Wanderers will have to weather Al-Hilal storm in final showdown

RIYADH: Captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley believes Australia’s Western Sydney Wanderers will have to “weather the storm” in Saturday’s AFC Champions League final second leg against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal at the King Fahd International Stadium to claim a historic maiden continental title.
The two-time A-League Grand Finalists have arrived in Riyadh ahead of the decisive return fixture in possession of a one-goal advantage from last weekend’s first leg after substitute Tomi Juric netted just after the hour mark at Parramatta Stadium.
But with a sold-out crowd of close to 70,000 expected at the King Fahd International Stadium on Saturday, two-time Asian champions Al-Hilal will look to overturn that deficit having won their last five home games in the AFC Champions League without conceding a goal.
“I am excited. We are 90 minutes away from being champions of Asia,” said Topor-Stanley after Western Sydney arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday morning following a journey of over 16 hours via Dubai.
“We have worked extremely hard to get here and we really want to seize this opportunity to put in a good performance, and the right result should follow that.
“They are a very good team and we know that. We will be playing in front of a pretty hostile atmosphere which I am sure they will live for, so we have to be ready for that and no matter what, stick together as a team and perform on our own right.
“We are expecting more of the same from them. They will be lifted by their home crowd support, but as long as we can weather the storm and we have identified some areas we need to improve as we feel like we weren’t at our best at home, we will be fine.” Juric had been a doubt for Saturday’s first leg due to groin injury, but stepped off the bench to net the only goal four minutes after the hour mark as the striker slid home Antony Golec’s cross from the edge of the six-yard.
And after fellow Australia international Matthew Spiranovic also made a first appearance since the FIFA World Cup following ankle surgery, coach Tony Popovic is expected to have a fully fit squad to choose from for the second leg with striker Brendon Santalab also available despite leaving Parramatta Stadium following the first leg with his arm in a sling after dislocating his shoulder.
“As far as I know everyone who is here is available, so that is a good thing and a good problem for the manager to have, and anyone who gets chosen to play knows their role and the capacity they have to do that,” added Topor-Stanely, who returned to the Australia side for the friendly with Qatar in Doha earlier this month.
“We have put last week’s result behind us and we are not thinking about that, we are thinking about winning this game. We will just go out there and be as strong as possible and make life hard for them and frustrate them and an away goal, or two, or three would be great.” Western Sydney have already claimed the scalps of J.League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima, defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande and 2013 finalists FC Seoul en route to the final in what has already been an eye-catching maiden AFC Champions League campaign.
And victory following Saturday’s second leg would complete an amazing story for the A-League’s newest club, who have already won the domestic Premiership as well as reached two Grand Finals in just over two years of existence.
The most recent, a 2-1 extra-time defeat by Brisbane Roar in May which was played three days before their AFC Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie with Hiroshima, saw Topor-Stanley damage medial ligaments in his knee midway through the second half with Western Sydney leading thanks to Spiranovic’s opener just before the hour mark.
And with midfielder Iacopo La Rocca forced to drop into central defense to fill the void, Brisbane eventually prevailed in extra-time.
The injury, which saw the defender miss the Round of 16 success over Hiroshima, also ruined Topor-Stanley’s chances of being called up to Australia’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“I am not going to lie and say we thought we would reach two A-League Grand Finals and a Champions League final in two and a half years, but the mentality from day one has been to be winners,” said Topor-Stanley, who has scored once in eight AFC Champions League appearances this season.
“We hold ourselves to a high standard consistently and that is hard to do.” Fellow A-League side Adelaide United reached the 2008 AFC Champions League final, but lost 5-0 on aggregate to Gamba Osaka having conceded three goals in the first leg in Japan.
“I think people have started to cotton on what this means for Australian football, especially in the last few rounds when we have played against some World Cup winning coaches and massive players from teams who have huge resources and people are starting to get the picture,” added former Perth Glory and Sydney FC defender Topor-Stanley.
“If we do this and we do win, it will put Australian football in a higher regard than it has been recently. This is a huge opportunity for the club as well as the whole nation.”