Western United star Lachie Wales will become the third player to feature in 100 Isuzu UTE A-League Men matches for the Club in Friday night’s Round 20 fixture against Western Sydney Wanderers.
After Tomoki Imai joined Connor Pain in the Western United 100-club three weeks ago, Wales will follow suit to highlight his superb career in Green and Black thus far.
After joining the Club in its second season, Wales remains one of only two Western United men’s players to score a hat-trick and has been an integral part of the squad since he arrived.
Defender James Donachie is set to make his return from suspension on Friday night having served his three-match ban after being sent off in the win against Newcastle Jets last month.
That gives John Aloisi’s side a boost in a week where the Western United squad was dealt a significant blow with young striker Noah Botic ruled out for an extended period.
READ MORE: Western United Isuzu UTE A-League Men Injury Update
After scoring four goals in his last six matches, Botic has succumbed to a navicular stress fracture that will also see him miss the Olyroos’ upcoming stint in Saudi Arabia.
In a further injury hit, Ramy Najjarine has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a shoulder injury.
Rhys Bozinovski will also miss the clash against the Wanderers with a minor ankle injury, while Charbel Shamoon has dropped out of Aloisi’s extended squad for the game.
With those omissions there are again opportunities for Western United’s youngsters to feature with Luke Vickery, Jordan Lauton and Jake Najdovski returning to the 20-man squad.
Vickery was the most recent of that trio to feature, having come off the bench in the 2-2 draw against Brisbane Roar two weeks ago.
Lauton will be out to add to his debut against Sydney FC in February while Najdovski will see an opportunity to feature up front in Botic’s absence.
The 18-year-old striker has been in superb form to begin the VPL 1 Men season with five goals in four games, including a hat-trick in last week’s 7-1 demolition of Bentleigh Greens.
Elsewhere, Steven Lustica returns to the extended squad as competition for places remains fierce in midfield with Sebastian Pasquali and Angus Thurgate forming a good partnership of late.
Daniel Penha made his return from injury off the bench last week and will be eying a start this time around, as will Nikita Rukavytsya – the striker scored his first Western United goal in his last start for the Club, in that aforementioned draw with Brisbane.
Tom Heward-Belle remains sidelined by a finger issue and Matt Sutton will hope to build on his first clean sheet for Western United in last week’s 1-0 win over Perth Glory.
Jacob Tratt (knee) and Oliver Lavale (calf) are continuing to progress in their injury recoveries, while Connor O’Toole is now fully fit but has not been included in the squad having only joined full training late in the week.
Full Western United extended squad
Western United squad: 4. James DONACHIE, 6. Tomoki IMAI, 8. Lachie WALES, 9. Michael RUHS, 10. Steven LUSTICA, 11. Daniel PENHA, 13. Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 17. Ben GARUCCIO, 19. Josh RISDON, 21. Sebastian PASQUALI, 22. Kane VIDMAR, 32. Angus THURGATE, 33. Matt SUTTON (gk), 37. Luke VICKERY, 39. Matthew GRIMALDI, 43. Khoder KADDOUR, 44. Jordan LAUTON, 49. Jake NAJDOVSKI, 70. Michael VONJA (gk), 77. Riku DANZAKI
Ins: 4. James DONACHIE (returns from suspension), 10. Steven LUSTICA, 37. Luke VICKERY, 44. Jordan LAUTON (promoted), 49. Jake NAJDOVSKI (promoted)
Outs: 29. Charbel SHAMOON (omitted), 38. Noah BOTIC (injured), 42. Rhys BOZINOVSKI (injured)
Unavailable: 1. Tom HEWARD-BELLE (injured), 7. Ramy NAJJARINE (injured), 27. Jacob TRATT (injured), 41. Oliver LAVALE (injured)
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League Men Round 20
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Western United
Friday, 8 March
Kick-off: 7:45pm AEDT
CommBank Stadium, Parramatta
Broadcast: The match will be broadcast live on Paramount+
