Tara Murray
Western United coach John Aloisi took plenty of positives out of his side’s A-League season opener against Melbourne Victory despite a 1-0 loss.
The two teams headed down the freeway to GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night, with a goal in the 76th minute to Victory’s Roderick Miranda proving to be the difference.
United players were left frustrated in the 82nd minute when they thought skipper Alessandro Diamanti should have been awarded a penalty.
United coach John Aloisi said while he hates losing, there was a lot to take out of the game.
“It was very positive from our side, we played well,” he said.
“We created some good openings in the first half and we had a couple of good opportunities.
“It was disappointing of course that we lost the game, as we didn’t feel like we deserved to lose that.
“In the end if we keep on performing like that and improving and we will improve, the results will come our way.”
Aloisi said he didn’t have a clear view of the no-call on the penalty for Diamanti, but said his players were adamant there should have been one.
Ben Garuccio, Dylan Wenzel-Halls, Connor Pain and Aleksandar Prijovic all had chances for United throughout the game.
Aloisi said the side’s defensive pressure both individually and as a team was really good, with the likes of Leo Lacroix, Tomoki Imai and Josh Risdon standing out.
Aloisi said Lacroix really had a presence in his first game for the club.
“We got into certain situations, a situation where we lost the ball in a bad spot,” he said.
“Leo just remained calm, controlled that one v one situation and defended it really well. He was able to do that, [and it] gives confidence not only to the back four, but the whole team.
“Leo will get better.”
Aloisi said while he was happy with a lot of the game, there were definitely some areas that they would need to work on.
He said once they controlled the ball in the middle of the ground, they were able to find more openings.
“The final ball let us down at times, some decision making in the final third let us down,” he said.
“That will come the more the team plays together, the more we gel. We created some really good chances.
“A set piece, we got underdone by.”
Aloisi said the side came through unscathed, with several of their internationals better for the run.
International Aleksandar Prijovic started on the bench, while fellow international Rene Krhin is still yet to pull of the United jumper after having to quarantine when he got into the country.
