Macarthur FC may have beaten Sydney FC 2-1, but plenty of football experts will still be scratching their heads trying to work out what really happened at Allianz Stadium on Sunday night.
The Bulls obviously went into the game as underdogs, with strong favouritism belonging to the glamour inner city club.
The first half was a strange stanza of football in which the home side were slick and smooth and had most of the possession.
But as good they might have looked in the transition from their side of the field to the Macarthur FC goal, I don’t think they created one genuine chance in those first 45 minutes.
The Bulls on the other hand, played the counter attack game plan like geniuses, creating three, maybe four good chances to score goals.
The score was 0-0 at the half time break, but more importantly the home side were down to 10 men for the rest of the match.
In the second half we got a bit more of the same and the match looked certain to be heading towards a 0-0 draw.
But the clock had barely ticked past 70 minutes when Ariath Piol – pictured above celebrating – turned his back on the goal for a bicycle kick goal for the ages.
After the re-start the match went back to its normal rhythm: slick Sydney FC moves versus Bulls counter attacking at every opportunity.
But as we got close to the end the home side went up a gear, and despite the best efforts of the Bulls defence, including their rock, goalie Filip Kurto, managed to slip the ball into the back of the net.
There was just two minutes of normal time left, but when seven minutes were added on the Bulls camp would have been nervous, having lost the previous two matches 2-1 after leading in both.
But Marin Jakolis, who is increasingly looking like the best new recruit of the season, put on a slick move of his own on the left before firing the ball past the keeper and a famous 2-1 victory.
It was an incredible game, and the winning goal was just the icing on the cake.
Not to mention the important three points in the bank for the Bulls, who next play new franchise Auckland FC.
This will be the last match of Unite Round, whereby all matches will be played at Allianz Stadium.
It will be a 4pm kick off for the Sunday, November 24 clash.
