Western United Weekly Wrap: February 14-18

It was another busy week of NPL Victoria action for Western United as the Senior Academy sides took on Northcote City and the Junior Academy teams locked horns with Melbourne Knights.

The Western United futsal sides sought to continue their strong starts to their respective seasons, and the Calder United junior teams kicked off for 2024.

Western United VPL 1 Men

Northcote City 2-1 Western United

Goal scorer: J.York (82’)

Looking to bounce back from an opening day defeat to Kingston City, Western United senior side got off to the worst possible start against Northcote City.

The home side took an early lead from the penalty spot before an own goal doubled the advantage soon after.

Northcote turned the match into a physical battle, ending the contest with nine men and receiving seven yellow cards. United also had a player sent off and were shown four bookings.

Diogo Ferreira’s side pushed to find a route back into the game and James York popped up to score amidst a goal line scramble with just under 10 minutes to play.

The Green and Black fought all the way in search of an equaliser but it wasn’t to be on the night as it ended in defeat.

Western United U23 VPL 1 Men

Northcote City 3-3 Western United

Goal scorer: H.Casci (13’), A.Omer (44’), A.Didulica (54’)

The Senior’s game followed another thriller in the U23 VPL 1 Men competition as Western United’s Under 21’s were involved in a goal-scoring bonanza.

Harry Casci gave United an early lead but Northcote reloaded to hit the front inside the first half. Abdulrahman Omer brought it back all square just before the break, converting from a deflected free-kick to set the tone for the second half.

When Anthony Didulica struck soon after the interval, Max Clarke would have been eying a second straight win as Under 21’s head coach but it wasn’t to be as Northcote scored in the 78^th minute, leaving both sides with a point each.

Western United Junior Academy teams

It was another successful weekend for Western United’s Junior Academy teams with three wins across the four matches.

The Under 14’s, 15’s and 16’s all progressed to a perfect three-from-three record, while the Under 18’s suffered a second straight defeat.

Neither the Under 14’s nor the Under 15’s were able to find a goal in the first half of their matches, but each side turned it on in the second period.

Ben Blewett and Oscar Veselinovski got things done for the 14’s before four different goal scorers found the net for the Under 15’s, the goals spanning just 20 minutes.

The Under 16’s had no issues finding the net in the first half as Nahom Yohannes plundered four goals on his own before the break.

Matthew Di Lorenzo was in fine form and scored the fifth goal while providing multiple assists, including for the final goal of the 6-1 route, scored by Isaac Gayed.

United’s Under 18’s took an early lead through Lenny Van Heer but were pegged back by Melbourne Knights, falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat.

Western United Junior Academy final results

Under 14’s

Melbourne Knights 0-2 Western United

Goal scorers: B.Blewett (40’), O.Veselinovski (56’)

Under 15’s

Melbourne Knights 0-4 Western United

Goal scorers: Z.Meilak (50’), A.Tewalde (62’), J.Woldegiorgis (68’), D.Caracciolo (69’)

Under 16’s

Melbourne Knights 1-6 Western United

Goal scorer: N.Yohannes (7’, 26’, 28’, 39’), M.Di Lorenzo (45’), I.Gayed (79’)

Under 18’s

Melbourne Knights 2-1 Western United

Goal scorer: L.Van Heer (2’)

Western United Futsal

Just like last week, there was one win and two heart-breaking one-goal defeats for Western United’s futsal sides in Round 5.

The women claimed a 5-2 victory over FC Carlton Heart on Wednesday thanks to a hat-trick from Balqis Waljairin and a brace from Amanda Eoraha. Goalkeeper Lara El Hayek was awarded the player of the match honour.

The two defeats followed that with the Men’s side going down 5-4 to Altona Knights FC and the Youth team falling 7-6 against Carlton Heart FC.

Elias Parthimos scored two goals in each game to continue his excellent season, while Fernando De Moraes chipped in with two assists in the Men’s match.

Western United Futsal Final Results

Women

Western United 5-2 Carlton Heart FC

Goal scorers: B.Waljairin (x3), A.Eoraha (x2)

Men

Western United 4-5 Altona Knights FC

Goal scorers: E.Parthimos (x2), C.Halfpenny, Own Goal

Youth

Western United 6-7 Carlton Heart FC

Goal scorers: E.Parthimos (x2), D.Skopelitis, A.Hagi, E.Cristaudo, M.El Sayegh

Calder United junior girls

Calder United’s junior teams got underway in their NPL seasons and enjoyed a positive start across the board against Geelong Galaxy FC.

The Under 13’s fell to a 2-0 defeat but the Under 15’s and the Under 17’s ensured the day ended on a high.

Achol Taban scored all three goals in a 3-1 triumph for the 15’s before the Under 17’s marched to a 7-0 win. Olivia Lazarevska scored a hat-trick in that game and Lida Zomaya added a brace.