A late goal saw Melbourne Victory claim a 1-0 win against Macarthur FC on Sunday afternoon at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
It was a physical first 10 minutes of the match with a few crude challenges flying in from either side.
The game continued to adopt a fragmented tone with neither team able to grab a foothold.
The visitor’s conjured up a half-chance 17 minutes in with Jake Brimmer dragging a shot from the edge of the box wide of the left post.
Macarthur began to pick up the pace midway through the half winning several free-kicks in promising areas. The hosts thought they’d found the lead in the 27th minute, but forward Bachana Arabuli had his goal chalked off for offside.
Victory looked to jag a late goal heading into halftime with a couple of opportunities that went close. With three minutes to go, Nani lined up an effort from outside the box that swerved wide of the goal. Seconds later, he turned provider playing a ball across the box from the right for Nicholas D’Agostino.
who skewed over from close range.
Despite the teams working their way into the game as the half had progressed, the scores remained level at halftime.
The Bulls almost got off to the perfect start to the second half. Within a minute, Daniel Arzani shifted into the left of the box before his strike prompted Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo to bat the ball away.
Despite this early chance, it was Victory who looked like a force going forward in the opening minutes with D’Agostino firing goalward on a few occasions. The closest of which came 57 minutes in as the forward clipped the top of the crossbar.
As the match entered its final stages, the occasional chance flashed by for either team, but they seemed inseparable. With 11 minutes to play, Macarthur substitute Jerry Skotadis leathered a shot from the edge of the box that flew narrowly wide of the left post.
However, there was a late twist in the match as Victory’s Ben Folami was slipped in behind the right channel in the 84th minute. The attacker driving into the box before floating a shot into the top left corner.
The late goal proved decisive for the away side with Melbourne Victory earning their third win of the season. For the Bulls, this makes it three defeats in their past four matches.
Macarthur FC 0
Melbourne Victory 1 (Benjamin Folami 84’)
Stadium: Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Assistant Referees:Â Ryan Gallagher and Matthew McOrist
Fourth Official:Â Tim Danaskos
Macarthur FC: Filip KURTO (GK), Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, Tomislav USKOK, Ivan VUJICA, Daniel DE SILVA, Kearyn BACCUS (Jerry SKOTADIS 77’), Ulises DAVILA (C) (Craig NOONE 72’), Matthew MILLAR, Daniel ARZANI (Anthony CARTER 72’), Bachana ARABULI (Lachlan ROSE 62’), Jed DREW (Al Hassan TOURE 62’)
 Unused subs: Nicholas SUMAN (GK), Jake MCGINGÂ
Melbourne Victory: Paul IZZO (GK), Jason GERIA (Stefan NIGRO 74’), George TIMOTHEOU, Leigh BROXHAM (C), KADETE (Matthew BOZINOVSKI 74’), RAI, Jake BRIMMER, NANI (William WILSON 82’), Christopher IKONOMIDIS, Nicholas D’AGOSTINO (Nishan VELUPILLAY 82’), Bruno FORNAROLI (Benjamin FOLAMI 58’)
Unused subs: Matthew ACTON (GK), Jay BARNETT
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