Second half goals to Youssouf Hersi and Mark Bridge were the catalyst for turning an abject first half performance into taking all three points in Brisbane.
Western Sydney were hoping to take the first ever 'Red & Black Wash' with a victory that would be their third of the season over the current champions but their opening was anything but championship quality. They were abysmal in the first half, conceding major possession, territory and shots to their opponents. Mitch Nichols had the first shot in anger, taking a Steffanuto pass before firing high from a long way out. Thomas Broich curled in a free kick from the corner of the box that Covic palmed away and out of danger. Broich again caused worry in the Wanderers defence with a shot on the edge of the box the German play maker intended for the top corner but was touch high.
Nichols created an opportunity for Massimo Murdocca by dribbling around the Wanderers defence before laying the ball off sideways. Typically for Murdocca his shot was weak and aimed straight at Wanderers keeper Ante Covic. What wasn't weak was the next shot which Nichols slammed into the back of the net to give the Roar the lead.
Unlike other weeks were conceding a goal would sting the Wanderers into action, this game continued with Brisbane threatening to score repeatedly. Mark Bridge was a passenger and while I disliking criticising our own players I feel it would be remiss to ignore poor performances in a match report. Bridge was slow to track back and take up his defensive duties and was too often caught ball watching on defence, while in attack he would be caught standing in the middle when he should have been providing options on the wing. Aaron Mooy was far from his usual quality both on and off the ball, being passed around with ease and looking sluggish and slow. Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Hersi were playing at their usual high levels and Labinot Haliti was busy up front in his attempts to close down the Brisbane defence.
Halloran continued the assault on the Wanderers with his long range drive, it initially threatened to be on target but skewed away with Covic livid that Mooy and Beauchamp had stood off and allowed the shot to come in. Jerome Polenz has the first shot of the match for Western Sydney, his ambitious 35 yard effort on his left foot was closer to what is seen in the winter football code played at the ground than our summer code and unlike Rugby, it wasn't rewarded with two or three points.
What was said in the half-time team talk by Popovic had a clear and immediate effect on the play of his charges. Shinji Ono's statement of intent after 2 minutes was an attempt from distance that Michael Theo took no chances with in smothering the ball on his left side. Poljak followed that with his own drive that James Donachie deflected out for a corner. Labinot Haliti took a coat of paint off the crossbar in the 51st minute, Beauchamp chipped a ball from half-way that Haliti was able to run onto, the tight angle didn't deter the flamboyant wing-forward and it had the crowd gasping as it kissed the woodwork and went out for a goal kick.
Hersi continued his good form by streaking down the right wing to deliver a cutback to Bridge, the first time shot initially looking on target but spinning off target. Brisbane regained a semblance of control over the match after that warning shot that culminated in Halloran rushing onto a Broich pass and lining up on Covic's goal, with Topor-Stanley across in cover the young speedster had to take his shot early. That shot had an excess of power and a lack of direction.
5 minutes past the hour Mark Bridge once again scored against the reigning champions. Aaron Mooy who had a much better second half spread the ball out to the right flank, Polenz cut inside his marker and offloaded to Bridge. With a first touch to setup the shot he fired past Theo who managed to get a hand to the ball but not a strong enough hand to keep it out. Only minutes later the Wanderers were in front. Topor-Stanley played a smart short pass to his defensive team-mate Polenz who lofted a searching ball over the top of the Roar midfield. Dino Kresinger who came on as a substitute for Haliti flicked the ball behind the defence. Ono smartly decided to avoid touching the ball which would have incurred an offside decision and allowed Hersi to run onto it. Neither Matthew Jurman or Ivan Franjic were able to stop the rampant winger and Hersi smashed the ball through the legs of Jurman and past Theo at the near post.
Desperately the Roar poured forward searching for the equaliser but time and again the defence of Western Sydney stood tall, nearly every shot made in the last minutes of the game was blocked before it had the chance to reach Covic and the few that did was easily saved. Ono should have sealed the win in the 92nd minute on a break created by Shannon Cole but the ball just wouldn't drop for Ono because of the atrocious surface at Suncorp. The failed chance mattered little in the end as seconds later the final whistle sounded and the small knot of Wanderers supporters rose in delight with the rest of the stadium booing the officials. Berisha wanted to continue his verbals with Ante Covic but the big keeper gestured for the Albanian striker to tell his story walking off the pitch.
The three points opens up an 8 point gap on Heart and Newcastle who share 5th and 6th place on 21 points, and 9 point gap on Sydney FC who sit outside the finals positions on 20 points. Tony Popovic praised his squad for their second half turn-around, knowing that if the players improved their performance that they could take control of the match again. He confirmed that they hadn't dropped deep on purpose and they had to improve by pushing higher up the pitch in the second half. He again affirmed their week by week focus as well as their character after their 2-0 loss to Central Coast several weeks ago.
The Wanderers next match is against Melbourne Heart at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta, on Saturday the 26th of January (Australia Day Public Holiday) at 7:45pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
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