Wanderers get a lesson from Ulsan Hyundai in Asian Champions League

Fog descends: Kim Shin Wook of Ulsan Hyandai celebrates his goal during the AFC Asian Champions League match against the Wanderers. Photo: Joosep Martinson
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Despite scoring the fastest goal in their history, the Western Sydney Wanderers were taught a brutal lesson in Asian football by Ulsan Hyundai at Parramatta Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Wanderers seemed on track for a glorious induction to the Asian Champions League when Brendon Santalab blasted home just 42 seconds after kickoff but the joy proved all too fleeting.

The Korean visitors systematically unpicked the Wanderers’ style and it was impossible not to be impressed. For all the giant strides of Australian club football, Asia’s best has a habit of making our teams look second rate.

While it wasn’t as one sided as the night before – Central Coast being squeezed like a pneumatic pump for 90 minutes in Seoul – the gulf in class was just as evident.

But some context is worth acknowledging. This is the same Ulsan who won the tournament two years ago and were pipped to the K-League title, perhaps Asia’s second-best league, on the final day of last season.

Now the Wanderers’ next match, away to Chinese side Guizhou Renhe, suddenly has a lot more riding on it given the need to win one’s home matches.

Yet there was a great sense of anticipation before kickoff, not least because Western Sydney promised to embrace the tournament as few other Australians clubs have. They made good on their word from kick-off.

They were ahead inside a minute, with the club’s designated Asian player, Shinji Ono, reminding why he was once considered the continent’s top talent.

Receiving the ball 30 yards out, Ono improvised magnificently to flick the ball between two defenders into space for Santalab, who let the ball bounce before rifling home a superb volley.

But if that rattled the Koreans early, they didn’t show it. They quickly set about putting their natural game into motion: a passing machine, driven by crisp, smart interchanges, moving forward and then finding space wide.

Ulsan were happy to play wide because the presence of 196-centimetre Kim Shin-Wook made for an unmistakable threat from inbound crosses. His attacking partner, Brazilian Rafinha, nearly equalised from close range after a splendid move but goalkeeper Ante Covic threw his body in the way.

Youssouf Hersi might have doubled the Wanderers’ lead had he not blasted over and they were made to pay soon after when Kim Shin-Wook scored – but not with his head. Left unmarked as the ball sprung in his direction, the giant striker prodded the ball through a cloud of smoke from a nearby flare into the bottom-right corner.

The frustration of conceding was getting to the Wanderers, with Ono launching a rogue tackle on Kim Young-Sam that led to a yellow card.

The rain turned from a drizzle into a torrent as the half wore on, seemingly suiting the visitors, whose ball handling was a class apart.

Ko Chang-Hyun put the visitors in front on the brink of half-time with an angled shot that skidded across the crowded the penalty box and past Covic.

While the Wanderers had 53 percent of possession in the first half, most of that was contained at the back – the players wondering how they would play through the two rock-solid blue banks of numbers ahead of them.

So they pushed up in the second half, hoping to break the Korean resistance. A couple of times they nearly did – and were unlucky to have a shout for handball turned down from a Mark Bridge effort.

But the visitors defended comfortable, and generally knew they had the hosts’ measure. It was no surprise when they added a third on 66 minutes.

Iacopo La Rocca was already enduring a tough night in holding midfield by the time he failed to clear an incoming ball that fell to Kang Min-Soo and the defender blasted home to send the 500-strong travelling fans into raptures. It was no less than they deserved.
source: smh.com.au