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The Western Sydney Wanderers put themselves into a position of hope after defeating Kawasaki Frontale.
There are more questions than answers at this stage of the season, and that’s something to be excited about in the Wanderers’ camp.
After a fairytale first season of existence, the test was always going to come when the Western Sydney Wanderers came up against adversity and whether the club’s fans would stay in a fickle Sydney sports market.
This match elevated the Wanderers clear into second place in the Asian Champions League group H. Kawasaki, as a result of the loss, sit in third on three points.
Kawasaki coach, Yahiro Kazama obviously believes things aren’t over. When questioned about his side’s return of three points in three games he responded, “We didn’t execute but we have two home matches coming and we definitely need to win these matches.”
Their very next home match will, coincidentally, be against the Wanderers side that beat them tonight. Kazama is betting the side he fields at home will not allow the Wanderers to defend a one goal lead for 87 minutes.
Ascension from Group H is no certainty yet for the Wanderers, but there will be hope. Among players, coaches and fans will be a feeling the best results are still out there this year.
10 points is usually enough for qualification, so the Wanderers need to find a win and a draw out of the next three games, which include trips to Kawasaki as well as Ulsan Hyundai.
The interesting thing about this win was the manner in which it was executed – almost to a tee how the win in China came about and how Tony Popovic probably envisioned the loss to Ulsan Hyundai might end up as well.
When Ulsan visited, the Wanderers scored after 46 seconds, but defensive mistakes – egregious ones – plagued the side on the way to a 3-1 loss against a team in the final stages of their offseason. Those defensive issues dogged the team for the next few weeks in the A-League as well, leading to losses against Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC.
However, on Wednesday night last week, the Wanderers scored away to Guizhou Renhe – although in only the 19th minute – with a team made up of largely second-stringers and managed to avoid any fatal mistakes, especially the type of gifts being offered the last few weeks.
The game against Adelaide United on the weekend was the perfect tune-up for the ACL clash with Kawasaki. United dominated possession and territory but the Wanderers returned to the same compact formation that served them well in mid-week – and if we’re honest, all of last year too.
Suddenly the Wanderers were playing a true counter-attacking game and relying on their sturdy defence to win matches.
Against United, the difference they were defending a draw. Against Kawasaki the early dash forward by Kwabena Appiah, splitting open the defence for Tomi Juric to toe past the keeper to the waiting Labinot Haliti for the finish, was the difference, giving a one-goal lead to defend.
From the third minute on, the Wanderers dashed around the field like a team that was hoping. Hoping their effort would be rewarded another time. Hoping the many players selected by Popovic as a result of their China exploits would be able to keep the ball-dominating Kawasaki attack at bay.
This time they did.
As it relates to the A-League and the urgent rush to finish in the top two, there is hope as well.
Appiah, one of the hardest working and most relentless during his time on the pitch, hesitated when I asked him if the team could finish in the top two as well as progress in the ACL, “Uhhh… we’re certainly good enough. So I guess we’ll be put to the test.”
That isn’t a confident declaration; it’s a player living in the hope they have what it takes. As good as Appiah was, he knows he’s got a long way to go himself and there’s a lot of water to pass under the bridge before the Wanderers can call this season a success.
And that’s OK.
The ACL is tough, playing in that while trying to succeed in the A-League is hard. Nothing is a given. Hope will encourage the players to work harder.
Popovic is aware of how tough this is. He’s picking players like Antony Golec, Daniel Mullen, Jason Trifiro and Tomi Juric, who haven’t played much in months. hoping they’ll gell together and work for the team.
He praised Juric, saying, “him playing 90 minutes tonight was crazy, but unfortunately we had to leave him out there.”
On the toughness of the game, he mentioned they, “rode our luck a bit out there, towards the end especially but we made it difficult for them as well.”
Hope is of course paired with incredibly hard work, the kind that defends a 1-0 lead for 87 minutes.
So, after three ACL matches and 23 A-League fixtures, there’s hope yet for this Wanderers side in both competitions.
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