Western United secured its first win of the 2024/25 Isuzu UTE A-League Men season in some style, defeating Perth Glory 3-1 in Unite Round on Friday night.
John Aloisi’s men were on top throughout the first half but ended up going behind when Perth struck first just after the interval.
That sparked Western United into action with three goals in a 16-minute blitz, the first seeing Dylan Leonard become the Club’s youngest ever men’s goal scorer.
Hiroshi Ibusuki took over from there with two superb finishes via assists from Noah Botic, capping off a fantastic night for the Green and Black in Sydney.
Western United team news
There was one change to the starting line-up as Aloisi brought in captain Ben Garuccio to lead the side out for the first time this season.
With that significant boost to the side, the bench featured further positives with Michael Ruhs returning to the matchday squad and Ramy Najjarine included for the first time since February.
First Half
Western United made a bright start in the game and quickly settled into the ascendancy in search of an early goal.
There was unlikely to be a bigger chance than one Botic had in the eighth minute, the young striker left scratching his head after hitting the crossbar twice in a matter of seconds.
United continued to pile on the pressure and Botic forced a far more conventional and impressive save from Cook shortly after while Russell sizzled a half-volley just over the top of the goal.
Ibusuki had a huge chance of his own when Leonard picked him out with a delightful cross after some swift footwork at the top of the box. The Japanese striker just couldn’t direct his header inside the post, leaving United craving that first goal heading into the second half.
Second Half
Only to add further to United’s frustrations, Perth stunned the Green and Black with a goal just seven minutes after half-time as Trent Ostler finished on the counter with Matt Sutton just unable to keep it out with a desperate effort on the goal line.
Aloisi’s men refused to drop their heads despite the setback and quickly restored parity with a piece of history as Leonard popped up to fire home from close range following a corner.
With the dam wall broken, United had the lead five minutes later as Botic and Ibusuki linked up to perfection.
It was remarkable work from Botic who got away from a defender on the right-hand side and pulled an intelligent cutback into space towards the top of the box with Ibusuki needing only to stride onto the ball and pass it into the bottom corner with aplomb.
The icing was applied to the cake shortly after when Botic again found Ibusuki in the box before watching on as the No.9 did the rest.
After sending two defenders to the floor with a devastating dummy, Ibusuki blasted the ball beyond Cook at his near post for his first Western United brace.
The only dampener on the night was a late red card to Leonard after he pulled down Cristian Caicedo who was looking to break through on goal.
Taking its first win of the season, United will now look to carry the momentum into a huge Westgate Derby against Melbourne Victory next week.
