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2020–21 Western United FC season

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Western United
2020–21 season
ChairmanJason Sourasis
ManagerMarko Rudan
StadiumGMHBA Stadium
AAMI Park
Mars Stadium
UTAS Stadium
A-League10th
A-League FinalsDNQ
FFA CupCancelled
Top goalscorerLeague: Besart Berisha (7)
All: Besart Berisha (7)
Highest home attendance7,016
vs. Melbourne Victory
(30 January 2021)
A-League
Lowest home attendance990
vs. Newcastle Jets
(26 April 2021)
A-League
Average home league attendance3,290
Biggest win4–1
vs. Macarthur FC (H)
(20 February 2021)
A-League
Biggest defeat0–5
vs. Western Sydney Wanderers (A)
(8 May 2021)

A-League
1–6
vs. Melbourne Victory (H)
(28 May 2021)
A-League

The 2020–21 season was the second in the history of Western United Football Club. The club only participated in the A-League after the 2020 FFA Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[1]

Western United finished tenth in their A-League season, forcing them to play in an FFA Cup play-off in the 2021–22 season.

Review

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Background

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Western United's inaugural campaign had seen the team finish 5th and advance to the 2020 A-League Finals series, where they won the elimination-final against Brisbane Roar with the only goal from a free kick from Alessandro Diamanti. They advanced to the semi-final where they lost 2–0 against Melbourne City.[2]

Pre-season

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The club confirmed four player departures on 31 August 2020 which included Valentino Yuel, Thiel Iradukunda, Oskar Dillon, and Patrick Antelmi.[3] The club's first transfer of the season came on 2 October, when Western United signed former Melbourne City winger Lachlan Wales on a two-year deal.[4] In the span of two days on 6–7 December, two players Tomoki Imai and Andrew Durante both extended their contracts by one-year.[5][6]

On 21 October, Jonathan Aspropotamitis departed the club to join Perth Glory and continue their AFC Champions League campaign.[7] As the club returned to training ahead of the 2020–21 A-League campaign, they signed a sponsorship with Strapit Sports Tape for two A-League seasons.[8] On 11 November, the club confirmed the departure of James Delianov who was injured throughout Western United's entire inaugural season as he signed for Adelaide United the same day.[9][10] The day after, the club officially announced their kits for the 2020–21 season designed by Kappa.[11]

On 27 November, the club signed Spanish midfielder Víctor Sánchez who made over 300 appearances in Spain's top-flight La Liga including a spell at Barcelona for three years.[12] Western United played their first friendly on 28 November against local A-League rivals Melbourne City where they lost 2–1 in Melbourne in a behind closed doors match.[13]

December

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Western United kicked off their season in the A-League for their second campaign against Adelaide United where the match resulted in a 0–0 draw.[14] Their new players included Víctor Sánchez, Lachlan Wales, Nicolas Milanovic, and Ayom Majok.

Players

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Poland POL Filip Kurto
2 DF Australia AUS Aaron Calver
3 DF Australia AUS Brendan Hamill
4 DF New Zealand NZL Andrew Durante
5 DF Australia AUS Dylan Pierias
6 DF Japan JPN Tomoki Imai
7 FW Kosovo KOS Besart Berisha
8 FW Australia AUS Lachlan Wales
9 FW England ENG Kaine Sheppard
10 MF Australia AUS Steven Lustica
11 FW Australia AUS Connor Pain
12 DF Australia AUS Dalibor Markovic
13 DF Australia AUS Ivan Vujica
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF Australia AUS Max Burgess
17 MF Australia AUS Brad Inman (on loan from ATK Mohun Bagan)
19 DF Australia AUS Josh Risdon
20 MF Spain ESP Víctor Sánchez
21 MF Australia AUS Sebastian Pasquali
22 DF Australia AUS Tomislav Uskok (vice-captain)
23 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Diamanti (captain)
25 MF Australia AUS Luke Duzel
26 MF Australia AUS Nicolas Milanovic (scholarship)
27 MF Australia AUS Jerry Skotadis
29 FW Australia AUS Ayom Majok (scholarship)
30 GK Australia AUS Ryan Scott
34 MF Spain ESP Iker Guarrotxena

