The Bulls returned home with a stampede of goals in their first game of the season at Campbelltown Sports Stadium with a dominant 8-2 win over Dynamic Herb Cebu FC to retain their perfect start to the AFC Cup.
After a 3-0 win over Shan United away from home, the Bulls match their record winning margin and set a new milestone with the most goals scored in a match in the romp over the Filipino side on Thursday night.
“I was very happy with the first half, I thought we were in control and we stuck to our game plan really well,” Bulls coach Mile Sterjovski said. “We are a team that’s in progress. We are not the finished product by any means so we will keep working on our process and get better each week.”
The hosts were on course for an impressive win early in the match when captain Ulises Davila was brought to ground inside the box in the 5th minute and the Bulls’ talismanic leader made no mistake from the resulting spot kick, making it 1-0 with a calmly taken effort.
If there was any blemish to the Bulls’ first half it was the forced withdrawal of Danny De Silva due to a hamstring strain however his replacement, Jed Drew, made an immediate impact. A cross was turned in by a Cebu defender Baris Tasci for an own goal in the 19th minute.
Midway through the first half, French striker Valere Germain got on the score sheet with a tidy finish from Clayton Lewis’ cross.
The Bulls had another chance to score from the spot when Yianni Nicolau was fouled inside the box and Germain made no mistake from 11 yards, calmly slotting into the bottom corner to make it 4-0.
However, the spectacle was saved for the end of the first half when Kearyn Baccus capped-off his dominant display in the midfield with a powerful half volley into the roof of the net, before Drew curled a long-range effort into the far corner of the net to make it 6-0 before the break.
The Bulls’ clinical finishing continued after the break with Raphael slotting a one-on-one to add another to the Bulls’ tally before midfielder Jake Hollman score from the edge of the box to make it 8-0.
Two late goals for Dynamic Herb Cebu showed the spirit of the visitors but did little to change the result.
The Bulls sit top of the group with six points and next face Phnom Penh Crown FC in the AFC Cup on October 26, five days after the A-League opening round clash against Brisbane Roar at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
