2022–23 Western United FC season

The 2022–23 season was the fourth in the history of Western United Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, Western United also participated in the Australia Cup for the second time.

Western United
2022–23 season
ChairmanJason Sourasis
ManagerJohn Aloisi
StadiumAAMI Park
Mars Stadium
North Hobart Oval
UTAS Stadium
A-League Men7th
A-League Men FinalsDNQ
Australia CupRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague: Noah Botic (6)
All: Noah Botic (6)
Highest home attendance5,753
vs. Melbourne City
(22 April 2023)
A-League Men
Lowest home attendance2,253
vs. Brisbane Roar
(30 December 2022)
A-League Men
Average home league attendance3,168
Biggest win3–1
vs. Newcastle Jets (A)
(25 February 2023)
A-League Men
Biggest defeat0–4
vs. Melbourne City (A)
(7 January 2023)
A-League Men
All statistics correct as of 28 April 2023.

Review

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Background

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The 2021–22 season saw the club finish in third place, its highest ever finish and compete in the finals for the second time. The club then went on to appear in and win its first ever grand final on 28 May 2022 against Melbourne City.

Players

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First-team squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ENG Jamie Young
4 DF   SUI Léo Lacroix
5 DF   AUS Dylan Pierias
6 DF   JPN Tomoki Imai
7 MF   MLI Tongo Doumbia
8 FW   AUS Lachlan Wales
9 FW   AUS Michael Ruhs
10 MF   AUS Steven Lustica
11 FW   AUS Connor Pain
14 MF   AUS James Troisi
17 DF   AUS Ben Garuccio
19 DF   AUS Josh Risdon (vice-captain)
20 FW   AUS Ramy Najjarine
21 MF   AUS Sebastian Pasquali
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF   ITA Alessandro Diamanti (captain)
24 DF   AUS Connor O'Toole
27 DF   AUS Jacob Tratt
31 MF   AUS Adisu Bayew (scholarship)
33 DF   AUS Ben Collins (scholarship)
36 DF   AUS Ajak Deu (scholarship)
37 GK   AUS Ryan Scott
38 FW   AUS Noah Botic
42 MF   AUS Rhys Bozinovski
44 DF   AUS Nikolai Topor-Stanley
49 FW   AUS Jake Najdovski (scholarship)
88 MF   AUS Neil Kilkenny
99 FW   SRB Aleksandar Prijović

Transfers

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Transfers in

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No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref.
14 MF James Troisi Western Sydney Wanderers Free transfer 1 year 17 July 2022 [1][2]
27 DF Jacob Tratt Unattached Free transfer 1 year 22 August 2022 [3]
7 MF   Tongo Doumbia Unattached Free transfer 1 year 24 August 2022 [4]
9 FW Michael Ruhs Central Coast Mariners Free transfer 2.5 years 7 January 2023 [5]
24 DF Connor O'Toole Sydney FC Free transfer 1.5 years 7 January 2023 [6]
20 MF Ramy Najjarine Western Sydney Wanderers Free transfer 2.5 years 7 January 2023 [7]

From youth squad

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N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
Notes
49 FW   Jake Najdovski 17 2 year scholarship contract[8]

Transfers out

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No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
13 DF Ivan Vujica Unattached End of contract 10 June 2022 [9]
16 MF   Rene Krhin Unattached End of contract 10 June 2022 [9]
27 MF Jerry Skotadis Unattached End of contract 10 June 2022 [9]
34 FW Christian Theoharous Central Coast Mariners Mutual contract termination 17 January 2023 [10][11]
12 DF Dalibor Markovic Unattached Mutual contract termination 20 January 2023 [12]
9 FW Dylan Wenzel-Halls Central Coast Mariners Mutual contract termination 29 January 2023 [13][14]
25 MF Luke Duzel Adelaide United Mutual contract termination 6 February 2023 [15][16]
26 MF Nicolas Milanovic Western Sydney Wanderers Mutual contract termination 7 February 2023 [17][18]