Transfers

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Transfers in

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No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
8 FW Lachlan Wales Unattached Free transfer 2 years 2 October 2020 [15]
20 MF Spain Víctor Sánchez Unattached Free transfer 2 years 27 November 2020 [16]
29 FW Ayom Majok Australia Cumberland United Scholarship 2 years 3 December 2020 [17]
12 FW Stefan Zinni Australia Avondale Injury replacement 2 months 27 December 2020 [18]
34 MF Spain Iker Guarrotxena Unattached Free transfer 6 months 14 January 2021 [19]
9 FW England Kaine Sheppard Unattached Free transfer 4 months 26 February 2021 [20]
17 MF Brad Inman India ATK Mohun Bagan Loan 4 months 12 March 2021 [21]
12 DF Dalibor Markovic Melbourne Victory Free transfer 12 April 2021 [22]

Transfers out

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No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
26 FW Patrick Antelmi Australia Sydney United End of contract 31 August 2020 [23][24]
7 FW Valentino Yuel Unattached End of contract 1 September 2020 [24]
24 MF Thiel Iradukunda Unattached End of contract 1 September 2020 [24]
28 DF Oskar Dillon Unattached End of contract 1 September 2020 [24]
15 DF Jonathan Aspropotamitis Perth Glory Mutual contract termination 21 October 2020 [25][26]
20 GK James Delianov Adelaide United Mutual contract termination 11 November 2020 [27][28]
33 FW Apostolos Stamatelopoulos Unattached Mutual contract termination 25 January 2021 [29]
17 MF Joshua Cavallo Unattached Mutual contract termination 10 February 2021 [30]
12 FW Stefan Zinni Australia Avondale End of contract 27 February 2021 [18][31]

Contract extensions

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No. Name Position Duration Date Notes
6 Japan Tomoki Imai Defender 1 year 6 October 2020 [32]
4 New Zealand Andrew Durante Centre-back 1 year 7 October 2020 [33]
5 Dylan Pierias Right-back 2 years 4 May 2021 [34]
11 Connor Pain Winger 2 years 10 May 2021 [35]
30 Ryan Scott Goalkeeper 2 years 20 May 2021 [36]
26 Nicolas Milanovic Midfielder 2 years 1 June 2021 [37]

Kits

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Supplier: Kappa / Sponsor: Simonds & Tasman Logistics / Sleeve sponsor: Victoria University

Home
Away
Goalkeeper1
Goalkeeper2
Goalkeeper3

Pre-season and friendlies

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  Win   Draw   Loss

28 November 2020 Melbourne City Australia 2–1 Australia Western United Melbourne
Report Stadium: City Football Academy
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
5 December 2020 Western United Australia 9–0 Australia North Geelong Warriors Geelong
15:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
12 December 2020 Western United Australia 2–3 Australia Melbourne City Ballarat
15:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Morshead Park Stadium
20 December 2020 Brisbane Roar Australia 0–2 Australia Western United Gold Coast
Report
Stadium: Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre

Competitions

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  Win   Draw   Loss

Overview

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Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League 28 December 2020 5 June 2021 Matchday 1 10th 26 8 4 14 30 47 −17 030.77
Total 26 8 4 14 30 47 −17 030.77

Source: Competitions

A-League

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
8 Western Sydney Wanderers 26 9 8 9 45 43 +2 35
9 Perth Glory 26 9 7 10 44 44 0 34 Qualification for 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[a]
10 Western United 26 8 4 14 30 47 −17 28
11 Newcastle Jets 26 5 6 15 24 38 −14 21
12 Melbourne Victory 26 5 4 17 31 60 −29 19 Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[b]
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:
  1. ^ The top 8 teams qualified for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participated in a playoff round.[38]
  2. ^ Qualified as the 2021 FFA Cup winners.

