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13Oct19
Dream Debut For Western United
by Jeremy Ruane
Hyundai A-League debutants Western United made a dream debut in the competition at Westpac Stadium on October 13, rolling Wellington Phoenix 1-0 as former home team favourites Andrew Durante, Filip Kurto, Max Burgess and coach Mark Rudan returned to their old stomping ground in an intriguing opening round encounter.
The visitors created the first opening in a closely fought battle watched by 8,254 fans, who saw Besart Berisha direct a header across the face of goal in the third minute after Josh Risdon and Panagiotis Kone had combined on the right.
Six minutes later, Durante headed clear from Louis Fenton, whose cross was targeting the head of David Ball, one of thirteen new recruits Wellington's new coach, Ufuk Talay, has made during the close season.
United responded on the quarter hour, the tireless Scott McDonald combining with Connor Chapman to present Kone with the chance to finish acrobatically on the far post, one which the Greek politely declined.
Two minutes later, Wellington captain Steven Taylor pinged the ball over the top for Ball, who brought it down superbly to evade a covering defender before lifting the sphere over the advancing figure of Kurto. Sadly for the striker, his effort was off target.
After All Whites goalkeeper - and new Wellington custodian - Stefan Marinovic had dealt with a long-range effort from impressively performed United captain Alessandro Diamanti, the home team went close again in the 25th minute, Ball seeing his shot blocked to safety after Fenton's cross had picked out Liberato Cacace.
The latter let rip from thirty yards soon afterwards, a strike which drew a fine diving save from Kurto, who watched his opposite number deny Diamanti just after the half-hour, following a raid featuring Risdon, Berisha and McDonald.
Western opened the scoring in the 34th minute with a lovely goal. Connor Pain had been enjoying the freedom of the left flank throughout proceedings to date, and he finally made it count with a delicious cross to the far post, which Risdon, arriving on cue, promptly steered into the goalmouth.
There's no better goal poacher in the A-League from close range than Berisha, and he duly steered home from four yards to the delight of his team-mates and the small cluster of Western United fans who had made the trip across the Tasman to witness their club's first-ever A-League fixture.
Wellington were keen to get back on level terms before the interval, but mustered just the one effort of note, Ball's rising drive clearing the crossbar in the shadows of the half-time whistle after impressive work by Callum McCowatt, who was the pick of the home team's performers.
The second spell saw Wellington eager to make home advantage count, and they piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser. Ulises Davila's corner was headed off the line by Durante at the near post six minutes into the half, while Alex Rufer thrashed a thirty yarder over the bar on the hour.
In between times, Western had twice gone close to consolidating their advantage, the influential Diamanti's impeccable passing prising open Wellington's rearguard. His first pass, a scrumptious inch-perfect through ball, rewarded Pain's darting
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run in off the left, and but for a fine block by Taylor, Berisha would surely have been celebrating his second goal.
Moments later, Diamanti picked out McDonald on the left, from where the former Socceroo picked out Risdon with a cross which the flank player met with a diving header. Marinovic grabbed the ball greedily to thwart that opening.
When next his goal came under threat, in the 66th minute, McDonald was the architect of Wellington's problems, beating a couple of defenders in the area en route to the byline, from where he sent a cross sizzling across the goalmouth, with no one in green and black on hand to do it justice.
Back came Wellington, and twenty minutes from time they carved out a glorious opportunity to level the scores. Substitute Reno Piscopo linked with Rufer, who brought another substitute, Tim Payne, into play.
The versatile defender delivered a delicious cross beyond the far post to McCowatt, whose volleyed cross surprised the visitors and found Rufer completely unmarked six yards out from goal, from where he directed a header over the bar - it should have been 1-1.
Buoyed by that close call, Wellington continued to pound away in search of an equaliser, but the old heads in Western's ranks - and there are plenty of them aged thirty and beyond! - were wise to everything their opponents could muster.
Indeed, it was United who contrived the best chances inside the next twenty minutes, the first of them seeing Marinovic parry a Diamanti shot to safety. Then in the 87th minute, McDonald sent Pain powering down the left, and was on hand when the latter looked to play the ball inside.
McDonald duly curled a beauty towards the top far corner of the net from the edge of the area, only to see Marinovic pull off a fine flying save to his left to keep Wellington in contention.
And they well and truly were, for there were eleven minutes of stoppage time played in this match, thanks to numerous injury-enforced breaks in play during the second spell, not to mention the obligatory substitutions.
Sadly for the home team, they mustered just two attempts on goal in the additional time available to them. Substitute Ben Waine guided a looping header past the far post after fellow former Eastern Suburbs team-mates Payne and McCowatt combined on the right, while Davila squandered the last chance of note in the contest following an indirect free-kick in Western's penalty area.
The visitors held on to earn the three points on debut, their 1-0 win celebrated with understandable gusto by the travelling contingent - rare indeed are the occasions when you win your first-ever professional fixture. Rarer still when you do it on foreign soil. Western United has arrived - earlier than Wellington had hoped!
Wellington: Marinovic; Fenton (Payne, 68), Taylor, De Vere, Cacace; Davila, Rufer (booked, 61), Steinmann (Waine, 79), McCowatt; Ball (Piscopo, 64), Sotirio
Western: Kurto; Chapman, Durante, Gulum (Aspropotamitis, 78); Risdon, Kone, Jertec (booked, 90), Diamanti, Pain; Berisha (Appiah-Kubi, 82), McDonald (Burgess, 88)
Referee: Kurt Ams
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