Western United youngsters Jake Najdovski, Dylan Leonard and Luke Vickery have helped guide the Young Socceroos to the semi-finals of the ASEAN U19 Boys’ Championship.
The trio have all left a strong imprint on the tournament as Trevor Morgan’s side breezed through the group stages, winning all three matches by a combined score of 13-2 and setting up a semi-final clash with Thailand on Saturday.
Leonard played 90 minutes in the opening game and helped the side keep a clean sheet in a 6-0 triumph over Laos.
That win was punctuated by a superb substitute cameo from Najdovski with the striker exploding off the bench to score the final two goals of the game.
The 19-year-old earned a start in the second game on the back of that performance and went one better, scoring a hat-trick and laying on an assist as the Young Socceroos dispatched of Vietnam 6-2.
Najdovski used every bit of finishing prowess and predatory movement across the five goals, scoring one-on-one with the goalkeeper, from outside the box and on both feet.
That game also saw Vickery make his first appearance of the tournament after he was a late inclusion in the squad, and the winger made an instant impact off the bench.
After assisting Najdovski for his third goal, Vickery scored an outstanding strike of his own with his trademark finish, bending a superb effort into the far corner of the net from the edge of the area.
All but confirming their place in the last four after two matches, the Young Socceroos clinched a perfect record in the group stages with a 1-0 triumph over Myanmar in the final game.
Western United’s triumvirate continued to feature prominently with Leonard leading the team out as captain and helping the team keep another clean sheet with a commanding performance at the back.
Vickery was also promoted into the starting XI and was a consistent threat all day, hitting the post with a left-footed effort and coming close to either scoring or assisting on a couple of occasions.
The form of all three players and the entire squad will set the Young Socceroos up for a big push in the final two matches as they look to follow in the footsteps of the Joeys after they won the Under-16 edition of the same tournament earlier on in July.
