Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Sport
Adrian Warren

Arzani lifts WC hopes in Macarthur ALM win

Daniel Arzani scores in Macarthur's 2-0 win over Adelaide, before being booked for his celebration. (Jeremy Ng/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Daniel Arzani has pushed his case for a late call up to the Socceroos World Cup squad with a sensational display in Macarthur's 2-0 A-League Men home win over Adelaide United.

In an action-packed afternoon, Iran-born Arzani scored the first, provided the assist for the second and hit the bar with a free kick.

He also found his way into the referee's book, earning a yellow card from Shaun Evans after celebrating his goal by lifting up his shirt to reveal a reference to Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman who died in suspicious circumstances in Tehran last month.

She was being held by the country's morality police at the time, who arrested her after saying she was wearing her hijab too loosely.

Just a couple of minutes before Arzani's goal, Adelaide squandered a great chance to take the lead themselves.

Craig Goodwin got behind the Bulls defence and cut the ball back to an unmarked George Blackwood near the penalty spot, but Blackwood's tame shot lacked the power to beat Filip Kurto

Arzani made them pay moments later, when he received a pass from Lachie Rose and stroked the ball home with a delightful right-foot finish from just inside the penalty area on 27 minutes.

Arzani returned the favour half-an-hour later with a surging run down the left and perfect cut back for Rose to stab home from close range.

On the hour, Arzani almost scored again when he rattled the crossbar with a free kick.

Adelaide had more possession and 11 more shots, but were far more wasteful than Macarthur, who lost captain Ulises Davila after 10 minutes with a hamstring injury.

The Reds put the ball in the net three times, but all were ruled out.

Hiroshi Ibusuki twice headed the ball into the net - either side of halftime - but one was rubbed out for offside and the other for a foul, while Ben Warland's late effort was also disallowed for offside.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.