A ridiculous comeback from 3-0 down set up an extra time thriller that ended in a 5-4 win that sends the Western Sydney Wanderers to the grand final in Adelaide next week.
In what was the true last match for the Western Sydney Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium before it is rebuilt, the two sides delivered an epic match that could quite rightly be called the best A-League game ever, for a place in the Grand Final against Adelaide.
The visitor Roar took the lead after 15 minutes. A set piece saw Andreu judged to have handballed inside the box with the resultant penalty being taken by Dimitri Petratos. Petratos' powerful strike evaded Andrew Redmayne for a 0-1 scoreline.
The night went from bad to worse for Andreu, as he added an own goal to his penalty handball. After giving away the free kick in the first place, he failed to maintain an appropriate bodyshape in the 6 yard box as Coronoa whipped in a fast ball into the middle of the area. A desperate flick of his leg couldn't stop the ball rebounding off his back, giving Redmayne no chance at all.
The self-inflicted wounds came again to see Roar take a 3-0 lead. A long ball down the right flank found Brandon Borello, his first time cut-back found Jamie Maclaren. The gun striker turned and fired, an unfortunate deflection from Alberto Aguilar caused the ball to tumble past the outstretched arm of Redmayne.
Thankfully for the Wanderers they were the next to score. Jade North gave away a foul with a poor tackle on Brendon Santalab, just outside the D semi-circle and right in front. Romeo Castelen stepped up to take the free kick. Jamie Young made a complete mess of his wall, giving the Wanderers a straight shot at the goal. The bad placement was compounded by a terrible reaction to Castelen's shot. The winger fired straight at goal, the keeper had taken a step to his left before the ball had been struck, putting him off-balance as the shot whistled past at a thunderous pace.
5 minutes before half-time the Wanderers cut the Roar's lead down to 1 goal. Dimas Delgado spotted the Roar defence playing far too high up the park, and set Brendon Santalab a task with a neat ball over the top. Santalab burned James Donachie and his idiotic man-bun for pace, then turned Donachie around, fired at near post past Jamie Young to make the game 3-2.
Momentum stayed with the Wanderers in the second half, and it didn't take long for Castlen to secure his brace and put the Wanderers level with Brisbane. A set piece was cleared by Corono but only as far as Scott Jamieson. The fullback lofted the ball back into the penalty area where it was knocked down by Nikolai Topor-Stanley into the path of Mitch Nichols. The ball sat up reasonably well and he shot at goal, it was palmed away by Jamie Young but Mark Bridge pounced, his shot rebounding off Young only to fall right at the feet of Castelen who fired into the roof of the net to make the game 3-3.
Until this game no team had ever come from 3 goals behind to take the lead. On the hour mark Dimas fired a free kick into the penalty box, where Young elected to punch, it looped into the air. Thomas Broich & Romeo Castelen tangled as the ball came down, Broich apparently losing it in the air, allowing Castelen to strike a thunderbolt on the half-volley that blew past Jamie Young.
Brisbane, having to score to send the game into extra time, began to press higher and higher, and eventually that paid dividends. A counter-attack started by Hervas ended with Tommy Oar, who released Henrique, he attempted a shot only to screw it wide but perfectly into the path of Maclaren who had a tap-in from 6 yards out to bring the game level once again. Extra time inched closer and closer with neither team willing to lose in normal time.
The first half of extra time began with Wanderers dominating the play, with a handful of chances going begging from Bridge & Castelen among others before they finally took one in the 102nd minute. Shannon Cole's neat work in the middle found Mark Bridge who played a 1-2 with Dario Vidosic. A placed shot had Young diving to push the ball away, Bridge reacted first, he pounced on the loose ball and slammed the ball across the face of the goal, Vidosic's near post run was rewarded as the marquee attacker flicked over Young to make the score an incredible 5-4.
Brisbane were out on their feet, and even with the help of Queensland referee Peter Green on their side, weren't able to equalise again to take the game to penalties. The Wanderers triumphed after 120 minutes of scintillating football, and they will face Adelaide next Sunday in their 3rd attempt to win the A-League Championship.
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