Sunday, 28 February 2021:
 | | Australian assistant coach ANTE MILICIC. | |
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Macarthur have shot to second on the A-League ladder, but winning half of their 10 games is a better indicator of early success for manager Ante Milicic, who warns there's better to come.
The league newcomers made a statement in their 1-0 victory over defending champions Sydney FC on Sunday afternoon, holding their new cross-town rivals to their first back-to-back loss for the season.
But more importantly, it showed Milicic that the newbies mean business.
"We're the type of team that wants to win every game, no matter who your opponent is, whether it's home or away but once you've played 10 and win five, you've got to be happy," he said.
"There's a lot of work to do because we're a new team and it's a new playing style and we believe we'll get fitter and have better relationships on the field that will make our football a little bit more fluid when the understanding is there.
"I'm delighted with five wins but we know we can do more and we expected improvement in the group so it'll be interesting to see how we go in the next month or so."
Following their 4-1 loss to Western United last week, Milicic wanted to make a statement against Sydney FC on Sunday to shake off any inkling of a slump.
It has been a month since the Bulls were thumped 3-0 by Sydney FC at home, and since then they had scored two wins and a draw before the United loss.
"When you're losing in such a manner with such a big scoreline and then you come into the champions at their home that you know is a very good side, you don't want to be in a negative series for too long," he said.
The Bulls will now face ladder leaders Central Coast on Monday week in Gosford with a shot at top spot on the table.
"We've got an eight-day turnaround to play the Mariners away and confidence is massive for every player," said Milicic.
Elsewhere, Western United scored a classic 4-3 win against Melbourne Victory on Saturday night after going down to 10 men.
Spaniard Victor Sanchez landed his second goal of the match in the 95th minute in one of the best games of the season to give Western United the derby win.
Wellington, Perth and Adelaide round out the winners in week 10 with Western Sydney to play Melbourne City and Glory to host the Mariners on Tuesday night.
