The 2021–22 season was the third in the history of Western United Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, Western United also competed in the FFA Cup for the first time.
They finished third in the regular season and then won the Championship, beating holders Melbourne City in the Grand Final.
The season was documented in the docuseries United.
Review
Background Western United's 2020–21 campaign had seen an eight-game losing streak and a lack of creativity lead to a disappointing tenth-place finish in the league, the club's lowest in their history forcing them to play in the 2021 FFA Cup seventh preliminary round against Newcastle Jets. Three days after their league finish on 8 June 2021, the club parted ways with their head coach Marko Rudan who was their manager since their first season in 2019–20.
Players
First-team squad
Transfers
Transfers in No.PositionPlayerTransferred fromType/feeContract lengthDateRef 9 Brisbane RoarFree transfer3 years21 June 2021 17 Melbourne CityFree transfer2 years18 July 2021 44 UnattachedFree transfer1 year29 July 2021 1 Brisbane RoarFree transfer2 years2 August 2021 38 Free transfer2 years2 August 2021 88 UnattachedFree transfer27 August 2021 4 Undisclosed1 year1 September 2021 16 UnattachedFree transfer1 year26 September 2021 99 UnattachedFree transferMulti-year15 October 2021 34 UnattachedScholarship2 years1 November 2021
From youth squad
Transfers out No.PositionPlayerTransferred toType/feeDateRef 14 Sydney FCFree transfer23 May 2021 4 Retired5 June 2021 1 UnattachedEnd of contract18 June 2021 2 UnattachedEnd of contract18 June 2021 9 UnattachedEnd of contract18 June 2021 17 End of loan18 June 2021 22 UnattachedEnd of contract18 June 2021 34 UnattachedEnd of contract18 June 2021 7 UnattachedEnd of contract18 July 2021 3 Melbourne VictoryEnd of contract26 July 2021 20 UnattachedMutual contract termination7 September 2021 24 UnattachedMutual contract termination9 February 2022
Contract extensions No. Name Position Duration Date Notes 25 Luke Duzel Midfielder 2 years 23 June 2021 6 Tomoki Imai Defender 3 years 2 July 2021 19 Josh Risdon Right-back 1 year 10 November 2021 10 Steven Lustica Central midfielder 1 year 19 Josh Risdon Right-back 2 years 6 December 2021 10 Steven Lustica Central midfielder 1 year 18 February 2022 8 Lachlan Wales Winger 2 years 22 February 2022
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions
Overview
A-League Men
League table
Results by round
Matches The league fixtures were announced on 23 September 2021.
Notes:
Finals series
FFA Cup
Statistics
Appearances and goals Players with no appearances not included in the list.
No.Pos.Nat.NameA-League MenFFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GK300103104DF273102835DF11(14)21(1)02726DF26(1)0102808FW29(1)4113149FW12(15)51028510MF25(1)51027511MF23(3)31027312DF00101016MF12(5)10017117DF2821029219DF19(2)01022023MF1001010025MF00101026FW1(10)11012127MF5(12)01(1)019031MF4(12)21017233DF0(2)0002034FW1(3)0105037GK00101038FW0(3)0003039FW000(1)01042MF0(4)0004044DF18(3)11022255DF00101088MF25(1)01027099FW24(3)130(1)12814
Disciplinary record The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.
Rank Name A-League Men FFA Cup Total 1 6 DF 6 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 1 2 4 DF 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 3 19 DF 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 4 44 DF 5 0 0 1 0 0 6 0 0 5 8 FW 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 6 9 FW 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 88 MF 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 8 10 MF 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 11 FW 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 23 MF 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 99 FW 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 12 26 FW 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 27 MF 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 13 5 DF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 16 MF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 17 DF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 34 FW 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 42 MF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Clean sheets NameA-LeagueFFA CupTotal11GK12012
See also 2021–22 in Australian soccer List of Western United FC seasons
References
External links Western United official website