Western United inflicted a first-ever Isuzu UTE A-League Men defeat on Auckland FC on Saturday afternoon, dominating the league leaders with a 4-0 win.
The Green and Black was on top right from the beginning and scored three times in the first half. Riku Danzaki scored the first from the penalty spot before strikers Noah Botic and Hiroshi Ibusuki also netted.
Substitute Matthew Grimaldi added the icing on top of the cake with a goal in the final minutes, securing Western United’s biggest men’s victory since April 2022.
The win propels Western United into fifth place on the table ahead of a home fixture against Brisbane Roar at Ironbark Fields to close out 2024 next week.
Western United Team News
John Aloisi went unchanged after United’s brilliant win over Sydney FC last week with full XI given the chance to continue their good form.
Abel Walatee started for the third match in a row, Rhys Bozinovski continued in midfield alongside Angus Thurgate with Botic partnering Ibusuki up front and Matt Sutton in goal.
First Half
Western United started sharply with Ibusuki and Bozinovski sending efforts narrowly wide of the post within the opening three minutes.
That set the tone for what became a remarkable first half from the visitors as they kept their foot on the accelerator and punished Auckland at every opportunity.
The first of those came on 17 minutes when Danzaki went on a run, cutting inside from the right wing before firing a shot which struck the arm of Callan Elliott in the box.
A penalty was awarded and Danzaki stepped up to the spot himself, sending Alex Paulsen the wrong way and dispatching the effort confidently into the net.
Paulsen’s net was breached again six minutes later as United kept waves of attacks incoming and Auckland couldn’t clear the danger.
It was a lovely team move as the ball shifted between the mint shirts, ending with Thurgate finding Ibusuki in the six-yard box.
The Japanese attacker did brilliantly to stay alive and force a save out of Paulsen from a prone position on the floor, allowing Botic to stride onto the loose ball and cannon a hip-high strike into the roof of the net.
Thurgate and Bozinovski continued to boss the midfield, breaking up Auckland’s chains of possession and keeping United on the front foot.
Not wanting to miss out on the action in midfield, Tomoki Imai got in on the action when he intercepted a ball and strode into the final third before playing in Ibusuki, and his countryman did the rest with a devastating finish into the bottom corner.
Auckland were still able to show their quality and Guillermo May drew an excellent save from Sutton before the break, but it was United again that came closest to adding another to the scoreboard as Thurgate blasted an effort onto the crossbar.
Second Half
United expected a response from Auckland and that was certainly what it got coming out of the break as the home side immediately set about getting back into the game.
The home side were able to keep United penned back in its defensive third, but Sutton and his back four were largely able to ensure any chances on goal were only half chances at best.
Carrying on from his man-of-the-match display in last week’s win over Sydney, Sutton was decisive when called upon with a couple of excellent low saves to keep the ball out of either bottom corner.
Dylan Leonard and Imai were sensational at centre-back – as were Tate Russell and Charbel Shamoon either side of them – and continued to preserve the clean sheet heading into the final minutes.
Adding the finishing touch onto the evening, Grimaldi – who was energetic in his half-hour off the bench – lasered a finish off the post and in after a delightful assist from fellow substitute Ramy Najjarine in the 87th minute.
A clean sheet, three points and four goals delivered the perfect early Christmas present to the Western United fans back home ahead of a final home match of the year next week.
