
66’| Charles M’Mombwa receives a second yellow card.
74’| Noone comes close to giving The Bulls the lead after attempting to curve the ball into the top left corner from outside the box.
82’| GOAL FOR THE BULLS! Substitute Al Hassan Toure gives Macarthur the lead after scoring a one-on-one. Davila provides a superb assist.
90+6’| GOAL FOR THE BULLS! Najjar scores the goal to complete Macarthur’s victory, which Toure assisted.
“Of course, delighted,” says Bulls coach Ante Milicic. “We started in the worst possible fashion, and to go behind that early gives the opposition oxygen, especially when they fielded so many young players that are playing free that have a lot of energy and a lot of movement, and 2-nil down looked like a difficult proposition.
“But this team has been in some difficult situations this year and has always been ready for a challenge, and tonight was no different. So, we always believed that if we could get one [goal], gives us a chance to get back into it.
“So, I’m delighted for the effort they put in and the whole squad, everyone who participated tonight, because it’s been a challenging week for us. In the end, we go home delighted with an incredible performance.”
Macarthur FC: 4 (Davila 38’ (P), Noone 54’ (P), Toure 82’, Najjar 90+6’)
Perth Glory: 2 (Colli 1’, Ostler 18’)
Macarthur FC: 12. KURTO Filip (GK), 2. MCGING Jake (23. MARIAPPA Adrian 81’), 6. JOVANOVIC Aleksandar, 8. MUTCH Jordan (22. ROSE Liam 80’), 10 DAVILA Ulises (C) (4. MEREDITH James 90+2’), 15. SUSNJAR Aleksandar, 17. NOONE Craig, 21. HOLLMAN Jake (35. TOURE Al Hassan 76’), 24. M’MOMBWA Charles, 31. ROSE Lachlan (14. NAJJAR Moudi 46’), 99. GIANNOU Apostolos
Substitutes: 1. SUMAN Nicholas (GK), 9. JURIC Tomi
Perth Glory: 33. REDDY Liam (GK) (C), 5. ASPROPOTAMITIS Jonathan (42. ANASMO Joshua 86’), 6. MALIK Osama (19. TIMMINS Callum 46’), 14. CLISBY Jack, 18. STYNES Daniel (7. SARDINERO Adrian 63’), 22. RAWLINS Joshua, 23. OXBORROW Mitchell, 26. COLLI Giordano, 28. OSTLER Trent (47. VECCHIO Tyler 58’), 29. LACHMAN Darryl, 43. ZIMARINO Adam (38. BRAMWELL Ciaran 58’)
Substitutes: 12. COOK Cameron (GK), 36. FORDE Joseph
Venue: Campbelltown Stadium
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Assistant referees: Adam Powers and Brad Wright
Fourth official: Sam Kelly
