A rather sparse looking Red and Black Bloc (RBB) braved the terrible conditions to support their side in an almost impossible task - beating the Sky Blues at 'Fortress Allianz' for the very last time.

So when Oriol Riera gave the Wanderers an unlikely lead, you could forgive a little over-excitement. Lighting two flares, however, is another matter.

Football Federation Australia's (FFA) punishment for flares has been relatively inconsistent. $50,000 fines, three-point deducations, year-long good behaviour bonds have all been used in the past, for various circumstances. Sometimes they're ignored entirely. 

But to make the current situation more interesting, most of those punishments were made when FFA wasn't in a struggle for its life, desperately trying to negotiate with vitriolic clubs, fed up after years of seemingly being ignored.

Fans, meanwhile, are turning away in droves, with A-League average attendances and television ratings plummeting this season. Sydney FC and Western Sydney are two of the worst affected. 

Whether these and other factors have any influence over FFA's impending decision is unclear. More immediately, Wanderers' CEO John Tsatsimas has his own choice to make. 

Last July he threatened to shut down the "rogue element" of the RBB if any "illegal and highly dangerous" incidents occurred.