Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Matthew Spiranovic’s brief cameo at the end of Western Sydney Wanderers’ AFC Champions League final first leg success over Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal at the weekend marked a first competitive outing for the Australia defender since the FIFA World Cup, although all will be forgotten should the A-League side land the continental title on Saturday in Riyadh.
Centre-back Spiranovic was ever-present for Australia in Brazil having enjoyed a stand-out debut season with Western Sydney joining Tony Popovic’s side in October 2013 following spells in Germany, Japan and Qatar.
But since undergoing ankle surgery shortly after returning from South America, the 26-year-old had been sidelined until making his return at Parramatta Stadium at the weekend to ensure Western Sydney held onto their one-goal advantage ahead of Saturday’s decisive second leg at King Fahd Stadium.
“It was fantastic to be back playing. It has been a tough, long road, but to make my comeback in a Champions League final with that crowd was a great feeling,” said Spiranovic, who missed the knockout stage successes over China’s Guangzhou Evergrande and Korea Republic’s FC Seoul after undergoing surgery at the end of July.
“It is still early days in my comeback; it was just good to get a few minutes in the legs.
“I feel like I am getting stronger and fitter every day and we are all looking forward to the second leg in Saudi Arabia.”
With Spiranovic watching on, Western Sydney survived everything a slick Al Hilal side had to throw at the home side until substitute Tomi Juric, himself making a return from an injury lay-off, slid home Antony Golec’s cross four minutes after the hour mark.
Spiranovic was then introduced with a quarter of an hour remaining to help Western Sydney hold onto their crucial advantage which Popovic’s side did despite several nervous moments in the closing stages.
“We showed immense character and fought very hard. We had to dig deep as they are a quality side with good players and we are just happy with the 1-0 win,” added Spiranovic.
“We didn’t do ourselves any favours in the first half, but the second half was different and we controlled the game a bit better with a little bit more possession and got ourselves in the game as in the first half we were on the back foot. But in the second half we started to ask them some questions and Tomi came on and scored a great goal for us.”
Western Sydney’s trip to Riyadh represents a first foray into the West of Asia for an Australian side in the AFC Champions League, although Popovic’s side did spend just under two weeks in Dubai earlier this year as part of their build up to the new A-League season.
That, though, will do little to prepare Western Sydney for what is expected to be a hostile atmosphere at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, with a sell-out crowd of close to 70,000 expected as Al Hilal seek a record-equalling third continental title.
“We know what to expect both on and off the park. It is a lot of travelling and it is going to be testing conditions over there, but we had a good preparation with a tough nine days in pre-season in Dubai so we know what we are getting ourselves into and hopefully that will put us in good stead,” said Spiranovic.
“An away goal would be massive as that would mean they would need to get three, but we are just going to play our game and when we go there it is 0-0 as we want to lift the trophy at the end of the 90 minutes.
“I am sure it is going to be a huge atmosphere as their supporters will come out in big numbers, but on the way to this final we have overcome similar hurdles and tough opposition in very tough footballing environments.”
Photo: WSG