Western United moved to within four points of league-leaders Auckland FC with a comprehensive 6-2 win over Newcastle Jets on Sunday evening, inspired by a clinical four-goal first half.
Noah Botic scored his 11th goal of a Golden Boot-leading season to put Western in front before a Mark Natta own goal made it 2-0 to the visitors after just eight minutes.
Rhys Bozinovski and Riku Danzaki added the third and fourth goals of the first 45 before Bozinovski doubled his tally for the day just eight minutes after the restart as Western raced to a 5-0 lead.
The Jets pulled two goals back before full-time, with Charles M’Mombwa’s first goal for the club and an Angus Thurgate own goal encouraging thoughts of a late fightback from the Jets before Western substitute Michael Ruhs scored his side’s sixth in the 85th minute to seal a 6-2 win for the surprise Premiership contenders.
Ruhs’ goal was the 31st in Round 23 of the Isuzu UTE A-League, breaking the competition’s record for the most goals in a single round in its 20-year history. The record was notched with one game still to play: Sydney FC’s home clash with Wellington Phoenix on Sunday night.
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The first of four goals to Western scored before the break came via in-form striker Noah Botic who bagged his 11th goal of the season to set the tone for a devastating first half from the away side.
Botic’s early goal extended his lead at the top of the Golden Boot leaderboard – and his phone call celebration sent a message to Subway Socceroos head coach Tony Poovic after being overlooked for international selection ahead of Australia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
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Western doubled their lead just two minutes later and it was Jets defender Mark Natta’s touch on Riku Danzaki’s wayward attempt that diverted the ball off the post and in as the visitors raced to a 2-0 lead.
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Rhys Bozinovski piled on the pain in the 29th minute with his first of two stellar goals at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Newcastle had repelled the danger created by a dangerous Danzaki cross but the Western midfielder gathered possession after the ball was cleared; Bozinovski took one touch to control and a second to set his stall before a dagger strike into the bottom-left corner.
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Danzaki was involved in everything for Western through the first half and 10 minutes before half-time, the Japanese forward put his name on the scoresheet to extend his side’s lead to four.
Botic turned provider with a pinpoint cross off the right wing that picked out Danzaki for the simplest of tap-ins.
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Western might’ve felt the three points were wrapped up by half-time but looked to consolidate their lead after the break. Having already scored one stellar goal on Sunday afternoon, Bozinovski produced a strike of similar quality to make it 5-0 just eight minutes after the restart.
Charles M’Mombwa came off the bench for the Jets as a first-half substitute following his side’s early collapse and the mid-season signing made his mark for the hosts with his first goal for the club – a goal that sparked a mini resurgence from the Jets.
Seven minutes after M’Mombwa’s clinical finish into the bottom-left corner, the Jets scored again and it was their former star Angus Thurgate with an unfortunate own goal that gave the hosts a glimmer of hope at 5-2.
But a glimmer was all it proved to be as Ruhs came off the Western bench to score his side’s sixth, and break the record for most goals scored in a single round of Isuzu UTE A-League action (31).
