The first ever Unite Round is almost upon as every A-Leagues club gets set to put on a show in Sydney.
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One of the first teams to take to the field in the Isuzu UTE A-League will be Macarthur FC as Mile Sterjovski’s Bulls face Western United at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
“I think it’s going to be really exciting and really good for the fans as well. You can get in a lot of football matches, have a great time with the family,” said Macarthur midfielder Danny Da Silva.
“Obviously as well being the first code to do be able to do the Men’s and Women’s rounds for football is going to be fantastic.”
The Bulls will be looking to get back to winning ways having now gone five games without a win but they’ll fancy their chances when they face bottom side Western United.
Also playing on Friday night but in the Liberty A-League is Central Coast Mariners, as Emily Husband’s side face Wellington Phoenix in the first of a women’s double header at Leichhardt Oval.
“As a player it’s just so exciting,” said Mariners captain Taren King. “Players get excited to play double headers with the men’s and women’s clubs.
“It kind of has a bit of a tournament vibe about it so it’s going to be really cool.”
Central Coast head into the clash with Wellington having secured just one win in their last six matches but King believes it won’t be long before fans see the Mariners click into gear.
“We’re striving to win the league obviously and go as far as we can.” said King. “As much as it’s our first year in the league we’ve got high expectations and high aspirations.
“We’ve been building each week with our performances and I think we’re well and truly in the mix in pretty (much) every game we’ve played in, especially lately. We’re just kind of missing that little click to happen.”
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A blockbuster Saturday in both the Isuzu UTE A-League and Liberty A-League sees matches kicking off across Sydney with games being played at both Leichhardt Oval and Allianz Stadium.
At Leichhardt, fans will get the chance to see an in-form Sarina Bolden line-up for the Newcastle Jets when they face Brisbane Roar and the Philippines international is excited for what’s about to take place.
“It’s a really cool concept,” said Bolden. “I’m excited to see just the stands filling up, especially after the Women’s World Cup.
“I’m a fan before I’m a player and if I were to just come for the weekend I would just plan my whole weekend around all the games.”
With five goals in seven appearances Bolden has certainly hit the ground running with her new side and she’ll be hoping to add to that tally when the Jets face Brisbane on Saturday night.
Across the city, Sydney FC will be running out at their home venue but as the away side when they take on Adelaide United at Allianz Stadium.
“It’s something new to me,” said Sydney defender and former England international Jack Rodwell. “Especially from a fans point of view it’s brilliant. All the teams are here and you can choose what you want to do and who you want to see.”
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The Sky Blues are in good form heading into the contest having most recently defeat Brisbane Roar 2-1 and Rodwell believes the side is now brimming with confidence.
“When you string three wins together it’s great for momentum and great for atmosphere,” said Rodwell. “You still hone in on what you can do better but there’s a lot of things in the games that we’re actually improving on as well. It just makes you more confident each week.”
Unite Round comes to a close on Sunday with games from both leagues taking place at Allianz Stadium and CommBank Stadium.
Among those playing on Sunday are Robbie Hooker’s Western Sydney Wanderers who face a mouth-watering home clash agains ladder-leaders Melbourne City.
“I’m just incredibly excited,” said Wanderers midfielder Amy Chessari. “We saw the success of the Women’s World Cup and Unite Round is only going to help Women’s football and Men’s football all the way from grassroots to the A-League.
She continued: “Matildas are Socceroos are made in the A-League so I think promoting Unite Round and having everyone in our backyard – what more could you want!”
Unite Round officially gets underway at 5pm AEDT on Friday evening as Liberty A-League sides Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory go head-to-head at Leichhardt Oval.
