Western United heads interstate for the final time in the 2023/24 Isuzu UTE A-League Men season, taking on Perth Glory on Sunday evening.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League Men Round 25
Perth Glory vs Western United
Sunday, 21 April
Kick-off: 5:00pm AEST (3:00pm local time)
HBF Park, Perth
Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live on Paramount+
Western United Team News
Western United will be without Khoder Kaddour for this game and for an extended period after scans confirmed the young right-back suffered a ruptured ACL in Tuesday night’s draw with Adelaide.
Fellow Western United Academy product Charbel Shamoon comes into the extended squad alongside Luke Vickery and Jordan Lauton.
Connor O’Toole will be eying a start after his excellent impact off the bench on Tuesday, while Lachie Wales is poised to move to outright second-place in United’s all-time appearances list.
Western United squad: 1. Tom HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 4. James DONACHIE, 6. Tomoki IMAI, 8. Lachie WALES, 9. Michael RUHS, 10. Steven LUSTICA, 17. Ben GARUCCIO, 21. Sebastian PASQUALI, 24. Connor O’TOOLE, 29. Charbel SHAMOON, 32. Angus THURGATE, 33. Matt SUTTON (gk), 36. Zach LISOLAJSKI, 37. Luke VICKERY, 39. Matthew GRIMALDI, 41. Oliver LAVALE, 44. Jordan LAUTON, 45. Abel WALATEE, 49. Jake NAJDOVSKI, 77. Riku DANZAKI
Last time out
Western United played out a 3-3 thriller against Adelaide United in the Club’s final home match at the Regional Football Facility in Tarneit on Tuesday.
Watch the highlights from Western United’s 3-3 thriller under the lights in Tarneit
Matthew Grimaldi and James Donachie had the Green and Black leading 2-0 but Adelaide fought back, leaving O’Toole to score deep into second-half stoppage time to secure a point.
Previous Meetings
Perth Glory have been Western United’s favourite opponents in the Isuzu UTE A-League with eight wins in the 11 previous meetings.
That includes three wins on the spin, one of which came at HBF Park in the final round of last season – that was United’s first win in Western Australia in the men’s competition.
Noah Botic has scored in each of those three wins, so Aloisi will look to a new hero to defeat the Glory with the young striker still sidelined by a foot injury.
Key Matchup: James Donachie vs Adam Taggart
After a difficult run of fitness, Donachie has worked himself to full health and is continuing to grow alongside United’s defence.
Signed at the beginning of the season, Donachie has been limited to only eight league appearances so far but has shown his quality in both boxes already.
The centre-back scored a brilliant goal against Adelaide on Tuesday, just his fifth in the Isuzu UTE A-League and his first for the Green and Black, and has stepped up to marshal a defence which has often been forced to rotate with young players coming into the line-up.
Donachie will come up against a player far more well-known for scoring goals in Adam Taggart, who has enjoyed another fine campaign.
The Perth frontman has 17 goals in 23 appearances this season, currently putting him in second place in the Golden Boot race and just one goal behind Bruno Fornaroli.
The Socceroo will be eager to add to his tally to challenge for that individual honour, but Donachie and his teammates will be up to the task of keeping him out and giving United the best chance possible to secure the three points.
Western United Player to Watch: Oliver Lavale
Oliver Lavale has had a campaign interrupted by injury of his own, missing a significant portion of the league season.
It was in the Australia Cup where the teenager emerged, scoring in his professional debut against Gold Coast Knights and starting against Sydney FC in the quarter-final.
Now back to full fitness, Lavale has featured twice off the bench in the Isuzu UTE A-League and had a telling impact on Tuesday night with his flicked header assisting O’Toole’s equaliser.
With Aloisi continuing to give Western United’s youngsters opportunities to impress, Lavale will be hoping to increase his involvement and put in another positive display on Sunday.
