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The Reds and Sky Blues look good, but what about the Wanderers?

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7th October, 2018
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Adelaide United will host Sydney FC in the 2018 FFA Cup Final, but what does their semi-final defeat mean for the Western Sydney Wanderers?

Adelaide’s 2-0 win over Victorian state league side Bentleigh Greens was as predictable as it was entertaining, with last year’s FFA Cup runners-up ultimately having too much class for the battlers from Bentleigh.

It wasn’t as though Bentleigh didn’t have their chances, and had Matt Thurtell buried that volley with less three minutes on the clock, the complexion of the game might have looked very different.

By the time George Blackwood danced his way to the byline – having already missed a glorious chance of his own – the writing looked on the wall for the hosts.

Paul Izzo had already got down to make a smart save from Chris Lucas by the time Blackwood cut the ball back for an unmarked Ben Halloran to finish off his first goal in Adelaide colours.

And when Jordan Elsey side-footed home after Bentleigh goalkeeper Ryan Scott could only parry an Isaias free-kick into the defender’s path, the Reds were home and hosed.

Nikola Mileusnic for Adelaide United

(AAP Image/David Crosling)

It was a routine win from a side making a name for themselves as cup specialists, and the fact that the final will be played at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide is an obvious advantage for the Reds.

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Having been denied the right to host last year’s final, it would have been a travesty if the decider was hosted in Sydney for the second year in a row – even if this year the location was decided by a draw instead of on a whim.

The fact is that Coopers Stadium will be packed for the visit of the defending champions, although the Tuesday night kick-off makes it difficult for away fans to attend what is intended to be a showpiece occasion.

That’s half the problem with the FFA Cup.

It’s supposed to be this prestigious event modelled on historic competitions like the FA Cup, yet a lot of the decision-making behind it – from playing in midweek to forcing lower-league sides to host games in neutral venues – lend it the air of glorified park football.

At any rate, the final will be a fiercely contested clash between two sides with little regard for each other – but what do we make of Western Sydney’s performance?

Just as in the first semi-final, had Oriol Riera chosen to shoot instead of square the ball to Roly Bonevacia early on – allowing Rhyan Grant to make a goal-saving tackle – the game might have panned out very differently for the Wanderers.

Oriol Riera

(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

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And not for the first time, one-time Wanderers goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne looked determined to keep his former club at bay.

But if the Wanderers looked impressive enough in the first half, their second half was nothing short of a disaster.

If Sydney FC midfielder Siem de Jong can stay fit throughout the campaign, he will have the same sort of impact Adrian Mierzejewski had last season.

But while Western Sydney’s German import Alexander Baumjohann huffed and puffed for the Wanderers at a well-attended Penrith Stadium, he didn’t quite have the same influence on the game as his Dutch counterpart.

Perhaps things would have been different if Josh Risdon hadn’t butchered a one-on-one with Redmayne on the hour mark.

But when de Jong curled a stunning free-kick over the wall and beyond a flailing Danijel Nizic, it was game over.

Does that spell problems for new Wanderers coach Markus Babbel? His club – and in particular skipper Brendan Hamill – talked a big game in the build-up to the derby.

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Are the Wanderers any better this season than they were last year? Time will tell.

But there’s little doubt it’s not the start to the season Babbel was hoping for.

It’s how they end it that really counts – but it won’t be with an FFA Cup trophy.

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