Western United ready for Mars attack

THE A-League’s newest team, Western United are set for their first regular season match in Ballarat as they take on Wellington Phoenix at Mars Stadium on Saturday, 28 December.

Just over a third of the way through their inaugural season, Western Victoria’s premier club are sitting third on the table while star forward Besart Berisha sits equal third on the top goal scorers list.

“From our point of view it’s going well, both on and off the field,” said Western United CEO Chris Pehlivanis.

“We’re happy with the steady progress but we’re also by no means content. We’ve got a lot to do. We haven’t really put a ceiling to what we can achieve in the first year.”

Based out of Truganina in Melbourne’s west while a new home ground is built in Tarneit, United have positioned themselves as the team of the western districts.

It’s not just playing regular season games in Ballarat with the club focused on building relationships with clubs across the region.

“We’re super excited to come to Ballarat,” Mr Pehlivanis said. “We’re excited because we can connect with the region, the communities and the clubs there.

“We also have a great activation where we’re inviting all the Ballarat clubs and all the kids to march on the ground before the game.”

Mr Pehlivanis described the atmosphere at Western United as welcoming and said the game at Mars Stadium was just a chance to check out the club in Ballarat but also get on at the ground floor.

“We are a start up and at the moment a very exciting brand,” he said. “It is an opportunity to be there from the start. We’re proud of that and encouraging as many people as possible to get behind us.

“The A-League did a survey and we ranked number two in terms of the atmosphere and at game experience. We’re hopeful Ballarat can turn up in the thousands and we can build something everyone’s proud of.”

Western United take on Wellington Phoenix on Saturday, 28 December at Mars Stadium. Gates open at 4pm and kick-off is at 5pm. Tickets cost between $6 and $12 and available from Ticketek.