Tara Murray
Western United continues to shine in the A-League men’s competition, this time beating Perth Glory under lights in Tasmania on Sunday.
Coming off a solid mid week win, United was keen to add another win to the board and regain its spot on the top of the table.
Aleksandar Prijovic opened the scoring in the first half, before Dylan Pierias sealed the result in the second half, with United winning 2-0.
United coach John Aloisi said they were thrilled to get the result after a tough week on the pitch.
“This group is made of different stuff,” he said. “They are a strong group that enjoy each other’s company, also they are up for the challenge.
“At times, we were a little bit off when we went to press and our defensive structures weren’t as good as it had been.
“We showed them at half time what we needed to do defensively and I thought the second half we were really good.
“We won the ball in good areas… Going forward we created a lot of problems, we know that Perth hasn’t conceded a lot of goals, so scoring two and creating a number of opportunities [was good.]
Alosi was really pleased with the game of Pierias saying he was one of the main reasons for the win.
Pierias was benched at half time of their previous match.
Another pleasing sign Rene Krhin made his first start for the club, after an injury interrupted the first part of the season.
The win is the club’s ninth this season and means they have more wins and points than they did for the whole of last season.
Aloisi, who is in his first season at the club, said a lot had changed in that time.
“A lot of work was put in during the off season, not only by us coaching staff and players, the club in general.
“The club is on a journey. The club knows it needs to improve on and off the field and we’ve spoken about certain things they didn’t well last season.
“We’re not even talking about tactics. The boys have adapted since day one of pre-season and it’s held them in good stead for these moments.
“When you start winning football games, players start to believe in what you’re doing.”
United’s next game is on Saturday afternoon against Newcastle Jets.
Aloisi said he was unsure whether captain Alessandro Diamanti and Connor Pain would be back from injury for that match.
