Reduced to 10 men, the Bulls made a fantastic comeback in their clash against Adelaide United.
It was a long night for the Bulls at Cooper Stadium, but they were determined to come away with 3 points to secure a spot in the finals race. The first half started quite slow for the Bulls, opting to wait for the perfect chance to strike, with Lachlan Rose and Valere Germain having fantastic chances in the early minutes of the first half.Â
Adelaide United were the first to open the scoring in the 20th minute after Nestory Irankunda fired the ball into the back of the net. This did not slow the Bulls down, with LA Rose and Germain continuing to create fantastic chances to level the score. The Bulls went into half-time behind Adelaide United but they were ready to bring it back in the second half.
The Bulls were fired up for the second half, with Kurto having another fantastic performance in goals, denying Adelaide’s chances left and right. Unfortunately, the match turned sour after Yianni Nicolaou was given a red card after the referee Ben Abraham was called over to VAR after an incident that involved both Nicolaou and Irankunda. The Bulls were reduced to 10 men and had to perform a miraculous comeback to gain those vital 3 points.
Daniel De Silva, Walter Scott, Ariath Piol, Charles M’Mombwa, and Kristian Popovic all made appearances off of the bench, replacing Lachlan Rose, Jed Drew, Raphael, Kearyn Baccus and Clayton Lewis. Walter Scott made his debut for the Bulls.
The impact of these substitutions was felt instantly, with Daniel De Silva crafting ways to slip through Adelaide’s defenses and narrowly missing a chance on goal. However, it was youngster Ariath Piol who leveled the score in the 84th minute, hammering the ball into the back of the net. Just four minutes later, defender Tommy Smith pulled the Bulls in front after successfully converting a corner set piece and burying the ball into the goal.
It was an excruciating 7 minutes of added time, with Adelaide United being awarded a penalty in the 93rd minute but Kurto rose to the occasion and cleared it. The Bulls held onto their lead throughout the remaining 13 minutes and successfully defeated Adelaide United. The match ended in a 1 – 2 victory for the Bulls, defeating Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium.
Want to see the Bulls play live? The Bulls are back in action at home on Saturday 20, for round 25 of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men for the Sony Foundation match against Sydney FC at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. Tickets are now on sale, so remember to secure your seat today!
