Adelaide and Macarthur share spoils in hot yet entertaining draw

Adelaide United and Macarthur have shared a point each in an entertaining 1-1 draw at a hot Coopers Stadium.

Jonny Yull got on the scoresheet for the Reds after a brilliant move from stalwart teammates Craig Goodwin and Ryan Kitto, while Chris Ikonomidis turned in a searing cross from player of the match Luke Vickery with his first touch of the match.

Ryan White put in a tireless and creative shift for the Reds, while Yaya Dukuly and Luke Vickery were both consistently menacing presences on the wings.

Macarthur had a bright if wayward start, but the Reds eventually had the better of the first half, with Dukuly, White and Luka Jovanovic all creating chances.

Dukuly’s volleyed effort that cracked the crossbar was the pick of the chances in the first half hour, but Yull finally broke the deadlock in the 37th minute after Goodwin burst into the area with pace and strength and calmly cut the ball back to Kitto.

Whether Kitto intended his backheeled pass or not or not is up for debate; what is not, however, is the quality of Yull’s lasered finish from the edge of the area underneath Filip Kurto.

Macarthur’s chances were less plentiful but could have easily seen them go in to the interval level; inded Sime Grzan’s two decent first half chances were before Yull’s goal.

The Bulls took control of the game in the second half, with Mitch Duke’s early diving header in front of Panagiotis Kikianis a sign of their intent.

The introduction of Ikonomidis in the 57th minute was the moment that changed the match for Macarthur, with head coach Mile Sterjovski’s decision to introduce the Socceroo paying immediate dividends.

Vickery – as he had done all night – made a quality run with the ball on the right hand side and put a sizzling ball across the face of goal for Ikonomidis to tap in at the back post with his first touch of the game.

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The Bulls only grew in confidence after the goal, with Duke, Ikonomidis and Vickery all having chances to take all three points for Macarthur.

Adelaide also had their own opportunities, with substitutes Juan Muniz and Joey Garuccio having chances to win the game.

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It wasn’t to be though, and both sides had to settle for a point apiece.

Adelaide next play against the high flying Newcastle Jets next Sunday afternoon, while Macarthur’s next assignment is Perth Glory in Campbelltown next Friday night.