When Melbourne City’s first team sheet of the season landed before a Round 1 clash with Newcastle Jets, young goalkeeper Patrick Beach was the surprise name included in the starting XI.
The 21-year-old, previously untested in the Isuzu UTE A-League, was named for his Isuzu UTE A-League debut ahead of 39-year-old, 228-game veteran Jamie Young in Newcastle.
Beach joined the club in 2023 on a three-year deal after a stint at Central Coast Mariners; described by Melbourne City FC Director of Football Michael Petrillo as “one of the best young keepers in the country” at the time of his signature, Beach can now call himself an A-Leagues debutant after a clean sheet display against the Jets.
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The talented young goalkeeper made four saves as City survived more than 20 minutes playing one man down, following James Jeggo’s second-half red card, to secure all three points in Newcastle. Marco Tilio’s second-minute strike was the difference as City won 1-0.
Post-game, City head coach Aurelio Vidmar explained the decision to start Beach over the experienced Young, who made 28 appearances in his first season at the club in 2023-24.
“We’ve got a couple of good, young keepers with Beachy and also James Nieuwenhuizen,” Vidmar said.
“We’re going to get to a point where the kids, they’ve been sitting on the bench or been second or third-choice goalkeepers for a number of years now, we’re going to get to the point (of): when are they actually going to take their opportunity?
“They’ve both been given an opportunity in pre-season and today, we decided to step up with Beachy and he did a great job for us.”
A surprise City start for Beach continued a narrative of the first round of the new Isuzu UTE A-League season. In Friday night’s season opener, Champions Central Coast Mariners handed 18-year-old goalkeeper Dylan Peraic-Cullen his first start and he rewarded the faith of head coach Mark Jackson by keeping his sheet clean in a 0-0 draw.
Beach joined Peraic-Cullen in impressing on debut, and was named Player of the Match by City as well as Network 10.
When asked about making his debut ahead of Young in the City starting XI, Beach was quick to highlight the supportive environment fostered within the City goalkeeping unit and the impact his veteran teammate has had on his development.
“There’s not much really to it. Jamie’s a top guy, a top keeper,” Beach said.
“I always say I respect him so much, he’s helped me so much (to) grow as a person and as a player and I respect him so much.
“We’re just in training every day pushing each other, working to be as best as we can and that’s all we think about. The rest is up to the coaches, we just go out there every day on the training pitch and we just do our job, we push each other, all of us keepers, to do the best we can on the weekend.”