Results summary

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Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
26 8 4 14 30 47  −17 28 6 3 4 18 17  +1 2 1 10 12 30  −18

Results by round

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Round123456789101111121314151516171818191920202122232324
GroundHBBAHHABHAHAHABHAAHHHAAAAHAHHA
ResultDBBLWDLBWWLLWLBWWLWDWDLLLLLLLL
Position4781079101010899891077876677881010101010
Points111145558111111141414172020232427282828282828282828
Source: Ultimate A-League
A = Away; H = Home; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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28 December 2020 1 Western United 0–0 Adelaide United Geelong
19:05 AEDT Report Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 5,128
Referee: Shaun Evans
16 January 2021 4 Melbourne City 2–1 Western United Melbourne
18:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 7,068
Referee: Shaun Evans
23 January 2021 5 Western United 5–4 Perth Glory Geelong
17:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 3,631
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
30 January 2021 6 Western United 0–0 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
17:05 AEDT Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 7,016
Referee: Adam Kersey
7 February 2021 7 Central Coast Mariners 3–2 Western United Gosford
18:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 5,019
Referee: Alireza Faghani
20 February 2021 9 Western United 4–1 Macarthur FC Ballarat
17:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: MARS Stadium
Attendance: 1,505
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
27 February 2021 10 Melbourne Victory 3–4 Western United Melbourne
19:10 AEDT Report
Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 7,190
Referee: Ben Abraham
7 March 2021 11 Western United 0–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Ballarat
18:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Mars Stadium
Attendance: 2,142
Referee: Alex King
10 March 2021 11 Sydney FC 2–0 Western United Sydney
19:05 AEST
Report Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Attendance: 5,201
Referee: Daniel Elder
14 March 2021 12 Western United 1–0 Brisbane Roar Melbourne
17:10 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 1,920
Referee: Alireza Faghani
20 March 2021 13 Macarthur FC 2–1 Western United Sydney
17:05 AEDT
Report Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
Attendance: 1,872
Referee: Adam Kersey
1 April 2021 15 Western United 2–1 Melbourne City Melbourne
19:40 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 6,104
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
5 April 2021 15 Newcastle Jets 0–1 Western United Newcastle
17:00 AEST Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 4,301
Referee: Ben Abraham
11 April 2021 16 Wellington Phoenix 3–2 Western United Wollongong
19:00 AEST
Report Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 1,226
Referee: Chris Beath
17 April 2021 17 Western United 1–0 Central Coast Mariners Launceston
17:05 AEST
Report Stadium: UTAS Stadium
Attendance: 3,203
Referee: Alireza Faghani
22 April 2021 18 Western United 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Launceston
19:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: UTAS Stadium
Attendance: 2,528
Referee: Alex King
26 April 2021 18 Western United 2–0 Newcastle Jets Melbourne
19:05 AEST Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 990
Referee: Kurt Ams
30 April 2021 19 Adelaide United 0–0 Western United Adelaide
19:05 ACST Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 7,699
Referee: Chris Beath
5 May 2021 19 Brisbane Roar 2–1 Western United Kippa-Ring
19:05 AEST Report
Stadium: Dolphin Stadium
Attendance: 2,183
Referee: Adam Kersey
8 May 2021 20 Western Sydney Wanderers 5–0 Western United Sydney
19:10 AEST
Report Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 7,539
Referee: Daniel Elder
12 May 2021 20 Perth Glory 3–0 Western United Perth
21:20 AWST Report Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 2,719
Referee: Alireza Faghani
15 May 2021 21 Western United 0–1 Sydney FC Ballarat
14:35 AEST Report
Stadium: MARS Stadium
Attendance: 2,020
Referee: Shaun Evans
22 May 2021 22 Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Western United Wellington
14:05 NZDT
Report Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 24,105
Referee: Daniel Elder
28 May 2021 23 Western United 1–6 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
Referee: Adam Bavcar
31 May 2021 23 Western United 1–2 Macarthur FC Sydney
19:05 AEDT Report
Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Referee: Adam Kersey
5 June 2021 24 Central Coast Mariners 2–0 Western United Gosford
17:05 AEST
Report Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 6,451
Referee: Jack Morgan

Statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Players with no appearances not included in the list.

