Moments after his side’s 3-2 win over Newcastle on Easter Thursday at Campbelltown Stadium, Bulls head coach Mile Sterjovski allowed himself to dream they could finish the season as high as third.
Mathematically such a goal is definitely achievable, especially for a team that has just come back from the dead to claim the two biggest scalps in the A-League.
A week earlier the Bulls went on a hit and run mission in Auckland where they defeated the locals – second on the ladder – 2-1.
The previous 10 rounds saw Macarthur FC’s trajectory ground to a halt, especially after four losses in a row.
But last Thursday the Bulls more than matched the runaway leaders of the competition, Newcastle Jets, defeating them 3-2 to collect another three valuable points.
It left the Bulls sixth on the table, with 31 points, one ahead of the team coming seventh, Wellington Phoenix.
But trailing the Nix are two teams that have a game in hand. Melbourne City (29 points) and Central Coast Mariners (28) will play each other tonight (Monday).
If City win, they will overtake the Bulls by one point, pushing the Campbelltown based club to seventh.
If Mariners win, they will also overtake the Bulls on a better goal differential.
The best result from a Macarthur point of view would be a draw, as Sterjovski pointed out at his media conference after the Jets game at Campbelltown.
He was definitely a happy man after seeing his side bounce back in such a fashion in the past two rounds.
Sterjovski said these two wins have given his squad the confidence and belief they could beat anyone.
“If we can keep this momentum going, we’ll make the finals,’’ he said.
“Our last three games are not going to be easy,
“Perth next, it’s going to be a tough game, they’re always good at home, but we’ll be up for it.
“We want to win every match and finish as high as possible.
“Finishing as high as third is possible,’’ Sterjovski said.
After Perth the Bulls hit the road again for the penultimate round, against Adelaide United.
In the last round, on Friday, April 24, Macarthur FC finish the season at home when they will host Wellington Phoenix, hopefully needing to win to finish third, not to make the top six.