Macarthur FC have won their second consecutive game in Round 3 of the Isuzu UTE A-League after winning 1-0 in a rematch of last season’s elimination final against Central Coast Mariners at BlueBet Stadium.
The Bulls had a slow start to the game; however, they started to find their rhythm as the half continued. Eventually, the winning goal came as an own goal by Oliver Bozanic, in which club captain, Ulises Dàvila, played a significant part.
Filip Kurto also played a massive part in claiming the three points after making several crucial saves to keep the Bulls in front.
Key Moments
18′ | The Bulls had their first chance on goal when Moudi Najjar’s shot from inside the box went across the face of goal, following a cross by Craig Noone.
20′ | Noone went for the curling shot from outside the box, but Mariner’s defender, Ruon Tongyik, headed it clear.
31′ | Macarthur came close to opening the scoring when Noone’s corner-kick effort took a bend and bounced off the crossbar.
35′ | SAVE! Bulls goalkeeper, Kurto, did well to deny the Mariners from scoring after a diving save.
38′ | SAVE! A brilliant one-handed, flying save from Kurto, preventing Cy Goddard’s close-range shot.
44′ | Macarthur had another chance on goal when Dàvila’s powerful strike went over the bar after Daniel De Silva’s assist.
45′ | GOAL FOR THE BULLS! The Mexican international, Dàvila, had a shot on goal, which took a deflection on the way before finding the back of the net. It goes down as an own goal by Mariners captain Bozanic.
47’| Kurto made a crucial save after the Mariners took a close-range shot towards goal.
72’| Aleksandar Jovanović made a vital block after Matheus Rodrigues made a run from the left-hand flank into the box to take a shot.
81’| The Bulls had the chance to increase their lead when the ball slipped out the hands of Mariners substitute goalkeeper Lawrence Caruso, which went out for a corner.
82’| Tomi Jurić had the opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet, but his header went straight to the goalkeeper.
85’| Najjar went for a first-time volley outside the box after the ball was cleared high. However, the ball went off target.
89’| The Bulls once again relied on their goalkeeper Kurto after making a save to keep the score at 1-0.
90+6’| SAVE! Kurto has made an incredible double save to help The Bulls keep the three points.
“Delighted to get the three points, particularly being at home against a very difficult opponent that last year beat us three times in a row,” said Milicic.
“Filip [Kurto] was excellent, the boys were desperate in what we got in front [and] to keep a clean sheet is massive for this team’s confidence going forward.
“It was a tough game, but in the end to score when we did and keep a clean sheet puts us in the right direction.”
Macarthur FC: 1 (Bozanic 45’ (OG))
Central Coast Mariners: 0
Macarthur FC: 12. KURTO Filip (GK), 6. JOVANOVIC Aleksandra (4. MEREDITH James 77’), 7. DE SILVA Daniel (9. JURIC Tomi 78’), 10. DAVILA Ulises (C), 11. OAR Thomas (22. ROSE Liam 68’), 14. NAJJAR Moudi, 15. SUSNJAR Aleksandar, 17. NOONE Craig, 20. USKOK Tomislav, 24. M’MOMBWA, 31. ROSE Lachlan (35. TOURE Al Hassan 71’)
Substitutes: 1. SUMAN Nicholas (GK), 19. RUHS Michael, 29. MARTIS Antonis,
Central Coast Mariners: 24. SOZER Yaren (GK) (50. CARUSO Lawrence (GK) 23’), 4. NISBET Joshua (11. NKOLOLO Beni 64’), 7. GODDARD Cy (33. MCCARTHY Harry 81’), 8. BOZANIC Oliver (C), 10. RODRIGUES Matheus, 12. URENA Marcos, 14. ROWLES Kye, 15. ROUX Strom (3. MILLER Lewis 65’), 18. FARRELL Jacob, 21. TONGYIK Ruon (23. HALL Daniel 46’), 34. STEELE Harrison
Substitutes: 16. BALARD Maximilien, 17. TSEKENIS Damian,
Venue: BlueBet Stadium
Referee: Ben Abraham
Assistant referees: Andrej Giev and Brad Wright
Fourth Official: Stephen Lucas
