Wet, wet, wet: Cruz Azul’s Gerardo Flores, left, and Western Sydney Wanderers’ Seyi Adeleke challenge for the ball. Photo: AP
RABAT: The Western Sydney Wanderers’ dream date with Real Madrid in the semi-final of the Club World Cup has fallen agonisingly short after they controversially bowed out to Mexican side Cruz Azul 3-1 in extra time.
With only two minutes to play at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, the Wanderers were leading 1-0 and seemingly on their way to victory when the game was turned on its head by a penalty for a tackle by Shannon Cole on Marco Fabian. Mexican football icon Gerardo Torrado converted from the spot, sending the match to extra time.
The Wanderers were already down to 10 men by that stage, having had defender Matthew Spiranovic sent off with 17 minutes to play. IIn extra time, they went down to nine men when Nikolai Topor-Stanley was sent off for a second yellow card – although his first yellow card was a case of complete mistaken identity.
That original yellow card should have gone to Seyi Adeleke for a foul in the first half but it was given to Topor-Stanley, who was at least 20 metres from the incident. It was a shocking display of incompetence from Ivory Coast referee Noumandiez Doue.
Short on numbers, the Wanderers inevitably conceded twice in extra time. First through a goal-mouth scramble that allowed Argentinian Mariano Pavone to tap home, with another penalty to Torrado making sure there would be no last-gasp heroics for the Wanderers.
It is now the Mexicans who will take on Real Madrid this week, while the Wanderers will have to content themselves with a play-off for fifth place against against ES Setif, defeated 1-0 by Auckland City at the same venue earlier in the evening.
Instead of earning $2.4 million from their trip to Morocco – which they would have made for getting to the semi-final – the Wanderers walk away with half of that, with a small percentage of that being distributed among the players.
While the Wanderers were given virtually no chance by experts going into the match, the horrendous conditions turned the surface – which was already poor – into a something of a shallow pond. Rain had begun pouring steadily during the Auckland City-ES Setif match in the hours before and only grew stronger as the night wore on.
Attempts to pass the ball were thwarted by enormous puddles – almost small dams in some parts of the field – and it appeared at one point as though the match was at risk of being called off. Players repeatedly collided with each other at speed, creating a potentially dangerous situation. There was even talk of the game being postponed.
While the night will be remembered for its controversy, the honest trust is that the most basic of skills were impossible to execute. Dribbling in particular brought players undone, and after one botched clearance, which sliced off his boot, Spiranovic upturned his palms and looked to the heavens. But there would be no respite from above.
The Wanderers players were furious just before the main break when a Mark Bridge corner ended up making its way to Labinot Haliti, who appeared to score. However, with replays hardly confirming why, the referee to blew his whistle for a foul by Topor-Stanley.
Cruz Azul dodged a bullet was shortly after half-time when Nikita Rukavytsya was brought down inside the box, only for the referee to wave play on. At the other end, Topor-Stanley would be given wrongful yellow for Seyi Adeleke’s foul on Pavone.
Crucially, Spiranovic would save his side’s bacon shortly after when Ante Covic left his line but was left stranded, allowing Pavone a perfect chance to open the scoring. But the Socceroos defender’s desperate lunge kept the game scoreless as the hour mark ticked by.
That would give the Wanderers a chance to sneak a break. La Rocca’s splendid effort gave them exactly that.
Hearts were in mouths when Spiranovic was eventually sent off, reducing the Wanderers to 10 men for the match’s finale. From the resulting free-kick, Ante Covic made a spectacular save from a Christian Giménez free kick, tipping the ball onto the post.
source: smh.com.au
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