2023–24 Western United FC season

Western United
2023–24 season
ChairmanJason Sourasis
ManagerJohn Aloisi
StadiumWyndham Regional Football Facility
AAMI Park
Mars Stadium
A-League Men11th
A-League Men FinalsDNQ
Australia CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Daniel Penha (7)
All: Daniel Penha (7)
Highest home attendance6,265
vs. Melbourne City
(7 January 2024)
A-League Men
Lowest home attendance2,043
vs. Wellington Phoenix
(2 December 2023)
A-League Men
Average home league attendance3,274
Biggest win4–0
vs. Edgeworth FC (A)
(9 August 2023)
Australia Cup
Biggest defeat0–5
vs. Western Sydney Wanderers (A)
(28 October 2023)
A-League Men
← 2022–23
2024–25 →
All statistics correct as of 28 April 2024.

The 2023–24 season is the fifth in the history of Western United Football Club.

Players[edit]

First-team squad[edit]

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 Australia AUS Tom Heward-Belle
4 DF Australia AUS James Donachie
6 DF Japan JPN Tomoki Imai (vice-captain)
7 FW Australia AUS Ramy Najjarine
8 FW Australia AUS Lachlan Wales
9 FW Australia AUS Michael Ruhs
10 MF Australia AUS Steven Lustica (vice-captain)
11 MF Brazil BRA Daniel Penha (on loan from Atlético Mineiro)
13 FW Australia AUS Nikita Rukavytsya
17 DF Australia AUS Ben Garuccio
19 DF Australia AUS Josh Risdon (captain)
21 MF Australia AUS Sebastian Pasquali
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF Australia AUS Kane Vidmar (scholarship)
24 DF Australia AUS Connor O'Toole
27 DF Australia AUS Jacob Tratt
32 MF Australia AUS Angus Thurgate
33 GK Australia AUS Matt Sutton
38 FW Australia AUS Noah Botic
39 MF Australia AUS Matthew Grimaldi (scholarship)
41 FW Australia AUS Oliver Lavale
42 MF Australia AUS Rhys Bozinovski
49 FW Australia AUS Jake Najdovski
70 GK Australia AUS Michael Vonja (scholarship)
77 MF Japan JPN Riku Danzaki

Transfers[edit]

Transfers in[edit]

No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref.
32 MF Angus Thurgate Unattached Free 3 years 17 May 2023 [1]
1 GK Tom Heward-Belle Unattached Free 2 years 14 June 2023 [2][3]
33 GK Matt Sutton Unattached Free 2 years 14 June 2023 [2][3]
4 DF James Donachie Sydney FC Free 2 years 4 July 2023 [4]
22 DF Kane Vidmar Adelaide United NPL Free 2 year scholarship 6 July 2023 [5]
11 MF Brazil Daniel Penha Brazil Atlético Mineiro Loan 1 year 19 July 2023 [6]
77 MF Japan Riku Danzaki Scotland Motherwell Free transfer 2 years 24 July 2023 [7]
13 FW Nikita Rukavytsya Unattached Free transfer 1 year 27 September 2023 [8]

From youth squad[edit]

N
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Notes
39 MF Australia Matthew Grimaldi 20 2 year scholarship contract[9]
41 FW Australia Oliver Lavale 18 senior contract[10]
70 GK Australia Michael Vonja 17 scholarship contract[11]

Transfers out[edit]

No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
44 DF Nikolai Topor-Stanley Retired 19 April 2023 [12]
23 MF Italy Alessandro Diamanti Retired 24 April 2023 [13]
1 GK England Jamie Young Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
4 DF Switzerland Léo Lacroix Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
7 MF Mali Tongo Doumbia Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
14 MF James Troisi Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
31 FW Adisu Bayew Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
33 DF Ben Collins Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
36 DF Ajak Deu Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
37 GK Ryan Scott Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
88 MF Neil Kilkenny Unattached End of contract 8 May 2023 [14]
5 MF Dylan Pierias Unattached End of contract 16 May 2023 [15][16]
11 FW Connor Pain Saudi Arabia Al-Orobah Undisclosed 8 July 2023 [17]
99 FW Serbia Aleksandar Prijović Unattached Mutual contract termination 27 September 2023 [18]

Contract extensions[edit]

No. Name Position Duration Date Notes Ref.
21 Sebastian Pasquali Central midfielder 1 year 31 May 2023 [19]
49 Jake Najdovski Striker 2 years 22 September 2023 Contract extended from end of 2023–24 until end of 2025–26. [20]
6 Japan Tomoki Imai Central defender 2 years 6 October 2023 Contract extended from end of 2023–24 until end of 2025–26. [21]
39 Matthew Grimaldi Attacking midfielder 3 years 12 April 2024 New contract replacing previous contract until end of 2026–27. [22]

