Western United’s senior NPL squads faced a huge test against Melbourne City in NPL 2 Victoria, while the Green and Black’s Junior Academy teams closed the pre-qualification period against Geelong Soccer Club.
Western United NPL 2 Men’s Senior’s
Melbourne City 0-4 Western United
Goal scorers: A.Walatee (11’, 58’), M.Bisetto (69’), S.Lo Monaco (85’)
Western United produced one of its best performances of the season so far to sweep aside Melbourne City at Parade College on Saturday afternoon.
Fresh from a blistering second half performance against Manningham United last time out, United picked up right where it left off as Abel Walatee opened the scoring in the 11th minute.
Diogo Ferreira’s side continued to control proceedings but had to wait until after the break to score again, putting the game to bed in a half-hour flurry to close the match.
Walatee scored his fourth goal in two games with a 58th-minute strike before Max Bisetto continued his hot run of form with a fifth of the season barely 10 minutes later.
Sebastian Lo Monaco came off the bench to cap off a superb afternoon, scoring his first goal of the campaign and ensuring United leapt to the top of the table.
Western United NPL 2 Men’s Under 21’s
Melbourne City 0-4 Western United
Goal scorers: G.Luna (18’), T.Alisandratos (26’), L.Vickery (30’), O.Eze (56’)
Vaughan Coveny’s Under 21’s had preceded that contest with a similarly vintage display, dispatching of City by the same scoreline.
Both sides entered this clash with seven wins from seven to start the season but United took command in a stunning opening half-hour.
Giacomo Luna fired United in front before Thomas Alisandratos and Luke Vickery each scored their ninth goals of the season to make it 3-0 before half-time.
United continued to dominate and Obiora Eze got in on the act just before the hour mark as Coveny’s men marched to outright top of the league.
Western United Junior Academy teams
Western United’s Junior Academy teams travelled to Geelong Soccer Club for the final round of the grading portion of the 2023 season.
Having already wrapped up the West division title, the Under 14’s went out in style with a 5-1 win thanks to a stunning four-goal performance from Winston Ashburner.
The Under 15’s needed a win to secure a place in the top tier and did just that as Karl Leban scored his 12th goal of the campaign and Marcus Cristalidis added a second to confirm a 2-0 victory.
It ended up in a perfect weekend for all Western United teams as both the Under 16’s and Under 18’s secured 1-0 wins thanks to goals from Ethan Robinson and Alex Marmura respectively.
The Under 18’s also took out the West division title, rounding out a brilliant start to the year for Western United’s Junior Academy teams with all four sides heading into top tier football for the remainder of 2023.
The junior sides will now enjoy a couple of weeks off before the season proper begins at the end of April.
Western United Junior Academy scores
Under 14’s
Geelong SC 1-5 Western United
Goal scorers: W.Ashburner (23’, 29’, 47’, 50’), P.Sfyridis (41’)
Under 15’s
Geelong SC 0-2 Western United
Goal scorers: K.Leban (9’), M.Cristalidis (37’)
Under 16’s
Geelong SC 0-1 Western United
Goal scorer: E.Robinson (62’)
Under 18’s
Geelong SC 0-1 Western United
Goal scorer: A.Marmura (86’)
Calder United junior girls
With a bye for Calder United’s two senior teams, it was down to the junior sides to fly the flag this weekend on an away trip to face Box Hill United.
The Under 13’s fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat but the Under 15’s and Under 17’s ensured the day ended positively, each winning their matches 4-1.
All three junior sides are in the top five of their respective league tables, with the Under 17’s just four points back from first place.
Calder United junior scores
Under 13’s: Box Hill United 2-1 Calder United
Goal scorer: A.Di Natale
Under 15’s: Box Hill United 1-4 Calder United
Goal scorers: A.Birdahic, M.Crawford x2, C.Pinto Calleja
Under 17’s: Box Hill United 1-4 Calder United
Goal scorers: A.Talevski x2, J.Sanad, T.Kul
