Another week and another comprehensive win for high-flying Western United, who showed no mercy after crushing Wellington Phoenix 4-1 to consolidate second spot in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Matt Grimaldi scored the first brace of his career while Hiroshi Ibusuki and Rhys Bozinovski were also on target as Western put slumping Wellington to the sword at Ironbark Fields on Saturday.
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As well as beating the Phoenix for the first time since 2022, Western soared to an unprecedented feat in the process. For the first time in club history, the 2022 champions scored at least three goals in three consecutive A-Leagues games having closed to within five points of leaders Auckland FC.
Nathan Walker pulled a goal back but the result heaped further misery on 2023-24 Semi-Finalists Wellington, whose finals hopes took another major blow with the Phoenix 11th and 11 points adrift of the top six amid four consecutive defeats and six games without a win.
“The first seven rounds we didn’t score a lot of goals but were playing well,” Western head coach John Aloisi told reporters post-game amid a run of 10 goals in three games. “I said if we keep on playing like that, the goals will come and the results will come.
“Since then, we’ve been scoring very freely. That’s 40 goals, which is two a game. But we look like we can score more.
“It’s more because the players are getting better and improving, not only of what we want to do but each other. Hiroshi and Noah didn’t play at all together in pre-season and that means the others didn’t play with them as well. Now they have that understanding, they’re hard to stop.”
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It was hot and sunny in Tarneit, where Western United were eyeing their first win over Wellington in almost three years.
The Green and Black made a fast start thanks to Bozinovski, whose header and second goal of the season broke the deadlock against set the tone at Ironbark Fields.
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Wellington struggled to contain Riku Danzaki and Co, with the Japanese star coming close to doubling the lead just six minutes later after nutmegging his opponent but the ‘Nix goalkeeper thwarted the Western winger.
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Having dominated proceedings, Western got their second goal via Ibusuki nine minutes prior to the interval.
Alby Kelly-Heald got down low to keep out a cross but the Wellington goalkeeper could only parry the ball into the path of Ibusuki, who made no mistake for his ninth goal of the campaign.
It got worse for the Phoenix in the second half after Grimaldi made it 3-0 in the 51st minute. Dylan Leonard set it up after winning possession and Grimaldi finished into the back of the net after an outside-of-the-boot assist from Danzaki.
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Grimaldi was at it again within 11 minutes to cap another stunning team move as Wellington were dismantled by merciless Western United.
Noah Botic thought he had his 11th of the season but Kelly-Heald denied the Socceroos hopeful just past the hour mark.
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Western missed out on a clean sheet as Walker pounced on a defensive lapse to reduced the deficit with eight minutes of regulation remaining.
