(Reuters) – Western Sydney Wanderers coach Marko Rudan called on the club’s fans to throw their support behind his team after the former Asian champions secured a spot in the A-League’s end-of-season finals on Saturday for the first time since 2017.
Western Sydney’s 2-1 win over 10-man Melbourne Victory guarantees Rudan’s side will finish in the top six places in the A-League standings, earning them a berth in the playoffs that begin next month.
“I’m really happy for everybody involved in the football club. It’s been a gigantic effort by everybody involved,” said Rudan after Amor Layouni’s 81st minute winner at Western Sydney Stadium.
“I thought we played some good stuff and really good football. Sometimes it’s hard to play against 10 men and we created chances, got the goal. Deserved the victory.”
Formed in 2012, the club have yet to win the A-League title but overcame the odds to become the first Australian outfit to claim the Asian Champions League in 2014.
In recent years the Wanderers, one of the best supported teams in the country, have failed to build on an early run of success that saw them finish runners-up in the domestic competition three times in four seasons.
Their last appearance in the playoffs came in 2017, when they were eliminated in the first round, and Rudan wants the club’s passionate supporter base to reconnect with his team after years in the doldrums.
“I encourage all our fans to come and fill this stadium up,” said Rudan. “These players are playing some great football and it’s been a long time.
“Maybe they lost trust in this football club and the team. I understand that. But it’s not (the players’) fault. They’ve come in here and we’ve flipped the whole thing around and they deserve a lot more than they’re getting at the stadium.
“The players and everyone involved deserve to fill this place up, and hopefully it’s not just for finals. We want to build something going forward.
“As far as I’m concerned this is just the start.”
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Tom Hogue)
