Ueda breaks IPL goalscoring record
Wollongong Olympic marksman Yusuke Ueda scored 31 goals this campaign which has broken the Illawarra Premier League record of 29 set by South Coast Croatia striker Joe Coelho in 1987–31 years ago.
The Japanese juggernaut netted in 15 of 22 matches this season including seven in one match against Picton Rangers. Despite being one of the most feared forces in the competition, the 28-year-old is humble about his success.
“I don’t care about this record, I care about Wollongong Olympic and when we play well I can score goals for my team,” Ueda said.
Since arriving at the PCYC in 2016, Ueda has scored 83 goals in 85 matches across all competitions during one strongest periods in the club’s history with two Bert Bampton Cups and two second-place finishes. Ueda admits he enjoys playing in the region and feels he can continue pushing forward with Olympic.
“I love playing in the Illawarra Premier League and being with Olympic, I want to stay at Olympic next year,” Ueda said.
Rob Birkin was the coach of Olympic when they signed Ueda and he explains how had it not been for a bit of luck, Coelho’s record could have stood for another three decades.
“I had a chance phone call to a mate in the Manly [United] coaching staff who said they wanted to sign him [Ueda] but couldn’t fit him into the points system,” Birkin said.
“He said I should pick him up so I called Chris [Agno] and told him to do the deal because if he’s good enough for the NPL he’s good enough for us.”
Birkin isn’t surprised by Ueda’s record and he believes the striker is one of the best to grace the competition.
“His biggest strength is his strength, natural ability and the fact he is a good person who managed to fit into the club really well,” Birkin said.
“I told the rest of my squad at the time that if they supported him, he will score 30 goals in a season and I’ve been proven right.”
“Of all the strikers I have been involved with, he’s definitely in the top two.”
Coelho set the long-standing record with Croatia in the 1987 season which saw the newly-promoted club claim the League and Grand Final double. Former South Coast teammate Rod Williams believes their success was due in large part to their slight striker who he described as “tough as nails and equally capable of scoring from 20 yards as from two yards.”
Thank you to Kojiro Hori for acting as translator — Arigato.
