The Bulls secured a historic three points as they defeated the Sky Blues with nine men.
It was a cool Saturday evening, and the Bulls were gearing up for a tough match against local rivals Sydney FC. Round 25 of the Isuzu UTE A-League was special for the Bulls as it marked their Sony Foundation round, where the inaugural Charity Cup match took place at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
The first half started well for the Bulls, with Jed Drew and Raphael Borges Rodrigues finding ways to slip through Sydney’s defenses and set up chances for Lachlan Rose and Valere Germain. Unfortunately, the Bulls were struck with an early substitution when Charles M’Mombwa replaced Raphael due to injury. Despite Raphael’s absence, the Bulls continued to fight their way through Sydney’s defenses, with Drew and M’Mombwa teaming up for a chance at goal.
In the 37th minute, the Bulls were reduced to 10 men after VAR intervened, changing referee Daniel Elder’s yellow card on Ivan Vujica to a red. However, this did not slow down the Bulls. In the 3rd minute of injury time, Jed Drew opened the scoring for the Bulls, going one-on-one with goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne and scoring on the follow-up. The Bulls went into the second half with the lead.
The second half began much like the first, with the Bulls finding clever ways to slip through the Sky Blues’ defenses. Once again, VAR’s involvement saw the Bulls reduced to 9 players, as Tommy Smith was sent off following an incident involving him and Fabio Gomes.
Kurto, once again, had a fantastic performance, continuously denying the Sky Blues’ chances with brilliant saves. Sydney FC seemed to equalize in the 75th minute after Joe Lolley buried the ball into the back of the net, but it was disallowed due to Sydney’s players being offside.
Matthew Jurman, Daniel De Silva, Kristian Popovic, and Kealey Adamson all made appearances, coming on for Kearyn Baccus, Jed Drew, Lachlan Rose, and Valere Germain, respectively.
These fresh sets of legs were just what the Bulls needed to hold on to their lead throughout the remaining minutes and secure the three points. The Sony Foundation round ended in a 1-0 victory for the Bulls over the Sky Blues.
Photo taken by: Jamie Castaneda
