Gerald Lynch
After four seasons of ‘home’ games across Victoria and Tasmania, Western United is finally coming home to Tarneit. Gerald Lynch speaks to a superfan and an inaugural player on what it means for the club and community.
Western United is getting closer to taking the next major step in its A-Leagues dream.
This season, United will play its first men’s and women’s home games at the Regional Football Facility in Tarneit.
With the proposed main 15,000 seat stadium still in the latter stages of planning, the club will host games in an on-site make-shift venue.
It features a 1000-seat grandstand, with temporary seats to be installed around the ground, giving it a capacity of 5000 fans.
After seasons of travelling far and wide to follow her beloved United now in the rear-view mirror, one of its most passionate fans, Brooke Muscat, is relieved that the green and black will be playing in the west.
“It’s going to be amazing for not just the fans but for the club to finally have somewhere they can settle and truly start building,” she said.
“The memories of travelling to watch the team will stay with me but it is really going to be great to not have to drive more than an hour to get to a game.”
While Muscat said the club is one of her greatest passions, she understands why other western residents haven’t jumped on board yet due to the nomadic nature of the club’s first four seasons.
But she expects the homecoming to be a huge boost on multiple fronts. Muscat is part of the group that runs the Western Core, the official active supporter group for the women’s team, while has been a member of the men’s side since day one.
“I think it’s going to give the club a massive boost in support as there will be that stability and certainty about where home is for us,” she said.
“The club can finally target fans with confidence, telling them where it is playing all its matches instead of having to explain and try to market games across multiple venues in multiple cities.
“It’s no good telling a kid and their family in Tarneit to support a team that’s for the western suburbs, but you have to go to Ballarat if you want to watch them. It’s not something that will get new supporters on board.
“Being in a permanent home is going to be a significant moment and will be a game changer for their community engagement.”
Muscat was born and bred in the west, and despite being a Melbourne Victory fan during her childhood, she said jumping on the United bandwagon was an easy decision.
After a serious injury while playing soccer as a teenager, Brooke subsequently stopped playing and stopped watching, falling out of love with the game.
However, in 2017, when her childhood club Altona Magic opened up its women’s program, she picked the sport back up, and her love started to blossom again, just in time for Western United’s bid to join the A-League.
“I guess that is what drew me to Western United, it was the pride I have for the region and for all the west has done in shaping me as a person,” she said.
“My love of the game through playing revived my interest and passion for also watching and it just made sense to start again and be a part of something new, so I was all in.
“I still remember that feeling and the tears flowing when I tuned in to the announcement that said the bid was successful.
“That’s how I knew this was the club for me and in time could become the club for all of the people in the west of Victoria.”
Muscat urged her fellow western residents to rally behind United in its homecoming.
“Just come along to a game, tickets are always affordable and the quality of football is there, the kids will love it,” she said.
“I don’t think you’ll regret being a supporter of this underdog team.”
While many fans have been attached to the club since its inception, only two players from the inaugural 2019-20 season squad have stood the test of time.
One is club captain and Socceroo Josh Risdon, and the other is Sebastian Pasquali.
Still just 23 and full of potential, Pasquali said he is feeling really strong physically and mentally this season and ready to put four injury-marred seasons behind him.
Originally from Wangaratta, he moved to Maribyrnong for high school to chase his soccer dream.
Pasquali joined Melbourne Victory’s youth academy at 15 years old in 2015 and after catching the eyes of the soccer world in a friendly match against Italian giants Juventus, he was purchased by Ajax Amsterdam at 16.
However, when Western United came calling in 2019, Pasquali couldn’t turn down the offer for more senior level opportunities and the chance to be part of history in the heart of Melbourne’s west.
“We’re extremely excited and can’t wait to get in there (Regional Football Facility in Tarneit). We want to represent and play for the people in the west, so it’ll be an amazing opportunity to be able to do that,” he said.
“All the fans have been amazing for the past few years, and we’re looking forward to seeing them support us when we move out there.
“There are lots of passionate football fans in the western suburbs, we see our fan base growing, and the population of the west is always growing as well.
“We’re positive and really excited to see our fans come out to Tarneit and continue on this journey with us.”
With only short stints at both of his former clubs, Pasquali said he plans to continue to stick around for the foreseeable future and is bullish with what’s to come.
“We’ve just got such a good culture, he said. “Amongst the playing group and the whole club really, we sort of have a really good feeling of togetherness, and it’s a really family orientated club.
“This season we’ve got a relatively new, younger squad. With that, we’re able to bring lots of attacking and energetic football.”
