Lachie Wales delivered a passionate full-time interview after Western United’s gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat to Melbourne Victory on Tuesday night.
The Western United attacker was enormous on the night alongside all of his teammates, but two late goals from Victory broke Green and Black hearts.
Wales took the opportunity post-game to heap praise on his teammates, sharing a particularly glowing opinion of Charbel Shamoon, Kane Vidmar and Khoder Kaddour – three defenders aged 20 and under that played the entire game, with Kaddour making his professional debut.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking to be honest (the defeat). The young boys did phenomenal tonight. Three of the back four are Under 20’s, and for 90 minutes they went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the league,” he said.
“That sums up our season, we’re there or thereabouts and football is in those moments. Credit to Victory, at the end they took their moments.
“Our Club should be really proud. Those boys should hold their heads up really high, that’s a phenomenal performance. Those boys have never played in front of a crowd that big or in that intensity.
“Man, we had them. We had them until about 80 minutes and they started coming. We knew they would come and in the end it was too much.”
Wales also held a special mention for Daniel Penha after the Brazilian scored United’s goal in the game with an excellent long-range strike.
The Brazilian was cruelly forced off with an injury following the celebrations, and Wales was quick to laud Penha’s effect on the group while he continues to live away from his wife, Larissa, who remains in Brazil while undergoing cancer treatment.
“That’s Dani, he’s full of energy. He’s a great character. What he goes through with his wife off the field, it’s amazing character to come in every week and play like this,” he said.
“It rubbed off on all the players today and especially the younger boys. His energy is infectious, and we played with plenty of energy tonight.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of there. We were two minutes away from winning that football game, and it would have been one of the Club’s best ever wins if we got there.”
WATCH: Lachie Wales’ interview in full following the final whistle
Wales’ passion is indicative of the persistent determination of John Aloisi, his coaches and his players through a difficult period.
Each week, no blade of grass is left untouched as the players fight for every ball, a testament to the culture that the Club has created.
The team will quickly recover from the game and look ahead to an away trip to face Brisbane Roar on Friday night with three more points available.
