The tactical shift giving champions hope of a finals revival: ‘With that quality, we can beat anyone’

Sound the alarm: here come the champions.

Western United moved to within two points of the top six after a 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory on Monday night; John Aloisi’s side end Round 20 with the strongest three-game form line of any team in the competition (W3), with a win over Brisbane Roar Saturday afternoon capable of lifting them inside the finals places.

Western’s mid-season revival is a result of a number of key players either returning from injury or returning to form – as well as the emergence of 21-year-old striker Noah Botic who, whilst bagging his fifth goal in as many games on Monday night, is executing his role in a clinical double act with fellow striker Aleksandar Prijovic to perfection.

Both Botic and Prijovic found the back of the net on either side of Bruno Fornaroli’s sublime free-kick at AAMI Park to clinch a vital three points for Western and close out Round 20.

The two strikers have not started alongside one another often under Aloisi, with Botic only recently breaking through to become a regular on the team sheet whilst Prijovic has battled his fair share of injuries this season.

But going forward, playing the pair alongside one another up front appears Aloisi’s best route forward as the champions set off in pursuit of a spot in the finals.

“We’ve done it before, we’ve played with two strikers,” reflected Western head coach Aloisi post-match. “We’ve got strikers that can score goals and work (well) off each other, I thought Noah was very good in the first half, he looked like he was going to get on the end of everything that came his way.

“As long as they’re working well, working hard, you play players you believe are going to win you the football game at the end of the day, and that’s what we did.”

Botic’s star continues to rise as he scores with regularity in the A-League Men; his fifth goal in as many games came via a simple tap-in from Connor Pain’s delivery – who is enjoying a stellar season himself in green and black, and supplied both assists to Western’s goals against Victory.

Of Botic’s five professional goals, four have come off a one-touch finish. He took two touches to deliver his fifth against Perth Glory in Round 19: the first deftly taken off his chest and the other volleyed off his right foot.

It’s efficiency in the 18-yard box from the rising Australian talent, who only recently earned an Olyroos call-up and a Western contract extension – and that’s what the experienced Prijovic has been working to instil in Botic’s game on the training track.

“He is a young talented player,” Prijovic told Paramount+. “He needs to keep on staying humble and work hard, and go from game to game. It’s a big experience for him.

“I’m telling him a lot. He should just work on his finishing, one-touch, two-touch in the game and in the box, not too waste too much time receiving. Today, one-touch.

“And the goals he’s scored, I think all of them (bar one) were one-touch. He has to work harder, and keep working.”