A brilliant back heel goal by Dino Kresinger and a magnificent chip by Shinji Ono secured a historic first Grand Final appearance for the Western Sydney Wanderers in their inaugural season.

The 2-0 victory booked the Wanderers place in the A-League showpiece event at the Sydney Football Stadium next week. Brisbane Roar were outclassed and tactically out thought by Tony Popovic, but the Roar fought to the bitter end. The low point of the night was Youssouf Hersi earning a stupid red card after two idiotic challenges in midfield. With no chance of appeal he will be watching the Grand Final from the stands.

The match began as most would expect from what is effectively a cup tie, cagey and both teams feeling each other out. The first shot in anger came after 10 minutes when Mateo Poljak saw the ball drop at his feet as Kresinger bullocked and bustled in front of the penalty area. Brisbane scrambled and were able to block the goal-bound shot. The next shot was the first ever goal for the Wanderers in a finals match. James Donachie attempted to turn his way out of trouble only for Hersi to ghost in behind and steal the ball away. Hersi advanced on goal and released Mark Bridge on the left flank, he took a couple of touches to open up space for a cross, low and hard across the face of goal. Kresinger took advantage of poor marking to get goal-side of the Roar's central defence, with the ball delivered slightly behind the giant #9 his finish was an audacious back heel flick that gave Michael Theo in goal no chance. Tony Popovic celebrated with a display of emotion rarely seen this season, a double fist pump reminiscent of Ange Postecoglou.

The crowd erupted to cries of "Dino!" and followed it up with a raucous rendition of the Who Do We Sing For call and response between the stands. Minutes later Ivan Franjic cut back into the middle of the park and tried a speculative effort, Ante Covic saving easily as the ball came at a good height with no swerve. Steven Lustica was next, a snapshot with the ball caught under his feet, aimed again at Covic. Mitch Nicholls was rightly annoyed not to have received a pass, he was wide open just to the left of goal, as the Wanderers defence had bunched up to block the route directly at goal. Brisbane had the better of position and possession, but their finishing and general attacking movement and passing was poor and they were unable to force Covic into any further saves.

Running toward their own group of supporters in the second half, Brisbane regained a semblance of control in the opening stages. Ivan Franjic couldn't scramble a shot on target, then Ben Halloran was unlucky not to receive a corner from a low drive that Covic appeared to turn around the post with his fingertips. The Wanderers then turned the Roar penalty area into a shooting gallery, Poljak have a shot deflected to the feet of Bridge, the first time shot turned away by Theo, but only as far as Poljak on the second effort, blocked by the feet of Theo this time, when Perkatis fired in that rebound Brisbane finally managed to clear the ball away from danger.

An hour had passed and both sides appeared to tire slightly. There were some strong challenges, fouls and yellow cards aplenty for both sides. Brisbane began to assert dominance in possession, but the Wanderers cover defense was immense. One action of note when Berisha was released down the right flank, Shannon Cole in hot pursuit managed to keep the Albanian hit man from getting a clear shot, forcing him to cut inside. Several Brisbane players took possession deep in the penalty area but all were repulsed by a sea of Red & Black defenders.

If the goal from Kresinger was technically brilliant, the 2nd goal, courtesy of Shinji Ono was truly world class. A foul from Roar midfielder Stefan Nijland allowed Covic to seek out Kresinger, who won a towering flick-on over the heads of Brattan & Donachie. Ono had made a run in behind Kresinger, and flicked the ball back over his shoulder to regain possession. With the Roar defence in two minds due to a wide run by Bridge, Ono turned and spotted Theo slightly out of position. Ono lofted the ball towards the back post, surprisingly not just Theo but the entire crowd. Theo was rooted to the spot and could do nothing but watch the ball sail over his head as the stadium exploded in a cacophony of noise. In a season full of spectacular goals from the likes of Rojas, Del Piero & Kresinger, this was right up there as one of the best ever in the A-League.

Hersi then cost himself a shot at Grand Final glory with a moment of madness. At 2-0 up, the ball in the possession of the Roar midfield, Hersi lunged in from behind against Massimo Murdocca missing the ball completely. He gave referee Alan Milliner no choice but to hand out a second yellow and he was duly dismissed from the field. Like many red cards this one caused the tide of the game to shift in favour of the team playing with a man extra. Despite the setback the crowd the pulsating crowd of 19,500 who had chanted and sung through-out the evening, came together in the 80th minute for an incredible Poznan celebration performed by the entire stadium barring a small knot of Brisbane supporters. A truly unprecedented moment in Australian sport.

Western Sydney spent the last 10 minutes of the game on the back foot, tightly compact, making it extremely hard for Brisbane to penetrate. Even with an inexplicable 5 minutes of injury time Brisbane were unable to register a shot on target, the best chance falling to Kwame Yeboah after Franjic had a shot deflected back into the middle of the penalty area. Once again the scrambling defence came to the rescue, reducing the angles, the shot eventually hitting the side netting.

The post-match celebration was enhanced by the players finally getting their hands on their Premiers Plate, it was displayed via a lap of honour around Parramatta Stadium after a short ceremony with Football Federation Australia chief David Gallop. I can only imagine how odd it would have felt to have been awarded the trophy if the club had lost the match, and I hope the FFA have some common sense the next time a similar issue crops up. The loss of Hersi will be a big blow, Labinot Haliti is likely to slot in as his replacement. There was an injury cloud for Polenz who was substituted in the 41st minute, but he is likely to play. Aaron Mooy did not participate in the match as he was not 100% fit but is a good chance to play in the Grand Final.

Central Coast and Melbourne Victory play on Sunday to determine who will challenge the Wanderers for the 2012/13 A-League Championship.

The Wanderers final match of the season is the A-League Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, on Sunday the 21st of April at 4:00pm Eastern Standard Time.

Western Sydney Wanderers and opposition members will have an exclusive window to purchase tickets on Monday, 15 April from 9am-11pm.

The Football Family window will open on Tuesday morning from 9am, before General Public tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, 17 April from 9am.