Coach John Aloisi has lauded Noah Botic after the young striker stepped up to score a late winner from the penalty spot in Western United's 2-1 season-opening victory over Melbourne City in the A-League Men.
When Nuno Reis was penalised for handball, Botic stepped up and coolly converted past former teammate Jamie Young in the 87th minute at AAMI Park on Saturday.
Lachie Wales had opened the scoring for United on the hour mark after being teed up by new arrival Daniel Penha, but City signing Tolgay Arslan equalised two minutes later.
"The first year he was here, he played an NPL game and we had a penalty, and he didn't take it," Aloisi said of Botic.
"And I said to him, 'Why didn't you take that penalty?', and he said 'Someone else wanted it'.
"I said, 'You're a striker, you want to score goals, be that player to score those important goals'.
"And so that's how much he's matured and grown. He's only 21 but he's still matured in the sense that he believes he's the one that can lead the line.
"We've got players that can help him with that, but he showed good composure when he was fatigued right at the end of the game to win it.
"He didn't have a lot of opportunities but he kept on believing that his moment would come. It did and he took it."
Aloisi allayed fears Botic had injured himself celebrating, saying the 21-year-old was cramping.
"I would've been upset - the way he ran off celebrating - if he ended up doing his hamstring," he said with a laugh.
"It's hard not to celebrate when you score the winning goal."
Only three City players who started last season's grand final loss to Central Coast started the match: Jamie Maclaren, Curtis Good and Nuno Reis, while United fielded four new signings.
City thought they had taken the lead in the 33rd minute, but Maclaren's close-range effort was scratched for offside, while United keeper Thomas Heward-Belle denied the striker in the 49th.
For the opener, Penha slipped a wonderful long ball through City's lines to Wales, who got past Good and coolly finished.
Two minutes later, Arslan went on a brilliant scything run through United's midfield, played a one-two with Maclaren and then rode another challenge to equalise.
Maclaren spurned chances in the 77th and 85th minutes before Botic's penalty sent the contest United's way.
"There were a lot of positives," City coach Rado Vidosic said, adamant his team would build chemistry.
"We had patches (when) we controlled the game ... but from a defensive point of view, we are still a little bit away from where we would like to be.
"Our aggressiveness was not at the level it really should be."
