Melbourne Victory put Macarthur to the sword at AAMI Park on Sunday night as they recorded a 4-1 win over the Bulls to move into fourth on the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder.
The home side started brightly and forced recalled Bulls keeper Filip Kurto into a smart save as he palmed away a Keegan Jelacic shot from close range before Juan Mata’s follow up was blocked on the line.
The breakthrough came in just the 12th minute and it was a familiar face to Victory fans who bagged the opener; former Victory defender Damien De Silva sliding the ball into his own net as he attempted to clear Jelacic’s low cross.
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Victory were creating the better chances at AAMI Park and they doubled their lead in the 25th minute as Charles Nduka laid the ball off for Denis Genreau to slot home from the edge of a packed 18-yard box.
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The Bulls struck back in the 37th minute care of a moment of magic from Luke Vickery, who fired a brilliant curling effort beyond the diving Jack Warshawsky and into the far corner to halve the deficit.
Both sides traded chances in the second half as they attempted to play on the front foot and it was Victory who bagged themselves the fourth goal of the game; defender Sebastian Esposito heading home a Mata corner to make it 3-1.
It was then game over three minutes later and Mata was firmly involved once again, this time whipping a clever low delivery from a freekick into the box that was tapped home by the arriving Charles Nduka.
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The win sees Arthur Diles’ side leapfrog Adelaide United into fourth on the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder after their ninth win of the season.
As for Macarthur, Mile Sterjovski’s side have now lost their last four matches in the league and sit two points outside the top six having played a game more than the sixth placed Mariners.
WHAT THEY SAID
Man of the Match Denis Genreau spoke to Paramount+ after the full time whistle.
