At half-time in the grand final, you're wondering who can pull this one out of the fire for Western Sydney Wanderers. No one, as it happened, although at one stage Scott Neville loomed as the most unlikely saviour. Thus the Adelaide Oval crowd – or at least 90 per cent of the 50,000 who showed up – got what they came for.
The Reds just about deserved their maiden championship. The Wanderers? Near enough, but not quite good enough. Again.
There is no shame in this defeat for Western Sydney, but there is untold joy for Adelaide United in victory. Both clubs had lost two previous grand finals, so it was always going to be a case of third time lucky for someone. But it wasn't luck which got the Reds home, it was the one-percenters.
Slightly more constructive, slightly more productive, slightly more destructive. And when the energy waned, the crowd filled the hearts and strengthened the legs. This will be a popular result everywhere except in Parramatta. On a temperate afternoon in the City of Churches, this was the moment for the Reds to make history. And when it counted most, the home team delivered.
For the Wanderers, the epic semi-final over Brisbane Roar seven days earlier clearly took a toll. Not just physically, but mentally. Tony Popovic didn't accept it, at least publicly. But perhaps he acknowledged it in the sanctity of the dressing room where the game plan was administered.
For the first 20 minutes, it seemed clear the Wanderers intended to slow, or stop, the game at every opportunity. Andrew Redmayne took an eternity for every goal kick, the fullbacks dwelled on throw-ins, professional fouls were conceded at the right end of the pitch. As a tactic for a team needing to build into the game, it was legitimate. But as a message to the opposition, it was fraught.
Adelaide sensed the game was theirs to dictate, and so they capitalised. Goals from Bruce Kamau and Isaias arrived at the perfect time midway through the first half to lay the foundation for victory.
Western Sydney had opportunities - notably a Brendon Santalab header – to change the dynamic before half-time, but couldn't capitalise. During the interval the consensus among the punditry was they couldn't come back. But the Wanderers are made of steel, forged by the iron will of their coach. They were never going to give up without a fight.
Dimas Delgado began to create space to feed the wide areas, Romeo Castelen managed to get the better of Craig Goodwin on a few occasions, Dario Vidosic came off the bench and Mark Bridge shifted into the playmaking role, and suddenly the Wanderers began to penetrate. And when Neville – who scores on average a goal every 20 games – produced a firm volley to halve the deficit, anything seemed possible.
Except, as it turned out, the impossible. A late goal from super sub Pablo Sanchez extinguished the dream. Watching Reds skipper Eugene Galekovic finally get his hands on a championship medal was liberating. Sometimes good guys do finish first.
For the Wanderers, there are lessons in defeat, and you'd imagine Popovic will heed them. With yet another refurbishment of the squad on the way – and plenty of salary cap space to use – there's a need to improve quality in key areas. A reliable goalscorer, a commanding central defender, and a more inventive box-to-box midfielder will sharpen up a squad which next year returns to the Asian Champions League.
Not – sadly for the 7000 fans who made the trip to Adelaide – as champions. The biggest prize in the game has once again eluded them.
