The Bulls’ first step into Asia was a significant stride towards making past the group stage of the AFC Cup after an impressive 3-0 win over Shan United on the road.
A dominant display delivered all three points to Macarthur FC and was a major boost to the south-west Sydney club’s hopes of playing knock-out football in Asia with goals from Valere Germain, Ali Auglah and Lachie Rose sealing the vital win.
“I thought our team performed really well in the conditions. A lot of the players hadn’t played in these conditions before. I think they stuck to the game plan really well and I thought that we deserved the win,” Bulls coach Mile Sterjovski said.
The Bulls barely missed a beat in a contest they dominated from start to finish, despite the absence of a handful of players due to injury, including goalkeepers Filip Kurto and Alex Robinson. They took the lead early in the match when captain Ulises Davila was brought down inside the box by an ugly challenge from Shan’s Mark Sekyi. French striker Germain made no mistake from the spot, slotting his penalty to break the deadlock and open his Macarthur account.
The Bulls commanded possession with Davila and Danny De Silva testing from distance before the break. There was no let-up of Macarthur’s grip on the contest after the restart, however goalkeeper Danijel Nizic had to be alert to make a fingertip save against Shan’s Ye Yint Aung, tipping his shot onto the bar.
Substitute Auglah put the Bulls on course for a victory with a superb solo strike in the 84th minute, turning his marker before slamming an emphatic shot into the roof of the net in what was his first senior goal for the club. Rose made sure of all three points in injury time with a composed one-on-one, calmly slotting into the corner of the net to seal an impressive win in a milestone moment for the club..
