Andrew Redmayne has been sent off for the first time in his A-League Men career as Sydney FC fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Macarthur FC.
The Bulls remain undefeated through their opening seven games and moved to the top of the ladder with victory at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
Rising midfield talent Jake Hollman scored inside the opening half an hour before Frenchman Valere Germain put the result beyond doubt with five minutes left.
But the biggest talking point will centre around Sydney goalkeeper Redmayne who handled the ball outside of his box in the 16th minute.
Closing down a Macarthur attack, Redmayne was 30 yards off his line when a goal-bound shot from Matthew Millar hit the upper part of his right arm.
Macarthur players appealed for a handball and after reviewing the incident, referee Daniel Elder showed the Sydney No.1 a straight red.
While there was clearly no deliberate attempt to play at the ball, Redmayne gave himself up with his arm hanging so wide and Elder deemed he had denied Millar a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Reserve ‘keeper Adam Pavlesic was substituted on for just his second appearance at the expense of striker Patrick Wood.
Pavlesic was immediately called into action from the ensuing free kick and did well to tip a Clayton Lewis shot wide of his posts.
Down a man, Sydney continued to fight and Bulls goalkeeper Filip Kurto did well to prevent the Sky Blues from going ahead through Fabio Gomes.
But Macarthur’s advantage was evident whenever they countered and it was through a turnover and rapid transition that led to Hollman giving the Bulls the lead.
Germain raced up field after a long ball and waited for support, with Hollman surging up behind him to provide back-up.
The young midfielder chested German’s pass down before guiding it past Pavlesic to register his fourth goal in five games.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Sydney refused to take their foot off the gas after halftime.
Ufuk Talay’s men had 67 per cent possession in the second half but when Gabriel Lacerda dragged a shot wide and Robert Mak had a goal chalked off for offside it began to feel like it wasn’t going to be their night.
Germain made sure of that with five minutes left to play as he flicked a Jed Drew cross into the back of the net to give the Bulls victory.