Western United fell to a 1-0 defeat against Western Sydney Wanderers in its first of two Isuzu UTE A-League Men matches at North Hobart Oval.
Lachlan Brook scored the goal for the Wanderers late in the first half but United was made to rue missed opportunities as it failed to find an equaliser.
A strong crowd in Hobart couldn’t push the Green and Black over the line, but will return to North Hobart Oval again next week with a Western United double header.
Western United Team News
John Aloisi made two changes from the last match against Macarthur FC two weeks ago as Noah Botic returned to the starting line-up in place of Matthew Grimaldi, and Kane Vidmar came in for the injured Jacob Tratt.
Western United Academy stars Zach Lisolajski and James York were named on an Isuzu UTE A-League bench for the first time in their careers, alongside fellow teenager Jake Najdovski.
First Half
Western Sydney Wanderers brought immediate pressure from the kick-off, winning a free-kick on the edge of United’s box within seconds.
They used that early bolt to gather the early momentum, keeping the majority of the possession and looking to get in behind Western United’s defence.
Nicolas Milanovic broke free down the left-hand side and looked set to tee up the opening goal, but Ben Garuccio made a stunning recovery challenge to clear the danger.
The Wanderers came even closer soon after when Marcus Antonsson had a free header inside the six-yard box, but he couldn’t keep his effort underneath the crossbar as United breathed a sigh of relief.
Western United continued to work its way into the game and created some big chances, the first of which was nearly an own goal via Marcelo but Daniel Margush made a sharp reaction to keep the ball out of the net.
The Wanderers goalkeeper was on the spot again minutes later when Michael Ruhs approached the goal unopposed, but United’s No.9 couldn’t find a way past Margush from a tight angle.
Ruhs had an even more guilt-edged opportunity soon after following a brilliant piece of build-up play through the midfield.
Daniel Penha played Noah Botic in behind and the forward squared to his striking teammate in Ruhs, but the No.9 couldn’t keep his close range effort underneath the crossbar.
Those missed chances came back to bite United as the Wanderers went up the other end to open the scoring with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Milanovic centre the ball to Antonsson and the striker laid it off to Lachlan Brook at the top of the box, inviting the attacking midfielder to step onto the ball and fire home first time.
Second Half
Western United started the second half in the same way that Western Sydney started the first, getting straight on the front foot as Garuccio made his way into the box but saw his cross blocked.
The Wanderers were then inches away from doubling their advantage when Antonsson stretched to loop a headed effort back across goal, but Tom Heward-Belle was relieved to see it wide as he scrambled back across his goal line.
United continued to probe and search for a way back into the contest and made a double change on the hour mark as Aloisi gave York is professional debut.
Brook had another chance for the Wanderers that United was able to block and clear away and there was a big moment soon after when Aidan Simmons crashed into Vidmar and received a straight red card.
That gave United just under half an hour of normal time to look to penetrate against 10 men, dominating the ball in the final stages of the game as the Wanderers sat back in a deep defensive block.
Penha had a huge chance with 15 minutes to play when he rose brilliantly to meet a Ramy Najjarine cross, but his downwards header was well saved again by Margush in the Wanderers goal.
There was another debutant for United as Zach Lisolajski came off the bench and when Najdovski and Grimaldi were introduced in the final 10 minutes, four of the 11 players that finished the game for the Green and Black were Academy graduates.
United pushed and pushed in the seven minutes of stoppage time and the best chance fell to Garuccio at the very beginning of that, with a stinging left-footed drive tipped away from the roof of the net by another quality Margush save.
In the end it was another game where Western United was left frustrated by missed chances and feeling like there was something more to take out of the game, with the side now set to regroup ahead of a return to Hobart next weekend to face Sydney FC.
