Maroc - WESTSYDNEYFOOTBALL.COM - reports. - Hier 10:41

4 Star Mince With Bulls Slaughtered

The Western Sydney Wanderers slaughtered Macarthur Bulls in a rampant 4-0 demolition of the top half hopefuls from Campbelltown, goals from Steven Ugarkovic, Bozhidar Kraev, Ryan Fraser and Brandon Borrello that was enabled by a glorious half-field dribble and run from Dylan Scicluna combined with a stoic, unbreakable defence to keep the Wanderers in with a chance of avoiding the wooden spoon, and a very faint glimmer that a last quarter revival might lead to another finals run. Western Sydney opened the scoring before the two teams had produced any sweat on their back, Macarthur were the only team left in the league who hadn't conceded a goal in the first 15 minutes, but the Wanderers broke that streak in the 6th. Steven Ugarkovic began the move on the right side of attack, playing through Angus Thurgate, Ryan Fraser then out wide to Alex Gersbach who threaded the needle between the defenders and the goal-keeper with Ugarkovic ghosting into the 6 yard box and lifting a close range shot into the roof of the net for his 4th A-League goal for the Wanderers in his 50th A-League match for the Red & Black. Macarthur should have equalised immediately, a left wing cross that found Liam Rose front and centre inside the penalty area, Lawrence Thomas could do nothing but watch as the ball skidded along the turf and wide of the goal. The Wanderers thought they had doubled their lead with a stunning move that started with Borrello and had the two midfielders Ugarkovic and Thurgate working together with a through ball from Steven to Angus, he outpaced the cover defence and finished well past Robinson. The first replay tamped the celebrations and the VAR didn't take long to confirm that Thurgate had strayed offside by a boot length. Ugarkovic should have had his second in the 22nd minute, Ryan Fraser turned his marker the wrong way and delivered a cross into the middle, Ugarkovic arrived late and was free, unmarked and had time to measure up and most people would have put the house on him scoring. Instead he missed by a mile both upward and sideways. The breathless first half continued with the Wanderers finally taking a two goal lead in the 24th minute. With the assistance of referee Daniel Elder creating a goal from nothing. French defender Damien De Silva bought down a Thomas long ball, walked up-field and attempted to pass a closing Borrello. His pass was off target, several meters away from Luke Brattan. Complicating the matter was Elder, who has stopped moving almost on the centre circle kick-off spot. Brattan, clearly worried about not getting to the ball before an opponent, decided to shove himself into the back of the referee in a vain attempt to stop the game. The match continued, as per the laws of the game the referee isn't responsible for players colliding with them, and only if they get a touch on the ball can they stop the game. Ugarkovic counter attacked, with Macarthur woefully out of position it created a 3 on 1 situation, Borrello drew De Silva, found Bozhidar Kraev and the Bulgarian striker's first time short was perfectly aimed into the corner of the side netting on the far post. Mile Sterjovski reacted with an early sub, bringing on former Wanderers player Chris Ikonomidis in exchange for Tomislav Uskok, adjusting his formation and tactical setup to be more attacking with their two goal deficit. Macarthur's goalkeeper Alexander Robinson had come into the starting squad after Filip Kurto had made a pair of mistakes two games earlier. This match it was Robinson's turn to fail, gifting Ryan Fraser his 4th goal in 6 matches. Making a mistake trying to play out from the back, Borrello closed him down, forcing the young keeper into a rushed pass intended for the fullback that instead went directly to Fraser. With the keeper slipping over and a solid 12 yards out from the net there was little for Fraser to do except execute the chip into the open net and a player of his quality was never going to miss. Inside stoppage time there was a major flash point where Mitch Duke got involved with Jacob Farrell, the Bulls player throwing a headbutt at the former Mariner, the teams coming together but separated soon enough and in typical A-League fashion, both players were given a yellow even if one had no reason to be. There was a last chance for the Wanderers but Ugarkovic would have needed the touch of Pele and Maradona combined to bring down the quick pass and the teams went into the sheds with the visitors 3 goals to the good. Macarthur had a quick strike on goal inside 2 minutes, with Ikonomidis getting away on the left wing and shooting from an extremely narrow angle, Thomas had the near post covered well enough that the shot went over his shoulder but it's arc was away from goal and out for a goal kick. The usual hour mark subs began to arrive with the giant Harry Sawyer on for Dean Bosnjak to start them. Liam Rose went into the notebook for his 63rd minute professional foul to block a run from Borrello. Sawyer hit the post with a header, despite the attention of two players he rose above them to meet the Callum Talbot cross. Cancar was also booked for non-existent time wasting on a throw. The pressure that the Bulls were putting on was completely lifted with the 4th goal of the match. Borrello was on the end of it with a diving stretch at the far post but the goal was solely created by a world class piece of individual brilliance from Dylan Scicluna. It was reminiscent of Maradona's Goal Of The Century, started with Scicluna facing toward his own goal with two opponents on him. The first move was protecting the ball from a challenge behind him, the second and third was a Roulette Turn that even the great Zidane would have been proud of. He then dribbled past Anthony Caceres, then Brattan, outpaced Talbot who tried but failed to cut him down for a free kick. With the cover defence showing him down the line he measured a left footed cross past Rose and De Silva where Borrello made no mistake with a finish that gave him his first outfield goal since March 2025. The Bulls threw the kitchen sink forward in the final minutes trying to break their duck egg, the closest being a long range header from Duran after he pushed ahead of the midfield and found himself free, his header was strong and aimed well but too far out, Thomas making a full length dive to turn the ball around the post and out for a corner. The final whistle came not long after, the Wanderers with an emphatic 4-0 victory that took them off the foot of the lader on 20 points, with a superior goal difference putting them ahead of Wellington Phoenix pending the Nix's match against Sydney FC on Sunday. The Wanderers next match is against the Newcastle Jets, in Newcastle, on Saturday the 7th of March with kick-off at 5pm.