Coach says Western are ‘superhuman’
After a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat against Sydney FC, Western United coach Mark Rudan has praised his side’s “superhuman effort” after playing their fifth game in a fortnight.
United fell to a contentious late penalty after Ivan Vujica handled Alex Baumjohann’s cross inside the penalty area, leading Adam Le Fondre to seal the win for the Sky Blues.
Ultimately, the loss means Western are now three points outside the top six after succumbing to their fifth game without a win.
“I want to start off by talking about how proud I am of my players, absolute superhuman effort by them,” Rudan said.
“We’ve travelled in five different cities across the country in fourteen days and played five games – to start that is extremely unfair.
“They should never have put in a performance like that, it’s superhuman and I told them that after the game they gave me everything of themselves plus more.”
Rudan, however, teed off on the referee’s decision making throughout the contest – saying he feels as if his side are treated as “second rate citizens”.
“Unfortunately, when it comes to decision making, I feel as if we are treated as second rate citizens sometimes and it’s not fair,” Rudan said.
“We need to be more respected as a football club as far as I’m concerned … as far as the penalty decision goes, I think you guys can make your own decisions on that.
“The reaction is always the first thing you look for and there wasn’t much of a reaction from the Sydney FC bench or the players.
“Shaun Evans (referee) was five metres from it, saw it clearly, saw it on the replay a few times and made a decision to play on then all of a sudden it gets called back.
“Once again, we get duded, we don’t deserve it … for us to continue to be on the wrong side of these decisions is just shattering.”
Mark Rudan has coached Western since 2019. (Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images
Western United will be the first team to cross the Tasman this season when they take on Wellington next Saturday in what looms as a must-win game to keep their slim finals hopes alive.
Rudan is adamant his side are still in with a fight to make the top six despite their recent skid.
“I told them, you give me that (performance) … we play finals football,” Rudan said.
Sydney FC coach Steve Corica sympathised with Mark Rudan saying it’s hard to make a judgement call when the understanding of the ruling around handball isn’t clear.
“The only thing I can say is his hand was up, that’s what they gave up,” Corica said.
“But you know I just don’t know the ruling because we’ve had some go against us, Bobo last week … and then this week it has gone for us,
“It’s one of those things where obviously he has given it tonight but it’s a bit unclear around handball decisions these days.”
Sydney FC host Melbourne Victory on Wednesday night in the Big Blue as they look to close in on a spot inside the top six.
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