MACARTHUR BULLS vs. AUCKLAND FC
Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Campbelltown, Australia
Monday, January 5th, 9pm (NZT)
Written by Jonno Ross
With games starting to come thick and fast for these two teams, they will look to pick up as many points as they can. Macarthur Bulls picked up an impressive 3 points on Thursday, whilst Auckland FC lost to Newcastle 3-1.
Macarthur Bulls are in a rich vein of form at the moment. They beat Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 on New Year’s Day, extending their unbeaten streak to 5. The last time they lost a game was back in Round 6 – they’re a hard team to beat at the moment.
Macarthur’s form has seen them charge their way up the league table. They now sit in 4th on 18 points, just two points behind their opponents on Monday.
In their game against Western Sydney Wanderers, Macarthur weren’t exactly a huge threat going forward, and the opposition keeper wasn’t called upon too many times. But as they’ve shown lately, they manage to find a way to win. Rafa Duran, this time, proved his 41st-minute strike to be the match-winner.
A huge game for Macarthur – a win could see them top of the ladder, depending on other results. A loss could see them drop to 6th.
Steve Corica was extremely disappointed in his side’s defeat against Newcastle. We should have done better, everyone knows Newcastle are the fastest starting team in the A League this season.
It’s not the first time Newcastle have done that to us either. In the previous fixture, they struck in the 3rd minute – clearly lessons not learned. Enough about Thursday’s game, we’ll go again.
It’s tough for any club to play 6 games in just a month. But selfishly, from a fan’s point of view, we love it!
The boys will be up for it on Monday night. They’ll be looking to make up for mistakes made and will be wary of who can replace them from the bench.
In more positive news, we have the upper hand over Macarthur heading into this one. Last season, we won 1-0 and 2-1, but interestingly enough, we haven’t played away at their ground yet. One of the two fixtures last season was in Unite Round – the game was played at the Allianz Stadium
Macarthurs home record is up there with the best. They’ve only lost once in Campbelltown this season – falling to Perth 2-0. Auckland will look to make it two.
It’s time for the A League clubs to go back to back to back, in this tricky period. If any side in this competition wants to be in with a shout come the end of the season, this is the window of games they need to thrive in.
Getting points on the board is a must. Expectations are high for AFC, Will they answer their critics? Let’s hope so.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
MACARTHUR BULLS
Harry Sawyer is his sides ‘go to’ man up front. He’s his sides, and the league’s joint top goalscorer.
AUCKLAND FC
After last week’s performance, everyone who gets selected for the starting XI on Monday is a player to watch. Who will grab the Bull by the horns?
