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21Nov21
Macarthur And Wellington Share Spoils In Opener
by Jeremy Ruane
Macarthur Bulls and Wellington Phoenix fought out a 1-1 draw in their opening Isuzu Ute A-League encounter at a rain-soaked McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on November 21, the match having been transferred there after Macarthur's Campbelltown Stadium home was rendered unfit for use less than 48 hours before kick-off.

There was little to choose between the sides during a cagey first half in which chances were at a premium, the first of them materialising in the eighth minute. David Ball and James McGarry combined to pick out Gary Hooper on the edge of the six-yard box, from where he looked a racing certainty to open the scoring with a first-time effort.

That he didn't was entirely down to the reflexes of former Wellington goalkeeper Filip Kurto, who pulled off a blinding save at point-blank range to deny the striker - the fact he actually held onto the shot emphasised just how good a save it was.

Macarthur's response was swift in coming, with James Meredith and former Wellington captain Ulises Davila combining with Jordan Mutch on the left, the midfielder's cross arcing just beyond Lachlan Rose as he rose in between defenders in an attempt to head the ball home from six yards.

The cagey nature of the contest as such that both teams tended to cancel each other out, but that situation changed in the 24th minute when a Wellington raid resulted in Reno Piscopo being tripped just inside the penalty area by Meredith.

Referee Ben Abraham initially thought the foul occurred outside the box, but a VAR check soon prompted the upgrading of the call to a penalty. Hooper slammed the ball home from twelve yards to open the scoring.

Macarthur defender Aleksandar Susnjak's bid to restore parity on the half-hour saw his thirty yard drive sizzle past the post, after Daniel De Silva and Craig Noone had combined to good effect on the right, an effort to which Wellington responded via Piscopo two minutes before the interval, his twenty-yarder going close after Hooper and Ben Waine had engineered an opening on the left.

Davila led Macarthur's response to this threat prior to the half-time whistle, lashing a twenty-yarder over the top after Meredith and Mutch had teamed up on the left, before the playmaker combined with Charles M'Mombwa and Noone, whose teasing cross arced just beyond the incoming figure of De Silva as the half drew to a close.

Coach Ante Milicic clearly gave his Macarthur charges a right royal half-time rev-up, because they were firing on all cylinders from the first whistle after the interval, and piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser.

Within three minutes of the resumption, Davila and De Silva combined on the left, with the latter's low cross zooming across the goalmouth. Unfortunately for Macarthur, no one in a white shirt was on hand to turn the ball home.

A succession of corners and angled crosses followed as the nominated home team laid siege to the Wellington goal, with Noone's 55th minute delivery to the far post resulting in Meredith's header being grabbed by Oliver Sail, the first occasion the custodian had been called upon to produce a save.

The visitors retorted with a slick counter-attack, Hooper's delightful lay-off of a lofted ball forward inviting Ball to unleash a low drive which sizzled narrowly past the far post, very much against the run of play.

Back came Macarthur, Mutch directing a header narrowly over the bar from another Noone corner, before Sail grabbed a twenty-five yarder from the corner-taker after De Silva and Davila had
combined once more.

On the hour, Noone delivered a hanging cross to the far post which substitute Mudi Najjar headed inside to Lachlan Rose. His header presented Davila with a shooting chance which was blocked by Tim Payne, with the rebound inviting Mutch to unleash a piledriver which deflected past the post.

The pressure had to tell, and in the 61st minute, Macarthur finally drew level. It was via the resulting corner, Noone's delivery beyond the far post finding Rose in space, from where he unleashed an unerring drive across Sail and into the far corner of the net - 1-1.

They weren't satisfied with being on level terms, however, and kept on coming, only for a timely McGarry tackle in the 63rd minute to thwart Noone and spark another counter-attack. The defender cleared the ball to substitute Jaushua Sotirio, whose well-timed pass sent Waine buccaneering down the left, from here he delivered an inviting cross upon which Sotirio, the retreating figure of Susnjar and the approaching figure of Kurto converged.

The inevitable coming together of the trio saw the ball break loose, with the goalkeeper first to react to the danger, gathering the sphere before going to ground, his defender having clipped Kurto's face with his boot.

Once he had received treatment, play continued, with neither side gaining the upper hand, though it wasn't for the want of trying. Both defences held firm, however, at least until ten minutes from time, when Macarthur's rearguard dodged a bullet big-time!

Ball gained possession outside the Macarthur penalty area and played the ball to Waine, who invited Sotirio to let fly. His shot deflected past Kurto and looked destined to be turned home by the incoming figure of Ben Old, only for Tomislav Uskok to produce a stunning goal-line clearance which maintained parity on the scoreboard.

Immediately, Macarthur countered, Davila and De Silva combining once more, only for the combined efforts of Payne and Callan Elliott to get Wellington out of a tight spot and spark a series of attacks from which they had chances to snatch a late winner.

Ball wriggled past two opponents before thundering a twenty yarder inches over the bar, while the same player saw another effort turned away by Kurto in stoppage time, Elliott and Waine having teamed up on the right to create the opening.

Cue a succession of set-piece deliveries from Clayton Lewis, upon whose newly braided hair-do the jury is still deliberating! A free-kick fired into the zone resulted in Susnjar blocking a close-range header at point-blank range, while the resulting corner beyond the far post found Ball rising to meet the sphere, his header ricocheting off a defender to safety deep in stoppage time, so much so, in fact, there wasn't even time to take the resulting goal kick.

Both teams will be pleased with a point from this match, one neither did enough to win, nor deserve to lose. It was a proper opening round scrap between two well-matched teams, both of whom will harbour strong hopes of making the end-of-season play-offs, something which Wellington missed out on last time round.

Macarthur:     Kurto; Uskok (booked, 41), Jovanovic, Susnjar; Noone, M'mombwa (Oar, 56), Mutch (Liam Rose, 65 (booked, 67)), Meredith (Najjar, 57); Davila, De Silva; Lachlan Rose
Wellington:     Sail; Elliott, Payne (booked, 84), Laws, McGarry; Piscopo (Old, 52), Rufer (booked, 34), Lewis, Ball (booked, 88); Hooper (Sotirio, 55), Waine
Referee:     Ben Abraham




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