Macarthur FC advance through to the 2024 Australia Cup Final, with a late penalty seeing them down South Melbourne 1-0 on Sunday evening.
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Valere Germain converted in the final five minutes of the match to see the Bulls through their second-ever Cup Final. However, the forward, who had four goals in his four Cup appearances, saw red late on ruling him out of the game.
South Melbourne FC - 0
Macarthur FC - 1 (Valere GERMAIN 85' penalty)
South Melbourne made a fast start and almost took the lead within two minutes when Maximilian Mikkola drew a top save from Macarthur goalkeeper Filip Kurto.
The first half had adopted an intense pace, yet there were limited chances falling either way.
The visitors returned fire in the 27th minute as Ivan Vujica advanced from full-back and forced Javier Lopez into a save with his feet from a cross.
Three minutes later, Mikkola looked dangerous for the hosts again, receiving the ball in the left of the box and lashing a shot goalwards, which Kurto parried away.
South Melbourne had created plenty in the first half and prevented the Bulls from registering a single shot, but they went into the sheds level.
The Bulls came out for the second half with more attacking impetus and generated their first shot six minutes in. The ball dropped to Daniel De Silva in the left of the area, who drilled the ball towards the far corner, and Lopez made a sharp, low save.
De Silva came close 66 minutes in, as he found a pocket of space in the right of the box and hit a dangerous shot that went narrowly over.
As the game dragged on, it looked increasingly likely that the first goal would prove to be the winner.
South Melbourne went forward in the 83rd minute as Mikkola raced forward down the left and took aim from outside the box, with Kurto holding onto the shot.
Germain makes it 4️⃣ in 4️⃣ ?
The @mfcbulls skipper sends the keeper the wrong way to give his side a late lead in the Semi Final ?
? @10FootballAU #AustraliaCup #MagicOfTheCup #SMBvMAC pic.twitter.com/gDhWQRLH4f— Australia Cup (@AustraliaCup) September 22, 2024
Moments later, Macarthur were presented with a big chance to break the deadlock after South Melbourne’s Marco Jankovic was deemed to have pushed over Jake Hollman in the box.
Germain stepped up for the penalty and picked out the right of the goal, with Lopez diving in the other direction.
As the Bulls looked to see out what remained, they were dealt a major blow ahead of the Final as Germain went in recklessly and received a second yellow card, being sent off.
Despite the late drama, the Bulls held out their opponents to make it through to the big dance, where they will face Melbourne Victory.
