Subway Socceroos aspirant Noah Botic has taken the lead in the Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot race following Western United’s impressive 3-1 win against Central Coast Mariners, propelling them to second place in the league table.
Historically, Western United had struggled to overcome the Mariners in Gosford, but that all changed on Friday night, thanks to the blazing form of Botic and the contributions from substitutes Luke Vickery and Michael Ruhs.
Botic netted his league-leading 10th goal of the season—his seventh in succession—putting Western ahead in the 52nd minute and bolstering his prospects for a first Socceroos call-up ahead of March’s FIFA Men’s World Cup qualifiers. However, an own goal from Tomoki Imai levelled the score for the Mariners with just 14 minutes of regular time remaining.
Vickery, making his entrance from the bench, quickly restored Western’s lead just five minutes later—celebrating his first goal in the A-Leagues—while Ruhs capped off the victory in the 96th minute.
With two consecutive wins under their belt, Western United now sit second in the standings, seven points behind the leaders. Meanwhile, Adelaide United are set to face top-ranked Auckland FC on Saturday, while the two-time reigning champions Central Coast find themselves languishing in 10th place, seven points adrift of the top six.
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Fresh from a heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Western Sydney Wanderers, the Mariners nevertheless possessed a historical edge going into this match.
They boasted an unbeaten record against Western, with six wins and two draws in their last eight encounters, stretching back to their last loss to the 2022 champions in April 2021. Despite their previous success, Western had shown promise with a strong 3-0 victory over Adelaide United the prior week.
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Just before kick-off, viewers were treated to exclusive behind-the-scenes access as the Paramount+ cameras captured John Aloisi’s pre-match address to his Western United side.
On the pitch, Western created more chances and came close to scoring in the 22nd minute.
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After some excellent interplay, Abel Walatee found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only to see his shot cleared off the line by Sasha Kuzevski after Matt Grimaldi had prepared to finish the rebound. Unfortunately, this would mark Walatee’s last contribution, as he succumbed to injury shortly after.
Despite generating multiple opportunities, the visitors were unable to capitalise, with stand-in captain Tomoki Imai forcing Dylan Peraic-Cullen into a save with a header in the 36th minute.
Grimaldi displayed impressive skill and awareness, setting up substitute Riku Danzaki after a clever decoy run, but the Japanese winger’s attempt sailed wide just five minutes into the second half.
However, Western struck moments later, with Botic completing a brilliant team move that dissected the Mariners’ defence—echoing his previous sensational goal against Adelaide United.
This goal put the Green and Black in a commanding position; Western had gone undefeated in their last seven matches after scoring first, dating back to a 2-1 defeat against Adelaide United in November.
Continuing to press for an equaliser, Central Coast managed to pull level in the 77th minute when Imai inadvertently redirected the ball into his own net.
However, Western rejuvenated their lead just four minutes later when former Mariner assisted Vickery for a straightforward tap-in.
In the 87th minute, the Mariners found space for Bailey Brandtman to level the match again, but goalkeeper Matt Sutton produced a stunning save to keep Western in front, while Ruhs ensured the points were secured with a goal deep into stoppage time.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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