Macarthur FC have won through to the round of 16 in the 2025 Australia Cup, boosting their chances of claiming the trophy for the third time.
The Bulls, who last year won the Cup for the second time in their short history, were drawn against Football NSW League One club SD Raiders in the round of 32 – the entry point for A-League clubs.
Last night, (Tuesday), the Bulls ran on to the Fairfield Showground, Prairiewood to launch their defence of their 2024 title.
In the end, it was a comfortable 5-0 win by Macarthur FC, although their lower ranked opponent defended well enough to keep a clean sheet for the first half an hour of play.
The sides went to the halftime break with the Bulls leading 2-0, courtesy of a goal by Bernando – which broke the deadlock – and an own goal by the home side.
The second Bulls goal resulted from a Luke Brattan freekick which was deflected into the net by a Raiders player.
Four minutes into the second stanza was all the Bulls needed to go to a 3-0 lead, Harrison Sawyer with the last touch.
Eleven minutes later the Bulls made it 4-0 when Chris Ikonomidis got himself on the scorecoard with a well placed kick through the goalie’s legs.
Star Macarthur recruit Anthony Caceres also made a contribution around eight minutes before fulltime.
The classy midfielder didn’t miss from close range, and at 5-0 that was the final score.