Pre-season and friendlies[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

2 August 2023 Western United 3–1 Melbourne City Melbourne
12:30 AEST
Report
Stadium: The Hangar
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
Note: Match was played over three 45-minute periods
23 August 2023 Melbourne City 1–0 Western United Melbourne
AEST
Report Stadium: Casey Fields
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
2 September 2023 Brisbane Roar 3–1 Western United Logan
12:30 AEST
Report
Stadium: Meakin Park
2 October 2023 Western United 2–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
 Report
Stadium: The Hangar
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
12 October 2023 Adelaide United 0–0 Western United Adelaide
Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions[edit]

Overall record[edit]

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League Men 21 October 2023 28 April 2024 Matchday 1 11th 27 7 5 15 36 55 −19 025.93
Australia Cup 9 August 2023 17 September 2023 Round of 32 Quarter-finals 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 066.67
Total 30 9 5 16 42 58 −16 030.00

Last updated: 28 April 2024
Source: Soccerway

A-League Men[edit]

Main article: 2023–24 A-League Men

League table[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
8 Adelaide United 27 9 5 13 52 53 −1 32
9 Brisbane Roar 27 8 6 13 42 55 −13 30 Qualification for 2024 Australia Cup play-offs
10 Newcastle Jets 27 6 10 11 39 47 −8 28
11 Western United 27 7 5 15 36 55 −19 26
12 Perth Glory 27 5 7 15 46 69 −23 22
Updated to match(es) played on 1 May 2024. Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) wins; 3) goal difference; 4) goals scored; 5) head-to-head results; 5a) head-to-head points; 5b) head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.[23][24]

Results summary[edit]

Away figures include Western United's 3–3 draw on neutral ground against Macarthur FC on 12 January 2024.

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
27 7 5 15 36 55  −19 26 4 3 6 18 20  −2 3 2 9 18 35  −17

Last updated: 28 April 2024.
Source: Ultimate A-League

Results by round[edit]

Round123456789101127141516171218192021222324132526
GroundAAAHHHAHAAHNHHAHAAHAHAHHHAH
ResultWLLLLLLWLLLDLDLWLDWWDLWLDWL
Position379111212121112121212121212121212121212121111111111
Points333333366667788111112151819192222232626
Updated to match(es) played on 28 April 2024. Source: Ultimate A-League
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

21 October 2023 1 Melbourne City 1–2 Western United Melbourne
17:30 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 10,089
Referee: Jack Morgan
28 October 2023 2 Western Sydney Wanderers 5–0 Western United Sydney
17:30 AEDT
Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 8,098
Referee: Alex King
4 November 2023 3 Macarthur FC 1–0 Western United Sydney
17:30 AEDT
Report Stadium: Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Attendance: 2,863
Referee: Alireza Faghani
11 November 2023 4 Western United 0–1 Newcastle Jets Ballarat
15:30 AEDT Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 2,410
Referee: Casey Reibelt
26 November 2023 5 Western United 1–3 Adelaide United Ballarat
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 2,497
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
2 December 2023 6 Western United 0–1 Wellington Phoenix Ballarat
15:30 AEDT Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 2,043
Referee: Tim Danaskos
8 December 2023 7 Central Coast Mariners 4–0 Western United Gosford
19:45 AEDT
Report Stadium: Industree Group Stadium
Attendance: 4,173
Referee: Adam Kersey
15 December 2023 8 Western United 2–1 Brisbane Roar Melbourne
18:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 2,842
Referee: Jack Morgan
Note: Match originally scheduled for 16 December at 19:30 AEDT. It was rescheduled for 15 December at 18:00 AEDT.[25]
23 December 2023 9 Sydney FC 4–2 Western United Sydney
17:30 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Allianz Stadium
Attendance: 11,315
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
30 December 2023 10 Newcastle Jets 2–0 Western United Newcastle
17:30 AEDT
Report Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 6,453
Referee: Adam Kersey
7 January 2024 11 Western United 1–2 Melbourne City Melbourne
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 6,265
Referee: Ben Abraham
12 January 2024 27 Macarthur FC 3–3 Western United Sydney
17:30 AEDT
Report
Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 3,441
Referee: Adam Kersey
27 January 2024 14 Western United 0–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Hobart
17:30 AEDT Report
Stadium: North Hobart Oval
Attendance: 3,850
Referee: Alex King
3 February 2024 15 Western United 2–2 Sydney FC Hobart
17:30 AEDT
Report
Stadium: North Hobart Oval
Attendance: 5,076
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
10 February 2024 16 Wellington Phoenix 2–0 Western United Wellington
17:30 NZDT
Report Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 6,434
Referee: Adam Bavcar
16 February 2024 17 Western United 2–0 Newcastle Jets Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 2,947
Referee: Jack Morgan
20 February 2024 12 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Western United Melbourne
19:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 5,442
Referee: Jonathon Barreiro
23 February 2024 18 Brisbane Roar 2–2 Western United Brisbane
18:45 AEST
Report
Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 4,992
Referee: Casey Reibelt
2 March 2024 19 Western United 1–0 Perth Glory Ballarat
17:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 3,016
Referee: Shaun Evans
8 March 2024 20 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–3 Western United Sydney
19:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 5,784
Referee: Ben Abraham
14 March 2024 21 Western United 2–2 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 3,058
Referee: Shane Skinner
29 March 2024 22 Adelaide United 4–1 Western United Adelaide
19:15 ACDT
Report Ruhs 50' Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 9,623
Referee: Adam Kersey
6 April 2024 23 Western United 4–2 Macarthur FC Melbourne
15:30 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Ironbark Fields
Attendance: 3,430
Referee: Shaun Evans
13 April 2024 24 Western United 0–2 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
15:30 AEST Report
Stadium: Ironbark Fields
Attendance: 3,043
Referee: Jonathon Barreiro
16 April 2024 13 Western United 3–3 Adelaide United Melbourne
20:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: Ironbark Fields
Attendance: 2,086
Referee: Jack Morgan
Note: The match was originally scheduled for 20 January 2024 at 17:30 AEDT, but was postponed due to Western United not having a suitable venue available.[26][27]
21 April 2024 25 Perth Glory 3–4 Western United Perth
17:00 AWST
Report
Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 4,651
Referee: Shane Skinner
28 April 2024 26 Melbourne City 1–0 Western United Melbourne
17:00 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 7,402
Referee: Adam Kersey

