FRUSTRATION and disappointment - it has been something those in Western NSW FC colours have felt at full-time more often than not in recent years, but in 2020 things are a little different.
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While the National Premier Leagues 4 season is only two rounds old, Western is sitting second on the ladder and is one of just two undefeated teams.
It is a change from struggling for points and being positioned near the bottom of the competition standings.
Coach Mark Rooke knows there are still challenges which lie ahead and that Western has room to improve, but that there is a feeling of excitement and optimism amongst his playing group gives him confidence.
"To see their faces after the game - there have been tough years, so to see the improvement and that real passion they have now they can see we aren't that bad and we can play football - that's just great to see," Rooke said.
"Hopefully we can keep winning matches and play some semi-finals at the end of it, that would be really lovely.
"Defensively, especially our back four, are really starting to click and as a group now we are starting to understand defensively what we need to do."
With the good results there is hope that Western can feature in a finals series and push for promotion to the NPL3 - a competition they were relegated from at the end of 2019.
It also means their rivals should start to treat them as a bigger threat.
"It's lovely to win games, but with each win you don't fly under the radar too much anymore, when people see you are starting to win games they know you are doing okay. They then start preparing better for you rather than going 'Oh yeah it's Western this week, they've not been great so we won't worry about them too much'," Rooke said.
"We're a different team now, I think we've come a long way, but there's also still a long way to go."
Western will be looking to make it three wins in a row this Saturday at Proctor Park when hosting the winless Hurstville FC.
Last weekend Hurstville went down 4-0 to University of NSW. They had two players - Aleks Trenoski and Daniel Maras - red-carded in that defeat which means they will not line-up in Bathurst.
Kick-off is at 4pm at Proctor Park.
