The Wanderers central defender recovered from a poor first half to lead the side's desperate defending in the first leg of its Asian Champions League semi-final. Widely regarded as the Wanderers' best on ground, it was a performance that strengthened his claim to become the permanent club captain following the departure of Michael Beauchamp in the off-season.

Promoted at the expense of Beauchamp last season, Topor-Stanley deputised as the skipper. Now it appears the captaincy is destined to be his in the future. His recent form has matched expectations but he said the role was never his motivation.

"I had a few games under my belt as captain last year so I got used to the fact ... so I've taken it on," Topor-Stanley said.

"It doesn't change my game so much. I've always tried to lead by example on the field but the good thing is we've got plenty of leaders on the field, plenty of senior boys and plenty of young boys that are eager. So as a unit, we're solid."

On the back foot against a five-time national champion and last year's Asian runners-up, Topor-Stanley – in partnership with Brendan Hamill – repelled wave after wave of Seoul attacks. In the absence of injured Socceroo Matthew Spiranovic, the 29-year-old assumed the leadership role in the back line as the most senior defender.

"It's just part and parcel, I'm there to do a job," he said. "I'm there to give the least amount of opportunities to their striker and organise our defensive line. I'm prepared to do whatever I have to do to do that."

The shot count was in favour of the South Korean club but it did not reflect their dominance. They often looked the most dangerous from out wide, with many crosses requiring minimal contact to turn the ball into the net.

Topor-Stanley said his club had not expected to endure such a difficult night in Seoul especially after  playing Guangzhou Evergrande away a fortnight ago.

The climate was better, the environment less hostile, and the opponent of a slightly lesser pedigree – but the Wanderers' rate of errors on a poor playing surface invited Seoul deep into their own half in one of the toughest games of Topor-Stanley's career.

"It was definitely difficult," he said.

"I thought the conditions would suit us better, it was a lot cooler than in Guangzhou. Obviously the atmosphere in Guangzhou was very intimidating and hostile; there was a lot of emotional energy from the weeks transpiring before that.

"They're one of the biggest clubs in Asia, too. It was a very tough game but difficult to compare, but we made it hard on ourselves."

The towering defender assumed responsibility for a clumsy mix-up with Hamill early in the first half that gave Japanese forward Sergio Escudero a chance to break the deadlock.

The two collided while contesting a long ball on the halfway line. Topor-Stanley praised the recovery of Hamill to deny Escudero a goal.

"Not my finest moment," Topor-Stanley said. "I had a little brain snap and hesitation, sometimes that happens. We were a bit fortunate not to go 1-0 down there and, luckily, Brendan recovered well enough to put him off goal."