Australia Cup[edit]

Main article: 2023 Australia Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

9 August 2023 Round of 32 Edgeworth FC 0–4 Western United Newcastle
19:30 AEST Report
Stadium: Jack McLaughlan Oval
Attendance: 1,275
Referee: Daniel Cook
30 August 2023 Round of 16 Gold Coast Knights 0–2 Western United Gold Coast
19:30 AEST Report
Stadium: Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 910
Referee: Adam Kersey
17 September 2023 Quarter-finals Sydney FC 3–0 Western United Sydney
15:00 AEST
Report Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Attendance: 2,916
Referee: Casey Reibelt

Statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals[edit]

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

As of 28 April 2024
No. Pos. Nat. Player A-League Men Australia Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Australia Tom Heward-Belle 22 0 3 0 25 0
4 DF Australia James Donachie 10 1 3 0 13 1
6 DF Japan Tomoki Imai 24 0 3 0 27 0
7 FW Australia Ramy Najjarine 2+10 0 0+1 0 13 0
8 FW Australia Lachlan Wales 27 2 3 2 30 4
9 FW Australia Michael Ruhs 17+7 4 3 1 27 5
10 MF Australia Steven Lustica 13+2 0 0+2 0 17 0
11 MF Brazil Daniel Penha 20+2 7 0+1 0 23 7
13 FW Australia Nikita Rukavytsya 2+14 2 0 0 16 2
17 DF Australia Ben Garuccio 23 3 3 0 26 3
19 DF Australia Josh Risdon 21 1 3 0 24 1
21 MF Australia Sebastian Pasquali 14+7 0 2 0 23 0
22 DF Australia Kane Vidmar 12+1 0 0 0 13 0
24 DF Australia Connor O'Toole 0+7 1 0 0 7 1
27 DF Australia Jacob Tratt 10 0 0+2 0 12 0
29 DF Iraq Charbel Shamoon 3+2 0 0 0 5 0
32 MF Australia Angus Thurgate 27 1 3 0 30 1
33 GK Australia Matt Sutton 5 0 0 0 5 0
34 MF Australia James York 0+2 0 0 0 2 0
35 FW Australia Max Bisetto 0 0 0+2 0 2 0
36 DF Australia Zach Lisolajski 1+5 0 0 0 6 0
37 FW Australia Luke Vickery 0+4 0 0 0 4 0
38 FW Australia Noah Botic 16+3 5 1+1 1 21 6
39 MF Australia Matthew Grimaldi 10+13 5 0+2 1 25 6
41 FW Australia Oliver Lavale 0+4 1 2 0 6 1
42 MF Australia Rhys Bozinovski 0+10 0 0 0 10 0
43 DF Australia Khoder Kaddour 4+1 0 0 0 5 0
44 MF Australia Jordan Lauton 0+1 0 0 0 1 0
45 FW Australia Abel Walatee 0+3 1 0 0 3 1
49 FW Australia Jake Najdovski 0+6 0 0+1 0 7 0
77 MF Japan Riku Danzaki 14+6 2 3 0 23 2

