Macarthur Bulls are now five games unbeaten in the Isuzu UTE A-League as they defeated local rivals Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 at CommBank Stadium.
The Wanderers almost got off to a flyer in front of their home crowd as Angus Thurgate was inches away from opening the scoring inside the first minute after lashing a shot narrowly wide of the target.
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Macarthur then turned defence into attack in the blink of an eye in the 15th minute as Bernardo raced clear down the left and cut the ball back for Luke Vickery, however the winger skewed his shot wide of Lawrence Thomas’ goal.
The Wanderers keeper was then called into action in the 28th minute to deny Callum Talbot a first A-Leagues goal as the Bulls defender fired an effort towards goal which was expertly tipped over the bar.
There was nothing Thomas could do though to prevent the Bulls from taking a deserved lead on the approach to half time as Macarthur striker Rafa Duran produced a moment of magic.
Liam Rose’s pinpoint ball over the top of the Wanderers defence found Bernardo who in turn laid it off to Duran, and when the Mexican was afforded half a yard inside the area he opted to pull the trigger, curling a stunning effort into the top corner to break the deadlock at CommBank Stadium.
The Wanderers finally had their first shot on target in the 68th minute when Thurgate curled one towards the bottom corner which was well saved by Filip Kurto.
Now seemingly growing in confidence, the Wanderers were then thwarted once again by Kurto but this time the Bulls keeper was at full stretch to palm away a powerful left-footed shot from Brandon Borrello.
Looking the most likely to find the leveller, Thurgate went closer still in the 86th minute as he lashed an effort towards goal which bounced agonisingly off the foot of the post and away to safety.
Macarthur then survived an almighty goalmouth scramble as the game ticked into stoppage time with the Wanderers just unable to find a way past Kurto in the Bulls goal.
The result means the Bulls have now won three of their last five league matches and sit fourth on the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder, just two points off top spot.
As for the Wanderers, Alen Stajcic’s side succumbed to their sixth loss of the season and they remain second-last on the ladder, just a point above cellar dwellers Central Coast Mariners.
