SYDNEY // Western Sydney Wanderers weathered an “orchestrated” disruption campaign including car crashes and laser beams before upsetting Chinese holders Guangzhou Evergrande in the Asian Champions League, reports said Thursday.
Australian newspapers claimed players were woken by people knocking on their doors and ringing their hotel phones throughout the night before the match in southern China.
Despite the incidents, the debutants sent the deep-pocketed champions and tournament favourites crashing out on away goals over their two-legged quarter-final, in one of the competition’s great shocks.
The Daily Telegraph said the Wanderers were involved in two traffic accidents on the way to Guangzhou’s Tianhe stadium.
“A car scraped the side of the team bus, forcing them to brake hard and a bus containing 20 tourists travelling behind rammed into them,” the newspaper said.
“Players and officials had to get into a support bus, but minutes later two cars smashed into each other and further delayed the team in an orchestrated plan to upset the Sydney team,” it added.
The newspaper said during the match Wanderers players had laser beams shone into their eyes from home fans, while bottles were also thrown from the stands.
Guangzhou won Wednesday’s second leg 2-1 but the Wanderers reached the semis on away goals following their 1-0 victory in Sydney last week.
Guangzhou coach Marcello Lippi received a touchline ban after storming onto the pitch in Sydney to complain about two late red cards.
On the Wanderers’ arrival in Guangzhou, home fans at the airport held up placards warning players against diving, in reference to the incidents in Sydney.
The result was particularly surprising given Guangzhou’s exalted financial status compared with the Wanderers, a club which is only two years old and has a salary cap of Aus$2.5 million (Dh8.6m).
“The wealthiest club in Asia will cry poor and feel robbed but ultimately they were let down by themselves over the course of a tie where everything conspired against them,” the Sydney Morning Herald said.
“They are the reigning Asian champions who are accustomed to winning, yet here they stumbled against a team built on a fraction of their budget, a team that didn’t exist when this incredible run began.”
Tony Popovic, the coach of Western Sydney Wanderers, saluted his side after they survived the late onslaught by Guangzhou.
A relieved Popovic said: “I feel very good and proud of my team. They have done a great job by showing resilience and fighting spirit.
“This was a very tough match for us. We travelled a long way to be here and we are exhausted. But we overcame all the difficulties and I am very proud.”
Guangzhou and their Italian coach Marcello Lippi were left to lament a number of missed chances, ending their hopes of retaining the title.
Lippi had to watch from the stands after he was provisionally suspended by the AFC for angrily confronting Emirati referee Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohammed at the end of the first leg after Gao Lin and Zhang Linpeng were sent off in the 1-0 loss.
Brazilian forward Elkeson missed the best chance in the goalless first half to get his side back on level terms when his penalty was saved by Ante Covic in the Wanderers goal, after he had been brought down by Italian Iacopo La Rocca.
The Chinese side continued to press after the interval, but it was the visitors who snatched the lead with a penalty after Mark Bridge broke free and lofted the ball over onrushing keeper Zeng Cheng, who took out the forward.
Juric stepped up to calmly show Elkeson how it should be done by firing his 56th-minute spot kick low and hard into the bottom corner.
The goal should have killed the tie, but Guangzhou pulled level on the night two minutes later to give their fans hope when Diamanti smashed a flick down into the corner of the net to bring the Chinese within two goals of going through.
However, they could only find one more score, through Elkeson in stoppage time, and it was too little, too late.
Meanwhile, in a goalless draw, Seoul managed to advance, thanks to some heady play in goal.
Seoul's hero was keeper Yu Sang-hun, who saved all three penalties he faced in the shoot-out against Pohang Steelers after the sides had finished scoreless, just as they had done the week before.
Pohang captain Hwang Ji-soo, Kim Jae-sung and Park Hee-chul were the three players to miss.
Choi Yong-soo, the Seoul coach, said: “This is my best experience as a coach. Our eagerness helped us win and we will keep playing our way in the future.
“After 70 minutes, I felt Pohang were thinking about extra-time and penalties, so we tried to score. But overall, what is important is the result. I told the players before the penalties to believe in themselves, because we had a good preparation.”
sports@thenational.ae
Follow our sports coverage on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
