It has been an incredible rise for Patrick Beach. In the space of 12 months, he has made his Isuzu UTE A-League debut and helped Melbourne City win a Championship.
The 22-year-old shot-stopper was invited to join March’s Socceroos camp in a development capacity but this time around, Beach joins captain Mat Ryan and Paul Izzo – both fellow A-Leagues graduates – in an official capacity.
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Beach – who produced a standout performance in the AFC Champions League Elite midweek – certainly has not looked back since dislodging Jamie Young as City’s number one goalkeeper at the start of 2024-25.
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“I wouldn’t say a massive gamble, but we took an educated guess, educated punt last year when we decided to put him into the team,” Vidmar told reporters ahead of Saturday night’s blockbuster Melbourne Derby against Melbourne Victory.
“I think we always knew where Patrick can get and where he could go, and he’s working on his game. He wants to get better all the time. He’s also one who’s just progressing so well, he’s a goalkeeper. He just makes saves and we saw that again Tuesday night.
“When we were under the pump. He made some extraordinary saves, and that’s what keeps you in games.
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“We talk about the defensive unit, and he’s an important part to our defensive unit. And again, a guy who wants to learn, always doing extra work.
“It’s amazing. He’s only 22. I think his ceiling is so high, and he deserves this opportunity as well.
“Talking to Popa last week, he was really, really happy with him in camp. I’m not sure if he’s going to get any opportunity to play (this window), but he’s another one that in a short space of time, certainly deserves an opportunity.”
The Sydney native had been on the radar for many years, prior to making the switch to Melbourne City in 2023 – a move based on winning “every single trophy possible”.
His first experience in an A-Leagues environment came at Central Coast Mariners.
In Gosford, the youngster spent two years training with the first team as Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo ended the club’s 10-year title drought in 2022-23.
It came after a “rare” positional change in his teenage years.
Around under-13 or under-14 level, Beach – who also played softball – was a centre-back and left-back, before the highly-rated goalkeeper asked to switch.
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“For me, he can play for the top teams in time. Absolutely, top team in Europe, for sure,” Vidmar said.
“We’ve been working with his distribution, with his feet, with his hands out of his hands. Our goalkeeper coach has done a tremendous job with him so far. He’s naturally making saves anyway, and he just makes some extraordinary saves, and I think just the way he is with his long, legs, long arms, he’s able to do that.
“But he’s got so many great attributes in that sense, and he’s improving in all the areas that he needs to improve on. He’s continually doing that on a weekly basis.
“From where he was last year, when he came into this preseason, it was a completely different goalkeeper, and that’s done with work and also with confidence. He’s continued that through his pre-season, and he’s already started to have a really impactful season for us this year.”
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