Bulls hold City despite Behich stunner
Joey Lynch |
A stunning free kick from Socceroo defender Aziz Behich hasn’t been enough for Melbourne City against Macarthur, with the Bulls rallying to secure a 1-1 A-League Men draw at AAMI Park.
Looking to immediately rebound from their derby defeat against Melbourne Victory last Saturday, Behich’s strike gave the hosts a promising start but it proved one they couldn’t maintain, with their subsequent late flourish also falling short.
While Tuesday night’s draw moved City up to outright fourth, Rafael Duran’s equaliser prevented them from vaulting Brisbane into third, while also ensuring the Bulls jumped into seventh.
“It’s probably not going to go into the Christmas stocking that game, is it?” said City boss Aurelio Vidmar.
“A difficult game — trying to back up after the Victory game.
“But pleased that we were able to just keep pushing.”
With both sides experiencing a significant fixture crunch thanks to Asian commitments, Behich breathed life into the contest and brought the 4,304 fans to their feet in the 25th minute by perfectly guiding a left-footed attempt over the Macarthur wall and beyond keeper Filip Kurto.
It lowlighted a miserable few minutes for the visitors, who had already made five changes after playing Brisbane on Friday, then lost Dong-Won Ji to an injury the Korean striker fears could be serious moments after the goal.
“I’m not sure if it’s his ankle or his foot,” Macarthur coach Mile Sterjovski said. “He says it’s not great, but we’ll wait to see what the doctors say.”
Nonetheless, the Bulls steadied and equalised 10 minutes before halftime when City’s attempt to clear a Luke Vickery cross went back to Harry Politidis, who slid the ball back in for Duran to finish.
Ji’s replacement Harrison Sawyer looked to keep the visitors’ momentum going but City roused themselves as the contest neared its conclusion.
They fashioned a series of late chances and substitute Andrew Nabbout thought he’d won it late when he followed up a saved Behich attempt, only to be denied by the assistant’s flag.
Escaping with a point, the Bulls will next be in action against Newcastle on Boxing Day, with Sterjovski indicating they will likely need a light training session on Christmas Day in preparation.
City, meanwhile, will host Perth on Sunday and will be afforded Christmas off.
“Prawns, lobster, a couple of beers, whatever else there is,” Vidmar joked about his coming days.
“They’ve had a lot of games, and there’s no point in flogging them over the Christmas period.”
AAP
