Western United head coach Mark Rudan wasn’t getting carried away after Sunday’s 6-2 win over Central Coast, preferring to focus on the hard work behind the stunning victory.
Attacking midfielder Max Burgess smashed a stunning hat-trick inside 20 crazy first-half minutes in Geelong.
Striker Besart Berisha scored twice to keep him in touch with the A-League’s top scorers while defender Andrew Durante rounded out the six-goal extravaganza at GMHBA Stadium with a goal and a brilliant individual display.
Much media focus post-match was on Burgess following a hat-trick that got him off the mark in spectacular fashion after 44 games in the A-League.
However, Rudan’s focus was on how hard Burgess and the group had been working.
“It’s a reward for persistence from both parties – the coaching staff and the player himself continuing to work on his skill-set,” Rudan said when asked about Burgess’s stunning 19-minute blitz.
“He’s [Burgess] got a lot of positive aspects to his game and he’s got things that he needs to work on and improve on as well.
“But we never take away the positives of an individual… and we keep challenging him [Burgess] each week.
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“He’s [Burgess] got a great shot on him… we back him all the time to get into the box and take shots. He’s got a great left and right peg, but he’s got to make the right decisions [on the park].
“Particularly having not scored in the last three games and being able to get six in one tells you that we always continue to improve and work on all facets of our game,” Rudan added.
United now sit seventh on the table two points outside the six, with seven games to play ahead of Saturday’s huge clash with the fifth-placed Reds in Adelaide.
NEXT HOME GAME
Western United’s next home game is against Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday, 29 March at Mars Stadium, Ballarat.
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