Western United will meet Oakleigh Cannons in a meeting of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men Champions and the NPL Victoria Champions.
The pre-season friendly will be played at Jack Edwards Reserve on Wednesday September 21, with kick-off set for 7:00pm.
Entry will be $15 for general public, while Western United and Oakleigh members will have access for $10 on the night.
This will be United’s first friendly in Victoria after two recent interstate trips against fellow A-League Men opposition.
After a 1-1 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday September 10, the Green and Black secured a 3-2 win over Adelaide United last Sunday.
After heading into half-time 2-0 down, John Aloisi’s men turned things around in the second half to take victory, with Dylan Wenzel-Halls netting a brace and namesake Dylan Pierias also finding the net.
That has added to a currently unbeaten pre-season run for United with previous wins over NPL opposition in Bulleen Lions, St.Albans Saints and Pascoe Vale FC.
United has been scoring freely in pre-season, scoring at least three times in each game bar the Wanderers draw and hitting six on two occasions
Wenzel-Halls has begun to find form in front of goal with the two goals in Adelaide added to a pair against Pascoe Vale and another goal in the win over St.Albans.
Lachie Wales has been the star man for United in pre-season so far, scoring in each of the three matches in Victoria and shining in the Australia Cup matches in August.
Oakleigh will provide a stern test to Aloisi’s side having come off a tremendous league campaign, finishing third on the table before trouncing first-placed South Melbourne 5-0 in the Grand Final.
While their hunt for the NPL Championship was ongoing, Oakleigh also remained in the Australia Cup, knocking out Sydney FC in the quarter-final before falling short against Macarthur FC in the last four after leading for most of the first-half.
This match will present one of the final opportunities for United’s squad to increase its sharpness and understanding before the A-League Men opener against Melbourne City on Friday October 7.
