Bulls beat Reds as international bags first A-leagues goal and a banger ends 10-year drought
WHAT A HIT 🚀 Midfielder’s epic reaction to first A-Leagues goal – after 124 games!
Star Macarthur signing Ji Dong-won bagged his first Isuzu UTE A-League goal to seal three points for the Bulls in a 2-1 win over Adelaide United on Monday night.
Ji, a 55-cap South Korea international, came off the bench to score the winner in the final game of Round 2 after Liam Rose’s stunning opening goal was canceled out by a Jonny Yull equaliser for the Reds on the cusp of half-time.
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Macarthur midfielder Rose hadn’t scored a goal in 123 Isuzu UTE A-League appearances prior to Monday night’s win over Adelaide – a drought stretching back to his league debut for Central Coast in 2015.
Bulls head coach Mile Sterjovski made five changes from his side’s 1-1 draw with Cong An Hanoi FC in the AFC Champions League Two in midweek; three of those changes were due to a gastro bug that swept through the Macarthur squad in the lead-up to Monday’s league fixture.
Striker Chris Ikonomidis and star off-season signings Anthony Caceres and Šime Gržan were all unavailable for Macarthur against Adelaide but Sterjovski’s depleted squad rallied to collect their first points of the Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 season.
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Key moments
Midfielder’s goal drought ends after 10 years: ‘That was worth the wait!’
Ten-and-a-half years on from his Isuzu UTE A-League debut, Liam Rose finally has his first league goal – and what a beauty it was.
The 28-year-old was an unused substitute in Round 1 but played from the start against Adelaide on Monday night; after a failed clearance from the Reds, Rose took one touch to control, then hammered a low, swerving strike past Joshua Smits in goal to break his decade-long goal drought.
“Where has that come from, Liam Rose?” Said commentator Ben Homer on the Network 10 broadcast.
“That was worth the wait! 124 A-League matches – and he pulls that out!”
Super save from Filip Kurto
He’s long been regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the Isuzu UTE A-League and on Monday night, Bulls gloveman Filip Kurto reminded us all of his undeniable quality with several stunning saves against the Reds.
His work to deny Jonny Yull from the edge of the six-yard box in the first half was Kurto at his brilliant best.
After seeing his golden chance go begging, Yull did manage to beat Kurto late in the first half with an equalising goal in the young midfielder’s 50th Isuzu UTE A-League appearance.
Ji off the bench wins it for Macarthur
Ji Dong-won is officially off the mark in the Isuzu UTE A-League, and his first Macarthur goal was a crucial one for his new club.
The 34-year-old, 55-cap South Korea international joined the Bulls from K League 1 outfit Suwon FC and in his second-straight bench appearance in the Isuzu UTE A-League, the veteran striker opened his Macarthur account with an opportunistic finish from close range.
Ji’s first Macarthur goal saw the Bulls restore their one-goal lead after Jonny Yull’s first-half equaliser, and eventually go on to seal all three points in Campbelltown.
