The Mile Sterjovski era at Macarthur FC is well and truly underway.
After the Bulls parted ways with former head coach Dwight Yorke a week ago, Sterjovski sat at the helm for the first time since taking over in their 2-2 draw with Isuzu UTE A-League champions Western United on Saturday evening at Campbelltown Stadium.
The former Socceroo was minutes away from an unlikely victory, as his 10-man side battled back from a goal down to take the lead deep in the second-half, after both Matt Millar and substitute Jed Drew hit the scoreboard.
However, a late equaliser from Western attacker Nicolas Milanovic ensured the spoils would be shared and Sterjovski’s debut would end with just a solitary point to show for it.
Despite coming away with less than three points, Macarthur’s character and spirit can’t be questioned, putting a difficult week behind them and a number of obstacles against Western to take something from the contest.
“I think it just shows the character we’ve got in this dressing room and the boys all together,” Millar told Paramount+ post-game.
“It’s been a difficult week with things going on externally. But I think… just really saw us come together as a group and fight for each other, which is huge.
“We had to come from 10 men down, to go in front, but unluckily, we couldn’t hold it out.”
Sterjovski also heaped praise on the spirit and determination his side showed to wrestle back the ascendancy despite Kearyn Baccus’ sending-off and the hot temperatures in Sydney’s west.
“Yeah, it was a bit of a roller coaster,” Sterjovski said.
“I think we can play a lot better than what we did. But I loved the character that the boys showed, being a man down early in the second half and on our day, we probably could have come away with a victory.”
It was a horror 11 minutes for the Bulls, who went down a player when Baccus was sent from the field after he collected Western striker Noah Botic with a high boot; while star winger Daniel Arzani was forced from the field with a hamstring injury – all before Lachie Wales fired home the opener moments later.
But to their credit, Macarthur never gave up and found a way back into the game despite the growing number of obstacles.
Sterjovski spoke about the team’s togetherness and spirit – which he looked to tap into that in his half-time team talk.
“I was super happy with that (the response) and it’s one thing I touched on in an hour talk at half-time and before the match, to be together, to show that we’re together and to keep fighting to the end,” Sterjovski said.
“And we do have the quality to be able to play well, but showing that character in the fight is very important in our team.”
Sterjovski, however, felt his side can still take their performances to another level in the weeks to come – believing the hot conditions played an integral role in slowing down their overall play.
“To be honest, I think we can play a lot better than what we showed,” he said.
“And I think the boys know that, but I honestly do feel like the conditions play a part in that we can’t play a fast game. People watching at home can’t really tell how hot it is out here.
“I also feel for the players at times… Take that away and I think we can still improve it with the way we play and we’ll see how we progress in the next few weeks.”