Contract extensions

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No. Name Position Duration Date Notes Ref.
4   Léo Lacroix Defender 1 year 29 May 2022 extension triggered [19]
44 Nikolai Topor-Stanley Defender 1 year 10 June 2022 [20]
33 Ben Collins Defender 1 year 17 June 2022 [21]
21 Sebastian Pasquali Midfielder 1 year 1 July 2022 [22]
17 Ben Garuccio Left-back 2 years 7 September 2022 Contract extended from end of 2022–23 until end of 2024–25. [23]
42 Rhys Bozinovski Midfielder 2 years 6 December 2022 Promoted from a scholarship contract to a senior contract [24]
11 Connor Pain Winger 3 years 25 January 2023 Contract extended from end of 2022–23 until end of 2025–26. [25]
38 Noah Botic Centre forward 2 years 8 March 2023 Contract extended from end of 2022–23 until end of 2024–25. [26]
10 Steven Lustica Central midfielder 1 year 16 March 2023 Contract extended from end of 2022–23 until end of 2023–24. [27]
27 Jacob Tratt Central defender 1 year 23 March 2023 Contract extended from end of 2022–23 until end of 2023–24. [28]

Pre-season and friendlies

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9 August 2022 Western United 3–0   Bulleen Lions Melbourne
19:30 AEST
Report Stadium: City Vista Recreation Reserve
24 August 2022 Western United 6–0   St Albans Saints Melbourne
19:45 AEST
Report Stadium: Valley Park Events Centre
27 August 2022 Western United 6–0   Pascoe Vale Melbourne
Report
10 September 2022 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 Western United Parramatta
Report
Stadium: Wanderers Football Park
17 September 2022 Adelaide United 2–3 Western United Adelaide
11:00 ACST
Report
Stadium: ServiceFM Stadium
21 September 2022 Oakleigh Cannons   1–5 Western United Melbourne
19:00 AEST
  • ?   32'
Report
Stadium: Jack Edwards Reserve
24 September 2022 Western United 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
15:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: The Hangar
29 November 2022 Western United 3–3 Adelaide United Melbourne
Report
Stadium: The Hangar
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions

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Overview

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Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League Men 7 October 2022 29 April 2023 Matchday 1 7th 26 9 5 12 34 47 −13 034.62
Australia Cup 3 August 2022 14 August 2022 Round of 32 Round of 16 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 050.00
Total 28 10 6 12 37 49 −12 035.71

Last updated: 29 April 2023
Source: Soccerway

A-League Men

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
5 Sydney FC 26 11 5 10 40 39 +1 38 Qualification for Finals series[a]
6 Wellington Phoenix[b] 26 9 8 9 39 45 −6 35
7 Western United 26 9 5 12 34 47 −13 32
8 Brisbane Roar 26 7 9 10 26 33 −7 30
9 Perth Glory 26 7 8 11 36 46 −10 29 Qualification for 2023 Australia Cup play-offs
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points per game; 5) Least red cards; 6) Least yellow cards; 7) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:
  1. ^ The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
  2. ^ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.

Results summary

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Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
26 9 5 12 34 47  −13 32 4 3 6 14 23  −9 5 2 6 20 24  −4

Last updated: 29 April 2023.
Source: Ultimate A-League

Results by round

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Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
GroundAHHAHAAHHHAHHAAHHAHAAAHAHA
ResultLLDLLWLWWDLDWDLLLWWWLDLWLW
Position11121212121112111010101191111111211978910897
Points00111447101111121516161616192225252626292932
Updated to match(es) played on 29 April 2023. Source: Ultimate A-League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