No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Poland Filip Kurto 8 0 8 0
2 DF Australia Aaron Calver 15(3) 0 15(3) 0
3 DF Australia Brendan Hamill 9(6) 0 9(6) 0
4 DF New Zealand Andrew Durante 17(2) 0 17(2) 0
5 DF Australia Dylan Pierias 20(6) 6 20(6) 6
6 DF Japan Tomoki Imai 26 1 26 1
7 FW Kosovo Besart Berisha 20(3) 7 20(3) 7
8 FW Australia Lachlan Wales 14(10) 4 14(10) 4
9 FW England Kaine Sheppard 0(7) 0 0(7) 0
10 MF Australia Steven Lustica 14(6) 1 14(6) 1
11 FW Australia Connor Pain 25(1) 1 25(1) 1
12 DF Australia Dalibor Markovic 1(2) 0 1(2) 0
13 DF Australia Ivan Vujica 5(7) 1 5(7) 1
14 MF Australia Max Burgess 0(1) 0 0(1) 0
17 MF Australia Brad Inman 0(5) 0 0(5) 0
19 DF Australia Josh Risdon 2(1) 0 2(1) 0
20 MF Spain Víctor Sánchez 18 3 18 3
21 MF Australia Sebastian Pasquali 2(4) 0 2(4) 0
22 DF Australia Tomislav Uskok 23 1 23 1
23 MF Italy Alessandro Diamanti 20(4) 1 20(4) 1
25 MF Australia Luke Duzel 8(5) 0 8(5) 0
26 MF Australia Nicolas Milanovic 0(10) 0 0(10) 0
27 MF Australia Jerry Skotadis 3(7) 0 3(7) 0
29 MF Australia Ayom Majok 0(1) 0 0(1) 0
30 GK Australia Ryan Scott 18(1) 0 18(1) 0
31 MF Australia Adisu Bayew 1(3) 0 1(3) 0
32 FW Australia Manyluak Aguek 0(2) 0 0(2) 0
34 FW Spain Iker Guarrotxena 17(5) 3 17(5) 3

Goalscorers

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Rank No. Pos Nat Name A-League Total
1 7 FW Kosovo Besart Berisha 7 7
2 5 DF Australia Dylan Pierias 6 6
3 8 FW Australia Lachlan Wales 4 4
4 20 MF Spain Víctor Sánchez 3 3
34 FW Spain Iker Guarrotxena 3 3
6 6 DF Japan Tomoki Imai 1 1
10 MF Australia Steven Lustica 1 1
11 FW Australia Connor Pain 1 1
13 FW Croatia Ivan Vujica 1 1
22 DF Australia Tomislav Uskok 1 1
23 MF Australia Alessandro Diamanti 1 1
Own Goals 1 1
Totals 1 1

Disciplinary record

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The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.

Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Total
Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Yellow card Second yellow card Red card
1 4 DF New Zealand Andrew Durante 3 0 1 3 0 1
2 20 MF Spain Víctor Sánchez 9 1 0 9 1 0
22 DF Australia Tomislav Uskok 9 1 0 9 1 0
4 3 DF Australia Brendan Hamill 5 1 0 5 1 0
5 10 MF Australia Steven Lustica 4 0 0 4 0 0
6 6 DF Japan Tomoki Imai 3 0 0 3 0 0
7 FW Kosovo Besart Berisha 3 0 0 3 0 0
25 MF Australia Luke Duzel 3 0 0 3 0 0
34 FW Spain Iker Guarrotxena 3 0 0 3 0 0
10 2 DF Australia Aaron Calver 2 0 0 2 0 0
5 DF Australia Dylan Pierias 2 0 0 2 0 0
8 FW Australia Lachlan Wales 2 0 0 2 0 0
11 FW Australia Connor Pain 2 0 0 2 0 0
13 DF Australia Ivan Vujica 2 0 0 2 0 0
23 MF Italy Alessandro Diamanti 2 0 0 2 0 0
30 GK Australia Ryan Scott 2 0 0 2 0 0
17 12 DF Australia Dalibor Markovic 1 0 0 1 0 0
14 MF Australia Max Burgess 1 0 0 1 0 0
26 FW Australia Nicolas Milanovic 1 0 0 1 0 0
27 MF Australia Jerry Skotadis 1 0 0 1 0 0
29 MF Australia Ayom Majok 1 0 0 1 0 0

