When the Bulls went to a 1-0 lead just 10 minutes after the kick off in their match against Central Coast Mariners last night, their fans would have started thinking a big win was on the way.
And being Christmas eve eve, that would have been a nice Christmas present for them.
Three minutes later, the same fans, many of them wearing Santa hats and other Christmas gear as well as their Bulls tops and so on, almost certainly would have had a change of heart.
Why three minutes? That’s long it took for the officials to go over the goal and confirm that it was legitimate.
The problem was that Jed Drew’s wonderful strike just outside the six yard box ricocheted off Daniel De Silva and into the back of the goal.
At first the goal was attributed to Drew because it was not clear how much contact there was with De Silva’s body – or whether he was in fact offside on impact.
Boos started to ring around the ground – there was a healthy attendance at Campbelltown Stadium for the last home game of the Bulls for 2024 – when VAR seemed to take an eternity to decide if the goal would stand.
To the relief of the local mob, and the Macarthur FC coaching group, De Silva was credited with the goal and that was that.
It’s fair to concede that the goal was against the run of play, with the feisty Mariners attacking the Bulls goal at every opportunity.
But a solid defensive line from the Bulls thwarted any opportunities they created, and the sides went to the break with the home side ahead courtesy of Drew’s/De Silva’s goal.
The Bulls had one third of possession in the first 45 minutes, which gives you an idea which team was doing most of the attacking.
It continued in this vein after the re-start, and it took the Mariners just eight minutes to score for a 1-1 scoreboard.
Bulls coach Mile Sterjovski rung in the changes after the one hour mark, but it was to no avail and the match ended in a draw.
“I am disappointed because we were hoping to get our first back to back wins this season, but I’ll take the one point from the draw,’’ he said afterwards.
The one point means the Bulls are in fifth spot on the ladder and will head to Perth to take on the Glory this Friday with another opportunity to move up the rankings.
