KEEPUP followed along LIVE to bring you all the goals, highlights, up to date scores and biggest talking points from Macarthur FC v Melbourne Victory in the A-League Men’s on Friday, April 22
THE FRIDAY AGENDA
MACARTHUR FC 1-4 MELBOURNE VICTORY
MATCH REPORT: VICTORY STRENGTHEN PREMIERSHIP BID WITH BIG WIN OVER BULLS
REACTION
‘We’re the benchmark’: Club-record run sends confident Victory into Premiership contention
Melbourne Victory travelled to Campbelltown Stadium on Friday night with immense pressure on Macarthur FC to get the three points necessary to stay in genuine contention for a place in the top six.
Victory went on to breeze past the Bulls in a 4-1 win.
“They needed those three points,” said Victory midfielder Jake Brimmer in the aftermath. “But we needed them for a different reason.”
Brimmer exuded confidence in his post-match discussion with Paramount+ pitch-side reporter Jordan Warren, making Victory’s intentions clear between now and the end of the season:
“We’re chasing the top two right now,” Brimmer said.
Head coach Tony Popovic has taken Victory on a club-record 12-game unbeaten run, an impressive feat considering Victory’s decorated history in the A-League Men’s.
They’ve now won five of their last six games – including a 3-0 drubbing of league-leaders and bitter rivals Melbourne City in mid-April.
Victory now sit five points behind City on the table, with one game left in hand to catch up before Patrick Kisnorbo’s team return from Thailand and the AFC Asian Champions League group stage.
“I think the most (important) thing for us is form before the finals,” Brimmer added.
“We’re pushing that top two, and I think we can definitely get there so more performances like tonight’s and we’ll be right up there.
“If you don’t lose games, you’re challenging for titles and I definitely think we can beat anyone on our day.
“To be honest, I think we’re the benchmark of the league right now. Yes, it doesn’t show on the ladder but we’re hard to beat and it shows.”
That confidence caught the attention of Sydney FC legend Alex Brosque in the Paramount+ studio. A player who knows what it takes to become a Champion in the A-League Men’s, Brosque took note of Brimmer’s comments, and couldn’t dispute their legitimacy given Victory’s current run of form.
“Listening to him talk, a lot of coaches and a lot of players like to stay under the radar and not pump themselves up too much, but in his post-game chat he called his (side) the benchmark, which is big,” Brosque said.
“You love to see that confidence and players say: ‘Look, we’re playing well, we are the best team in the comp at the moment’ – and given what they did to Melbourne City a couple of weeks ago, the 3-0 win there, it’s hard to argue.”
Victory’s 4-1 win leaves Macarthur sat precariously in sixth place, two points clear of Central Coast in eighth who have two games in hand on the team from Campbelltown.
Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney are also two games behind, and can move to within one point of the Bulls if they take advantage of their catchup fixtures. Sydney FC are one point behind in seventh having played the same amount of games (24) as the Bulls.
FULL-TIME: MACARTHUR FC 1-4 MELBOURNE VICTORY
Campbelltown Stadium. Kick-off: 7.45pm AEST
90+5′: GOAL! Brillante gets in on the act (1-4)
Victory deal the Bulls one final blow, with Brillante cruising into the box to put a fourth in the back of the net via an enormous deflection off the arm of Jovanovic.
83′: GOAL! Miranda with a sublime finish (1-3)
You don’t see that every day from a central defender.
Roderick Miranda, venturing forward for a Victory corner, met the ball on the bounce at the near post, flicking the ball on toward the back post where the ball nestled into the bottom-left corner of goal.
64′: NO GOAL! Jovanovic strike chalked offside (1-2)
Aleksandar Jovanovic thought he had an equaliser for the Bulls, arriving at the back post to tuck the ball into the back of the net from a corner routine, only for the VAR to intervene and find the Macarthur defender offside as Uskok made contact with his header across goal.
56′: PENALTY! Noone pegs one back from the spot (1-2)
And just like that, the Bulls are back in it!
A cross from Craig Noone into the box struck the arm of Rai Marchan, and Elder pointed to the spot for the second time in three minutes. Noone gathered the ball to take the penalty, and much like Brimmer managed to send the keeper the wrong way to convert with ease.
Marchan handball 53′: PENALTY! Mutch fouls Geria and Brimmer scores (0-2)
Jake Brimmer has doubled Victory’s advantage with a spot kick early in the second half.
Referee Daniel Elder awarded the penalty as Jordon Mutch cleaned out Jason Geria from behind, with the latter getting ahead of the former in the box before Mutch could clear a loose ball.
Brimmer sent Kurto the wrong way, burying the ball into the bottom-left corner to double Victory’s lead.
46′ SECOND HALF (0-1)
Play resumes in Campbelltown with the hosts chasing the game, and Victory looking to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games.
HALF-TIME: BULLS 0-1 VICTORY
Folami’s 28th-minute strike is all that separates the two teams at the break.
Bulls keeper Kurto was busy throughout the first 45 to keep his team within sight.
28′: GOAL! Folami buries the opener (0-1)
Matthew Spiranovic was allowed to arrive in the box unmarked to head a Victory corner toward goal; his initial attempt was blocked, but Folami swooped in to collect the rebound and bury a low shot into the bottom-left corner.
20′: Victory team move ends with a corner (0-0)
A magnificent run from Ben Folami down the left flank ended at the feet of Josh Brillante at the byline on the opposite side of the box, with Brimmer and Rojas involved in the chain.
Brillante floated a cross to the back pst toward Folami but Tomislav Uskok got across to head the ball clear.
5′: CHANCE! Rojas calls Kurto into big save (0-0)
Slipped into the box by Brimmer, Marco Rojas attempted to find the bottom-left corner with a shot across the face of goal, only for Bulls keeper Filip Kurto to touch it around the post.
The offside flag was raised in the aftermath.
1′: KICK-OFF (0-0)
The cowbells ring as the action kicks off at Campbelltown Stadium!
“This is, make no mistake, the biggest game of their season… this is a huge game for the home team,” said Paramount+ co-commentator Phil Moss on the first whistle, with the Bulls desperate to keep their place in the top six.
TEAM NEWS
It’s game number 50 for Bulls forward Al Hassan Toure in the A-League Men’s; his 20th at Macarthur after 30 with the Reds.
As for the visitors, Jake Brimmer returns to Popovic’s midfield after clearing a concussion test. Star full back Jason Davidson, however, misses through illness, with Stefan Nigro his replacement in defence.
KEY STAT
This will be the fourth A-League Men match between Macarthur FC and Melbourne Victory; the Victory won their most recent meeting (3-1, 4 March 2022) after losing each of their first two games against the Bulls.
