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Sport
George Clarke

Macarthur FC grab thrilling ALM win over Brisbane Roar

Mile Sterjovski declared Macarthur's hunt for a spot in A-League Men finals was well and truly alive after a last-gasp 3-2 win over Brisbane Roar.

Defender Jake McGing grabbed the winner for the Bulls in the 95th minute after his side had thrown away a two-goal advantage late in the second half at Campbelltown Stadium.

Macarthur had looked good value for their lead on Sunday with goals courtesy of Bachana Arabuli and rightback Matthew Millar in either half.

After a two-minute salvo from Jay O'Shea and Jez Lofthouse looked to have secured a point for the Roar with less than 10 minutes left.

But when Jordan Courtney-Perkins was shown his second yellow card in added time, the game took a twist in Macarthur's favour.

McGing slipped into the box unmarked and was able to head in an Ivan Vujica cross which moved the Bulls within one win of the top six.

"To go 2-0 up I thought we'd finish it off, but credit to Brisbane they came back into the game," Sterjovski said.

"We showed resilience once again and we worked hard to get the result.

"We're still connected (to the finals spot). The message to the boys is always the same, it's about how much we want it.

"The goal for us hasn't changed all season, we want to finish in the top six and that's what we're working towards."

Arabuli opened the scoring for his side in the 15th minute, the Georgian forward registering his first goal since Christmas Eve after struggling to adjust to life in Australia.

"He had a great week in training and we want more from him," Sterjovski said.

Millar added his side's second after jinking through the Brisbane defence in the 67th minute for his fifth of the year, making him the club's top scorer this season.

But the game took a twist when O'Shea fired in from the edge of the box in the 78th minute with Lofthouse heading in their second soon after.

Macarthur were holding on for the final whistle but Courtney-Perkins' send-off gave them a boost with McGing able to grab a late winner.

"It's a missed opportunity," said interim Brisbane boss Nick Green, who refused to give up belief that his side could still make the top six.

"At 2-0 down to fight back we had to fight our back into the game.

"In the last 10 minutes we were in the ascendancy, I thought the winner would come from us but that (the send-off) gave them a lift and we've got to be a bit more professional and wiser to see that game out.

"There's 21 points to play for, we had some disappointment today but it's all to play for."

Brisbane are seven points adrift of the finals spots and face league leaders Melbourne City next week.

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