Sturridge had the perfect chance to equalise in the 58th minute, but he scuffed the shot from inside the box with the goal beckoning. There was plenty of late drama in the match after Macarthur defender Aleksandar Susnjar was given his marching orders in the 75th minute for a second bookable of fence. His first yellow card came for bringing down Sturridge.

But Susnjar only had himself to blame for the second yellow, with the 26-year-old penalised for standing directly in front of the ball while a Glory player was trying to take a free kick. Glory midfielder Daniel Stynes almost snatched an equaliser in the 90th minute, only for his strike to clatter off the upright.

Then in the third minute of injury time, Glory were awarded a penalty for a Lachlan Rose handball after the ball was kicked into him from close range. The VAR was called into action and referee Kurt Ams reversed his decision after deciding Rose hadn’t moved his arm away from the body.

Sturridge was making just his fifth cameo off the bench, with his stint in Australia blighted by three separate stints in quarantine and a slow build-up to match fitness.

The result lifted Macarthur into third spot, while Glory remain 10th but with games in hand. A defensive blooper by Aaron Calver handed Macarthur the only goal of the match. Calver could only watch on in horror as the ball squeezed under his boot and Davila pounced on it for an easy goal.

Macarthur defender Jake McGing came off in the 32nd minute after injuring his left hamstring. Bulls coach Ante Milicic was absent from the match after falling I’ll. The injury will come a s a huge blow to the club but the manager confirmed they will look to get him back to full fitness as soon as possible