7 October 2022 1 Melbourne City 2–1 Western United Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 7,501
Referee: Shaun Evans
16 October 2022 2 Western United 1–3 Sydney FC Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 3,427
Referee: Alireza Faghani
21 October 2022 3 Western United 1–1 Macarthur FC Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 2,423
Referee: Kurt Ams
29 October 2022 4 Central Coast Mariners 4–2 Western United Gosford
17:15 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 4,773
Referee: Stephen Lucas
6 November 2022 5 Western United 2–4 Adelaide United Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 3,128
Referee: Alex King
13 November 2022 6 Wellington Phoenix 2–3 Western United Wellington
15:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 5,203
Referee: Tim Danaskos
Mid-season break for 2022 FIFA World Cup
10 December 2022 7 Perth Glory 2–1 Western United Perth
19:30 AWST
Report
Stadium: Macedonia Park
Attendance: 3,893
Referee: Daniel Elder
18 December 2022 8 Western United 1–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
15:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 2,755
Referee: Adam Kersey
26 December 2022 9 Western United 1–0 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
18:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 2,867
Referee: Tim Danaskos
30 December 2022 10 Western United 1–1 Brisbane Roar Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 2,253
Referee: Shaun Evans
7 January 2023 11 Melbourne City 4–0 Western United Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 6,102
Referee: Alireza Faghani
15 January 2023 12 Western United 1–1 Newcastle Jets Ballarat
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 2,356
Referee: Kurt Ams
21 January 2023 13 Western United 1–0 Sydney FC Hobart
17:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: North Hobart Oval
Attendance: 5,127
Referee: Alex King
28 January 2023 14 Macarthur FC 2–2 Western United Sydney
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
Attendance: 2,898
Referee: Ben Abraham
5 February 2023 15 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–0 Western United Sydney
15:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 7,849
Referee: Alireza Faghani
11 February 2023 16 Western United 2–3 Adelaide United Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 2,603
Referee: Shaun Evans
17 February 2023 17 Western United 0–3 Wellington Phoenix Launceston
19:45 AEDT Report
Stadium: University of Tasmania Stadium
Attendance: 2,690
Referee: Daniel Elder
25 February 2023 18 Newcastle Jets 1–3 Western United Newcastle
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 6,190
Referee: Ben Abraham
4 March 2023 19 Western United 2–1 Perth Glory Ballarat
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 2,586
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
13 March 2023 20 Melbourne Victory 1–2 Western United Melbourne
18:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 9,157
Referee: Adam Kersey
18 March 2023 21 Brisbane Roar 1–0 Western United Brisbane
17:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: Kayo Stadium
Attendance: 3,462
Referee: Stephen Lucas
1 April 2023 22 Sydney FC 3–3 Western United Sydney
19:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Allianz Stadium
Attendance: 10,106
Referee: Chris Beath
7 April 2023 23 Western United 0–3 Central Coast Mariners Ballarat
15:00 AEST Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 3,218
Referee: Jonathon Barreiro
16 April 2023 24 Adelaide United 0–1 Western United Adelaide
16:30 ACST Report
Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 10,110
Referee: Alex King
22 April 2023 25 Western United 1–3 Melbourne City Melbourne
19:45 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 5,753
Referee: Chris Beath
29 April 2023 26 Perth Glory 1–2 Western United Perth
20:00 AWST
Report
Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 5,088
Referee: Daniel Elder

Australia Cup

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  Win   Draw   Loss

3 August 2022 Round of 32 Western United 2–1 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:30 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 3,670
Referee: Chris Beath
14 August 2022 Round of 16 Sydney United 58 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
Western United Sydney
14:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 1,358
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Penalties

Statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.

As of 29 April 2023
No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Men Australia Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   Jamie Young 26 0 2 0 28 0
4 DF   Léo Lacroix 21+2 0 1 0 24 0
5 DF   Dylan Pierias 7+15 2 1+1 0 24 2
6 DF   Tomoki Imai 19 0 2 0 21 1
7 MF   Tongo Doumbia 16+3 2 0 0 19 2
8 FW   Lachlan Wales 24+2 4 2 1 28 5
9 FW   Michael Ruhs 0+7 0 0 0 7 0
10 MF   Steven Lustica 11+2 0 2 0 15 0
11 FW   Connor Pain 24+2 3 2 1 28 4
14 MF   James Troisi 14+4 0 0 0 18 0
17 DF   Ben Garuccio 18 1 2 0 20 1
19 DF   Josh Risdon 22 2 2 0 24 2
20 FW   Ramy Najjarine 0+1 0 0 0 1 0
21 MF   Sebastian Pasquali 2+4 0 0 0 6 0
23 MF   Alessandro Diamanti 2+19 2 0 0 21 2
24 DF   Connor O'Toole 2 0 0 0 2 0
27 DF   Jacob Tratt 9+5 1 0 0 14 1
31 FW   Adisu Bayew 0+5 0 0+1 0 6 0
33 DF   Ben Collins 0+1 0 1+1 0 3 0
37 GK   Ryan Scott 0+1 0 0 0 1 0
38 FW   Noah Botic 10+11 6 0+2 0 23 6
42 MF   Rhys Bozinovski 1+9 0 2 0 12 0
44 DF   Nikolai Topor-Stanley 13+2 0 0 0 15 0
88 MF   Neil Kilkenny 19+1 1 0 0 20 1
99 FW   Aleksandar Prijović 14+2 5 0 0 16 5
Player(s) transferred out but featured this season
9 FW   Dylan Wenzel-Halls 6+1 0 2 0 9 0
26 FW   Nicolas Milanovic 3+12 4 1+1 0 16 4
41 DF   Jalil Regague 0 0 0+1 0 1 0

Disciplinary record

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Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.

