James Troisi is beginning to flourish at the tip of Western United’s midfield, providing the assists for winning goals in each of the last two matches.
The No.14 put in arguably his best performance of the season in the Green and Black’s 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory on Boxing Day, capping it off with an expertly-delivered corner that brought about Josh Risdon’s eventual winner.
READ MORE: ALM Match Report: Western United 1-0 Melbourne Victory
Now with his first two assists as a United player under his belt, Troisi said he feels he is continuing to connect with his teammates with each passing week.
“It takes time. To be honest, we’ve been playing good football, linking up and creating a lot of chances, now finally it’s going in the back of the net. I’m just happy to contribute and do what I can for the team,” he said.
Troisi nearly followed his assist up with an outstanding maiden goal, crashing a volley into the post after the ball spilled to him on the edge of the box.
As it was, there was no need for a second goal as United held onto a second straight clean sheet, something Troisi said the team has been working towards.
“It’s massive. You keep a clean sheet, you generally win the game,” he said.
“That’s what we’ve been working to do and be more consistent. We had to dig deep there tonight, and it’s even more rewarding to show that we can do it with 10 men.”
As a result of Nikolai Topor-Stanley’s first-half red card, United had to play more than an hour with 10 men against Victory.
That did nothing to adversely impact the performance, though, if anything prompting United to lift its performance to ensure victory.
Troisi said that mental fortitude was a telling sign of the group’s resolve and that even after positions were moved around as a result of the sending off, everyone continued to do their job.
“It shows character. You play where you have to play, do what you can to win the game, help the boys out and help the team stay in a good structure,” he said.
“It’s not easy to go down to 10 men so early. It’s fantastic to see that it doesn’t matter what happens to us – what position, what formation we’re playing, we dig deep to win the game.”
Western United will quickly shift the focus to a Friday night meeting with Brisbane Roar, with another win potentially propelling John Aloisi’s men into the top six for the first time this season.
