Harper Sercombe
Western United entered the Australia Cup with a bang as it seeks to venture deep into the competition.
On Wednesday night, United won in a dominant 4-0 display against New South Wales’, National Premier League side Edgeworth Eagles.
United advanced to the round of 16 stage where its next challenger is not yet known, with the match to be played later in August.
Western United started with a flurry of goals, being 3-0 up after the first 31 minutes of the game, with goals to Noah Botic, Michael Ruhs and Lachlan Wales, who went on to score a brace in the second half. The Eagles didn’t get an on target shot on goal and had only 31 per cent of the possession.
Star left back Ben Garuccio said it was nice to get some goals on the board early.
“It’s always good to get that first one out of the way,” he said.
“These cup games can be tricky sometimes, so it was a good performance from the boys.”
For the game United coach John Aloisi named four debutants in the starting line-up with goalkeeper Tom Heward-Belle, defender James Donachie as well as midfielders Angus Thurgate and Riku Danzaki making their first competitive appearances for the club.
After failing to make finals last season, off the back of a championship season in 2021-22, Garuccio said he thought the side was in need of some new talent and players. He said it was good to see some fresh faces on the pitch.
“We bought quite a lot of younger players in as well which is I think really important for us, and then also bought in some good experienced players as well,” he said.
Brazilian star Daniel Penha was also signed by United in the offseason, via a one-year loan deal from Brazilian giants and parent club Atletico Mineiro after departing Daegu FC last season, where he made 11 appearances for the Korean outfit.
With the season only about two months from kick off, Garuccio said preparations have been good with the new additions to the squad as they hope to launch back into the finals.
“There’s a lot of learning to do, a lot of gelling to do,” he said.
“I think it’s about just getting everyone on board and getting everyone to buy into what we want to do here as a club, but also for the way that we want to play.
“As a club that’s (finals) is where we want to be, that’s where we see ourselves.
“That’s what we need to be aiming for every year and I think definitely our team is more than good and capable enough to do that.
“The hard part is translating that onto the pitch and making sure that we are doing the right things that the coach wants us to do to get the results that we want.”
