Western Sydney Wanderers are half way towards an historical Asian Champions League title after defeating Al Hilal 1-0 in the first leg of the final at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night. Tomi Juric’s second half strike, after coming off the bench, gave the Wanderers an all-important lead before the away leg in Riyadh next week, but it was once again their defensive resoluteness which put them in such a position.
Western Sydney survived a first-minute scare when Al Hilal broke in behind on the left after Tiago Neves slid a pass through to left winger Salman Al Faraj. Al Faraj’s dangerously delivered cross forced a clearance from Antony Golec and despite Al Hilal’s attempts for an early goal, Western Sydney stood strong and thwarted their every chance.
It has been said that Western Sydney’s defensive set up is reminiscent of the opening sequence of Get Smart. If a team is able to get past Western Sydney’s front two, who work diligently to make it difficult for the opposition defenders to pass into midfield, they are faced by two physical and combative central midfielders in Iacopo La Rocca and Mateo Poljak. Bypass that pair, and Western Sydney’s quickly retreating low block defence, and the opponent must get past the towering backline of Daniel Mullen (187cm), Brendan Hamill (184cm), Nikolai Topor-Stanley (191cm) and Antony Golec (194cm). Protecting the back four is one final obstacle: Ante Covic – a goalkeeper who, despite his 39 years of age, is in career-best form.
In this defensive system, each and every Wanderers player plays a vital role. As has been the case since the club started, they defend as a compact 4-4-2 defensive block, making themselves difficult to break down before regaining possession and surging forward on the counter attack.
There is nothing complicated about how Western Sydney defend, but it is the system’s simplicity that allows each player to understand their role. This consistency makes the Wanderers so hard to break down.
Against Al Hilal, as they have done throughout the Champions League campaign, Western Sydney set up their defensive block just behind half way and looked to soak up pressure before winning back possession and breaking quickly into the space behind the opponent who has pushed forward in possession. It is the system coach Tony Popovic has used since day one, although they do press higher against A-League opponents and it has enabled them to maintain an outstanding defensive record on their first forays into Asia – they have kept nine clean sheets in their 13 Asian Champions League games.
In the first half, as Al Hilal looked to grab an early away goal, Western Sydney struggled to construct attacks under the pressure applied by their opponents. But because they focus first on remaining solid at the back, before springing on the counter attack, the fact that the Wanderers only saw 34 per cent of the ball would not have been of much bother.
What would have been of more concern was their inability to construct decent counter attacking opportunities, particularly before the introduction of Juric. Western Sydney’s best chance in transition came in the 11th minute when only a heavy first touch prevented Labinot Haliti from having a goal scoring opportunity.
The phase of play started when Western Sydney’s compact 4-4-2 block, set up just behind half way, slid across the pitch as the ball moved from right to left. Right winger Shannon Cole applied pressure on the ball carrier, left back Abdulla Al Dossary, and La Rocca closed down his nearest option in Al Faraj. La Rocca was then able to regain possession which was the cue for Brendon Santalab, Mark Bridge and Haliti to immediately race forward and look to stretch the Al Hilal defence. With just two passes, Western Sydney had gone from defending to nearly breaking through on the edge of the Al Hilal box.
But such moments were few and far between and the Wanderers had to rely on their defensive solidity to avoid going behind in the contest. Popovic turned to his bench and brought on gun striker Juric, who scored the eventual winner against the run of play and almost doubled his tally just minutes later.
It proven to be a crucial goal, with last line Covic making some crucial saves at the end of the match to preserve a 1-0 win as Western Sydney head to Al Hilal’s King Fahd Stadium. If they are to clinch the Asian Champions League crown, against all the odds, Western Sydney’s defence will have to be as resolute as ever.
