Western United will go in search of consecutive wins in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men when it takes on Perth Glory in Ballarat.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League Men Round 19
Western United vs Perth Glory
Saturday, 4 March
Kick-off: 5:00pm AEDT
Mars Stadium, Ballarat
Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live on Paramount+
Team News
John Aloisi could welcome back into his side as many as three key first-team players ahead of the meeting with Perth.
Midfielder Steven Lustica returns to the extended squad for the first time in four months while Aloisi confirmed that defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley will be available for selection.
Aleksandar Prijovic has been named among the 20-man list and will hope to prove his fitness, while Ben Garuccio will be eying for his first minutes post-injury after returning to the bench last week.
Western United squad: 1. Jamie YOUNG (gk), 4. Leo LACROIX, 5. Dylan PIERIAS, 6. Tomoki IMAI, 7. Tongo DOUMBIA, 8. Lachie WALES, 9. Michael RUHS, 10. Steven LUSTICA, 11. Connor PAIN, 14. James TROISI, 17. Ben GARUCCIO, 19. Josh RISDON, 23. Alessandro DIAMANTI (c), 27. Jacob TRATT, 31. Adisu BAYEW, 37. Ryan SCOTT (gk) 38. Noah BOTIC, 44. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 88. Neil KILKENNY, 99. Aleksandar PRIJOVIC
Last time out
Western United put in one of its best performances of the season last weekend, coming away with a 3-1 away win against Newcastle Jets.
READ MORE: ALM Match Report: Newcastle Jets 1-3 Western United
A first-half brace from Noah Botic had the Green and Black in a strong position before Tongo Doumbia’s header wrapped up the result.
Previous Meetings
United enjoys a strong record against Perth Glory in previous meetings with five wins, a draw and two losses across the six games.
One of Perth’s wins came earlier this season, ending a three-game winning run for United against the Glory. Aloisi’s men will be out to atone for that result and pick up another important three points.
Key Matchup: Josh Risdon vs Jack Clisby
Josh Risdon returned to the pitch last weekend and was immediately at his imperious best, winning the man of the match award after a superb performance.
Providing an assist as well as a number of big defensive contributions, Risdon continued his outstanding season and he will hope to carry that vein of form into a clash against his former side.
This could be a battle of key full-backs with Jack Clisby lining up on the other side. The left-back has scored three goals from defence this season, one of which came against United the last time the two sides met.
Risdon will be out to win that particular duel and provide his usual energy on both sides of the ball to help the Green and Black secure victory.
Player to Watch: Noah Botic
Noah Botic is one of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s form men right now. In his fifth start in the last six matches, United’s No.38 found the net with two clinical finishes against the Jets to make it three goals in his last three matches.
The 21-year-old has developed rapidly under John Aloisi and has become one of the competition’s brightest young talents.
With Perth having conceded multiple goals in six of their last seven matches, Botic could fancy himself to impact the scoring again and continue his purple patch in front of goal.
Words from John Aloisi
On noticing an increase in the group’s confidence after last week’s win
“I saw it literally straight after the game, but also in the second half. I just felt that they felt more confident, they felt that no matter what Newcastle threw at them they would be able to deal with it.
“The confidence came back, and then during the week it’s been really good. The focus has been there, and we know that we have to keep on performing like that to get the performances we need.”
On Noah Botic’s form and ensuring that he continues to manage expectations
“He’s not the type that will get carried away, he’s still the same and he still works hard. It’s up to me to make sure that all the added hype around him doesn’t affect him.
“He’s a really good trainer. No matter what exercise we’re doing he does it with the best of his ability. His understanding of the striker role is really good and he gets into good goal-scoring positions.”