Disciplinary record[edit]

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 28 April 2024
Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Men Australia Cup Total
Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card
1 6 DF Japan Tomoki Imai 5 0 1 1 0 0 6 0 1
2 4 DF Australia James Donachie 3 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 1
3 19 DF Australia Josh Risdon 11 0 0 2 0 0 13 0 0
4 9 FW Australia Michael Ruhs 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0
5 10 MF Australia Steven Lustica 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
17 DF Australia Ben Garuccio 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
39 MF Australia Matthew Grimaldi 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
8 8 FW Australia Lachlan Wales 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
11 MF Brazil Daniel Penha 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
21 MF Australia Sebastian Pasquali 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
32 MF Australia Angus Thurgate 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
12 22 DF Australia Kane Vidmar 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
27 DF Australia Jacob Tratt 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
14 24 DF Australia Connor O'Toole 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
29 DF Iraq Charbel Shamoon 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
42 MF Australia Rhys Bozinovski 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
49 FW Australia Jake Nadjovski 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
77 MF Japan Riku Danzaki 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Total 56 0 2 5 0 0 61 0 2

Clean sheets[edit]

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 28 April 2024
Rank No. Nat. Goalkeeper A-League Men Australia Cup Total
1 1 Australia Tom Heward-Belle 1 2 3
2 33 Australia Matt Sutton 1 0 1
Total 2 2 4

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hughes, Nick (17 May 2023). "Star midfielder Angus Thurgate joins Western United". Western United.
  2. ^ a b Hughes, Nick (14 June 2023). "Western United sign new goalkeeper duo Thomas Heward-Belle and Matthew Sutton". Western United.
  3. ^ a b Western United [@wufcofficial] (14 June 2023). "They'll be ours to 'keep' until 2025" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Alsop, Chloe (4 July 2023). "United bolster A-League Men defence signing Centre Back James Donachie". Western United.
  5. ^ Alsop, Chloe (6 July 2023). "Western sign Young Socceroo Kane Vidmar on scholarship". Western United.
  6. ^ Alsop, Chloe (19 July 2023). "Brazilian star Daniel Penha signs with United ahead of his A-League return". Western United.
  7. ^ Hughes, Nick (24 July 2023). "Trickery intensified at Western United with Riku Danzaki coup". Western United.
  8. ^ Hughes, Nick (27 September 2023). "Socceroos ace Nikita Rukavytsya adds firepower to Western United attack". Western United.
  9. ^ Hughes, Nick (28 August 2023). "Young gun Matthew Grimaldi signs pro deal at Western United". Western United.
  10. ^ Hughes, Nick (17 October 2023). "Oliver Lavale goes from fan to pro footballer at Western United". Western United.
  11. ^ Hughes, Nick (24 October 2023). "Joey's goalkeeper Michael Vonja building his legacy at hometown club". Western United.
  12. ^ Monteverde, Marco (19 April 2023). "Veteran defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley calls time on his decorated A-League career". news.com.au.
  13. ^ Monteverde, Marco (25 April 2023). "Western United's Italian star Alessandro Diamanti to hang up his boots". news.com.au.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Western United announces unretained Isuzu Ute A-League players". Western United. 8 May 2023.
  15. ^ Hughes, Nick (16 May 2023). "Dylan Pierias to depart Western United". Western United.
  16. ^ Murray, Tara (17 May 2023). "Pierias leaves Western United". Brimbank & North West.
  17. ^ Alsop, Chloe (8 July 2023). "United agree transfer for Pain to Saudi Arabia". Western United.
  18. ^ "Western United and Aleksandar Prijović part ways". Western United. 27 September 2023.
  19. ^ Hughes, Nick (31 May 2023). "Young midfield ace Sebastian Pasquali re-signs with Western United". Western United.
  20. ^ Hughes, Nick (22 September 2023). "Jake Najdovski commits his future to Western United". Western United.
  21. ^ Hughes, Nick (6 October 2023). "Western United icon Tomoki Imai here to stay in the West". Western United.
  22. ^ Hughes, Nick (11 April 2024). "Matthew Grimaldi to electrify Tarneit crowd for three more seasons". Western United.
  23. ^ "A-League Competition rules". A-Leagues. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Explained: Why the A-Leagues ladder sorting rules have changed this season". A-Leagues. 2 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024.
  25. ^ Pisani, Sacha (30 November 2023). "Isuzu UTE A-League fixture update: Western United v Brisbane Roar date changed, venue confirmed". A-Leagues.
  26. ^ "Fixture updates: Western United". Adelaide United. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Isuzu UTE A-League Fixture updates, Rounds 22-24". A-Leagues. 29 February 2024.

External links[edit]

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