It's felt within the club that Western United’s come-from-behind win against Melbourne Victory in Round 4 of the Hyundai A-League season will prove to be a defining moment of the club’s budding history.
And with the rivalry set to resume this weekend, Mark Rudan’s side are gearing up to sustain their ascendancy over their cross-town rivals with another big win at GMHBA Stadium.
The venue is, of course, a temporary home for United who have big plans for the future, but for now all Rudan and his charges can do is focus on results to build a winning culture at the newly developed club, while the infrastructure surrounding it continues to grow.
“To see the team playing is an enormous sense of pride but I think the journey for us is still going,” Wyndham City Council Director Kate Roffey told a-league.com.au.
“I’ll still be working on this for years to come now in terms of getting from where we started to actually having the stadium itself open.
“I haven’t really got a sense of achievement or a sense of being anywhere near our destination yet, because I know there’s still so much work we have to do.
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“I think when you start to get the concept of this team that’s been born in the west, it is for the west and it’s going to have its own home and stadium in the west.
“It’s created a real sense of community, it really galvanises and gives a sense of pride.”
That pride will be on show when United fans turn out in full force for their first taste of a home derby against Melbourne Victory.
Marko Kurz’s side will be stinging from their loss in Round 4 where they rescinded a two-goal lead to eventually go down 3-2 to a determined United outfit.
As anticipation builds for the second instalment of United’s rivalry with Victory, Western United’s Director of Football Steve Horvat says the club can take great inspiration from the Round 4 result which reflected the dogged determination already instilled in the club’s culture and identity.
“To come back in that way is quite defining of your character and what you stand for as a football club,” Horvat said.
“A few games into the season and we see things building week-on-week.
“People are really buying into what we’re trying to build.“
“There’s no ceiling for this club because once we are fully functioning in our precinct we’ll be able to compete with the biggest clubs in Asia, I believe, because of the structure we will have in place.”
Western United host Melbourne Victory at GMHBA Stadium in Round 4. The match on Sunday, 8 December kicks off at 4pm AEDT.
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