It was set up to be a tantalising battle between second and third in the standings with both teams level on 19 points after the Bulls went on a rampaging six-game unbeaten run (W4, D2), whilst the Sky Blues had stumbled to collect three wins from six outings since they last met the Bulls in early November.
Sydney added to a dominant recent head-to-head record that has now seen them win four of the last five matchups with both a clean sheet and a multiple-goal margin, the latter of which looked unlikely given Ufuk Talay’s men had hit the back of the net only three times in their last five fixtures and were without front third talisman Al Hassan Toure, who sustained a calf injury in last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Melbourne City.
Macarthur head coach Mile Sterjovski had to “freshen up the squad” after a Monday night match continued a busy schedule that has not relented since the start of their AFC Champions League Two league phase campaign ramped up in October, and with five changes to their previous starting XI including shifting leading goalscorer Harry Sawyer to the bench, they came out with plenty of energy and vigour in 38 degree heat at the time of the 7:35pm kickoff.
They had the first chance to strike in just the fifth minute of the game when Kristian Popovic got onto the end of a free kick inside the box, denied his first A-League goal in five years by in-form Sydney shotstopper Harrison Devenish-Meares.
Sydney FC took 16 minutes to record their first shot of the game despite registering 67% possession, a very non-threatening attempt outside the box from Okon-Engstler. They held the ball to a similar degree for the subsequent 15 minutes and struck on the half-hour mark through a high-quality buildup where Rhyan Grant timed his run out on the right flank before whipping a low ball into an unmarked Piero Quispe standing on the penalty spot for his first A-League goal and first in any competition since March.
Sydney went into the half-hour extreme heat drinks break 1-0 and controlled the game from there. Macarthur had little to offer for the remainder of the first half, failing to put up a second shot on target, and only a double save from Filip Kurto in the dying moments of the half kept the score at 1-0.
The temperature had dropped down to 28 degrees by the time of the second half and both teams substituted a centre-back each at the break. Macarthur injected 26-year-old Walter Scott into the match and it didn’t take him long to make an impact - for the worse.
Scott fouled Rhyan Grant within two minutes of coming on and the deficit doubled from the resulting set piece. Sydney’s Spanish import Victor Campuzano scored his third goal of the season from the free kick when running to the near post and nodding it on near the far post to prompt celebrations in front of the travelling Cove.
The Sydney players went from celebrating their second goal in front of their active fans to jumping into the raucous pack with them for the third when Pat Wood outpaced Alex Popovic in the 63rd minute, running into the box and making the most of the angle opened up by Filip Kurto.
Both teams maintained a decent tempo right through to the finish, and whilst Macarthur weren’t particularly threatening in attack, Devenish-Meares was still alert enough at the back end of a very quiet second-half shift to make an authoritative save against the Bulls’ second shot on target of the match. He was rewarded for his command of the box with his third clean sheet in four games.
Sydney FC next host Wellington Phoenix with the top of the table in their sights, whilst Macarthur have to lick their wounds and regroup ahead of a Saturday night trip to Gosford.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Ben Garuccio