When Adelaide United and the Western Sydney Wanderers clash on Sunday, both sides will be desperate for an elusive grand final victory.
Both teams are hungry for victory on the biggest day of the A-League calendar, having both been there twice before and neither having won. The past losses still rankle within the clubs and both sides will want nothing more to make it up to their committed fans by lifting the Golden Toilet Seat.
No matter who wins on Sunday, it will complete a remarkable turnaround. Both sides have experienced the dizzy heights and the depressing lows the A-League has to offer over the last year. Adelaide United were rooted to the bottom of the table until round nine of this season, before embarking on an incredible run which saw them claim the Premiers’ Plate on the final day of the season. This has been repeated ad nauseam for the last month or so, but only because it is a comeback Lazarus himself would be proud of.
In the midst of the Wanderers’ brilliant season, it is easy to forget they spent the entirety of last season occupying the bottom two spots on the ladder. They narrowly avoided the Wooden Spoon and there was pressure to remove Tony Popovic as coach. But he stayed on, rebuilt the squad, and took Western Sydney back to the top of the league.
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The fact both clubs’ main rivals have enjoyed multiple Grand Final wins just adds to the hunger for victory. Despite both clubs’ proud achievements, both domestically and abroad, to some extent they are forced to live in the shadows cast over them by the championship wins of their mortal enemies. Not only did Melbourne Victory claim two of their trophies over their bitter rivals from South Australia, they added another championship last year. For all the Reds’ success, their lack of a championship is something held over them by the Victory.
Likewise, while the Wanderers may have been the champions of Asia in just their second season of existence, Sydney FC fans love to point out they have yet to win a domestic championship. While winning on Sunday will not immediately square the ledger for either club, it will go a long way to shutting their noisy neighbours up, at least temporarily.
Adelaide’s two appearances in the big dance came in the A-League’s formative years and unfortunately, neither hold happy memories for Reds fans. They were memorably destroyed 6-0 by an Archie Thompson and Fred-inspired Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium in a game which also saw their captain Ross Aloisi sent off.
Two years later, they returned to the scene of the crime and while there was no repeat of the previous thrashing, they still left Victoria empty handed. An early red card to Cristiano set them back early, before Tom Pondeljak’s second half goal consigned them to another grand final loss. While they won the inaugural FFA Cup last season, Adelaide will be desperate to claim the one piece of silverware which has eluded them in the A-League so far.
The fact this is Western Sydney’s third grand final in just their fourth year of existence is nothing short of incredible. However, they will be hoping Sunday has a much happier ending than the previous two. Their fans were hopeful of doing the league and finals double in their debut season after a 13-game unbeaten run, but they met their match against the Central Coast Mariners on the big day. Goals to Patrick Zwaanswijk and Daniel McBreen ended their incredible season on a negative note, but it would not take long for them to reach a second grand final.
The following year, they went to Brisbane and took the lead through a Matthew Spiranovic header and looked on course for victory. However, Besart Berisha sent the game into extra time and Henrique stepped up to break Wanderers’ hearts. After a poor season last year, Western Sydney will be hoping it is a case of third time lucky.
No matter who wins, the A-League will have a first time champion. One who, despite league and Asian success, has never tasted victory on the last Sunday of the season. Both teams have passionate fan bases and deserve to be in the final, yet only one team will be able to finally add the missing jewel to their crown.
It is part of what makes this final so exciting: two teams in great form, desperate to finally win the championship and earse the pain of their last two grand final appearances.
And nobody can wait for it.
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