Western United head coach John Aloisi didn’t hold back when assessing his side following their 3-1 Isuzu UTE A-League loss to rivals Melbourne Victory, questioning the effort of his players.
Trailing after just eight minutes thanks to Zinedine Machach’s excellent opener on Sunday, Western brought themselves back on level terms midway through the first half courtesy of Noah Botic’s first goal of the season.
However, a Nikos Vergos strike three minutes after half-time coupled with substitute Bruno Fornaroli’s first goal of the season in the 69th minute saw Victory triumph at AAMI Park, prompting a furious post-match review from Aloisi.
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“I don’t think we were good enough today, so that’s why we didn’t win. We didn’t deserve it,” said Aloisi when asked for his assessment of the Western performance.
“They deserved it. So we have to make sure that we learn from what we didn’t do well and improve for next game.
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“You can have bad games with the ball but we weren’t, I thought from the start, good defensively as a whole and that’s where we got hurt.
“We were giving the ball away in silly areas and they were able to create chances and punish us.
He continued: “Once we got back into the game at 1-1 in the final 15 minutes of the first half, I thought we started to control the game and get back into it.
“That’s what we spoke about at half-time; to make sure that we come out and do that in the second half and we go and give them a silly goal straight away.
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“I’m disappointed because we can lose a game, but not like that. That’s why I’m disappointed.
“We’ve shown in the first five games of the season that I don’t care who we put out there, we’re matching it with everyone.
“So that’s why I’m disappointed. You can lose a game, but not like that. That wasn’t good enough. I have to look at myself first… that wasn’t good enough.”
The defeat is Western United’s third of the campaign following losses against Melbourne City and Adelaide United.
Coming off the back of what was their first win of the season – a 3-1 triumph over Perth Glory in Unite Round – Aloisi continued to vent his frustration when pushed for an explanation as to where that performance came from.
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“Five really good performances, five really good performances,” reiterated the Western head coach when discussing the games prior to this one.
“That’s what upsets me. That wasn’t a performance that we’ve shown all year. That’s the reason why I’m angry and upset.
“I don’t care who we play against, I don’t care if it’s Melbourne Victory or if it’s Sydney FC or whoever. We have to perform better than that.
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“The first thing is match the fight. That’s the first thing. We’re losing every second ball at the start of the game, that’s why they got on top of us.
“It’s clear, simple. I don’t even need to talk about tactics because tactics… we know what they’re going to do, they’re not going to surprise you. They play the same way every week.
He added: “We want effort next game and we will get effort next game because we’ll demand effort and we’ll get it.”
The defeat leaves Western sat in 10th on the ladder having accumulated four points from their opening six matches.
“It’s not all doom and gloom. One bad performance out of the first six games is not doom and gloom. I’m just upset about the effort in terms of we’re not winning second balls, they’re winning everything in the midfield, especially at the start.”
Already boasting one of the youngest squads in the competition, Aloisi is still missing the likes of experienced central defender James Donachie and midfielder Seb Pasquali due to to injury while club captain Ben Garuccio will be out of action for an unknown period of time after picking up a calf injury.
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With vice captain Tomoki Imai also having only just returned from injury Aloisi then responded angrily when asked what, if any, changes he’d make for their upcoming clash with Macarthur Bulls in Round 7.
“What changes do you want me to make? Seriously?
He continued: “We had a bad performance, I’ve said it. Done. We move forward. We’re gonna be better next week.
“I’m not upset with the young kids. I’m more upset with our experienced players that should have helped our young kids more. That’s why.”
