The Western Sydney Wanderers have been crowned the Champions of Asia after a stoic 0-0 draw in Saudi Arabia, the Wanderers winning the two legged tie 1-0 on aggregate following Tomi Juric's goal in Sydney in the first leg.
The 64th minute strike in the first leg at Parramatta Stadium proved to be the only goal of the tie, with the "Blue Wave" crashing forlornly against a Red & Black fortification manned by a team who refused to concede a goal to their better resourced opponents.
In the 18th minute Al Hilal had the first chance of the game, swinging a free kick from the left flank that the Wanderers weren't able to get anything on, thankfully for them neither did one of their opponents, a right boot stuck out but agonisingly distant from making contact.
A minute before half-time the first penalty shout of the night was waved away by Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura. Inside the area a ball rolled into the path of the flying Nawaf Shaker, Antony Golec clipped the right foot of the attacker but the theatrical leap perhaps weighed the incidence in the favour of the Australians.
After the break it was another stonewall penalty turned down, Salman Alfaraj latching onto a through ball deep in the right corner of the penalty area and was clearly brought down by Ante Covic but wasn't punished for the indiscretion. Another potential penalty came when the ball was kicked at short range into arms of Brendon Santalab, Nishimura judging that it was ball to hand rather than hand to ball.
The Saudi's pushed on and on, pressing for a goal that would take the game into extra time, and it looked for all money like they had one in the 84th minute. A cutback found talismanic striker Yasser Al-Qahtani, his shot from near the penalty spot had no right to be saved but the big hand of Covic found a way. The ball bounced once before spinning out for a corner just inches away from the goalpost. The save was the biggest moment for an Australian keeper since Mark Schwarzer in the famous shootout against Uruguay.
The Wanderers had precious little attack of their own, the best chance coming from a mazy Vitor Saba dribble that released Labinot Haliti, the shot being blocked desperately. Western Sydney didn't need a goal however, an eventual 6 minutes of injury time passed before the final whistle blew and the Wanderers were officially crowned Champions of Asia.
The immediate post-game scene was marked by disgraceful conduct from the Al Hilal players, with Matthew Spiranovic being spat on and headbutted, a melee threatened to breakout but cooler heads prevailed.
The extraordinary end to the Wanderers maiden assault on the continental stage ended in a victory that few if any would have predicted in the first year or even second year of the club's existence. The championship is an eternal credit to the tactical nous of Tony Popovic, and the resilience of every man to have pulled on the famous Red & Black hoops of Western Sydney.
The Club World Cup now looms in December, the Wanderers joining San Lorenzo (CONMEBOL), Real Madrid (UEFA), ES Setif (CAF), Cruz Azul (CONCACAF), Auckland City (OFC) & hosts Moghreb Tetouan in Morocco from the 10th of December. The Wanderers will face Cruz Azul of Mexico for the right to face European giants Real Madrid in the semi-final. Such a class would be the biggest competitive fixture for an Australian side since South Melbourne took on Manchester United in the 2000 edition of the competition.
Tony Popovic spoke after the match about the win, "We were called a small club yesterday. Today we are the biggest in Asia."
The next match for the Champions of Asia is against the Wellington Phoenix, on Friday the 7th of November.
Edited by mack
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