Both Macarthur Bulls and Melbourne Victory were left frustrated on Friday night as the pair played out a goalless draw at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in Round 7 of the Isuzu UTE A-League.
It was a cagey first-half in Campbelltown as both sides jostled for control of the contest, however Victory thought they’d made the breakthrough on the stroke of half-time.
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Receiving the ball on the right edge of the Macarthur box, Clarismario Santos bent a sublime strike into the far corner; however a VAR review quickly ensued amid protests from the Bulls backline and with good reason.
Called over to the pitch-side monitor, match official Alex King quickly ruled the strike out due to a foul by Juan Mata on Callum Talbot in the build-up.
A cagey second-half performance then ensued. Victory goalkeeper Jack Duncan found himself in trouble in the 70th minute as a deep delivery into the box saw the shot-stopper outmuscled by Bulls defender Tomislav Uskok, who then hooked the loose ball towards goal; however, Duncan was able to scramble back to his line and claw the ball away to safety.
The away side then had two glorious chances to break the deadlock; first, striker Jing Reec couldn’t steer a low cross beyond keeper Filip Kurto before substitute Matthew Grimaldi then fired a close-range effort a long way wide of the target despite being well-positioned inside the box.
The last time Melbourne Victory went four-straight matches without scoring was at the beginning of the 2011/12 season, and Socceroo Nishan Velupillay did his best to end that drought, firing a powerful shot towards goal which was well saved by Bulls keeper Kurto.
However, neither side was able to make the breakthrough in Sydney’s southwest meaning Victory remain bottom of the league after seven matches, having failed to find the back of the net in five of their last 7 games.
Meanwhile the point sees Macarthur remain ninth on the ladder, with Mile Sterjovski’s side now turning their attention’s to a midweek clash in China in the AFC Champions League Two.