As of 29 April 2023
Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Men Australia Cup Total
                       
1 44 DF   Nikolai Topor-Stanley 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2
2 4 DF   Léo Lacroix 6 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 1
3 27 DF   Jacob Tratt 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1
4 19 DF   Josh Risdon 10 0 0 2 0 0 12 0 0
5 23 MF   Alessandro Diamanti 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0
6 7 MF   Tongo Doumbia 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
7 8 FW   Lachlan Wales 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0
11 FW   Connor Pain 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
17 DF   Ben Garuccio 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
99 FW   Aleksandar Prijovic 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
11 1 GK   Jamie Young 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
6 DF   Tomoki Imai 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0
10 MF   Steven Lustica 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0
14 MF   James Troisi 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
88 MF   Neil Kilkenny 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
16 5 DF   Dylan Pierias 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Player(s) transferred out but featured this season
1 26 MF   Nicolas Milanovic 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
2 9 FW   Dylan Wenzel-Halls 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Total 53 0 4 5 0 0 58 0 4

Clean sheets

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Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start and end of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

As of 29 April 2023
Rank No. Nat. Goalkeeper A-League Men Australia Cup Total
1 1   Jamie Young 4 0 4
Total 4 0 4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Troisi departs". Western Sydney Wanderers. 16 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Western United welcomes midfielder James Troisi". Western United. 17 July 2022.
  3. ^ Hughes, Nick (22 August 2022). "Jacob Tratt adds strength to Western United's defence". Western United.
  4. ^ Hughes, Nick (24 August 2022). "Malian powerhouse Tongo Doumbia joins Western United". Western United.
  5. ^ "Western United adds exuberant young attacker Michael Ruhs". Western United. 7 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Western United strengthens defence with Connor O'Toole capture". Western United. 7 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Ramy Najjarine injects flair into Western United attack". Western United. 7 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Najdovski signs scholarship deal". Western United. 5 July 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Western United farewell departing players". Western United. 10 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Christian Theoharous departs Western United". Western United. 17 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Mariners sign Christian Theoharous from Western United". Central Coast Mariners. 17 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Western United reached mutual agreement with Dalibor Markovic". Western United. 20 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Dylan Wenzel-Halls departs Western United". Western United. 29 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Dylan Wenzel-Halls signs for the Mariners until 2025". Central Coast Mariners. 31 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Western United agrees mutual termination with Luke Duzel". Western United. 6 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Reds sign Luke Duzel". Adelaide United. 8 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Nicolas Milanovic departs Western United to return home". Western United. 7 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Milanovic signs for hometown club". Western Sydney Wanderers. 7 February 2023.
  19. ^ Lynch, Joey [@joeylynchy] (29 May 2022). "Western United coach John Aloisi confirms to reporters at their championship celebration that defender Leo Lacroix hit a trigger in his contract this season that will now see him return to the club in 2022-23" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "Western United re-sign Nikolai Topor–Stanley". Western United. 10 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Ben Collins signs on for Western United for 2022–23". Western United. 17 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Pasquali commits for 2022–23". Western United. 1 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Ben Garuccio commits to Western United until 2025". Western United. 7 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Rhys Bozinovski pens new two-year extension at Western United". Western United. 6 December 2022.
  25. ^ Hughes, Nick (25 January 2023). "Connor Pain continues Western United legacy with three-year deal". Western United.
  26. ^ "Noah Botic pens two-year contract extension at Western United". Western United. 8 March 2023.
  27. ^ Hughes, Nick (16 March 2023). "Steven Lustica signs on for fifth season at Western United". Western United.
  28. ^ Hughes, Nick (23 March 2023). "Jacob Tratt inks one-year extension at Western United". Western United.
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