Clean sheets

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Rank No. Pos Nat Name A-League Total
1 30 GK Australia Ryan Scott 6 6
2 1 GK Poland Filip Kurto 2 2
Total 8 8

References

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  1. ^ "Coronavirus forces FFA Cup to be cancelled". The World Game. SBS. 7 July 2020.
  2. ^ Rayson, Zac (26 August 2020). "City cruelly end underdogs' dream debut season in brutal semi-final". Fox Sports.
  3. ^ "Western United squad update". Western United. 31 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Western United sign Olyroo Lachie Wales". Western United. 2 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Tomoki Imai re-signs with Western United". Western United. 6 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Andrew Durante signs on for Western United". Western United. 7 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Aspropotamitis departs Western United FC". Western United. 21 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Western United and Strapit rise up for next two A-League seasons". Western United. 28 October 2020.
  9. ^ "James Delianov departs Western United". Western United. 11 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Reds sign Delianov to two-year deal". Adelaide United. 11 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Western United's kits revealed for 2020/21 A-League season". Western United. 12 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Western United sign experienced midfielder Víctor Sánchez". Western United. 27 November 2020.
  13. ^ "A-League Pre-Season Report: Melbourne City 2-1 Western United". Melbourne City. 29 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Report: Western United draw with Adelaide United in season opener". Western United. Football Federation Australia. 28 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Western United sign Olyroo Lachie Wales". Western United. 2 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Western United sign ex-La Liga midfielder". The World Game. SBS. 27 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Western United sign young striker Ayom Majok". Western United. 3 December 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Western United sign Stefan Zinni". Western United. 27 December 2020.
  19. ^ Monteverde, Marco (14 January 2021). "A-League: New Western United signing Iker Guarrotxena keen to make an early impression". news.com.au.
  20. ^ "Western United sign Kaine Sheppard". Western United. 26 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Western United sign experienced midfielder Bradden Inman". Western United. 12 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Western United sign talented full-back Dalibor Markovic". Western United. 10 April 2021.
  23. ^ Sydney United [@SydUtd58FC] (31 August 2020). "WELCOME BACK Just in case you missed the game yesterday, Patrick ANTELMI and Yianni PERKATIS re-joined Sydney United from Western United and Perth Glory, respectively. Welcome back lads!!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ a b c d "Western United squad update". Western United. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Aspropotamitis departs Western United FC". Western United. 21 October 2020.
  26. ^ Morgan, Gareth (21 October 2020). "Glory swoop for talented young duo". Perth Glory.
  27. ^ "James Delianov departs Western United". Western United. 11 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Reds sign Delianov to two-year deal". Adelaide United. 11 November 2020.
  29. ^ "Apostolos Stamatelopoulos departs". Western United. 25 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Josh Cavallo Departs". Western United. 10 February 2021.
  31. ^ "Avondale vs. Oakleigh Cannons". Soccerway. 27 February 2021.
  32. ^ "Tomoki Imai re-signs with Western United". Western United. 6 October 2020.
  33. ^ "Andrew Durante signs on for Western United". Western United. 7 October 2020.
  34. ^ "Dylan Pierias re-signs with Western United for two years". Western United. 4 May 2021.
  35. ^ "Connor Pain re-signs with the Green and Black". Western United. 10 May 2021.
  36. ^ "Western United FC extend contract of goalkeeper Ryan Scott". Western United. 20 May 2021.
  37. ^ "Western United re-sign young talent Nicolas Milanovic for two more seasons". Western United. 1 June 2021.
  38. ^ "FFA Cup to introduce Hyundai A-League play-off process from 2020". Football Federation Australia. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
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