Lead at half-time, win grand final

IF Western Sydney Wanderers are ahead at half-time in the grand final, they might as well be handed the trophy.

That’s the conclusion many will reach after running through the must-have A-League grand final stats package presented by the team at Fox Sports Stats.

While Brisbane’s record after leading at the break is not too shabby, the Wanderers’ is impeccable. Find out exactly how good it is in our stats review below.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Suncorp Stadium will always hold a special place in the history of the Wanderers, as it was the site of the club’s first ever goal and victory in the A-League, coming in round four last season.

The Wanderers ended up winning all four clashes against the Roar in their inaugural campaign (three regular season matches plus a semi-final), becoming the first team to achieve such a feat against Brisbane.

However their fortunes reversed this season, with Brisbane winning the first clash back in round seven while the two most recent clashes ended in 1-1 draws.

If this trend continues then Western Sydney will be hard pressed to get a positive result out of Sunday’s grand final.

Western Sydney’s Tomi Juric will do battle with Matt Smith in the grand final. Picture: Damian Shaw. Source: News Corp Australia

TEAM STATS

With both teams possessing water-right defences, don’t expect the decider to be a goal-fest.

Brisbane conceded a league-low 25 goals in the regular season, while Western Sydney weren’t far behind after only letting goalkeeper Ante Covic get beaten 29 times.

The Roar’s impressive defensive unit is also the only one not to have conceded more than two goals in a match throughout the season.

But in terms of defensive consistency, it’s hard to go past Western Sydney’s record over the two seasons of its existence.

With Tony Popovic ensuring his team stays well organised at the back from kick-off until the full-time whistle, the Wanderers have managed to concede in the opening 20 minutes of matches just four times in their entire history. Three of those goals were scored by Brisbane.

HALF-TIME

Here’s where things get really interesting.

Both sides have quite remarkable records when it comes to maintaining a half-time lead. Western Sydney may have only existed as a club for a couple of seasons, but to have gone that entire time without losing a match after leading at the break is simply astounding. Of the 21 occasions they’ve led at the break, the Wanderers have won 19 and drawn two.

However, Brisbane isn’t very far behind in this category. The Roar have won 31 of 34 home games when leading at half-time, drawing two and losing just one.

Once again there’s a sting in the tail of that stat, with the one defeat coming at the hands of Western Sydney back in January 2012 after second-half goals from Mark Bridge and Youssouf Hersi.

A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL HISTORY

The omens aren’t great for Brisbane when it comes to being able to add the Championship trophy to the Premiers Plate.

Only half of the A-League grand finals have been won by the side that finished first in the regular season, with the Roar that last team to do the double back in 2011.

But the news isn’t all bad for Brisbane, with five of the six teams to have played the decider on their home turf emerging victorious. Sydney FC is the only club to have won the grand final on the road, beating Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium in 2010.

If the Roar do emerge victorious, they’ll make history as the first club to win the A-League grand final three times.

History of a different kind will be created by the Wanderers if they surge to victory at Suncorp Stadium, as they’ll become the sixth different club to win the grand final in the A-League’s nine-year history.

The band is back together for a grand final edition of the Fox Football Podcast — with a few special guests dropping in as well. Adam Peacock, Simon Hill and Brenton Speed are in the studio, where they are joined by Wanderers fanatic Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson, who dropped by for a chat too, and on the line by Brisbane Roar defender Jade North. Daniel Garb is on deck again to talk Mourinho, Liverpool, City and all things EPL & Socceroos.

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