Macarthur makes its own luck

THE competition new boys Macarthur Bulls rode their luck, including a vociferous handball call in stoppage time, to go to the top of the ALeague table with a fortunate 2-1 win away from home against the beleaguered Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium.

After blitzing the Jets early to go two-nil up, Macarthur survived a raft of second-half Jets chances and despite playing more games than other teams, elevates to the summit of table after its first month in the league.

It was an early contender for goal of the season that put Macarthur ahead as Frenchman Loic Puyo (pictured) reacted brilliantly to a deflected Ivan Franjic cross to contort his body and acrobatically send a stunning bicycle kick into the bottom corner after just eight minutes of play.

Moments after a Jason Hoffman goal was chalked off for off-side, the Jets’ woes were compounded when former Premier League striker Matt Derbyshire finally opened his A-League account with a slick header from a Puyo corner.

Despite the Macarthur dominance early, the Jets did look a threat on the break and before halftime they got back into the contest when lively winger Valentino Yuel bundled home his first ever ALeague goal amid a goalmouth scramble.

That gave Newcastle momentum in the second half and it should really have taken something from the contest after spurning several opportunities, most notably a Roy O’Donovan toe poke when through on goal on 54 minutes that went straight to Adam Federici.

The Jets’ frustrations were heightened with a strong handball shout inside the area in stoppage time which as per the rules was correctly turned down as Macarthur hung on for its second win of its inaugural campaign.