In front of a packed house at Adelaide Oval, the Reds hammered home the advantage early to lead 2-0 at the break. The Wanderers couldn’t close the deficit, with the home side lifting their first A-League Championship.
A frenzied start from the Reds gave way to a simmering quarter of an hour, in which no team looked particularly threatening.
In the 22nd minute, Stefan Mauk found Marcelo Carrusca on the left wing, with the Argentinian’s cross slicing through the Wanderers’ defence and ricocheting into the net off the boot of Bruce Kamau, sending the pulsating crowd into raptures.
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Just 10 minutes later, Nikolai Topor-Stanley brought down Kamau just outside the box, and from the resultant free-kick, Isaias struck the ball as sweetly as possible to double the Reds’ advantage.
13 minutes after the resumption of play, Romeo Castelen finally found a gap in Adelaide’s defence, and Brendon Santalab tapped his cross into the path of Scott Neville, who scored his first goal for the Wanderers.
The half an hour to follow was a nervy one for Adelaide as the visitors pressed for an equaliser, but Pablo Sanchez sealed victory for the Reds in extra time.
Who stood up on the A-League’s biggest stage?
Bruce Kamau (Adelaide United) – With the hosts looking to set the agenda in front of a passionate home crowd, it was Kamau that pressed early, giving Topor-Stanley plenty of headaches. He couldn’t break through on his own, but got on the end of a perfectly placed Carrusca cross in the 22nd to open the scoring.
Isaias (Adelaide United) – The Reds had the majority of play early, but the Wanderers often broke out on the counter, and it was the Spaniard that halted their run. His mountain of early defensive work was rewarded in the 34th minute, his spot kick rocketing past the outstretched arms of Andrew Redmayne to give his side a 2-0 lead. A worthy recipient of the Joe Marston Medal.
Romeo Castelen (Western Sydney Wanderers) – With the Wanderers settling into a more measured approach to goal after the opening 20 minutes, it was Castelen leading the charge down the right side. He initially struggled to penetrate a tight-knit Reds defence, but shortly after the break found Santalab, who flicked it through for Neville to score. The Dutchman was hurt midway through the second half, but remained his side’s most potent forward.
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