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There must surely have been some happy punters who backed Shinji Ono to score the first goal against Brisbane yesterday. Never mind that it came three minutes from time, Ono finally proved a match winner.
It has taken the former Japan international longer than he would have liked to open his A-League goal scoring account.
But with Aaron Mooy away with the Socceroos, there was always a good chance Ono would make a difference from a set-piece situation.
Interestingly it was not the marquee man but the much-maligned Dino Kresinger who won the penalty which saw Ono side-foot home from the penalty spot.
Kresinger had been jeered by his own supporters when he came on as a substitute but his brute strength proved too much for Roar defender Matt Jurman, who could only stop the big Croat by hauling him down inside the penalty area.
Cue the Wanderers’ marquee man to enjoy his moment in the spotlight as Ono sent Michael Theo the wrong way from the spot to seal a 1-0 victory.
It’s hard to believe so many Wanderers fans criticised Ono’s signing.
Despite coming with a significantly cheaper price tag than Western Sydney’s original target Michael Ballack, it seems Ono arrived with too little of an international profile to satisfy many supporters.
The cynic in me believes the criticism stems not from the fact Ono lacks an international profile or is not of a marquee calibre, but rather because he’s Asian.
At any rate, Ono displayed his skills just two minutes before the goal, skipping past two defenders before driving a skidding strike just wide with his weaker left foot.
He then kept his composure to beat Theo from eleven metres and send Western Sydney into the top six.
It’s just a pity so few fans were on hand to witness it.
Only 6,755 supporters were in attendance at Parramatta Stadium in an area which is supposed to represent football’s ‘heartland.’
It begs the question of how many will turn up across town for the Sydney derby at Allianz Stadium next week given that the Sky Blues are currently bottom of the ladder.
It probably helps that both Western Sydney and Sydney FC won at the weekend, but if Alessandro Del Piero doesn’t play, it could spell problems for the Sky Blues at the gate.
And before any Melbourne-based fans pipe up, it should be noted that just 4,505 supporters showed up at AAMI Park for Melbourne Heart’s clash with Perth Glory on Saturday.
It doesn’t help to have some of the league’s best players away on international duty, but quite frankly these are worrying crowds even allowing for the A-League’s traditional mid-season lull.
Hopefully things pick up again during the festive period and the A-League can keep pace with the slickly marketed Big Bash Twenty20 cricket in terms of gates.
Possessing skillful players like Ono helps, arguably moreso than going on an extended winning run.
That’s something the Central Coast Mariners have recently done as they notched up their third win on the trot in the F3 derby against local rivals Newcastle.
The win helped open up a seven-point gap on third-placed Melbourne Victory and already the battle for the Premiership Plate looks like being a two-horse race between the Mariners and Adelaide United.
None of that will matter to Western Sydney Wanderers fans, who are no doubt still celebrating just the club’s second ever home win in the A-League.
There was an element of fortune to it – not least when Mitch Nichols and Shane Stefanutto clattered the woodwork late on – but the Wanderers were due some good luck.
And with their first trip to local rivals Sydney FC just around the corner, Tony Popovic and his team could soon become the top dogs in the city.
They’ll hope their star man Ono can help them stay there.