Macarthur Bulls and Adelaide United played out one of the most remarkable games in Isuzu UTE A-League history on Friday night, as the Bulls beat the Reds 5-4 in a nine-goal thriller at Coopers Stadium.
The Bulls raced to a 2-0 lead within nine minutes, with Chris Ikonomidis and Kealey Adamson scoring the early goals for the visitors. But by half-time, Adelaide were ahead with Austin Ayoubi, Ryan Kitto and Stefan Mauk all finding the back of the net in a chaotic end to a five-goal first half.
Four more goals came after the break, with Luke Brattan and Marin Jakolis both scoring before the hour mark to put Macarthur back on top at 4-3 before Archie Goodwin equalised for the hosts with his ninth goal of the campaign.
Two weeks ago, Adelaide drew 4-4 with Auckland FC at Coopers Stadium and it looked as though Friday’s encounter with the Bulls would follow a similar script before Brattan bagged his second goal of the half to give Macarthur a 5-4 lead – an advantage the visitors held to the full-time whistle despite a late Adelaide goal disallowed for offside.
It was 2-2 after 20 minutes at Coopers Stadium, with Adelaide coming back from two goals down to equalise in a remarkable start to the contest.
Chris Ikomomidis got the goalscoring action rolling in Adelaide with a sliding, volleyed finish – his first in Macarthur colours.
Two minutes later, Adamson doubled the advantage with his second goal of the campaign. The right-back’s powerful half-volleyed finish was as emphatic as they come – and the backflip celebration was equally impressive as the Bulls raced into a two-goal lead.
Macarthur held a strong advantage after 10 minutes but by the 20-minute mark, their lead had vanished.
The Adelaide comeback began through Austin Ayoubi who struck in the 13th minute to cut the Bulls’ lead in half.
Five minutes later Adelaide equalised, and it was Reds captain Kitto’s spectacular finish into the top-right corner that brought the hosts back on level terms.
By half-time, Adelaide led 3-2 and it was Stefan Mauk who completed the incredible turnaround.
From two goals down after nine minutes, Adelaide hit the front through Mauk’s swerving strike from distance that beat Bulls keeper Filip Kurto and gave the hots an unexpected lead in a five-goal first half.
After the incredible action of the first half, it was hard to believe both sides could keep up the pace in the second stanza – but on an unpredictable night full of surprises, that’s exactly what occurred as mayhem unfolded after the restart.
Eight minutes into the second half, Luke Brattan scored his first Isuzu UTE A-League goal for Macarthur to bring the visitors back on level terms at 3-3. The midfielder’s low, driven finish came after a turnover of possession inside Adelaide’s defensive box.
Four minutes later, the Bulls reclaimed their lead at 4-3.
Marin Jakolis scored the Bulls’ fourth of the night, collecting the ball in space after Peter Makrillos’ neat pass into the box to finish into the bottom-right corner off his weaker left foot.
Archie Goodwin was the next player to put his name on the scoresheet, bringing Adelaide back on level terms at 4-4 in the 73rd minute after an intercept high up the pitch from Mauk.
Brattan had never scored a brace in the Isuzu UTE A-League but Friday night at Coopers Stadium provided the stage for the unexpected to occur.
With 83 minutes on the clock, Brattan won the fight with teammate Jakolis over which player would take a free-kick from a dangerous area just outside the box; Brattan approached the ball on a long run-up and whipped his strike over the wall and into the back of the net to give Macarthur a 5-4 lead.
Adelaide thought they’d equalised at 5-5 when Luka Jovanovic turned Jonny Yull’s cutback cross from the byline into the bottom-right corner but after a VAR check, the goal was disallowed due to an offside call on Yull in the build-up.
An equaliser at 5-5 would have earned Adelaide a point and equalled the highest-scoring game in Isuzu UTE A-League history (Central Coast Mariners 2-8 Newcastle Jets, April 14 2018 / Central Coast Mariners 2-8 Wellington Phoenix, March 9 2019). But instead, Macarthur escaped with a remarkable 5-4 win – a result that kept the Bulls’ finals hopes alive.
